Bevis and Butthead

What does a stupid MTV cartoon have to do with homesteading? Nothing, really. But when I was contemplating this week's topic, every time I said, "fire" all I could hear was their stupid voices repeating, "fire...fire."

Now that our annual winter cold snap is upon us (may I add that so far it has not reached the minus-degrees it usually does at this point - - and let's hope it stays that way!), I wondered: "At what temperature do you keep your thermostat?" We've heard so much about conservation and keeping our homes a little cooler in the winter and warmer in the summer. So, keeping my home at around 74 degrees all winter probably surprises you. What is a City-girl-homesteader doing with her home so warm? Let me tell you...

This:

Our own wood furnace sits next to our "regular" furnace
and attaches to the duct work.

"This" is the most amazing home-heating system ever. It runs on 100% wood (and an occasional match if the coals have all burned out). It burns efficiently (usually one crate of wood per day - - maybe two when it does hit zero degrees). We do have the usual country-living propane tank and "normal" furnace, but we've discovered that life is MUCH nicer and cheaper when we only use that for backup. In fact, we hadn't filled our propane tank in three years - - while most of our neighbors are a minimum of three wintertime fill-ups. At $500+ each fill-up, that packs quite a punch.

 How it works:

• Fill the chamber with your usual kindling, wood, etc. 
• Light match.
• Adjust damper as necessary.
• When the air chamber that surrounds the fire chamber heats to a certain temperature that we've set (such as 200-degrees) the fans inside the air chamber turn on to force the warm air throughout the duct work of the house. When the air chamber cools to 125-degrees (also set by us), the fans turn off until the air chamber again reaches 200-degrees. 
• When you notice longer and longer times between the fans coming on, just go load up the coals with more wood. Typically that will be several hours later.
• And since it's simply heating air in a separate chamber, no, we don't smell like smoke or a campfire.

So, here's all I love about our wood-burning furnace:

• Cost savings! We're not spending $1500/year on propane.
• Our house (if we're not being lazy) basically stays at 74-degrees all winter. 
• We use already-dead wood. It needed to be cleaned up and out of the the forest behind our home, anyway.
• When you heat with a "regular" furnace, unless the fan is blowing the air, you always feel a chill, even if your thermostat reads whatever temperature you've set. Wood-heat is incredibly efficient - the basement stay nice and cozy from the ambient heat of the unit. Also, when the fans aren't running - no chill like the "standard" furnace.

Cons:

• Having to plan ahead. You have to make sure that you've gathered, stacked and dried the firewood properly. Not really a con because that's just life on a farm, anyway. 
• Having to cut and split your fuel. Not exactly a con, either, because I don't know any man who doesn't like a good power tool and a reason to use it. Plus - have you used a splitter before? Let's just say, I don't mind the opportunity to play with power tools, either... :)
• Having to load up the crates with wood in all kinds of weather. This is only a partial con. 1) the reward of the warmth from our furnace is such a great trade off; and 2) it's winter folks - consider this a cardio workout or weight training. Besides - it just adds to the connection I feel with the land and the appreciation I have with this stewardship. So...not really a 'con,' either.

So...just pros and no cons. I highly recommend it to everyone!