Wood stove for house heating?

[ScottFitter]

I live in the city but I'm interested in putting a wood stove in my house for heating. Hose is 1100 square feet. Is this something that's doable to get heat through the house? Insurance requirements? I can't see it being any different than a fireplace. I know that my grandparents had one in their place, but it was completely different environment and climate being on the southern coast of BC.

I really know very little about this topic and thought somebody here would know something about this type of set up.

[1hogfarmer]

Any bylaws against it?

[ScottFitter]

It's in Calgary. I'm not sure, I haven't really done much in the way of reading in to it yet, just thought someone here might know a thing or two about it.

[pat brennan]

For sure unless you have a good supply of wood (cheap) to burn, not going to be worth it from a financial viewpoint.
No doubt you will need it inspected to cover insurance and expect house insurance premiums to be higher.
No idea on burning regulations in your area, worth checking with the municipality on before jumping in.

[elkhunter11]

I have a woodstove in my basement recroom. Mine has an electric fan and heats up the entire basement quickly, but you don't notice it much on the main floor. It would keep my house from freezing up if my furnace failed, but if I wanted to heat the entire house full time, more work would be needed to improve circulation to the main floor. My insurance premium did increase.

[obsessed1]

Check your bylaws. Confirm requirements / extra cost with insurance. Pick a stove with the BTU output for your home size ( choose type / manufacturer) hire an installer who will also supply ( he can measure for chimney and extra bits) get a whett inspection. Enjoy wood heat and endless work cutting/splitting/stacking.
Choose a stove based on your immediate and long term needs if cooking is ever even a possibility on it make sure it's a model that will accommodate that.
We heat our 1600ft home (two story no basement) primarily on wood. We have forced air but if we are home and awake the wood stove is burning. We burn 3-5 cord /winter depending on how cold it is and what type of wood

As for moving heat around. Keeping bedroom doors open help you can also use the duck work to push heat by having a fresh air intake right by the stove then running the fan to push the heat. Our floor plan is really open with a stairwell right close to the stove so heat moves upstairs easily. Placement of stove will be key. You could cut grates like the old farm houses had to move more heat up. If it's all on one level having either an electric or heat activated fan helps push heat around.

[YYC338]

Have had a woodstove in Calgary for going on 10 years. Yes you'll need a permit, yes your insurance company will want to know about it. Most have a threshold on how much wood you burn and whether it's your primary heat source.

Rate increases vary, so you should check into it. Yes you can heat your whole house, depending on the the size of both the stove and house.

I live in a 4 level split, about 1500 sq. ft. developed. Stove is on the 3rd level and it keeps the whole house warm although when it's very cold out, a couple of small fans help to move warm air around the house. Would be sufficient to heat the house all on it's own, but I'm not keen about getting up at 5 in the morning to reload, so it falls a little short during real cold weather.

Savings? Depends on wood cost and source. Checked your gas bill lately? A lot of fixed fees that don't go away, regardless of consumption and your water tank will likely still consume some.

For sure you'll never save enough (if any) to pay out the capital cost to purchase and install, unless natural gas prices go through the roof. Of course by then the woke among us will have outlawed the burning of wood as a heat source.

[Redhorse Ranch]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

I have a woodstove in my basement recroom. Mine has an electric fan and heats up the entire basement quickly, but you don't notice it much on the main floor. It would keep my house from freezing up if my furnace failed, but if I wanted to heat the entire house full time, more work would be needed to improve circulation to the main floor. My insurance premium did increase.

My brother installed a bathroom vent fan directly above the stove between the floor joists and connected it to the forced air trunk line. It worked.

[HVA7mm]

I put a wood burning insert (Pacific Energy) in our existing firebox on the main floor shortly after purchasing our home about 20 yrs ago. 1500 sq' bungalow with a finished basement so around 3000 sq' to heat.

It's not our primary heat source, but when fired up keeps the main floor very warm, and has definitely saved us a couple of times in January when our furnace quit. It adds great ambiance and is a really good backup if need be during a power outage or furnace breakdown. Also a nice supplementation when the thermometer dips below -20 or so. Like many have already said, if you have a good wood supply it makes for really nice heat in your house, if you're paying city prices for firewood, just turn up the thermostat.

[FCLightning]

I did a spreadsheet to compare the cost effectiveness of various fuels for heating a home and using my household numbers right now I would need to buy Spruce for $100/cord landed in my yard to compare to Nat. Gas. Current price in the area is $320/cord plus transport.

[pikeslayer22]

Anyone know a good company to install a stove/chimney in the Edmonton area?

[ghfalls]

There’s no heat like wood heat. My fire is burning 16-24 hours per day from oct-April. I’ve got a diesel truck and a dump trailer and a few chainsaws. The big one one is a ms460 magnum plus a 026 and a spare. We go out as a family a couple times once the snow is gone and fill the dump trailer and split it all right away. We do a bbq and have a great family time doing it It’s a lot of work but I’ll do it forever. Power and gas cost more every year.

[YYC338]

Originally Posted by ghfalls

There’s no heat like wood heat. My fire is burning 16-24 hours per day from oct-April. I’ve got a diesel truck and a dump trailer and a few chainsaws. The big one one is a ms460 magnum plus a 026 and a spare. We go out as a family a couple times once the snow is gone and fill the dump trailer and split it all right away. We do a bbq and have a great family time doing it It’s a lot of work but I’ll do it forever. Power and gas cost more every year.

Nothing like wood heat for sure! And walking around the house in shorts and a tee shirt when it's -25 out.

[Drewski Canuck]

If you wait until Canadian Tire has their sale, the England Stove Works Ridgeline 2200 is usually less than a grand. Sometimes in spring they clear them for the $500 range.

This is a non catallitic stove but it has one of the bigger fire boxes. I have one up and down on a 1700 sq foot x 2 (walk out basement) cabin and it will hit 30 C if you get carried away, even in - 20 C weather.

Is wood heat cheaper, no. Not now. But if gas is in the $7 - 10 range then you save alot with a wood stove if you can access cheap firewood.

It seems we will hit $7 - 10 per gig for Natural Gas sooner than later.

Drewski

[FCLightning]

Originally Posted by Drewski Canuck

Is wood heat cheaper, no. Not now. But if gas is in the $7 - 10 range then you save alot with a wood stove if you can access cheap firewood.

It seems we will hit $7 - 10 per gig for Natural Gas sooner than later.

Drewski

I just threw $12/gig in as a landed cost for gas. At that rate you could pay $160/cord for Spruce delivered to the yard - $150 for Poplar, or $215 for Birch. Of course you would have to adjust those prices down by whatever amount of over heating you tend to do with the wood stove.

[zabbo]

Originally Posted by ScottFitter

It's in Calgary. I'm not sure, I haven't really done much in the way of reading in to it yet, just thought someone here might know a thing or two about it.

Pretty sure Calgary bylaws have not allowed wood burning fireplaces for many years now. The same would probably apply to wood stoves. Too bad. Wood heat is really nice.

[treeroot]

Originally Posted by Redhorse Ranch

My brother installed a bathroom vent fan directly above the stove between the floor joists and connected it to the forced air trunk line. It worked.

Can't do this as it goes against fire code. The reason being it would allow the fire in the wood stove room to easily jump to the floor above, or so I was told by insurance company.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Wood is excellent supplementry heat to natural gas. Your gas furnace fan will move heat throughout the house. I have lots of birch trees so my wood cost is next to zero as do not need to go to the gym.
Insurance companies do not like wood and add additional costs to your heating bill.

[Redhorse Ranch]

Originally Posted by treeroot

Can't do this as it goes against fire code. The reason being it would allow the fire in the wood stove room to easily jump to the floor above, or so I was told by insurance company.

Could be against code, for sure. I know he had fitted it neatly into the suspended ceiling and used regular tin ducting to connect it. I thought it was cool (or warm!).

We have a zero-clearance WarmHearth builtin fireplace which has provisions to connect its' blower to our ductwork.

[shootermcgavin]

We installed a wood burning insert into the original fireplace in our basement last summer. We bought the insert kit from Costco, the drolet escape 1800 with the trim kit and chimney liner for 1700 delivered. It was installed professionally and permitted/ inspected by the city. It’s great for heating up the main areas of our bi-level but the bedrooms get a little bit too cold at night because the airflow isn’t perfect, so we usually let it burn through the day, and use the gas furnace at night. I don’t think there is much for financial savings but i do enjoy the process of getting my own firewood, chopping wood and having a nice fire is really enjoyable.

We did have to extend the hearth to meet the proper clearance of non combustible material.

[zabbo]

Originally Posted by shootermcgavin

We installed a wood burning insert into the original fireplace in our basement last summer. We bought the insert kit from Costco, the drolet escape 1800 with the trim kit and chimney liner for 1700 delivered. It was installed professionally and permitted/ inspected by the city. It’s great for heating up the main areas of our bi-level but the bedrooms get a little bit too cold at night because the airflow isn’t perfect, so we usually let it burn through the day, and use the gas furnace at night. I don’t think there is much for financial savings but i do enjoy the process of getting my own firewood, chopping wood and having a nice fire is really enjoyable.

We did have to extend the hearth to meet the proper clearance of non combustible material.

Good to know. I was going by memory from way back when I was doing residential electrical. At some point, I asked why they were only installing gas fireplaces. As I recall, the reason was, wood fireplaces no longer allowed. Memory is getting old, just like me.

[YYC338]

Originally Posted by zabbo

Pretty sure Calgary bylaws have not allowed wood burning fireplaces for many years now. The same would probably apply to wood stoves. Too bad. Wood heat is really nice.

That's not correct you can still apply for a permit https://www.calgary.ca/pda/pd/home-b...d-cooling.html

Do you have information to the contrary, and where does it come from?

[Gifted Intuitive]

Originally Posted by pikeslayer22

Anyone know a good company to install a stove/chimney in the Edmonton area?

Contact Sean at No Limits Construction. 780 292 2458. Does excellent tile work as well

[ScottFitter]

Thanks guys, a lot to look into and consider.

[amosfella]

There's another way to do it as well. You set up an outside burner and you pipe hot water into your air exchanger. You can use either gas or other heat source to heat with then. One guy I knew build a burner big enough to burn a large round or square straw bale. He said that one of those bales would burn for several weeks. At $5-7 a bale at the time, he thought it was cheap heat. Sometimes he got loads of bales that had gone bad for the cost of getting them, and burned them too.

[nelsonob1]

Love the Xmas decorations. Nice euromount. Where did you get the bracket?

Originally Posted by shootermcgavin

We installed a wood burning insert into the original fireplace in our basement last summer. We bought the insert kit from Costco, the drolet escape 1800 with the trim kit and chimney liner for 1700 delivered. It was installed professionally and permitted/ inspected by the city. It’s great for heating up the main areas of our bi-level but the bedrooms get a little bit too cold at night because the airflow isn’t perfect, so we usually let it burn through the day, and use the gas furnace at night. I don’t think there is much for financial savings but i do enjoy the process of getting my own firewood, chopping wood and having a nice fire is really enjoyable.

We did have to extend the hearth to meet the proper clearance of non combustible material.

[shootermcgavin]

Originally Posted by nelsonob1

Love the Xmas decorations. Nice euromount. Where did you get the bracket?

Thank you. I got the bracket from Jim Bows… it’s called a skull hooker. There are some local guys on here making similar brackets IIRC.

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by treeroot

Can't do this as it goes against fire code. The reason being it would allow the fire in the wood stove room to easily jump to the floor above, or so I was told by insurance company.

My wood stove is in the front room of my house, 18 ft. ceiling with a down fan. I installed a large cold air intake in the adjoining wall. When the stove is up to temp, I can circulate that air through the whole house.

Grizz

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by 1hogfarmer

Any bylaws against it?

With Mayor Gondis Climate Emergency Declaration, all bets are off.

Grizz

[esher]

If you have to pay for wood why not burn pellets, way safer and simple.