Oil Heat (Page 3): Not true. Oil is a more efficient source of heat having more BTUs than natural gas. In earlier times oil burner maintenance was a factor, but today a maintained oil...

Ollieboy

Bigmike1 wrote:

If you can get natural gas it will be much more efficient and cheaper than oil. Many moons ago I had oil heat and when the price began rising I couldn't afford to buy it. It was not a happy time.

Not true. Oil is a more efficient source of heat having more BTUs than natural gas. In earlier times oil burner maintenance was a factor, but today a maintained oil burner is just as clean. Unstable oil prices are another factor to consider though. Oil burners are no longer considered dirty. (Except by the anti fossil fuel lobby)

BebuLamar

fetzler wrote:

You do realize that where Jerry lives it is dark and cloudy in winter where Jerry lives. Furthermore the solar panels will be covered by snow. Jerry may also have a lot of trees near his house. Solar will be close to useless.

Well then he should install a nuclear power plant in his house.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

jerryc41 wrote:

After heating with a wood stove for forty-eight ye... (show quote)

Propane is a better deal than oil. I heated a large farmhouse with 2 pellet stoves. Clean and drop a bag in once a day. If it was really cold a bag and a half

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

My sister-in-law filled her oil tank recently and paid $950; she lives in Connecticut with an environment similar to the Catskills in NY. She is glad that the weather is warming up and she doesn't have to run the boiler all the time.

BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten

sippyjug104 wrote:

There was a time that I could burn all of the junk mail we would get to help heat our home. We get the same amount of junk mail, however, it comes in our emails now so it is useless.

Run it through your electric baseboard heaters and you will be toasty!

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

photon-collector wrote:

I have a home in Western NC. I bought a Carrier ... (show quote)

I have had the same set-up, different brand, since the 80’s. I wouldn’t switch.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

I currently use a dual fuel system. A heat pump for heat and A/C. And propane. Once the temperature reaches 25 degrees a heat pump is no longer efficient. So my dual fuel system shuts off the heat pump and turns on the propane. Most heat pump systems have electric back up or emergency heat. They will not shut off the heat pump when it stops producing heat and runs the back up heat also. The emergency heat setting on the thermostat shuts off the heat pump and just runs the electric heat saving quite a bit in cold areas instead of running both. If you are in a consistently cold below 25 degrees for several days turn on emergency heat every time the temperature is going to be below 25 for 24 hours. You electric bill will decrease. Dual fuel module just does it for you. I learned that when I built my first house.

photon-collector Loc: Tampa Bay Area, Florida

jerryc41 wrote:

I'd have to use tanks of propane, and that's very expensive, not considering the cost of a new furnace.

Jerry.

I have a 500 gallon buried tank. Suburban Propane brings a truck to the house if/when I need a refill. It is really a no-fuss no-worry operation.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

fetzler wrote:

You do realize that where Jerry lives it is dark and cloudy in winter where Jerry lives. Furthermore the solar panels will be covered by snow. Jerry may also have a lot of trees near his house. Solar will be close to useless.

Thanks! Now I have more reasons than just the cost.

Traveller_Jeff

Schoee wrote:

Heat pump is usually the most efficient way to heat but does not look as good as fire. You can play a 4K fire video on YouTube to get the ambiance if you like

Ashes used to be a great source of "caustic potash" which is potassium hydroxide, an extremely strong and caustic alkaline. They'd boil it with fat saved over from lots of cooking. It contains stearic acid. The ensuing reaction created potassium stearate, which is soap in its simplest form. If that's useful information, glad to be of help.

paulrph1 Loc: Washington, Utah

fourlocks wrote:

A potential Darwin Award contender although it's not all that rare a thing. I shovel my ashes into a steel container with a tight fitting lid and I let it sit on the hearth for a day to make sure nothing's still hot. A lot of people dislike the "ash factor" of a wood stove but I sprinkle my ashes on my lawn and gardens. Ashes are a great way to raise the pH of your soil thus eliminating the expense of lime pellets.

Having to replace my old worn out wood burning fireplace this year, it finally bit the dust (30 years) A new one installed is around $3000 had to remodel the house. Nothing replaces real wood though. I don't like artificial attempts. They just look plastic. Our community has a place where the tree surgeons can take their trees to dispose of so all I have to do is pick them up and split them since they are cut to lengths. I do have to purchase a lift gate for the pick-up at $500, manual type since I can no longer do the heavy lift. Can't afford the Tommy lift at $5600 installed. I don't mind the splitting, in fact I rather enjoy it. All things in nature are meant to be recycled. Take the wood ashes and put on garden to replace the potash. But it does raise the pH a bit so I have to add some soil sulfur to drop it back down. Our arid soils are over 7.0.
The Mormon pioneers used to have an ash house in their communities where they would take their ashes and leave to make lye soap. Great soap but hard on the clothes.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

paulrph1 wrote:

Having to replace my old worn out wood burning fir... (show quote)

The tree cutters around here take the downed trees with them and sell them as firewood. If you want to keep the cut-down tree, they charge more.

The price of wood stoves has risen dramatically - no moving parts, just lots of iron. I have a Jotul Oslo 500 that I bought in 2005 for $800. Now, the price is $3,200. The "Inflation Calculator" says it should cost $1,103.

paulrph1 Loc: Washington, Utah

jerryc41 wrote:

The tree cutters around here take the downed trees with them and sell them as firewood. If you want to keep the cut-down tree, they charge more.

The price of wood stoves has risen dramatically - no moving parts, just lots of iron. I have a Jotul Oslo 500 that I bought in 2005 for $800. Now, the price is $3,200. The "Inflation Calculator" says it should cost $1,103.

And yes they are getting harder to find. Supply and Demand? I got mine out of Canada just before the prices went up $1000. No one is purchasing wood stoves anymore it is too much work. They want gas. Which to me means aesthetics only. Many dealers are only offering gas. We have become a lazy lot. Mine does have catalytic converter though but will heat up to 3000 sq ft home.
Seems like the cutters have a good deal take your wood and sell it back to you at a profit. Maybe they are charging you for cutting into lengths. But the same token if you keep the wood which you already own, you are saving them from hauling off.

Bmarsh Loc: Bellaire, MI

[quote=fetzler]Because you live in a cold location heat pumps are out.[/uquote]

Not so! I live in northern MI. And I believe my latitude (45 deg). Is higher than Jerry's.

I have Waterfurnace brand heat pump which is a closed loop system thru two wells. It also has a built in electric aux-heater which goes on when it gets to about 20 deg.

Yet my heat AND A/C bills for the last 7 years are:

$265. $210. $377. $502. $595. $544. $578

I used to burn wood when it got really cold to add to the furnace but haven't for the last 4years which explains the higher amounts. I'm on my 2nd Waterfurnace. First one lasted 20 years.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

photon-collector wrote:

Jerry.

I have a 500 gallon buried tank. Suburban Propane brings a truck to the house if/when I need a refill. It is really a no-fuss no-worry operation.

They're not burying tanks in NY anymore - fear of leakage. When our started leaking after thirty years, they pumped it out and filled it with sand. The new one is in the garage.