The Road to the Stove

Okay, so it’s probably Rt. 128 or 62, but I needed a dramatic title to express the arduous hours of internet obsessing that’s gone into this decision.

We’re 2 people who spend less than $200 per month on gas & electric through most of the year. We HATE supporting Big Oil, and we HATE supporting the toxic human rights abuse that comes with drawing energy from Salem Power.

But I’m cold. And it gets dark early.

The very most economical thing we can do to further reduce our carbon footprint is to install a wood stove and burn waste wood. And it’s so darned nice to sit in front of the glow and bake.

So, my girlfriend bought an old Dodge pickup, and I already have half a cord of seasoned maple waiting to be split. There’s no end to the free firewood on Craig’s List if you can cut it and move it. On the North Shore, seasoned wood goes for $270 a cord. Don’t burn unseasoned wood — it will gum up your chimney and make a lot of smoke.

The pickup is useful 9 ways to Sunday — but that’s $1500 plus maintenance and insurance. that said, I am really going to scrounge free heat this winter. Well…I’ll let you know how it goes….

Installing a hearth for a modern wood stove is easy — we’re going to do copper on the walls and a slate tile pad (slate tile over cement board, resting on the original hardwood floor). We have no chimney on this house whatsoever, and that’s proving to be the biggest deal of all.

We have to go out through the wall of our living room and up well over 20 feet to clear the roofline by 3 feet. That’s more than $1600 of chimney materials, and we have to pay the Zen Wood Master to install it. We’re looking at $3500-$4,000 for a really pretty hearth and an ugly stainless steel chimney (it’s behind the house in a secluded spot, so we’re not enclosing it).

The stoves cost half that. So, we’re talking $5500-$6000. That’s not chump change for new homeowners, even if it becomes a deduction. Plus the truck. $7,500. Oi.

But if we can save $250 per month for 6 months out of the year, that’s $1500. That’s assuming I don’t buy any wood, and by next year, as God is my witness, I’ll have 5 cords tarped in the yard by October, and it will all be free.

We have just over 1,000 square feet here, so we’re looking at small stoves — specifically, we want a stove that will fit a 6 inch chimney pipe. 6 inch pipe is cheaper than 8 inch pipe, but we’re looking at 6″ x 48″ chimney pipe sections for $230 or thereabouts. Here are some features you should consider:

TOP-LOADING stoves let you fill the stove to the top with wood for long burning time; if we get a top loader, we’ll almost never run the furnace except to circulate air.

Modern NON-CATALYTIC stoves often have clean burn systems that re-burn exhaust gas before it exits the unit — don’t get a catalytic stove, as it will be a pain every 3 years or so. they new non-cat stoves are just as clean.

LOG LENGTH is key. The bigger the capacity of the stove, the less chainsawing you have to do.

CLEARANCE is a big issue for us, even more than FOOTPRINT. We want it in close to the wall — we’re using a copper heat shield to reduce the clearance of whatever model we choose even farther. Space behind your stove is wasted space, and our place is small.

STOVE CONSTRUCTION is key. I’m not buying a Chinese steel stove from Home Despot because I’ve had them. They won’t split in half and burn your house down, probably, but ?they don’t draw as well as better stoves.