Baseboard heater question..? Seeking opinions / knowledge

[Limitool]

You must be in an area where pellet stoves or wood stoves are illegal? I burned 2 cords this winter. If purchased (rather than me cutting it), it would be $500 a winter or $70 per month.

I have a pellet stove I could use and have used one for years out in my shop. But it won't begin to do the job. I got no problem with a wood stove but my son isn't going to be in the home up to 12hrs at a time. We have enough wood here to burn for 50 lifetimes....! I need something that will maintain a desired temp when he's gone.

 

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[robertk]

I have a pellet stove I could use and have used one for years out in my shop. But it won't begin to do the job. I got no problem with a wood stove but my son isn't going to be in the home up to 12hrs at a time. We have enough wood here to burn for 50 lifetimes....! I need something that will maintain a desired temp when he's gone.

I thought that was one of the benefits of a pellet stove -- that they could "self feed" for times when you're not able to tend to it? I've never used one so don;t know. My wood furnace will easily hold a fire for 12 hours, but I don't know how well it would hold a comfy temperature for that long.

 

[Tesorodeoro]

I thought that was one of the benefits of a pellet stove -- that they could "self feed" for times when you're not able to tend to it? I've never used one so don;t know. My wood furnace will easily hold a fire for 12 hours, but I don't know how well it would hold a comfy temperature for that long.

Agreed. If I had abundant firewood (I do), it would not even be a debate. Get a modern Blaze King wood stove and burn hardwood. That’s a no brainer. But I would like a second different source of heat that could be easier to regulate for times when I’m gone for days at a time. Sure the stove filter is a PIA compared to old school, but friends that have one say they feed the stove once a day (slightly longer) and never have to relight a fire during the winter. The solution is probably a HOT fire every once in awhile?

 

[DizzyDigger]

You must be in an area where pellet stoves or wood stoves are illegal? I burned 2 cords this winter. If purchased (rather than me cutting it), it would be $500 a winter or $70 per month.

Actually, I live in a rural area, and many of my neighbors have wood stoves.

 

[WoodsDigger]

I thought that was one of the benefits of a pellet stove -- that they could "self feed" for times when you're not able to tend to it? I've never used one so don;t know. My wood furnace will easily hold a fire for 12 hours, but I don't know how well it would hold a comfy temperature for that long.

What make of wood furnace do you have ?

 

[Limitool]

I thought that was one of the benefits of a pellet stove -- that they could "self feed" for times when you're not able to tend to it? I've never used one so don;t know. My wood furnace will easily hold a fire for 12 hours, but I don't know how well it would hold a comfy temperature for that long.

Your right Robert. But the wide openness of this building and my experience using a pellet stove I don't believe the BTU's would ever get to a comfortable temp in the cold of winter. The small pot the pellets are fed into would never keep up. The 3 ceiling fans will help pull hot air from above and now the pellets aren't cheap to buy anymore either.

 

[Limitool]

Agreed. If I had abundant firewood (I do), it would not even be a debate. Get a modern Blaze King wood stove and burn hardwood. That’s a no brainer. But I would like a second different source of heat that could be easier to regulate for times when I’m gone for days at a time. Sure the stove filter is a PIA compared to old school, but friends that have one say they feed the stove once a day (slightly longer) and never have to relight a fire during the winter. The solution is probably a HOT fire every once in awhile?

Well I talked to my son this morning and he's all in on a wood stove now. We have LOTS of wood around here and will NEVER run out. Even have a new log splitter...! So today... I'm now thinking a new wood stove and a couple of oil heaters and/or baseboards to use as backup. The 3 ceiling fans should move a lot of hot air from above also. Nothing has been bought yet but choices have to be made soon. Thanks to all.... Brad

 

[pepperj]

Hydronic heating is better than element.
Safer as hydronic only reaches 140F

Split air is nice, heat efficiency of 200% till zero Fahrenheit.
Then the cost is greatly reduced.

I have 2 supplement oil heaters in a office space, and in the den.
3 heads on the split air
The rest of the house is glycol mixed hydronic fed baseboard heating.
This is a propane boiler with a slit hot water on demand system.

The house has 13 baseboard heaters. 2 are 10ft long and are heavy steel, but look nice.

We have considered an outside burner for supplement heat. Though they're still dependent on power to run the pump.

We're in South eastern Ontario, our winter temperatures can be pretty cold for extended periods.

The temperatures from 0-45F the split air can be a $10 a day habit.
Air-conditioning is a $10 a day habit.

Propane is a $10 a day habit.

Wood option?

Pellet stove the bags are now $6-7 for a 40lb bag.
I see skid loads of pellets in yards. 50 bags per skid.
I know folks that put 100-150 bags in the basement.
You do the math-that's a lot of lugging.

 

[pepperj]

This is what naural progression that happens in the rural.
Wood
Pellet
Propane

 

[releventchair]

Hydronic heating is better than element.
Safer as hydronic only reaches 140F

Split air is nice, heat efficiency of 200% till zero Fahrenheit.
Then the cost is greatly reduced.

I have 2 supplement oil heaters in a office space, and in the den.
3 heads on the split air
The rest of the house is glycol mixed hydronic fed baseboard heating.
This is a propane boiler with a slit hot water on demand system.

The house has 13 baseboard heaters. 2 are 10ft long and are heavy steel, but look nice.

We have considered an outside burner for supplement heat. Though they're still dependent on power to run the pump.

We're in South eastern Ontario, our winter temperatures can be pretty cold for extended periods.

The temperatures from 0-45F the split air can be a $10 a day habit.
Air-conditioning is a $10 a day habit.

Propane is a $10 a day habit.

Wood option?

Pellet stove the bags are now $6-7 for a 40lb bag.
I see skid loads of pellets in yards. 50 bags per skid.
I know folks that put 100-150 bags in the basement.
You do the math-that's a lot of lugging.

Former co worker kept bulk of pellets in barn as buying by the ton is cheaper.
Doors each side allowed him to hook the skid in truck bed and drive out dropping the entire skid (one ton?) of pellets. (!)
Another co-worker thought he'd save a trip and loaded far too many pellets....Well tires objected. At least two blew before it was over.

Old house down the road must be bringing them in now or buying less.
Multiple winters they were stacked on front porch.

Neighbors run a blue flame wall heater in basement. That's it far as I know.
Knew another couple that did the same years ago.

Were I heatless in a closed in structure to live in and not going to run a furnace ; as much as I like wood (and I had some stove parts out the other day and still plan to build another wood stove) I'd try a pellet stove and generator to back it up.
Some had/have a battery back up for the auger but we've run small electric heaters here during outages in winter that kept redundancy in action. I'd want the same with a pellet stove so when it failed for multiple reasons I'd not freeze pipes.

 

[robertk]

What make of wood furnace do you have ?

This one:

 

[pepperj]

I lug salt bags for the softener.
That's only a few bags every few months.
Pellet stove, a few bags everyday- screw that option.
I'm lazy and have enough $ to make life easier.🤣

 

[releventchair]

I lug salt bags for the softener.
That's only a few bags every few months.
Pellet stove, a few bags everyday- screw that option.
I'm lazy and have enough $ to make life easier.🤣

Her royal indoors would have a softener. She wouldn't lug salt though.
If the water stained iron or was real hard I'd have one.
And I'd rig a slide into the basement through a window. Not too unlike a coal bin I used to put wood in elsewhere.

A bag of pellets on wheels imagines better than cutting and splitting wood mostly year round again trying to keep a year ahead.

After Dad pulled his stove following around a 40 year run of wood heat ; he missed the heat you could soak up. But said going over to the wall and adjusting the thermostat sure was easier than cutting wood.

 

[Tesorodeoro]

Brad, what some people do is install an intake in the ceiling above the stove, run ducting to a cold spot in the house, then set up a fan and thermostat. If it gets too hot by the stove, you flip a light switch and that heat is sucked up, cooled a little bit (depending on the length of the duct), then duped into a room that needs it. It’s not incredibly effective at heating the far room, but it allows for some regulation of heat even though the wood stove might be blazing.

 

[releventchair]

I have a pellet stove I could use and have used one for years out in my shop. But it won't begin to do the job. I got no problem with a wood stove but my son isn't going to be in the home up to 12hrs at a time. We have enough wood here to burn for 50 lifetimes....! I need something that will maintain a desired temp when he's gone.

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[sibbley]

I have a Harman Exception wood stove. It will heat a 2000 square foot area. The stove has an after burner to burn the gasses before they escape out the chimney. The stove is now in my 1200 square foot home and heats the house to 80 degrees on extremely cold days. If you burn hardwoods, it'll burn for 10 hours without adding wood. I'm not sure if they still make them, but if you could find a used one, they are easily rebuilt to be efficient again. I've had the stove for about 20 years and only replaced the afterburner once.

 

[russau]

Brad , No matter what you end up doing ,and you end up using 120 devices rather than the 220 you wired ,you DON'T NEED TO CHANGE THE WIRING ! you can go down in your needs and still be good if you split the mechanical connection of the Breaker switch on all of them ! this will save you lots of money and time by doing this and still be working in-compliance with the Electrical Code! Is your son working ? Is your son helping you do this OR is he wanting dad to foot it all ? And I like using wood to heat .cheaper on you. since the area is using wood already ! GOOD LUCK on YOUR decision !

 

[Limitool]

Brad , No matter what you end up doing ,and you end up using 120 devices rather than the 220 you wired ,you DON'T NEED TO CHANGE THE WIRING ! you can go down in your needs and still be good if you split the mechanical connection of the Breaker switch on all of them ! this will save you lots of money and time by doing this and still be working in-compliance with the Electrical Code! Is your son working ? Is your son helping you do this OR is he wanting dad to foot it all ? And I like using wood to heat .cheaper on you. since the area is using wood already ! GOOD LUCK on YOUR decision !

Hey russau... 1st I hope ya escaped the worse of the storms their in St. Louis.

Yea I know how to change a 220 at breaker box back to a 110. I haven't looked yet but the only question on that is if the neutral wire is now long enough to get around to the neutral bar. I have the 220's all on the left side of breaker box and the neutral bar is on the right side...? I'll have to go out and look first. I'll have to go buy some "plugs" to put on breaker panel cover later if I change back to a 110. AND... the new code for all 110 breakers cost $50.00 bucks ea. I just changed out 11 of them...!!!

He's trying to physically help but works a 12 hr. shift total including driving 5 days a weeks and sometimes 6. He's a manager of an Applebee's restaurant. I'm footing the bill to complete and we've worked out a payment plan when complete. I can easily afford it vs him.

 

[ISmellGold]

Had an old wood stove as a kid, the old man burned everything he could find to keep the house warm.
🤣 The old man just did'nt give a sh*t. If It would burn, and it wasn't being used it went into the stove.🤣

 

[bigtruck68]

Had an old wood stove as a kid, the old man burned everything he could find to keep the house warm.
🤣 The old man just did'nt give a sh*t. If It would burn, and it wasn't being used it went into the stove.🤣

Classic dad move, if it fit in the stove and didn’t scream, it was fair game