Man it's cold here in CT. What are you using for heat? Me, Coal baby.

[1969chargerrtse]

Oil is sooo expensive.  About 3 years ago I bought a Harman rice coal stove DVC 500.  Cost about 4 grand by the time I was done with piping etc.  LOVE IT.  My house is 2,200 sq ft and it keeps us toasty warm.  I'd say 72* is average.  Upstairs I tweak the heat every so lightly In case it gets real cold and the stove which is downstairs isn't doing as good upstairs.  If it's 72 downstairs, it's 69 upstairs.  It burns Anthracite rice coal.  It get it in March in 40lb bags.  It cost me about 220.00 a ton, and I buy about 3 1/2 ton per year.  When I researched heat 3 years ago I went on  a site to look at "fuel comparison" charts.  Back then it said Average home heating with electric was 3,000 a year, Oil 2,000, pellets 1,600, and coal about 800.00.  Wood was like 700.00ish, but I ain't cutting and stacking that stuff, plus the coal stove will run for days on it's own.   Most people I talk to think coal is dirty, not.  No problems at all, in fact the stove is between 2 white curtains.   For every ton of coal you burn you have to burn 1.7 tons of pellets.  I believe it puts out 7,000 BTU on low and like 75,000 BTU cranking.  The good thing about pellets is the stove can self start, so come spring or fall when it's cold at night but warm in the day, the pellet stove goes on and off.  Plus with pellets you empty your ash pan about once a month, while with coal I have to empty it every 2 to 4 days.  If it's about saving money, coal is almost twice as good.  Great BTU power.  For every ton of coal you burn, thats equal to 200 gallons of Oil, at 3.00 pus a gallon, thats 600.00 vs 220.00   I'm sure we will get big wood burning comments here, not knocking wood at all, wood burners are like Mopar fans, very dedicated.   I just chose coal that's all.  Another thing is, you must have a humidifier as the air gets real dry.  Now in my side room, we have a fireplace.  It used to be open and I wood throw wood in it like I was just looking to get rid of the wood.  Most of the heat went up the flu and the wood burned wild and free, and many times the smoke would come in the house.   I bought glass doors (dirty in the picture)  and then bought a "heatalator thingy.  Now I burn the wood on the grate which in turn heats the grate and air comes in on the right, and blows out 40,000 BTU on the left.  It can be installed under any glass doors.  I think it's like 1 3/8" high.  You just lift up your doors and slide it under.  Now you can control the heat and fire via a vent knob.  It self starts when it gets 110* and shuts off when the fire is out and it cools to 90*.  Nice thing is you can leave the flu open year round .  What are you using?

[Charger-Bodie]

Wood heat for me! wood funace was already insalled when we go the house so it was a no brainer for me to use it. we also have nat. gas or bill has never been more than 100.00 per month.

[The70RT]

Natural gas here. last winter it was like 200 a month so not too bad. My house is well insulated with 4ft. of insulation (someone put a higher pitched roof on years ago and insulated between the two roofs) & Andersen double pane windows. I use to burn wood at my old house but never installed one here. I just don't want to mess with it anymore. I do burn wood out in the garage though and went through 3 cords last winter....yeah I keep it toastyin there. That little stove in your pic is the same I have in my garage. The only thing I don't like about it is the wood has to be cut small but heats well.

[1969chargerrtse]

Natural gas here. last winter it was like 200 a month so not too bad. My house is well insulated with 4ft. of insulation (someone put a higher pitched roof on years ago and insulated between the two roofs) & Andersen double pane windows. I use to burn wood at my old house but never installed one here. I just don't want to mess with it anymore. I do burn wood out in the garage though and went through 3 cords last winter....yeah I keep it toastyin there. That little stove in your pic is the same I have in my garage. The only thing I don't like about it is the wood has to be cut small but heats well.

Not sure that stove in my picture is what you have?  Cause it ain't little.  Weighs about 850lbs, and is like 4 ft tall.

[rollingthunder]

I got a Fisher wood burner year before last between buying wood and getting it free I spend about 80. bucks a month for heat.
the best part was when the gas co. comes out and changes the meter then calls and want to know how my gas bill can go from
500.00 a month to 25.00 a month last winter was priceless. told em I had a wood stove to turn off  there over priced gas didn't
want it no more.

[Rolling_Thunder]

^ I dont like that guy!     

[The70RT]

Natural gas here. last winter it was like 200 a month so not too bad. My house is well insulated with 4ft. of insulation (someone put a higher pitched roof on years ago and insulated between the two roofs) & Andersen double pane windows. I use to burn wood at my old house but never installed one here. I just don't want to mess with it anymore. I do burn wood out in the garage though and went through 3 cords last winter....yeah I keep it toastyin there. That little stove in your pic is the same I have in my garage. The only thing I don't like about it is the wood has to be cut small but heats well.

Not sure that stove in my picture is what you have?  Cause it ain't little.  Weighs about 850lbs, and is like 4 ft tall.

After looking at it again is a little bigger than I thought it was. Mine is half that size.  It is smaller than one I use to have at my old house. I wish i would have taken it when I left. It would take three 36" X 12" logs at one time.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Gas heat boiler with cast iron radiators...house was built in the 20's!

I have a fireplace as well but rarely use it.....only for show really....makes the house colder when I use it!

[1969chargerrtse]

Gas heat boiler with cast iron radiators...house was built in the 20's!

I have a fireplace as well but rarely use it.....only for show really....makes the house colder when I use it!

You should look into the heatalator thing I bought, does a nice job, keeps rooms warm and looks nice in the winter time.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Let me do a Google search....Hmmmmm

"Heatalator thingy" 

[1969chargerrtse]

Let me do a Google search....Hmmmmm

"Heatalator thingy" 

Ah my friend chris.  I knew you were going to do that.  How many links have you been kind enough to send me? 

Here ya go.  http://cgi.ebay.com/Heat-n-Glo-Grate-Heater-Cozy-Fireplace-Insert-Blower_W0QQitemZ220177606849QQihZ012QQcategoryZ20564QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Suckers running right now and doing a great job.  Worth every penny.  Think I paid 425.00 about 3 years ago.  The neat thing is, you want to just have nice hot wood ambers so the steel transfers the heat, no need to run a big wasteful fire.

[Old Moparz]

We use propane & rice coal. I put in a rice coal stove made by "Keystone" 11 years ago after never being comfortable enough to sit around without feeling cold. At first it was only supposed to offset the propane, but now it burns 24/7 except for today, I have to clean it. It works just like a pellet stove & we usually burn about 30 to 40 pounds of coal in 24 hours. The ash isn't as messy as I thought it would be, but still a pain compared to just turning up the thermostat. The one thing I do like about the ash, it works better than sand for traction in my driveway.

My house was set up to use propane (by previous owner & builder) with a direct vent boiler called "Heatmaker" made by a company called "Trianco". It was less than 2 years old when we moved in & never worked right. By the 5th year we had it serviced, repaired, fixed, or whatever else, 10 to 15 times to get enough heat to warm the house. When I started it for the first time one season, it made some weird noise, so I went down to see & there was a small flood.

I came upstairs laughing & my wife asked what was so funny. I said our Heatmaker gave up again, I'm calling a friend to return a favor. I rebuilt the front porch on his house, so he's putting in a boiler for us. Bought another boiler by a company called "Utica" & my friend put it in. It's been in for 10 years now & has yet to give me any trouble at all. The happiest day was when I dragged the Heatmaker outside & tossed it into the '67 Barracuda parts car for scrap. 

[dodgecharger-fan]

I use a high efficiency natural gas furnace with a variable speed fan.

We also have a wood burning fireplace on the main floor with a built in heatilator - vents are in the bricks below the hearth and there's some openings in the bricks up above the firebox. A speed control on the side wall sets the fan speed (and noise level). It's mostly for show, but when we fire it up on the really cold days, it does a great job. I don't think we use it enough to warrant the hassle of stacking wood and hauling it in, etc.. To give you an idea, there was less than a cord of wood here when we moved in over 7 years ago and I still have some. We've added to the pile as well though - with some stuff that we cut down in the yard - nasty stink that tree is when it burns though.. it's okay as long as I keep the smoke going up the flue.

We have a natural gas fireplace down in the rec room too.  That hardly ever gets used.

I want a natural gas heater for the garage. Maybe this year.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Let me do a Google search....Hmmmmm

"Heatalator thingy" 

Ah my friend chris.  I knew you were going to do that.  How many links have you been kind enough to send me? 

Here ya go.  http://cgi.ebay.com/Heat-n-Glo-Grate-Heater-Cozy-Fireplace-Insert-Blower_W0QQitemZ220177606849QQihZ012QQcategoryZ20564QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Suckers running right now and doing a great job.  Worth every penny.  Think I paid 425.00 about 3 years ago.  The neat thing is, you want to just have nice hot wood ambers so the steel transfers the heat, no need to run a big wasteful fire.

Thanks Rob.  Its a bit pricey for me right now.  Couldn't justify spending that if the wife doesn't like to use the thing anyway

[BMOTOXSTAR]

Wood heat man, wood heat. That is how I roll.
The best way to cheat the gas man is with wood. 

[71charger_fan]

Here in Egypt, I'm still running the A/C.

[1969chargerrtse]

Here in Egypt, I'm still running the A/C.

How cool (no pun intended) is this that two Charger lovers are are a click away from the USA to Egypt?  Blows my mind.

[71charger_fan]

I'm not crazy enough to subject my Charger to Egyptian drivers. That sits in its garage in the U.S.

[jgbailey57]

i had wood and gas at my old house, in my new house we have a heat pump and the electric bill is pretty much the same all year round, about $140 a month.  i also have a heatilator but i don't think it works right, i need to take it apart and see if a vent is plugged or something.  it just doesn't put out much heat at all.

[dodgecharger-fan]

I'm not crazy enough to subject my Charger to Egyptian drivers. That sits in its garage in the U.S.

They are nuts aren't they? I went to school with a guy from Cairo. He was insane behind the wheel. He would shrug and say, "I'm the best driver I know of from where I grew up."


Sorry for the hijack. Had to throw that in..

[Ponch ®]

^ I dont like that guy!     

Maybe you should add a "®" to your name, like I had to.

BTW - do you know what these people are talking about? "Heating with coal"? Oil? huh? Last night I had to get up and crack the window open a little to let some cool, fresh air in...

[The70RT]

^ I dont like that guy!     

Maybe you should add a "®" to your name, like I had to.

BTW - do you know what these people are talking about? "Heating with coal"? Oil? huh? Last night I had to get up and crack the window open a little to let some cool, fresh air in...

It is a four season thing. You wouldn't understand....and no not the band..

[694spdRT]

Wood heat for the first time this year after years of LP gas. It's warm, cheap, and hard to beat. 

[The70RT]

This little stove heats my 26X32 garage pretty decent. I have to cut the wood smaller to use though.

[daytonalo]

I burn 100 Dollar bills very Quickly !!![ Nat gas ]