rockergirrl responded July 17, 2008 at 9:26PM

  www.findbarefootbooks.com

Are you looking to use it to heat your home full time or just to supplement? I have a woodstove and I LOVE it. There is nothing else like the warmth it gives. My gas heater doesn't do the trick at all. I do not use it full time though. I am not comfortable running it at night or when I am not at home but otherwise we use it quite a bit. We easily go through 1-2 cords of wood and that is not using it to heat full time. Make sure you put a pot of water on the stove whenever you run it because it dries the air like crazy.

  vtmomof2 responded July 18, 2008 at 8:24AM

  Life is crazy but wonderful.

we are using it full time. We are completely switching. I am paying to have extra heat shields put on the stove and flue. We do have a full oil tank, so we probably will use oil when we are not home, which isn't often. We have had our chimney inspected and are having some repairs done to it and it has been cleaned. The extra warmth is what I am looking forward to. I am always cold all winter long, for what I pay for oil, it drives me crazy to have to wear heavy sweaters and socks and slippers in my house, and my thermostat is set at a warm temp. I heard that wood is much warmer and I can't wait to actually be warm this winter. I was going to buy one of those fancy cast iron pots to go on the woodstove, I have heard it can be drying. The information you gave really helps, so if you go through 1-2 cords then we should at least go through double that. We have 4 cords now and my hubby wants to buy 1 maybe 2 more cords. I think we are going to because we just aren't sure what we will use and we want to be covered. Even though I am not sure where I am going to put 6 cords of wood. I think I have enough room outside for 4, but the other 2 may have to go on the other side of the house and be our backup supply. Just in case it is really cold. Of course we can always use the following year. Thanks for the advice. It is hard to know what to expect when you switch.

  rockergirrl responded July 18, 2008 at 1:21PM

  www.findbarefootbooks.com

that is so great. I love the warmth. I too freeze all winter. I pay a ton for my gas bill but my heater just doesn't heat my house well. I much prefer the wood stove. I have a cast iron pots for my stove too. It was so worth getting it. You can actually see the water boiling and releasing steam into the house. It is great. Don't quote me on how much I use because we have been using wood from trees in our yard that were cut for a year now but I do remember buying one cord and it barely lasting the season (which remember goes into April pretty much now) and that was just using it on and off. Hooray! You are going to love it.

  vtmomof2 responded July 18, 2008 at 1:52PM

  Life is crazy but wonderful.

We were lucky that a friend of ours had several trees fall on his property and it equaled nearly 2 cords. That saved a lot. I think we are going to buy 2 more cords, I think that will more than cover us. So for less than $1000 we will be warm all winter. The difference just amazes me. I can't stand being cold. Sometimes I have to walk around wrapped in a blanket because I am so chilled. My hubby, myself, and both of my kids have our own throws in the living room for those cold winter days. It will be nice to be warm.