The TRUTH about Wood Stoves! They Aren't for Everbody

[@OutdoorsWithTheMorgans]

Get free life insurance quotes from America's top insurers and start saving today with Policygenius: policygenius.com/outdoorswiththemorgans Thanks to Policygenius for sponsoring this video!

[@donaldreed5197]

Every point you made is absolutely true at 74 years old. It keeps me in shape, cutting some wood splitting some wood moving some wood. My plan for the woodstove was different from most people. I wanted it to heat my family room and garage but had no place to put it except my sunroom adjacent to the garage that I used the Solar heat input to heat the garage. Consequently, I put a wood stove in right next to the five sliding doors in the sunroom just the opposite of what most people plan to put it in a well insulated area. It is perfect to sit in a sunroom in the winter while being bathed in woodstove heat while an IBC tote full of wood is next to the door next to the stove. Consequently, I move 1000 pounds of wood at a time. There is nothing like sitting next to a woodstove watching the snowfall in New England while it heats my family room and garage. 😊

[@davidbickford2539]

I have 3 older Fisher wood stoves. One Papa Bear in the house, one Momma Bear in the pole barn, and one Baby in a smaller outbuilding. Not as efficient as the newer ones like Regency’s, but once you learn how to load, dampen and maintain them, you are good to go. At 77 years old, it keeps me busy and out of trouble. With only 11 acres of land, I end up buying a cord or two, but it’s still cheaper than propane. I’ll agree with you Mike, it’s the best heat there is! BTW, I just looked at prices for refurbished Fisher stoves and they are getting pretty pricy! Edited to add a note about insurance. Many insurance companies will not insure for loss if you have a wood stove. My insurance agent came out and measured all the clearances, floor covering, chimney, etc. and approved all three stoves with no increase in premium. Food for thought if you are considering a wood stove.

[@g.dennisrobertson4970]

I too had a Momma Bear in our house that we used for heat,in the 80's added a catalytic heater to the stack coming out ,it captured the flue heat once it reached temp .and cleaned up the flu pipe where it needed cleaning ever few years.The stoves where made in Barrie Ontario I think

[@carolscott3868]

Ahhhh...my wood stove.....been burning wood since 1978....we bought property, 6 acres, in CT...cleared a lot to build our home and ended up with a pile of trees in our pasture. Rather than letting them rot, we bought a big Mo, All Nighter....stored our wood in the hatchway and some inside the basement....took us 5 years to empty a 1000 gal oil tank, that used mostly for hot water...We then up graded to a Wood Boiler, a Jensen, hooked in series with our oil furnace...so when we weren't home the oil furnace would kick in....Ended up selling the homestead in 2016 and moved to my retirement home in NH...It had a small Vermont Castings....which we changed out for a large Englander. I have used it for 9 years.....at age 77, I buy my wood, or my son processes some now and again and he delivers me a couple trailer loads...I spend May and June stacking and burning it the next winter...nothing like the constant warmth of the woodstove.....I have POM knowing that whatever happens I am warm .....and like Mike said it a pre paid situation...

[@386Dart]

I put a stove/insert in a few years ago that I use pretty much all the time when it’s cold. I have the benefit of several acres of woods to harvest right outside the door, and it is still a ton of work to put up enough wood for each winter. But I enjoy the exercise of getting out there and getting it done. I will go through almost all of it that I put up last year, so will have my work cut out for me getting it stocked back up this year. Makes such a huge difference to have it, even though I don’t rely on it 100%…

[@armmass66]

You’re absolutely right about wood stove. There is nothing better than a good and efficient wood burning stove. Keep up the good work Mike. Always enjoy your episodes!

[@JohnUpNorth]

I have a Jotul stove and the biggest lesson I learned was that it is more efficient to blow cold air from other rooms towards the stove. Cold air is denser than hot air so the effect is warmer air travels to the colder rooms faster and more evenly.

[@davidmorse8432]

So, how do you do that?

[@JohnUpNorth]

@ I use a fan that is about knee high that is placed on the other side of my house that blows cold air towards my wood stove

[@brucealvarez9263]

Agreed. We have a house that is 2 buildings one attached to the other probably 130 years ago. There is a staircase and a hot air furnace in both, the woodstove is at the extreme south end of the house on the first floor. A couple of years ago the furnace in the north building went out and we couldn't get anyone to fix it. One would think that blowing air from the heated south building into the north building would be the way to go but no. Putting a fan in the doorway from the north building blowing into the south building created a convection current. The heat from the woodstove went up the stairs in that building and into the second floor of the north building, then as it cooled, down into the north building. Worked surprisingly well all winter.

[@davidmorse8432]

@@JohnUpNorth Thanks John! You gave me some ideas. My living room stays cool so I am thinking of installing a vent near the baseboard so that I can channel some of that cool air into the room where my wood stove is.

[@larrycrain5650]

One fan low, one fan high.

[@LarryLarsen-p6t]

Love the wood stove life,the work engages the kids and grandkids both when they were young and still at the holidays they gather at the splitter without much pushing at all.

[@rhuston0151]

Don’t forget you can also cook in your wood stove. Keep up the good work Mike.

[@Commentleaver-c6x]

Our house has a 1984 model Appalachian stove fireplace insert. I like having it as a secondary source of heat but I’m very glad we also have a heat pump and radiant electric heat. I would not want to rely solely on wood for heat, it’s an extraordinary amount of work and mess. I would also add in most places I’ve been in that had a stove or fireplace, it did not heat the entire house well. The areas closest to the fire are warm, but rooms further away stay much cooler.

[@jasonbossaer2580]

Been cutting, splitting, stacking, carrying in wood for nearly 20 years. It gets in your blood. We have a 1983 Woodchuck add-on furnace that burns coal too; which I have done a little. Coal is hard to come by here in Indiana, but wood is plentiful. You’re right, there is nothing like the heat of wood. The feeling of self sufficiency, and security is great! If you don’t live that lifestyle, it’s hard to understand. Great video; and blessings to you all. Jason from Indiana.

[@Treeplanter73]

I installed a woodstove I made years ago in my shop. Heats it up to 65deg in 30 min. It's saved us during power outages. My oldest niece bought a condo with a woodstove, they love it. Such great infrared heat, saves them so much money.

[@JOANPENROD1]

I'm in the UP of Michigan. Heat all cold/winter season with wood. My wood stove is a Vermont Castings which heats the whole house. Me and my neighbors split a load of 8 foot logs. We split and stack all summer long. The cost of a face cord up here split and delivered is 130-ish. Way cheaper to get the logs, split and stack myself. It is a lot of work and I enjoy it. Mike you are right about the heat-it is wonderful. Two years ago I replaced the stove pipe leading to the chimney with a double walled pipe. This pipe telescopes and it makes it easier to clean out the pipes.

[@philipsoper4673]

Hi Mike, I am a 70 year old farmer from Suffolk, England. I love my two wood stoves and will never be without them. We do have oil fired heating in the house but it's more of a background heat. The kitchen and utility end of the house is large and draughty, the walls are not insulated. The large wood stove gets lit around late October and never goes out until April. It provides all the heat for that end of the house.We have another stove in our drawing room at the opposite end of the house which is lit most evenings. My home is an old timber framed farmhouse dating from around 1480, so well over five centuries. A lot of wood smoke has gone up those chimneys! You are so right about the wood stove and how it becomes part of your life. I have been cutting, splitting and stacking all may own wood since I left school 54 years ago. We have around 25 acres of broadleaf woodland on the farm plus all the hedgerow trees, so we are self sufficient in firewood. I think about it all the time. Every year I sort of plan where the next winter's supply will come from and throughout the winter and early spring will be out sawing down trees (harvesting them if you like) cutting the timber into 18 inch lengths, splitting and stacking into my log store which looks spookily like your new one. It is a whole lot of hard labour, which gets a little harder each year, but I recon to have a few more years left in me. I spread the work out. It is my choice to do and is a constant throughout my life. I love to see a fresh stack of firewood and to smell the air as it filters through the pile, carrying the scent of drying wood. I know that we are safe for the winter, no matter what. We use about 700 cubic feet of stacked wood each year, about five or six cords depending on the weather. My shed is clad around the sides in what we call Yorkshire Boarding, 6 inch vertical boards with an inch gap between them. It allows air to pass through but still protects from rain. We burn a mixture of hardwoods, mostly Oak, Ash, Cherry, Birch. Lime and Willow both burn but need lots of it. I don't care about the mess, the bits of bark, insects, dust and ash. The continuous tending of the stoves. It's all worth it for the best heat that anyone can have. The radiant heat can be felt right across the room as the naturally convected warmth gently circulates. As it burns it draws in fresh outside air. So much healthier than the stale air in a sealed up modern house. Well I think so anyhow. Just like you, I am always thinking of the "best" way to manage the whole process. Trying to be more efficient and avoid too much handling, looking after my back, not letting it all become a chore. It is a lifestyle choice which I love and get great satisfaction from.

[@lesgaal4017]

As you said Mike it's alot off work to heat your house with a wood heater , but nothing beats the heat it creates and the work to feed it is incredibly enjoyable.

[@charger7022]

Mike I’m with you! I absolutely love it. The pride and satisfaction of knowing I can keep my family warm does it for me. I tell everyone your crazy if you only have one way to heat your home. Even if you just have a natural gas furnace I tell everyone you should have at least one ventless gas stove as a backup. My last house I had a older wood furnace and I would burn 5-6 cords to keep my house warm all winter. In our new home we have a Vermont castings encore with the catalyst and my goodness is this thing efficient. We use it as the exclusive heat for our 1800 sq ft home, we are just north of you in Mercer pa and it’s been a cold winter and I’ve only burnt a little over 1 cord so far, it’s simply amazing.

[@gerry4407]

Mike I have been heating with wood since the oil crunch of 1973. I converted an American Standard Arcoliner J3 boiler to burn wood and added three sections to make a six section all cast iron boiler. This thing heats my whole house and all my domestic hot water except during the summer months. I use about five to six cords per year and you are so right, there no better feeling I get than to put up my entire year or two years worth of wood.

[@jerrymorgan9602]

All your comments about wood stove is exactly true. When we built our house back in early 80s, I had it built with a masonery flue and hearth for a wood stove. I used a Ashley stove alot like the one you are using. Great stove. I cut wood off our property and I did have a great sense of accomphishment. We used that wood stove for about fifteen years and the work it took to maintain my wood supply got old and we stopped using the stove. I replaced it with a vent free gas stove. We loved the wood burning stove and it does take the right person to use one. When you get older its a little harder to properly maintain that wood heat but I do miss it. Now we use mostly central gas pack. Enjoy your channel.

[@edhackett7961]

Good morning Mike. A wood stove is great in so many ways. I own a small home since 1989, 3 beds, 2 bath. I totally enjoy cutting, splitting, fire wood, it's almost a hobby. During the heating season I save $250-300 a month without using any other heat sources. Fortunately I am surrounded by privately owned large tracts of land. The owners told me anything on the ground is mine, hot dog. I have 3 small tractors and 4 trailers, and a few splitters. I'm in great shape forr being 75 and I get all year exercise. I use roughly 3-4 cords annually. I give firewood away, it makes me feel good. I have a small USSC stove. I glad you find extra things for videos. You haven't slowed much at all. You and family stay safe. Oh. Tell Levi his overnight stay in the wilderness was great, especially with his son. Bless everyone.

[@billborden9179]

Mike, you should also mention turning on your ceiling fan, blowing up. Using your ceiling fan in reverse helps eliminate hot spots, heat rises and using the ceiling keeps the heat down where you need it! Not on the ceiling. You will not feel a breeze. Been using Wood stoves since the 70's.

[@amandar7719]

One home we had, we put a larger than necessary stove in so we weren’t constrained by smaller cuts of wood. It was wider rather than deeper. Although larger, it was easier to dampen down so as not to over heat the room/entire cottage than to keep feeding. We also put in all purpose bricks to accommodate coal. One piece would keep the stove ticking over all night. Or a piece of yew. (On an open fire people in the old old old days always put a piece of yew on an open fire to last through the night. Slow burning and doesn’t spit.) One last thing, we mounted the stove on a slightly higher flagstone platform so the dogs could lay in front (lower than the glass door) where it was cooler without overheating. Hot air rising and all. Your stove looks great. They’re a lot of work compared to central heating but once, like you, one has a system in place, they’re so worth having.

[@terryherman-p2g]

Hello Mike: Liked your explanation on the wood stove use. My wife and I both grew up with wood stove heat because that is what was free in northern MN in the late 40's to 1960's on the farm. We I still have my dad's farm and love the wood heat feel when you are cold and stand over the register it is unreplacable. Is a little work to process the wood but does keep us healthy. We are retired in a gas heated house but spend lots of time at the 40 acre farm in Northern MN. We are 77 & 78 yrs old but I still run a LT 40 and do some logging to make about 10,000, 3' and 4' construction lath a year. Love your take on things and your videos. Terry & Diane in MN

[@daledonais]

Hello from Shippensburg! We love our outdoor boiler but wish our house had a smaller stove inside as well.

[@peterferguson5749]

Good video Mike, I cut and split all my wood by my self @60 years young LOL ! Been burning wood for 35 years. I have a indoor wood boiler that supplies two air handlers, one for up stairs and one down stairs, plus a radiated floor in my bar area. So I do have two wife's I have to tend to and show them love !

[@workingmanrondoyle3287]

Hey Mike another great video 👍🏻👍🏻 you missed one important topic, dealing with home insurance! Will an insurance company cover you with the clearances you have? And will they even cover you? And how much more they charge you for having the wood stove in your home? For me having a wood stove in my home, there are only three insurance companies that would cover me... The added annual cost between $300. and $600.00 more.

[@gregs9187]

I've been waiting to spot my license plate on the wall. I got to see it in this video. Very cool. It's the Washington Elk plate that says THWAK.

[@Azframer]

Our heat is 100% wood stove with at least 1- 5-gallon pot of water on it at all times. Without the water the back of our house gets cold. Our ranch is on the Navajo Reservation. We drive around 50 miles to cut the Juniper we use to heat our 1400 sq ft home. Juniper is a very dense wood like oak. With oak, you lose a little more ash out of your stove pipe. Juniper has a heavier ash that you have to deal with. Here in Arizona, we don't have a plentiful amount of oak close by. I would rather burn Juniper over the oak. I split some Juniper down and keep some larger logs for the overnight. The big logs leave coals to start the fire in the morning. We can burn coal in our stove but I don't like to. You have to get coal started with a wood fire. We can burn the Ponderosa pine here but it burns so fast, you don't have to deal with the volume of ash burning Ponderosa pine. It isn't as sappy as most pine tree species. Pinion trees are too sappy and will coat your flue pipe and you will have to clean your flue pipe throughout the burn season. Coal coats your flue pipe as well. Cedar burns like Juniper, nice a clean. We don't have to season our wood due to so many dead-standing trees here due to the bark beetle infestation.

[@ScottfromNB]

Love my wood heat, and every step involved, from cutting a tree to cleaning ash out of the stove. Here's a story for you. My Mom's family is from a coal mining area in Nova Scotia. A relative from there in the 1950's had a friend who had a bootleg coal mine in their basement. The coal face was 10 or 20 feet outside the basement wall, under the yard. They'd go in with a pick, mine a bucket full and carry it back into the basement. As far as I know, it never collapsed and they were never caught. I'd bet there are lots of examples of this in most coal mining areas.

[@Burghaus-qt5dx]

I’ve got a wood stove in my woodworking shop and really enjoy it. It creates a nice ambiance in my shop. It dries out my shop. It’s a good way to use up scrap and tree trimmings. I pick up a truck load of oak every year and it fills in the wood I cut on my property.

[@m9ovich785]

Thanks for the 'Sneak Peak" around the rooms. I spotted one Ham Radio Plate.... I've had an OWB since 07 and moved it to My new place in 2019. My 30x40 Building will have in-floor heat from the OWB and Blower type heaters to boost the temp when I want to work out there.

[@jamesbaker9383]

My wood heater has kept us warm many times when the power failed. Love it !

[@jeffreypatton3321]

I use a Harmon coal stroker Love it Just fill the hopper and enjoy the heat

[@markhenderson6198]

I absolutely love my woodstove at my cabin. I can sit and watch that stove all day and drink coffee. I am an outdoorsy type of guy. I love cutting firewood and splitting and stacking. Love everything about it.

[@MakayCapps4]

Good morning, Morgan Family! 🫵🏻👊🏻👍🏻

[@rheagriffiths3838]

We live in NE FL. Every house in the family has a wood stove. It makes my neighbors nuts I just open the doors a little in Fall and Spring when the weather is that just “cool enough to need heat.” Costs me zero dollars. Long ago they paid for themselves and the equipment with regular customers for keeping all that wood out of the waste stream. Pretty sure the power company hates me 5 months a year. They try to get it back in Summer but I’m working on that aspect too. I do have to sweep a couple times a day, and am also married to my stove, lol.

[@andystansbury8576]

I'm 73 up until this last year still cut and split (with an old Montgomery wards splitter) age and working caught up with me this year so had to have back surgery so had to buy wood this year but I have four big white oaks ready to be pulled up with my tractor just need to get healed up from this surgery. I have fourteen screws in my back but healing. We also have a regency wood stove I think ours is just an older model of yours got it in 1986 still works great heats whole house 2496 sq ft. Keep it enjoy your videos.

[@suttlercreeklife8548]

I’m sitting in green house now, by wood stove smoking a fine cigar, living the dream!

[@SteveNearman-jg5qe]

Having a good wood burning stove is like having a drug addiction. You sit in a comfortable chair absorbing the radiant heat viewing the captivating flames being lulled into a docile compliment deep sleep, dreaming of collecting, splitting and stacking all the “free” heat you processed with all your new man toys 😁👍

[@SteveNearman-jg5qe]

If you have one you have experienced this ❤

[@Davidmckenzie-u8k]

We have ceiling fans to move the hot air around, really makes a difference. Have had them the last 40 years, they really work.

[@renelescault1282]

Have a warm day !!!

[@charlesstroker6425]

I love my wood heat. I built a WoodAire system into my home 40 years ago. When I was young and broke and raising kids it was a good option for saving money. I've gotten a little lazy in my old age but still keep some wood on hand for emergency situations or if the temps drop and stay there. A couple years ago I replaced my old central heat system with a newer high efficiency unit and it really helps with gas cost. The best way for me to describe wood heat is that it feels like someone wraps a warm blanket around you when you come in out of the cold. My job kept me outside a lot so that was a nice reward.

[@gregg-d4l]

great to find a video about the burning side! not that I do not love the splitting and machinery. Great to see you grow with your passions. I spend more time with fans, cleaning wood scraps from the floor, filling the humidifiers and moving piles. Definitely a marriage, but keeps me busy all day :)

[@user-ret-cde-ret]

We use a wood stove as our primary heat source and would concur with the positive comments from you and your viewers. Cutting our own firewood is both physically and mentally rewarding for me. A negative that I have heard from folks in our community is that insurance rates for using a fireplace is excessive and has discouraged people from using wood to heat their homes.

[@Tdale85]

Good Tuesday morning Mike and Melissa! Finally warming up in SE PA (40s!) have a fantastic week!

[@davidmorse8432]

Hi Ted, #1 Today 👍

[@peteatthefarm4459]

Morning Ted... congrats on #1 🎉

[@ddelano7408]

In our first house, about 45 years ago, we used a Tempwood stove for heat. My father-in-law had a big rack body truck with plywood on the sides that he used to blow silage into when cutting the corn fields on his farm, This was about one month out of the year. The rest of the time the truck was parked at a pallet company and they would fill it up with cutoffs of oak that was used to make the pallets. They would call us to let us know when it was full and we would dump the contents at our house. You can't beat free oak for burning! When the pallet company closed we switched to coal. The heat from both sources of fuel are great but coal is a lot dustier and the dust goes everywhere! When we built our new house, the coal stove was installed in the cellar. We used it for a couple of seasons until I got tired of the mess so swapped it for a propane stove that I set and forget. We have a bow roof cape with a Rumford style fireplace so we still use wood, just not for heat. Have a Day, from MA!

[@mikerobbins5049]

We built our house in 1985. I put a wood stove in the basement. Not as a primary heat source, but as a supplement to our electric furnace. We were both school teachers and couldn’t really expect to rely on wood heat only. We soon found out that the wife was allergic to wood smoke. I grew up with wood heat and would have loved to keep the stove.

[@jeromebecigneul2911]

wish I had one. Had a Heatalator Fireplace at one time. Their largest one. Outside air combustion, glass doors, 4 heat duct outlets with a fan in each one. Heated 2/3rds of the house. Absolutely loved it. Priced it recently and with the fireplace and triple wall pipe which I paid $1,100 back in 1980 is now a little over $11,000. And that did not include installation. I installed the original but at 80 there's no way I can afford that anymore.

[@44jonest]

Sir, is the radiant floor heating system you installed in HQ functional?

[@keithmarks7428]

Good question.

[@sofakinggood5829]

Jotul wood stove insert here. I have an unlimited supply of wood in the forest right here. If I run 100% electric boiler baseboard radiant heat it is over $400 / MONTH. I try to stack 3 cords but have burned more. It has paid for itself. It is also a serious workout. Kindy messy but I love to watch the flames through the glass window.

[@bradw3313]

I don’t have trees to harvest and need to keep ones I have. I’m on propane and have an old farmhouse without insulation. It isn’t cold here like there but does get cold. I went with wood pellet stove (stove is more expensive but install isn’t near as involved). Does take electricity to power fans and auger but it provides same type of heat. I broke even first year on cost as I was going thru a 500 gallon propane tank every 4 to 5 weeks running central heat. Still have to load up with pellets and pack the 40 lb bags, but it will run 8 to 12 hours per filling. Does have thermostat and nowhere near the mess. It’s an option that eliminates some of the cons but adds some others. I burn around 1 ton of pellets (made from sawdust) a year at cost of 300 dollars. Saves me around $ 3,500 a year in propane and keeps house warmer.

[@dennislecloux2086]

HI MIKE ; I HAVE BEEN BURNING WOOD FOR OVER 50 YEARS . I AM ON MY THIRD WOOD STOVE ! I LIVE IN AN OLD FARMHOUSE THAT USED TO TAKE AROUND 1150 GALLONS OF HEATING OIL PER HEATING SEASON. I HAVE NARROWED THAT DOWN TO 150 GALLONS PER HEATING SEASON ! SO I AM SAVING ABOUT 1,000 GALLONS OF HEATING OIL ISH PER HEATING SEASON , TIMES THAT BY FIFTY YEARS , I HAVE SAVED 50,000 GALLONS OF HEATING OIL , TIMES PERT NEAR $4.00 A GALLON , THAT MY FRIEND IS SOME SAVINGS AND I ENJOY PROCESSING THE WOOD !

[@jrygh8380]

We retired and bought 80 acres in south central Missouri. All trees. I bought the Regency F5200 on your recommendation. Heats the 2800 square feet without a problem. If I ran the furnace fan I could heat the 2800 square foot basement as well. Yes, it’s work, but worth it. Best heat ever. Endless wood supply. Mostly white oak, red oak and hickory. Laid Missouri oak floors throughout. Easy to sweep up the mess. But yes, it does make a mess. Will build a woodshed/equipment shed this summer. Cut and split about seven cords last summer, used about 3 so far. Definitely warmer here compared to PA, but we have experienced some low teens. I was familiar with Regency because I had their insert in my last home in northern Illinois, but want to thank you again for your recommendation. Couldn’t be happier. I do it all with a 50 hp Kioti tractor, bucket and grapple. Combined with a box store splitter and determination.

[@WRB3400]

Love the Lopi stove, I have only had this model for this season and it’s unbelievable, the efficiency is remarkable. I agree, dialing it in is a project, so I’m not there yet. I’m lucky, i have a life time of wood with over 100 acres I’m thankful for, but it is a part time job, and I’m 65 and OK with the work right now. Gas bill $45 per month, all cooking lol.

[@wildbill23c]

A couple downsides to a wood stove or a fireplace for that matter are the required Chimney cleaning, cleaning out the ashes, on a wood stove having to replace the door gaskets occasionally, having to replace the fire bricks occasionally (goes for fireplaces too)....some locations won't insure you if you have a fireplace or wood stove, and some places require annual inspections of the wood stove/fire place and chimney. Nothing beats the warmth from a wood fire either from a wood stove or a fireplace. I have a wood stove, I love it, yes there's work involved, But its worth it for the heat you get VS a furnace running all the time that never gets you warm. I have propane as natural gas isn't available in my area, propane is $2.559 a gallon right now, probably just went up again since the price of gas just went up 10 cents. I could run the furnace all day long, but its just not the same heat as you get from a wood stove or fireplace.

[@jamesanderson2381]

We have a giant woodstove in the basement that will take a 30" log. I store my firewood in IBC totes and load them into the basement in the totes. You don't get the cozy feel of watching the fire, but you keep the mess out of the house and don't have to carry logs in and out.

[@terrycarlson1587]

Our old stove, we used to cook on it. Not so much on my Regency stove. But we love the wood stove. No better heat.

[@robertelmer7144]

I have noticed that watching the flames on your wood stove, and our wood burning insert, is soothing to the soul. Thanks for another high quality video.

[@dallasdaniels8978]

Hi Mike, we have a wood boiler and we have had since 07. I'm 81 years old and I cut all the wood. I enjoy going to the woods. I don't have all the equipment that you have but I have enough. It keeps me young. I enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work. Dallas Daniels from Michigan.

[@bigald6052]

Great video. Have an old Timberline stove. Not very efficient but heats the house nicely. I to enjoy the cutting and splitting and overall process.

[@mr.lynnrosaasen8218]

It's the radiant heat we like!

[@TreeBuds]

I grew up with wood heat. Now heat my house with wood. Definitely a lot of work but worth it. I own a tree business so not only do I not pay for logs, but actually get paid for them. 30+ years of wood stove knowledge and still learning it as well. One tip, if it is going to be mild (damp and warm) and windy best not to have the stove going, you will be fighting the flew and end up with smoke in the house or worse. Some days I don't fell so into the continuous schedule of it, then it gets warm for a day or two and I miss it. No better feeling than it being single digits outside and coming into 72+ degree house that smells like cinnamon for free. also should mention the comforting /fulfilling feeling of having a bunch of perfectly stacked dry red oak at the ready for long-term events. Love all you hard workers, Go America

[@johnsonr9]

Great advice. Love our stove and it's a great investment.

[@danmeserve4566]

Mike, I would have to say that it's mentally relaxing cutting and splitting firewood.

[@steveashworth6707]

I'm a 4th generation that heats with wood and I enjoy cutting and spitting, making sure I have enough which is rewarding and a sense of security for heat!. My parents were kids but my grand parents and great grand parents told me if it wasn't for their wood and coal stoves they wouldn't have survived the great depression.

[@flashgordon3017]

we like our wood stove and we are in our 70's

[@GrantRowell-u9q]

My wife loves the heat but she hates the mess. I manage the mess but you can never keep it at bay and she hates it. She would never have survived the early days when that was the only way it was. So these days my wood working shop is where I keep my stove and you are right , there is nothing to compare with a the warmth a wood stove produces. Loving it at age 80.

[@larrycrain5650]

Too picky, trade her in.

[@Catfish5577]

The only problem I have with our wood stove is, when it's cold outside and the stove is hot, it puts me to sleep. Even in the summer, there is something about sitting in front of the stove with your feet up. I'm 65 and we love the wood stove.

[@lisagrafton2529]

Do you fall asleep in the summer too! LOL

[@larrycrain5650]

Smoke a little less.

[@markhenderson6198]

Lol, I am the same way!

[@stanpeacock1794]

Great stove info! Do you also heat your home and if so what model? Currently only heating our Garage/Mancave with wood.

[@JimMiller-y9n]

Nothing wrong with a nap in front of the wood fire, I do it all the time, winter & summer. 😅

[@terryquaintance3634]

I have a Hearthstone soapstone stove. I burn it different than you do, it is a supplement heat that I only use when it is below freezing. I don't fill the stove with woo because it will cook you out of the house. the stove is air tight so I have to leave the ash door open to get a fire started but I can close it down at night and have a good bed of coals in the morning. I have 2 small grandchildren during the day but they learned quickly to keep a distance from the stove. I believe it's better to teach them this lesson than to shield them from every hazard.

[@marclauzon1882]

We also have a Hearthstone - same as you only burn when we’ll below freezing. Love it! We had a pretty nasty ice storm in southern Illinois with 6 degree overnight temps ! Never lost power but kept 72 . Like Mike was saying-security and self reliance are comforting 👍👌🇺🇸💪

[@kirkvanswearingen8848]

Mike, your content is far above anyone else's explanation. This hard work to produce these videos and still able to captivate your audience. Keep them coming, you are a plethora of information.

[@harrykeel8557]

Even though we don't have a wood stove, wish I did though, when I was growing up, they make a great place to cook on. In 1975 when Hurricane Eloise came through, we were out if power of a week or so, can't really remember how long. But Mom cooked breakfast and supper on ours. Best tasting breakfast ever! And I can remember a couple of other times also. True they require attention, and I don't miss splitting wood. But I sure didn't complain about the heat when I got cold.

[@pjhunter111]

We love our wood stove. Burn mostly slab wood and a little wood from a local pallet manufacturer company. I enjoy all that is involved with the process. Always keep things very clean. Very much appreciated your video.

[@KenAmmon]

From North Idaho, we have a woodstove in our 520 square foot "cabin" (game room, man cave, HQ), 80 feet on the other side of our back yard. We put a wall fan to push the heat from the main part of the cabin into the cabin utility room which is only accessible from an outside door. It is very cozy in there after it gets warm. Love the feel of wood heat! We have plenty of firewood on our property so cost of wood is not a concern for us.

[@terrylandis6831]

If you buy your firewood, you are supporting a small local business. Another Pro!!

[@JT-1969]

Hi Mike, we install a wood burning insert in our fireplace several years ago, we absolutely love it. We live in central Indiana and use it to heat our 1700 square foot house during the winter. You’re absolutely right, there is no comparison to the heat, it’s consistent heat, unlike our gas furnace where it cycles on and off. I buy our wood, cost to heat our house per month, around $60, much cheaper than our gas furnace which is a high efficient system. They are work, and messy, but worth the effort on those cold winter nights!

[@midnightrider3318]

I retired last summer. I bought our remote home in northwestern Illinois. I have a medium Lodi Endeavor in the basement family room and a fireplace upstairs. We have 5 acres wooded so wood is free. The fireplace burns 2X the logs compared to the wood stove. I experimented in January using the wood stove. I left the furnace set as is (67 day and 63 night). My neighbor uses similar propane consumption and does not burn wood. Here are the results. I burned three weeks in January 24/7. My neighbor used 238 gallons of propane and we burned 199 that’s 39 gallons X $2.00/gallon or $78 plus taxes (Illinois) that’s $85. If burned all average month about $105. I could have reduced the furnace temperature but have a marriage to consider. One question, how much do you pay for a chimney sweep and how often? I burn all hardwood (Ash, Oak, Black locust, Basswood). Chimney sweep in a house is pretty considerable to factor in. I’m 70 and have no business on a 12/12 roof.

[@lawrencetirrell8414]

Hi Mike. As a retired dry firewood logger of 37yrs. I enjoy the " whole process." I ❤ walking in the woods & listening the birds. It will be my 7th year in June/ 2025 since my retirement. I missed wood heat a lot. Electric heat isn't the " same." Some day. I'll have a home & wood heat is my priority. Even a cellar wood stove. To keep the water " warm." I agree. A lot of money building it. I believe. It will pay for it's self. My property has to be "woodland lot." That wood lot will supply you more than a lifetime. I was more " fit" as a logger than now. Thanks Mike. Say Hi to Melissa, Melissa's dad, Eva, Hunter, Levi, Kate, Tyler, & Hannah. Have a good Wednesday the 29th. 🥰😊😉🥶👍❤️💜⚘️⚘️⚘️⚘️🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🌫🌨🌬

[@suttlercreeklife8548]

I have a .kuma wood stove that heats a 2600 sq ft house, does great! I’m 61 and get ,my own wood, it’s my therapy! We burn about 5 cord a year. A lot of that 5 cord is used in green house, small old wood stove, “the stove that Jake build” really nice stove but not modern at all. I’ve found the best way to process wood is with the tractor, grab with grapple and lift it to waist high, saves the back? Have champion wood splitter that is perfect for me. I prefer to do the entire process alone, it’s my therapy as mentioned above!

[@blesco11]

As young first time home buyers, when we told our real estate agent we wanted a house with a wood stove she was shocked, thats not something people our age typically think of she said but here in new england the price of oil and electric rates are out of control

[@tombo552001]

I have a Hampton HI300 insert and it is great, I heat a 1,700 sqft house , it can get to 80 degrees in the living room if I don't watch it and back in the bedrooms 73ish. We just had wind storms and lots of trees went down so I am good for next year and might sell some wood. I do clean my own chimney every year. I don't have to worry if the power goes out I can burn my wood. There is nothing like grabbing my saw and cutting wood, I am in the city. My house came with a fireplace and after 25 years of burning it I talked the wife into the insert. I have the lowest gas bill in the neighborhood.

[@beckyheinzeroth5057]

We have a Buck Stove insert in our fireplace in our TV room. Pro-great heat although it doesn't travel throughout the entire house. No heat like wood. It gets into my achie bones. Con- lots of work for all the reasons you said and additionally since it is in a carpeted room it requires lots of vacuuming and a carpet scrub in the spring. However....I would not give up my stove. Love the show.

[@larrycutting4514]

Many years ago in the night mountains of Colorado, we heated 100% with wood. Minus 40 degrees was common during the winters. We mostly burned Aspen which has a low BTU value but was free for the gathering in the local forest as long as they were dead, thus aged too! We'd burn up to 5 cords a year. So with our pickup and a chainsaw, we gathered until the wood storage was full each year. 😀

[@russellbowman8051]

Mike I always Loved Coming home after a long cold winter day outside and just stand or sit in front of the fireplace or wood stove seamed like for hours just soaking up the heat. Nothing feels more satisfying than that after being outside all day in the winter cold!! Keep Smiling On!! 😃👍👊❤️

[@AlaskanGoldMiner]

Firewood heats you 3 times: When you cut it, when you split it and when you burn it. We have a woodstove in every building on our Alaskan homestead.

[@Commentleaver-c6x]

Don’t forget carrying and stacking it.

[@keithbeynon3878]

I have a wood stove attached to my furnaces ductwork. When I am home the wood stove heats the house and other times the gas furnace does the job but it has cut my gas bills plus like all your other followers I love cutting, splitting and stacking firewood.

[@MikeMurphy-on8ki]

Hey Mike, in my Philly home, I had a Vermont Casting Resolute Acclaim in Red porcelain, and it was a beautiful stove. It heated my family room well into the high 80s while it was in the low 20s outside. I had a teacher once who said, "A man is heated twice with wood - once when he cut and again when he burnt." I miss my stove not only for the looks but the heat!!! 😢😊

[@thomashawley7176]

I love a wood stove. It is the best heat. I have a Consolidated Dutchwest woodstove. It is 35 years old. It has a catalytic combustor. I don't like having to pay for a new combustor when the old one stops working. I will likely upgrade to a woodstove that does not use a catalyst. I do purchase kiln dried firewood, and this cuts way down on the creosote. Love your videos Mikw, keep them coming.

[@DonDegidio]

Hi Mike, We still have a wood fireplace, but hasn't been used in about 35 years since the auto accident that wrecked my back. I was the one that brought in the wood, feed the fireplace, and then cleaned up the ashes. Another pro is the crackling sound of a wood fire. I would call it calming. What do you think about wood pellet stoves? The Blue Ru will eventually need a new windshield to pass inspection. You can't have any crack within the front view of the driver. Everyone there stay safe.

[@judithclever1103]

How about the in floor heating you have in HQ, do you use it?

[@KevinPritchett-t2j]

Hey Mike awesome video, some times the fans on the wood stoves cool the stove also just keep an eye on the outside for discoloration keep on doing what you're doing god bless

[@pikelander7785]

Our last house had a wood stove downstairs, and a coal grate in the floor to the second floor bedrooms. The radiant heat was amazing, I miss it! There is nothing like sitting around the fire as a family talking or playing games.

[@kennethblack3485]

im in southern england and we live in a stone cttage built 1780 its the coldest place in winter and coolest in summer weve had a small wood stove for ten years i have 5 small wood stores and when it gets to the warmer months we so miss our woodstove its the best heat around we also have gas heating as our little stove dosnt heat the whole house but does during the day in winter so we dont have any other heating on the wood aspect is hard work im 74 now but its also my hobby keeps me going but we love our little wood stove to bits love the films mike keep going love to melissa and hunter ive said this before we have an autistic grandson and also all your children they really are a nice genuine lot good luck ken from kent england

[@1timby]

Mike, I've had fireplaces in all but one of my homes as well as a wood stove. We used a wood stove in the basement of my Home in WV on the backside of Cheat Lake. The bottom of the hill was a sawmill and we used to get the slabs to burn, The property where my home was located was part of a reclaimed strip mine. So, I would go out at times and get some free coal. The wood stove worked well in my house. So well the electric company sent out a guy to check our electric meter as they couldn't believe how little electricity we were using. Of course, it was a wood stove and you couldn't see the fire. Yet it heated the basement of my home as well as the heat rose up the stairs to help heat the upstairs. We had electric baseboard heat which was expensive to use. My current home just has a fireplace and we put gas logs in as they are far less messy and there aren't nearly as many days that we need to use it. However, a few years back it kept us from freezing to death from a huge winter storm that caused a ton of damage in TX. We were able to run our gas logs in the fireplace to keep my living room at 60 degrees. We hung up a Cover to keep the heat in the living rooms and slept on our couch for the 3 days we didn't have power.

[@keithburch5506]

Mike, I keep forgetting to ask you if you ever plan to use the heated water pipe under the floor? Back in the early 80s I heated our house with a wood stove. It was an old house, 5 bedrooms. The 3 bedrooms upstairs stayed toasty warm, my daughter's room, beside the living room where the stove was stayed plenty warm, she kept her door partially closed. Each room had a coal fireplace, of course we didn't use. Our bedroom, at the back of the house stayed pretty cool, because the heat went upstairs. My brother would find the trees and cut them into rounds as I loaded them into our pickups. We took them to my house and unloaded them, and I split them. I used the wood stove for three years, then we moved into a much smaller house because by that time, I had bought a wire tap and tapped our phone, caught my wife cheating and kicked her out. I kept the three kids, ages 9, 13, and 17. The living room stayed hot. The bedroom beside the living room stayed hot, had to keep the door almost closed. The dinning room was always just right and the kitchen was warm to me but my wife thought it was too cool. Our bedroom was always cool. The bedrooms upstairs was always perfect. I left the stove in the house when we moved because I no longer needed it.Oh, and I worked 12 hour shifts at Corning Cable Systems, so attending the stove no longer worked out. Today, I live alone in a mobile home, total electric. The bills in the winter in the 80s to 100s. Summer, 70s to 80s a month. Not bad. I have a kerosun for backup. I've not used it but twice since 1997. The home is a two bedroom. My bedroom is big with a jikuisi. The other bedroom is a shop where I have shelves, and a bench where I reload my ammo. I'm 70 this July. This mobile home is all I need to see me to my last day.

[@DKanon]

This is what I really like about your videos. I'm always learning something new. A few thoughts: • I live in Texas, and our climate is somewhat different than yours and others further north of me. I'm always shocked to hear the temperatures that you and others in the north mater of factly work in during your longer winter season. That is to say, our coldest few days a year might enter into the cost equation. I don't know how your fixed cost outlays compare to a natural gas furnace. However, those few days when it gets down to what you call a mild day and the natural gas supply here is low and the electricity is off have made me very interested in this topic. • I'm not sure what the cost of firewood is here, but I suspect it's much higher than your area where there is an abundance of trees. • I am curious about the heat distribution in HQ ... I mean the difference in temperatures between the family room and other end of the building. How effective are those two fans at moving heat to the other end of the building? One last question. I think I remember you put Pex radiant heating in the floor, etc. in HQ. Have you given up on your plans for using it?

[@thebradleysoncatbirdhill6849]

All great points, Mike! I am amazed at how the woodstove technology has changed in a relatively short period of time!

[@billelam5610]

Wood stove in the shop.... open burning fireplace in the house. The woodstove in the shop is a cheap one but works for me. The fireplace provides wonderful ambiance but consumes wood like a wildfire. Our winters here on the coast of Oregon seem to be getting colder, so that has increased our use of both. I have a small woodlot that i manage and have been thinning for growth, fuel reduction and clearing diseased trees. I'm fortunate to have these sources of wood and others to keep things burning. I have enough wood cut and racked to dry for the 25/26 season and am working on wood for 26/27. It's important to stay ahead of the curve. FYi... we burn Douglas fir, red alder, bigleaf maple, western hemlock, port orford white cedar, myrtlewood, bitter cherry, madrone, shorepine (aka. lodgepole) and some other miscellaneous.

[@Pat2317]

When it’s really cold (0 or below), be prepared to wake up in the middle of the night and throw a few logs on the coals to make it until morning so the fire doesn’t burn down too much. If it burns down by 2 or 3 AM to coals, the stove won’t have enough heat output to keep the temp up in the house. Now granted I’m talking the house cools down to the mid to low 60s. I know some people keep their house that temp all winter, but we like to keep our house in the 70s, so if you let it burn down you’ll be playing catch up. If you go to work at 6AM like I do, then you will not be able to get the house back up to temp before you leave for work. If you have to have several hours i.e. 10-11 hours between loads then your house will cool down a bunch. So like you said Mike, you are married to the wood stove. Just like a marriage, you must put in the work needed to make the marriage be successful. Love your videos Mike! Take care!

[@ohiofarmer254]

We have a hearthstone Mansfield stove. It is entirely built out of soap stone. We heat our entire house 2400 square feet with it. It keeps the house in the mid 70s . We fill our propane tank 500 gallons once a year. The stove water heater and dryer are the major consumption of the propane. I get would for free all the time and just have to cut split and stack it. We cook on it most of the winter.

[@stephennixon9107]

You forgot to mention insurance cost. Many insurance companies will deny coverage on an outbuilding with a wood stove. A year ago I started to acquire materials to install one in my 40 X60 pole building. I mentioned my plans to a friend who said his insurance company wouldn’t insure his out building because he had a wood stove. With that in mind I checked with my agent and sure enough every line he represented would deny coverage. The rationale is that more than likely the fire would be left burning when the building was unattended causing a greater risk. I sure the underwriting rules vary depending on location, we are rural with a volunteer fire department.

[@MrDeanH]

Hey Mike, you forgot to add the pro of smelling woodsmoke on a cold crisp winter night!