Do any of you have a real fire or wood-burning stove?

Question

Extole the virtues of such a thing in the cold weather....... :-D

I love mine :-D

Answer 1

Yeah, it's awesome, its so warm, and I just love the smell of the wood.

Answer 2

I have one.
It can be hard work sometimes lighting it, but once lit, there's nothing better.
The warmth is more than heating the room, it has such a warm glow that it warms you emotionally aswell. (I don't remember seeing anyone get angry in front of an open fire, or a camp fire ... but then that might be for other reasons I was not aware of - such as the fear someone might lose their temper and use the poker or a burning stick as a weapon! Whatever, still has the desired effect of peace and harmony.)
It is romantic, it is soothing, and you can stare into it for hours, mesmerised by the ever-changing flames, the snaps and crackles of wood popping, and even the dying embers are addicitve to look at.
Saves on energy bills and the potash is great fertiliser for the garden.
And the charcoal nice for sketching!

Answer 3

I have a fire-place insert in my living room. (It is a wood burning stove set back into the place where a "just for looks" fireplace would be.) It has a blower that can be set at various levels to start blowing the heat into the room when the stove gets hot. I keep the thermostat set low on the central heat and use the wood stove quite a bit in the winter to save on electricity. I'm not sure how I'm doing in the cost of wood versus cost of electricity department, but it sure is cozy!

Answer 4

When the power goes out during a snow storm, we still have a heat source and can cook on it if needed. The heat from a wood stove is so much warmer then a furnace. We have 10 cords of wood just waiting to get burned!

Answer 5

I have no option, I live in a village with no gas mains, so my burner runs the radiators, and heats my water, I live near a big wood, so I collect my own logs,as long as they are on the ground, we can take them free. I do use smokeless coal during really cold spells, as logs do not throw out as much heat, but for heat throughout my home, it costs me less than a tenner a week, nothing, if it's a mild winter, the only drawback is the mess, and relighting it when it goes out, about every 3 days.

Answer 6

Last Winter's gas bill £80. Reason? Wood burning Stove set into original stone fireplace. Central Heating required only occasionally. Enough said!

Answer 7

Yes they are romantic, yes they smell great. yes the crackling is soothing, yes they can provide heat when the power goes out (all you need is a match) Yes they drive out moisture, yes they hark en back to older simpler days, This is not with out cost however, How is your back??, Do you have a place to store large quantities of wood?? Do you like termites and bugs?? As primary heat do you like waking up at night to add wood? Do you like coming home to a cold house and having to start a new fire??Do you know how expensive a good airtight stove is? Do you know how expensive it is to install a stove to (code)? Do you like getting on your hands and knees to empty the piles of ash?? Do you like all that ash dust in your clean home?? You don't ask a simple question!!! And yes I have a freestanding wood burner as back up heat!

Answer 8

Yes! It's really nice to have here in western Washington. It gets very damp here just outside Seattle, and a fireplace really chases the cold and damp away nicely, without overheating the rest of the place.

Answer 9

I have had them in 3 homes. The ambiance is worth it. I never intended any of them to be a main souce of heating but they sure helped when power went out and I had electric heat. Even without the blower unit.

Answer 10

We live in old cottage that has a big open fireplace that is perfect for log fires and toasting marshmallows in the winter.

The only problem is that, once the cats have plonked themselves right in front of it, we can't get anywhere near !

Answer 11

wood burning stove does cut down on the heating bill and the smell is wonderful...