Is a woodstove worth it?

Rig the handles with a hidden capacitor. They'll think Zeuss himself had struck them.

My problem with wood heat is that it is nearly impossible to regulate the temperature. It is either super hot or too cold. Plus I guarantee insurance rates will increase if you tell your agent you have a wood heater. It does not matter how many days a year you plan on using it. Just the fact that it is there will warrant a higher premium. I had a class A chimney in my house for a wood heater. When I redid my roof, I eliminate the part that stood over the roof. That way there is no possibility of it being used for a wood heater.
If you enjoy handling the wood 10 times before it ever reaches the heater, good for you. I have reached the age where I would just rather adjust my thermostat if I want it warmer in my house.
Several items have been stolen from my farm. The real crappy thing is that I believe the culprit to be a person who used to do jobs for me and hunt on my land. So if a thief really wants something and comes prepared with the correct tools to steal that object, there is nothing you can do about it.

I was planning on going with a wood stove for heat when I built my cabin in Wisconsin. Then I talked to my insurance agent and got quotes for wood heat versus LP furnace and I went with a standard forced air furnace with a LP tank. That was several years ago and I can't remember the exact quote difference, but it was significant enough that I could basically heat my cabin with LP for free solely based on the insurance premium difference. I'll agree that there is nothing better than a wood fire, but it sure is convenient to just turn the thermostat and have instant heat.

I talked with my insurance agent before we built our place:

No increase in premiums with an indoor wood burner.

Significant increase with an outdoor boiler type wood stove.

And would dropping us if I put a woodburner in the shop.

MA VT Flatlander ( question at post # 17 ) - I go thru about 2 1/2 to 3 full cords per year. In recent years, I've gotten much of my wood for free from gas pipelines being cleared and logging timber. Oak, maple, hickory, and some hop hornbeam. For the price of saw gas and my time in the woods - I'll take that !! I've got another 3 years worth of wood cut and stacked under cover at camp for my home use. We still use our gas furnace, but only when it's in the 40's. Colder than that, I put a fire in the woodstove insert. Very low gas bills - mainly for hot water and to cook with.

If the most valuable thing in his cabin that is worth stealing is a wood burning stove, why worry about insurance?

sandbur said:

Insurance was nearly unaffordable when I had a cabin and was looking at a wood stove


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I looked at it for my shop. No go unless it was external insurance man said.

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Catscratch said:

I talked with my insurance agent before we built our place:

No increase in premiums with an indoor wood burner.

Significant increase with an outdoor boiler type wood stove.

And would dropping us if I put a woodburner in the shop.

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Why would an outdoor boiler be higher then an indoor wood burner? I would think the chance of the outdoor burner starting a fire is quite slim compared to an indoor burner?

4wanderingeyes said:

Why would an outdoor boiler be higher then an indoor wood burner? I would think the chance of the outdoor burner starting a fire is quite slim compared to an indoor burner?

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I asked the same thing. He said they have very few claims from indoor woodburners, but had lots of claims from outdoor burners. Said that outdoor burners tend to be in a lot of wind and not exactly mowed around really well. Fire starts at the burner and burns to the house. Also tends to be rural with slow response times from fire-departments so claims from them tend to be high.

State Farm told me the same thing about outdoor boilers


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