home heating

[pike slayer]

Most of you know i bought a home in April and my insurance company sent some type of home inspector to my place. about a week ago i got a letter in the mail saying that i have 75 days to get my wood stove approved and stamped. They want me to redo the tile around my wood stoves cause the distance around it is not enough and they want me to replace my pipes because i have a 90degree joint out my wall then another 90joint and up. they want me to just straight pipe it straight out my roof. and well thats $200 said done to retile it and around $700 for new pipes and just a pain in the butt redoing it all and well wood isnt cheap these days and its alot to take care of and its messy so i've decided to just remove my wood stove all together. I'm not big on wood stoves and i cant tell one from the next. i'd like to just sell it cause i no longer have a use for it. its stamped on the back that it was built in 2003 and it says its a "hertiage" on the front. it has a front black door and doesnt look like it was used much at all. i can look to see if i can get more info and pics if any are actually interested.

Now that im removing my woodstove im going to have to find another source of heat. There is baseboard heaters throughout the house but they are old and will need to be replaced. baseboard heaters arent easy on power and they arent that nice. i've been looking into the convection heaters and theres a few different kinds out there and a wide price range. the best ones i've been told about are the convect air ones here http://www.convectair.ca/caen/produit/apero.html#fiche but they are pricey from $250-370 depending on size.

home depot carries a different company http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?D=901523&Ntt=901523&catalogId=10051&langId=-15&storeId=10051&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntx=mode+matchall&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber

they are a bit cheaper then the convect air and i dont know much about them

they also carry this different kind that go into the wall http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?D=901509&Ntt=901509&catalogId=10051&langId=-15&storeId=10051&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntx=mode+matchall&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber

 

and finally canadian tire carries a different company and they are ALOT cheaper and im a bit leary best of how much cheaper they are compared to othershttp://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443299842&bmUID=1280796603597

 

what do you guys think i should go with? im kinda working with a budget but i also dont want to be cold this winter so if its worth the extra well then im gonna have to pay it.

anybody have any experience with these convection heaters and does anyone have any other ideas or options for me for heating my home.

[mercman]

i'm no expert but i'll tell ya what i did.

i got rid of my old wood stove,replaced it with a freestanding gas fireplace on a thermostat. i also took out all of the old style baseboard heaters and replaced them with newer more energy efficient ones and saved about 700 the first winter in electricity.

convection heaters are ok for a batroom or entrance but from what i got from researching it on the web, they dont work well in larger rooms or open spaces, and the fans that most of them have tend to gater dust and become noisy.

[pike slayer]

im back in the bush and i cant put in any type of gas heating unless i get some sort of tank. so far all i've found is good reviews on convections heaters. My home is small and only 1000sqft with no basement.

[solopaddler]

Kid it's a no brainer especially considering where you live.

 

Bite the bullet and do the changes required by your insurance company.

 

Wood heat is the only way to go.

[crappieperchhunter]

A friend of a friend....yeah I know that sounds fishy....has family in Newfoundland and claims many in there neck of the woods swear by these things. My little cottage....640 square feet...is all base board and cost more to heat each winter then my 1750 square foot home here in the city, so I am curious myself to see if these heaters are worth a look.

 

 

https://www.comfortfurnace.ca/home.htm

 

Good luck with whatever you discover that will work for you. I will be keeping a close eye on this thread for my own interest. Thx for posting it.

[Guest ThisPlaceSucks]

My family farmhouse is on a woodstove and I wouldn't trade it for anything. In February you'll appreciate it.

[fish_fishburn]

You live in the bush, hence lot's of wood. You will freeze your nuts off using convection heaters. And what if you run into a situation where you loose your power for a day or two? No wood stove and your house freezes up and your plumbing bursts. Sure would be nice to have a wood stove. Suck it up and get er fixed. Better to be safe then sorry. Your girlfriend will think your so smart by keeping the stove for her, cause we all know how the woman love to keep warm.

[livinisfishin]

That seems pretty odd about the 2 90's being a problem...is it one 90 degree inside and then one 90 degree going up outside? What kind of inspection was it, a wett inspection? All wood stoves need to be wett certified in order to get insurance. I do a lot of installs of woodstoves and there is some common clearances that have to be followed. These clearances and rules are put in place by wett. I know that manufacturer instructions for installation that come with a manual for your stove take precedence over code requirements because they are usually stricter. I've never dealt with insurance companies before but from customers of my company with older stoves that are trying to get insurance usually call us because they need to get it wett inspected and then upgraded to meet the necessary requirements. it just seems weird to me that there is such concern with the 90's. I might be wrong but I was under the impression that 2 90's is the maximum or 4 45's in order to offset around obstacles. I have been off work for a a little bit now so don't quote me on this stuff maybe I could use a refresher!

[livinisfishin]

What was the 700 dollar quote covering, install and materials? By any chance was this inspector also the one giving you the quote meaning him or his men would install?

Edited August 3, 2010 by livinisfishin

[lew]

 

They want me to redo the tile around my wood stoves cause the distance around it is not enough and they want me to replace my pipes because i have a 90degree joint out my wall then another 90joint and up.

 

 

Don't know why the insurance company wants the angles of your pipes changed to go straight up but perhaps there's some kind of safety issue with your current set-up. Just give them a call for an explanation.

 

Running pipes out thru the wall with a 90 and then another 90 going up outside with a stainless chimney is a common & perfectly acceptible & safe practice.

 

I just had a stove installed downstairs in the family room in May and that's the way mine was done. The only other option was to go thru the family room ceiling into the living room above, then up the wall in the living room next to a fireplace then out thru that ceiling and then thru the attic and then thru the roof. I'd then have to box the whole thing in which I didn't want to do.

 

It'd be interesting to hear why your insurance people want you to run the stove pipes straight up.

 

Here's a look at my install, is this similar to what you have ?? The cement pad under the stove is to protect the carpet.

 

[bigugli]

Don't be getting rid of that stove if you live in a rural area. Power goes out, you freeze. The more remote you are, the longer you wait for power to be restored in large blackouts. I've had my neighbours bunk in with us for a few days because the power was out.

[Billy Bob]

I also recommend keeping the wood burner.....you never know when a storm hits and the power goes out...don't depend on the electric company to save you because it will NOT happen.

 

The advantage of running the pipe straight up in a single story home is that it stays cleaner for a longer period of time and you get extra heat off that pipe....but as others here have said, you should be good to go on what you have.

 

My stove pipe runs staight up and I check it every fall but it's always clean. Wood is WORK though....a lot of work....

 

[pike slayer]

hey guys! soory i dont get on the computer to often anymore. what billybob said about the pipes is what the inspector said. it was not a wett certified guy that inspected it, it was a guy my home insurance sent out to my place and he took pictures of it and my insurance sent me a list of things to be done and a list of recommendations. the $700 quote for the pipes was just material, i do everything myself. I dont have enough money in the budget within 75 days(less now) to get it approved. its $200 alone just to get a guy out there to get it approved

[livinisfishin]

Wett cert. Around here is $ 200. If u did the tile work and left the pipe the way it is and have all your clearances needed, and got a guy in to wett cert it, would that not be sufficient for your insurance? Or do u have do to exaclty as they say even though your stove would be to code? I would seriously consider calling them and talking to someone about the wood stove.. "Up and out" is the way its done when going off the top of the stove and not wanting a whole bunch of pipe inside the house. Billy bob is exactly right.. No bends in the pipe means not as much resistance for the smoke to go through on its way out. Which means less creosote buildup and less chance of a chimney fire. There is so many houses out there that you just can't possibly go straight up and you have to vent with offsets.. Lol there is probably a rafter straight above the center of your pipe so you would have to offset anywaysd if you kept it in the same spot. I ca only imagine how frustrating this is for you! Good luck!

Edited August 5, 2010 by livinisfishin

[Daplumma]

Wood is the way to go.Warms you up twice,once to cut and split and once when you burn it.Fix the stove up and use it.

Joe

[lew]

 

Wett cert. Around here is $ 200.

 

 

$200 is also what I payed for the certificate in May.