I heat with wood as my only heat source, except for the heated (electric) slate bathroom floor. My house is approximately 1800 sf, 1100 down and 700 up.
My current stove is a Jotul F 400 Castine.
It's not for everyone. If no one makes a fire or no one is home for a few days the house gets pretty cold and it takes a good full day of burning to get it warm again. My house is newer and very tight and well insulated.
It's a lot more work than "push button heat" (that's the comedic/ derisive term I use to make fun of my friends).
It's not just the burning but the sourcing and storage. You'll also need a good supply of dry kindling and newspaper.
I'm a wood scrounger from way back, I used to sell firewood when I was a kid, so I'm always on the prowl, but you want to be at least one year ahead with your wood pile to account for drying time. It will dry differently depending on species and storage method.
You also need to get up on the roof and clean your chimney. I use a round chimney brush on a copper pipe extension I made.
Having said all that, I love my woodstove. It's a magic box that you put wood into and it makes heat. It might be the best invention in the history of mankind! There is no better feeling heat, in my opinion. I'm borderline addicted to the dry heat.
I have another stove in my shop, an old Fisher. It's more for fun though. But if something ever went wrong with the Jotul I'd move the Fisher in.
A full wood shed is a good feeling, it's money in the bank The cost savings are huge, but maybe not so huge when you factor in the trucks, trailers, saws, and of course the physical work needed. If you're buying wood I suspect you'll still come out ahead, money wise, with wood. It depends on how many cords you'll use.
Around here when folks get too old to run a stove they convert to a pellet stove. Or a propane stove, but that's going to be more expensive. Or a mini split.
I would stay away from any stove with a catalytic converter.
+1 to all of this.
I am 44 years old and have been around the process of wood heat my entire life. An airtight stove is a must. Here in rural western NY if you want homeowners insurance with wood heat your stove must have a "UL" tag (underwriters laboratory). This is a metal tag affixed to the back of the stove. That being said most airtight stoves from at least back to the mid 70's will have one. I am also not a fan of catalytic "reburning" stoves. They are definitely more efficient by a lot, but, I own my own woods so supply is not an issue. If supply is an issue then it may be worth it for you. The reason I don't care for them is you will probably spend a few hundred dollars every ten years or so to replace parts.
I am a die hard fan of Fisher wood stoves from the late 70's-early 80's and their ilk. For me this was a golden age of stove making. It's funny, non fisher's of this era are worth their weight in scrap metal while a good fisher will sell for $500 or so. A bargain imo. I have a humungous fisher in the house and a "grandma bear" fisher in the garage. I am convinced these stoves will outlive me. If you get a humungous stove you can cook your dinner and boil your tea on it as well. Wood fits better in a humungous stove and more thermal mass as well. You will always end up with some funny looking knotty chunks that won't fit in a small stove.
I usually do a thorough chimney clean right before starting in the fall. I usually do another good clean halfway through the season because it makes me feel good. There is usually a break in the weather for a day or two in January. That is when I do it. Also, do not forget to clean your internal stovepipes as well. They do accumulate over time especially if you have any 90 degree bends where the smoke will slow down and drop particles. Fires are a potential weapon of mass home destruction and being intentional helps keep you safe.
Around here log loads are about $300 and will net you Tons of wood. They are the way to go if you don't own timberland. I find ash/hickory which are wood "cousins" don't have the btus you need in deep winter. They are great for oct-dec and mar-apr. For deep winter you need the real hard stuff (oak, hard maple, beech). We are getting utterly devastated by the ash borer bugs here. They also attack the hickory which I think is little known. I think the loggers are putting a lot of ash in the log loads which is something you need to ask about as you will require that good hard wood for the cold months. Be really intentional about where they drop your logs as this will save a lot of time moving wood.
The absolute best value is you processing these loads yourself as when you buy processed wood you are really paying for the labor. I would recommend not sinking a ton of money into pricey wood processing tools. These would be pricey saws, pricey splitters, pricey tractors etc. These cost thousands of dollars and are mostly unnecessary imo. Seems like face punch toys. This is what I would tell my 20 yr old self, as he bought an expensive commercial chainsaw, a too big pickup truck, and pricey wood splitter. I consume approx 12 face cord (4'x8'x18-20" wide) per year for a tight 1200 sqft house with a full basement. In a hard winter it is closer to 16 fc. If you find this to be a drudgery or a waste of time you should consider something else. I relish my time in the woods and find it therapeutic.
I have a Husqvarna 455 rancher saw ($350) and it is the perfect size and price imo. My circa 2001 Husqvarna commercial saw was $800+ at the time. I scavenge axe heads that are American made and pre 1960's. You can get these in junk shops or eBay. Just buying heads on eBay is cheap and you put a handle on them. They outlived their owners and will outlive you. Sharpen your own chains. Practice and get good at it. The shops will grind out 30% of the blade when they sharpen them and you will buy a lot of chains. A lot of chain sharpening is just getting the gunk/debris out of the blades and they will work great. Also sharpen your axes with a good stone or at least a file. Dull axes bounce off the wood. It is really night and day when you stop to realize. I did buy a Husqvarna splitting maul for just under $100 as I believe Wetterlings produces these for them. It is great imo.
My grandfather cut wood into his late 70's and I am convinced it kept him young. I have many precious childhood memories of cutting wood with him. He wore a classic red "buffalo plaid" flannel and when we would take a break he would smoke "half&half" tobacco in his corncob pipe. I have photographic memories of this. Very R. W. Emerson esque.
When I bought my property a month after my 24th birthday in 2001 I was determined to have a wood splitter. I used it for 10 years and found it made the process too easy and I went back to using an axe. I found my belly grows less when I chop wood. I am a wood enthusiast. I chopped enough wood to realize axes from the department store are trash. I use antique steel axe heads that have quality steel unrivaled except for steel that comes out of Sweden. Obviously, my grandfather was an icon to me. It made me happy a few years ago when I came across one of his old axe heads. I shined and sharpened it, now it's back in service. Have fun out there.
