Winter heating

With the prices of heating oil sky rocketing many people are planning on alternate heat sources for the upcoming winter. We burn oil and most winters have offset our oil use with a woodstove. Our woodstove was built more for ambience than efficiency. This year we are planning on buying an energy efficient woodstove to get the maximum BTU's from our firewood. We also are insulating and plan to heat less of our home.
Please share how you're dealing with the increased oil prices.



link: Alternate Heat Source Safety

Good to share ideas...I've changed some of my plan of attack after talking with people who have more experience. For instance, I wanted to get a propane fireplace but have decided that a propane wall unit would be more efficient and not take up precious floor space. A friend used a company in Dixfield who sprays 1" of foam insulation to make attic space tight. I plan to look at the seals around the old doors on the outside of the house...still exploring more possibilities.

What is the name of the Dixfield company? I'm glad we didn't go with the pellet stove given the shortage of pellets this year!

Hey johnnyg, I am not going to comment on this topic.

By the way, C and T both have more posts than I do, but I don't see you complaining about them.

thanks for not commenting, kevin

Lol, I have an interest in seeing this forum succeed, therefore I post often. I've worked hard to help get RVFP up and running! I encourage everyone to post. I love it when I see my name isn't on the last post column. Those who post often are helping our online community to grow and become more diverse.

Kevin , didn't want to upset you this much. Maby you should forget about it?????

I enjoy reading and participating (although I am newly registered) please don't allow this to become a negative or toxic place. The recent problems in our area (it is not just Rumford) I believe stem from participants unwilling to discuss ideas without the discourse becoming personal with a them vs us tone; and from folks unwilling to compromise on issues. This is a good place to begin, let's keep it open, non-threatening and productive. We can change the atmosphere and climate of our communities. That's why I started to read this website and ultimately why I chose to participate. It may seem pollyanna to some but I have a true concern about what is happening in our communities and don't want to see it continue.

back to the thread... I didn't see the name of the Dixfield company that sprays foam. Is anyone else aware of them?

We've spent some money installing new windows although we couldn't afford to do them all. This will be the second winter that we will use the wood stove. We burned quite a bit last year, but the initial investment may take time to recoup. We had to put in a second chimney, along with the cost of the wood (we bought tree length so there was an additional cost of cutting and splitting) this year we also invested in a wood splitter.
I think overall we saved money. The heavy snowfall helped with that last year - what if we don't have that again this winter!

Hi Kels,

Welcome to the site. We try to keep this a balanced and positive place but there is a lot of anger in town for what some perceive as mean spirited and hurtful behavior from others, particularly from TRR. We don’t want this place to become like that. I do believe that inviting open debate on issues is the way to go and can help to make this community stronger and more vibrant.

Regarding your stove, you obviously have enough money to install your stove correctly. I’m really worried this year about the people that don’t have the money for heat or to hook their stove safely. They are going to be desperate and if they don’t do things properly, it could be a dangerous winter. In fact, I wonder how many fires we will have from improper installations or improper use of heating devices. I wonder how many people will die.

Dixfield Foam Insulation
Grady Littlehale, Owner
95 Coolidge Rd.
Dixfield, ME 04224
207-418-9394

this is probably ovious to anyone who's used a wood stove for any amount of time, but a tip from personal experience:

Prior to the heating season, have your chimney (s) professionally inspected and thoroughly cleaned. Even if you didn't burn wood last season, the buildup can still be a fire hazard.

Be sure to use only well-dried hardwoods. No matter how great the smell of that old pine log might be, don't use it! Even old dried pine scrap lumber still retains enough pitch to be of concern.