When you heat your house with wood, everything looks like a BTU.

[panader0]

I'm driving down the street and see a new house going up---BTUs.
All of the scrap tailings. I'm walking around my mesquite land and see
a few branches that I missed. BTUs--they're everywhere.17 degrees here this morning.

[jberryhill]

1. I used to use BTU's to heat my house

But the cost of importing them all the way from Britain made me change my mind and use American ones instead.

[panader0]

3. Okay then: ATUs, ATMs, BBC, BB King, Max Busby.

[Yonnie3]

2. I heated with wood for many years

As I ride down a country road and see a downed hardwood I wonder why all that heat is just lying there unused.

[panader0]

4. Where is this downed hardwood located?

Did I mention it was 17 degrees this morning?

[Yonnie3]

5. Central Virginia

33 and raining ice here.

I miss my wood heat. I could make it feel like Miami in my living room. Feel chilly? Just move a little closer.

[procon]

6. Nothing beats that penetrating radiant heat from a wood stove.

I've used woodstoves (even a tiny antique coal stove) since the early 70s. We had always scavenged for wood, sometimes getting a forest permit to cut deadwood, or making use of construction sites giving away scrap lumber, cutting down dead trees the neighbors wanted removed, etc. But as the years crept by it took a toll on us and we just weren't able to do that heavy physical labor anymore. The expense of buying cordwood was almost as bad as trying to tote heavy logs inside.

Out of necessity we just retired our trusty old Blaze King this year and replaced it with a pellet stove. It's working well and is just as warming without requiring too much physical effort on our old bones.

[woofless]

7. We did the same thing when the emphysema really took hold.

I love out first generation Whitfield pellet stove. Bulletproof. We only use it when the temp overwhelms the ductless heat pump.

[procon]

8. I hear you. Both of us have respiratory health probs too and

occasionally the old wood stove would leak smoke when the wind changed direction. The was too much for us and was a major factor in our decision to switch to the pellet stove. So far there's been no smoke leaks, maybe because the fan is continually pushing the smoke out.

[rurallib]

9. We burned corn for about 5 years

now that was great heat.
Then the price of corn skyrocketed and the stove broke down so we gave up with that.