Wood Heat?

With gas and electric prices rising I am considering a small wood stove to heat my greenhouse this year. It is 12x20. I was wondering if anyone knows what the best choice would be. It doesn't have to be pretty just functional. The cheapest I have found so far is a small potbelly woodstove from Lowes for $160. Do anyone in the central Arkansas area have one that they'd like to get rid of? I gotta do something fairly quick. Winter is approaching. Any imput would be very valuable.

Many peeps use wood heat as an alternative.

The only drawback is GH's cool so fast that someone needs to check the fire very ofte 24/7


The old standby called a Boxwood stove has been around for a long time and costs around $100 , more or less.

I,m looking at using an outdoor wood furnace..It only requires being filled once or twice aday.wood up to 4ft long..It uses (water) pipes that circulate fluid either under the floor (radiant heat) or to a overhead fan just like forced air.It also is designed to heat 2 buildings, so I will use it to heat my mobile home also.I live in northern BC so something dependable is required,plus,theres no gas available.The cost is a bit high $8000, but, with the cost of fossil fuels,it will pay 4 itself fast enuf.Wood is cheap or free here so its not a problem.My greenhouse will be semi commercial. My biggest problem will be adequate light..The winters here are wet and cloudy.with occasional snow.
Just my 2 cents worth

Tamatik,.. those things work wonderfully.. I know two people that hear their homes with them. One Friend has a very large home and had so much excess heat he said he could put in an inground pool and heat it all winter

Have you checked the price of fire wood lately. Around here it has almost doubled to $375 - cord, delivered. Still cheaper than oil/gas but geeeezzzzzzz.
Andy P

eden....my first g-house was 12 by 18 (or so) and I heated it with wood...worked great! However, you'l need to have a wood stove that is well-sealed and will hold the heat. (If it is not sealed at its seams it'll burn your wood up too fast and you'll end up with NO heat real quick.) I'd suggest finding a used wood stove that is of better quality than the Lowe's thin-walled stuff. (The Lowe's stove's will do great for back up/emergency heat though...ya just gotta babysit them more.)

Thanks everyone =). Horseshoe that gives me much hope. Now how do I find out how much a cord of wood is around my area?

I'd check your yellow pages for tree trimmers and such. They'd be your best bet and are often-times looking for places to get rid of wood (also chipped trees/mulch, etc.)

If you have a State Ag mag that comes out each month there are classifieds in those and you can often find farmers/growers selling firewood, too.

Doesn't the wood have to be 'seasoned' to burn right?

Yes...best for it to have been cut several months ago. If you mention you need it for firewood they'll tell you if its ready or not. And be sure to mention you want hardwood, not pine.

WE unfortunately use fresh wood more than we should, because we're always cutting at the last minute, we have to mix fresh with the older wood to keep the smoke down, fresh wood smokes really bad. and doesn't burn hot like the seasoned wood does. Hey but we got to do what we got to do. I think ours is a king . it's got a fan on it. and we have fans up above it. It does a good job of keeping our l6x30 greenhouse at 45 degrees on a l2 degree night, with nothing else heating the greenhouse. WE pack it at l0:00 p.m. and it's good to go till the following morning at 6:00 am . BUT, we pack it so tight that you can't get in even a tiny log LOL. During the day, I burn slab wood alot because it burns hotter, and I do have to repack the stove ever couple hours, it's a pain in the but, but worth it to me. It also helps dry out the greenhouse faster. Plants have a tendency sometimes to stay wet in the winter with high humidity, and the stove dries the air so the dirt dries faster. I have aproblem with ventilation in the winter time though, cause I don't want to open any windows, almost like throwing money out the window LOL. But since we have a woodstove. There needs to be somekind of fresh air coming in from outside. so for a couple hrs a day , during the hottest part of the day, I open the front door, and crack the back door, stick a fan on the floor and blow it out. to bring in some fresh air. Works for me!!!

WE got our stove free, we werelucky. But I'd check inthe newspapers and such, to find a used one,

WE have a box stove like the one up above in the picture, the same exact one, it's horendous for burning wood fast, every hour on the hour, we have to put wood in it. It's in my husband's shop, and he only uses it when he's working out there.

Hope you find one sheila. Look in the arkansas democrat gazette.

Yeah Kathy I really hope I find one soon because it will need some kind of heat within a month probably. I have a small electric heater, but the main reason for wanting to burn wood is because I have to run an extention from the house to the greenhouse, and I really don't feel safe about it that way. Plus I think wood would be cheaper in the long run. I didn't really give it much thought, and now winter has crept up on me. I am an amature at this whole greenhouse thing anyway, only having one this past winter. My mom has a big wood stove, but I figured it would be to big for my greenhouse. I am planning on having the stove inside the greenhouse too. I have limited funds so I must do it as cheap as possible, even though I really like the way you had yours off from the main greenhouse. I am worried about how hot it will get on the plastic so may find myself rethinking that decision too.

Do you think 2 Boxwood Stoves would heat a 16x80 greenhouse? One on each end.
I dont have to worry about the cost of wood. I have 2 acres of 75yr old Oak trees. I figure they will last me til I retire. Till then I will let the new seedlings grow for the next generation.

cricket

cricket are you talking about the boxwood in the picture up on top , scooter's picture? WEll, it's like horseshoe said, you'll have to pack it full every hour on the hour more or less. They are small inside, don't hold alot of wood. Personally, I wouldn't use one at all in a greenhouse. Cause I think their too small and I'm not always home to keep the fires burning. It's bad enough that we have to pack our king stove every 3 to 4 hrs during the day, and cram it full at night time to make it tilll 6:00 am the next morning, and then there's hardly nothing left inside. I have a l6 x 30. I really don't think two of those box stoves would work, but two of something like a king stove would definitely work. here's a picture of the one in our house, the one in the greenhouse is almost just like it, same brand too.

Dont those KING cost like $600?

I'm not really sure how much they cost, I know their good stoves, I got both mine for free. Guess I lucked out. LOL. I know I see them quite often at the flea market's yard sales etc... for l00.00 or 200.00

kathy

I've got the opposite problem of everyone. I have a big wood-fired boiler sitting out back and no greenhouse to put it in. I'm hoping to start my 9x12 pit greenhouse soon for use next spring. This boiler is far too big for use in such a small greenhouse, especially one that is intended to be a passive-solar system. (I know, I should buy a big greenhouse to match my furnace!)

I suppose I could trade the beast for a small airtight that could serve as a supplemental heat source for my modest needs. I really have no need for it, but looking at the acres of space in the photos of big hoop houses posted here really makes me want one. This furnace could be an ideal heat source for it.

Perhaps a better trade would be for the materials to build the greenhouse. Time for a reality check, I guess.

Wayne

This message was edited Oct 13, 2005 3:38 PM