For those of you that burn wood in your home you need to check with your insurance company to see if you are covered. I was filing away my home owners insurance a few years ago and happened to spot something about wood burning devices. I called my agent and they informed me that they will not cover any type of wood burning device other than a fireplace. I explained to her that fireplaces are a lot more dangerous than a wood burner but I was informed not to burn mine until I had a clause written in. I had a certified chimney sweep come out and clean my unit and inspect for any issues. I passed and forwarded the information on to my insurance company with lots of pictures. They ended up approving my system and it only added $50 a year to my home owners insurance.
Wood splitting
- Thread starter RAllison
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Oak, totally correct on ins. co. I changed ins. co. only to find they would not cover my home because of woodburner inside.The fact that it was ALL approved didn't matter so had to change again. This time more carefully.
The new wood stoves are very safe and efficient. I cringe when I see wood stoves from the past being sold on FB marketplace. These old steel boxes did ok but needed a lot of attention, especially cleaning flues and stove pipes multiple times a season.
I did a lot of research before finally settling on a Pacific Energy Super. This thing burns so well that unless you just loaded it, there's no smoke from the chimney. My neighbor has a Harmon and it's constantly smoking from the chimney. Mine has the secondary burn and it works awesome. Others utilize catalytic converters.
Of course, wood definitely plays a big part. Rule of thumb is to only burn wood that has been split, racked and exposed to airflow for at least one year.
Another thing I am particular about is the flue. I feel much safer using a good quality stainless steel double wall pipe with no bends or the least amount possible. It was additional work but I ran my pipe straight up through 2 floors and out the roof. I'm also lucky to work in heat treatment and got furnace insulation that can withstand temps in excess of 2000⁰... I used it to line my flue where it passed through the ceilings and roof.
One last thing is a good carbon monoxide / smoke alarm. When my brother and I installed a pellet stove, the first night it ran, my alarm went off. I woke up to it and a splitting headache. Come to find out there was a section of the exhaust pipe that was leaking.
All and all, wood stoves and pellet stoves are very safe with newer models and insurance companies should update their stipulations to allow the use of these heat sources with an initial inspection by a qualified person prior to approval.
I did a lot of research before finally settling on a Pacific Energy Super. This thing burns so well that unless you just loaded it, there's no smoke from the chimney. My neighbor has a Harmon and it's constantly smoking from the chimney. Mine has the secondary burn and it works awesome. Others utilize catalytic converters.
Of course, wood definitely plays a big part. Rule of thumb is to only burn wood that has been split, racked and exposed to airflow for at least one year.
Another thing I am particular about is the flue. I feel much safer using a good quality stainless steel double wall pipe with no bends or the least amount possible. It was additional work but I ran my pipe straight up through 2 floors and out the roof. I'm also lucky to work in heat treatment and got furnace insulation that can withstand temps in excess of 2000⁰... I used it to line my flue where it passed through the ceilings and roof.
One last thing is a good carbon monoxide / smoke alarm. When my brother and I installed a pellet stove, the first night it ran, my alarm went off. I woke up to it and a splitting headache. Come to find out there was a section of the exhaust pipe that was leaking.
All and all, wood stoves and pellet stoves are very safe with newer models and insurance companies should update their stipulations to allow the use of these heat sources with an initial inspection by a qualified person prior to approval.
All great insight and info! But those insurance companies that are going "WOKE"...aren't gonna approve anything that burns wood.
I had enough splitting, stacking in the wood shed, hauling to the house every day after school and carrying out ashes when I was a kid in the 50's!
We finally got natural gas in town in '50 IIRC and Dad, with prompting from my 3 older brothers and sister, sprung for a new forced air furnace.
Up till that time, everyone in town either burned wood, coal, or oil.
Mom had an LP oven/stove combo and I still recall those two ugly green tanks & regulator sitting outside the back porch.
We finally got natural gas in town in '50 IIRC and Dad, with prompting from my 3 older brothers and sister, sprung for a new forced air furnace.
Up till that time, everyone in town either burned wood, coal, or oil.
Mom had an LP oven/stove combo and I still recall those two ugly green tanks & regulator sitting outside the back porch.
I've been heating with wood for over 30 years. I agree on the Pacific Energy stoves, they are nice; and finally the good sense of over air of solid fueled boilers comes to the residential. I also tire of the chores, but then again I never needed a gym membership. Check-ups still show I'm 18 at 70.
About the same here at 78
I installed a Jotul Oslo F500 in 2006, these are all cast iron and made in Norway. I ran single wall pipe up to the ceiling and then it switches to triple wall stainless steel up through the attic and roof. I have been very happy with the stove but wood prices around here are getting crazy. Looking on FB MarketPlace full cords are going for $300-$350.
rjruchti
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- Roger J. Ruchti
I worked as an insurance adjuster and inspector for about 5 years. The company would not approve any fireplace or wood stove unless it was built in at the time the home was built and had to be installed and certified by proper people. About 99% of the wood stove set ups were not approved. Mainly due to sitting on a metal insulated pad on a wood floor. Company required the stove to be sitting on brick turned sideways with the holes lined up and exposed for cooling and air circulation. I have a built in fireplace that was installed when the home was built. I run the brush down the chimney every season and get a cup full of black tar dust. Like has been said, burn only dry wood. Wood I will burn this year has been down for over a year, blocked up this past summer and is being split now. Loose stacked in a 3 sided shed on pallets. It is dry wood as can tell by the way it splits. Dry Oak will split clean. Wet Oak will split stringy.
What all are you heating?
Ahhhhhh,very cool! Is that CCSpecialties?
Oh man,that's a great set up!
Oh yeah!!!
jmacdonald
Well-known member
When I had my pellet stove installed, I headed to the insurance office to ask for an inspection. Once they heard me say that I had it installed by the stove shop they were ok without an inspection.
