Sterling Bronemann
Stihl lovin country boy
We recently bought an acreage with 5.5 acres in rural Iowa. It's an old farm house built in 1904 with many newer updates. Some of the windows are a few years old while some of them are probably 20+ years old. It also has a brick fireplace in the middle of the living room that the previous owners put gas logs into. My wife is concerned with burning wood in the house because of the mess and just the supposed danger that it imposes(previous owners stated they smoked up the house a few times because of improper ventilation or something). I am concerned about the gas bill for obvious reasons being an older house and probably not that greatly insulated and the windows being not that great. We are contemplating splurging on either an add-on wood-burner to the furnace but would still have the mess in the basement or possibly an outdoor wood boiler. Obviously the wood boiler is the more efficient option but a lot pricier option. I know nothing about them other than the bit of research I have been doing on the internet. There are very limited dealers here in Iowa as I have found. We also have a 42x82 steel pole building that is not insulated or sealed up. We would eventually like to seal that with different doors and partition about 30' of it off for a nice insulated and heated shop. Obviously a wood boiler could heat the house and shop if I get the correct size one. Any input would be greatly appreciated. I am still in the very early stages of getting info on them and nothing would be done until probably fall of next year. But I want to do my research and pick the best option. I have a lot of trees on my property that I will be cutting and splitting over the winter to get a jump start on for burning wood next year. I still need to get the splitter but hoping they will discount them trying to get rid of them in the very near future with winter coming on. Thank you in advance and look forward to hearing recommendations and advice on them.
Sterling
Sterling