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Now is the Time to Think About Heating Your Home

by | Aug 24, 2016 | Winter Fireplace

It is late summer, and fall weather will start bringing cool temperaturesNow is the Time to Think About Heating Your Home IMG- Boston MA- BIlly Sweet Chimney Sweep with it soon! Now is the time to begin thinking about your home heating. There are numerous options to heat your home including central heat, wood and gas appliances, and a wood fireplace. Each of these options has benefits and drawbacks, and each home and family has specific needs and wishes to consider as well. While you are researching options and making decisions that will affect your energy bill, your comfort, and your decor, there are four things to keep in mind.

Fuel

Appliances are designed to burn a specific kind of fuel. If you decide to use a pellet stove, you should only use a manufactured pellet product designed for that appliance. If you are using a wood fireplace or stove, you should use only properly seasoned wood. If you use a gas appliance or insert, you should have an existing natural gas hook-up, or have one professionally installed.

Ventilation

Depending on what kind of heat appliance you decide to use this winter, you may be able to use the existing chimney, or even avoid using one at all. Vent-free fireplace inserts don’t require chimney ventilation. Other inserts that do require ventilation don’t necessarily have to use the chimney. Your technician can actually use an alternate route during installation. Keep in mind that you can use your stainless steel flue liner for all fuel types. However, if you have a tile or cast liner, you will need to convert to an appropriate flue liner before using your appliance.

Cost

When choosing your new heat appliance for your home, don’t only think of the cost to buy and install it. Consider the energy cost over the winter as well as the routine maintenance. Some appliances are extremely low maintenance, like vent-free gas inserts. Others should be cleaned of ashes and soot, as well as require routine chimney sweeps and inspections regularly. The energy cost is also a deciding factor. Wood should be bought or chopped. Gas is purchased from an energy company. If the price of gas is exceptionally high, and you have readily accessibly trees and a chainsaw, wood may be the best option for your home right now, but if you live in an urban area and simply want the ambiance of a fire, gas would be for you. Finally, efficiency affects overall price as well. Gas appliances tend to be more efficient than wood. Keeping up with chimney maintenance also raises efficiency of your appliances. You may spend more upon purchase and installation, and save over the life of the furnace.

Aesthetics

If your home is a rustic cabin, you probably wouldn’t want a sleek, stainless-steel-framed gas insert. Likewise, if the goal is high-tech and hands off, you might like a gas insert with a simple switch to turn it on and off. Many of the appliances that Billy Sweet recommends and installs are available in various models to fit with the aesthetics of the home.

Are you dreading winter because you can’t choose which heat appliance you’d like to use? Billy Sweet Chimney Sweeps offers only the industry’s best stoves, fireplaces, and inserts. Our certified chimney sweeps are experienced and trained in installation and maintenance of all of our appliances. Don’t wait until it’s too cold! Call today to discuss your home heating options with a Billy Sweet chimney sweep.

Summer Maintenance for a Wood Stove

by | Jul 31, 2013 | Chimney Maintenance, Wood Stove

There is nothing like waiting until the last minute to get your wood-burning stove ready for winter. The scrambling around to find the card of last guy that came out and inspected and swept it; trying to remember if that was a year ago or two years ago?

Don't stress, plan - Boston MA - Billy Sweet Chimney Sweep

Don’t stress, plan – Boston MA – Billy Sweet Chimney Sweep

Seeing if the wood left over from last year is still okay to burn and discovering it has gotten wet and mildewed — so it has to be sorted and gone through and then re-stacked. When you’re done and get a good look at the usable wood you realize you need to purchase some additional stock to get you through the winter. You call “your guy” only to find out that he only has green wood left but he will sell it to you for a good price. You tell him thanks but no thanks and call your family and friends for wood references.

After a weekend trying to find good seasoned wood for your stove you settle for the green stuff your guys has left over. Every chimney guy is booked out two to three weeks in advance and the family is wondering why the stove is not burning, but you really don’t want to start a fire yet because you just remembered you were have some kind of problem last year and probably need an inspection.

A month later, you are just now able to get a certified sweep to your house and you have had to spend money and time — neither of which you have — just to get the heat going. At this point you ask yourself; what could I have done differently? The answer is to get your wood stove ready for winter in the summer and here’s why;

  • Chimney companies are traditionally slow in the summer and you will have cart blanch service.
  • If your unit needs repairs, this is the time you are not counting on it for heat so it’s the best time for an inspection and needed maintenance and repairs.
  • Check on your left over firewood and make sure it is stacked off the ground in a covered area or with a tarp covering the top, but not the sides.
  • Purchase your firewood in the early summer so you have plenty of time to season for at least six months.

Summer REALLY IS the perfect time to be thinking about maintaining your wood stove.