by BillandJeannie » Fri Jan 22, 2010 10:57 pm
We have our multi-fuel furnace since 1978 here in central NJ. It has performed admirably ever since the day we first fired her up. We clean the chimney once or twice a heating season depending on our wood usage. Last year we used 20 gallons of heating oil and about 2 cord of wood. This year we are using mostly oil. I am -- and/or working to far away from home to keep the wood in the unit. (My wife doesn't do wood fires) Yet she loves the extra warmth when it is going. We burn mostly hard wood, maple, oak, cherry. We just replaced our underground oil tank with an above ground double walled unit and got a clean bill of health from the EPA and local building and fire inspections. No doubt we are happy about that. I am sure through the years we have saved lots of fuel oil and $$$. The first few years we kept close records of our usage. Once it became old hat we stopped keeping records of our usage. The oil delivery company only comes when we call because it doesn't pay for a regular delivery schedule for us. Usually it is twice a heating season. So far this heating season (late November to now in January) we used 1/3 cord of wood and 200 gallons of oil. 1674 degree days. If that makes any sense to you. We pre-heat our return air through a bed of river rock heat sink that is solar heated on sunny days.
