By By ERIN VER BERKMOES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - With the threat of gas bills increasing up to 70 percent from last year and temperatures dropping quickly, many area residents are looking at alternative heating sources instead of the typical home furnace.
One alternative is the wood-burnding stove.
Phil Weldy of Weldy Sales and Service in Buchanan said he has seen a real increase in the sales of wood stoves since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and gas prices started climbing.
Weldy said in the past decade the efficiency of wood burning stoves has increased. The new technology stoves burn less wood than ever before and still put out significant heat.
When installed properly, a wood-burning stove offers many benefits, Weldy said. They burn wood efficiently and more safely, and heat ones home with much less smoke.
One thing a household should think about when considering the purchase of a wood-burning stove is whether they have a ready supply of wood.
A typical wood stove could cost anywhere from under $1,000 to $2,700. The average furnace costs between $2,400 and $4,200, he said.
Tim Benson of Old Fort Building Supply in South Bend, Ind., agreed with Weldy as his store has also seen an increase in the amount of wood and pellet-burning stoves being sold.
In a normal season, Benson said Old Fort usually sells between 20 and 30 stoves and this year he estimates he may sell 10 additional stoves this year.
Don Swikoski of Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse in Niles said even though the store has only had the wood-burning stoves in stock for about three weeks, they are selling quite a few of them.
Niles resident Conrad Gaedtke and his wife Brenda have a conventional gas furnace in their home, but they also have a wood-burning stove, which they use for heat.
Although there are risks anytime you install anything dealing with fire or burning in your home, Benson said as long as you have your wood-burning stove installing properly by a contractor, use it according to the manufacturers instructions and have it maintained, there really are no safety problems.
Gary Brovold, Niles Township fire chief, agreed with Benson, saying if you don't have your wood- or pellet-burning stove installed properly, that's when homeowners get into trouble.
&#8221Those with a wood-burning stove should have an annual inspection and make sure to maintain a clean flue.“;
Homeowners with a wood or pellet stove can practice the following tips from the Environmental Protection Agency to help obtain the best efficiency and safety from their stove:
Season any wood outdoors through the hot, dry summer for at least six months.
Store wood outdoors, stacked neatly off the ground with the wood covered.
Burn only dry, well-seasoned wood which has been split properly.
Start fires with clean newspaper and dry kindling.
Do not use wet or green logs.
Burn hot, bright fires.
Let the fire burn down to coals, then rake the coals toward the wood inlet, creating a mound. Do not spread the coals flat.
Reload your wood stove by adding at least three pieces of wood each time, on and behind the mound of hot coals. Avoid adding one log at a time.
Use smaller fires in milder weather.
Keep all flammable household goods - furniture, newspapers, drapes - far away from your wood stove.
Keep the doors of your wood burning stove closed unless loading or stoking the live fire.
Keep a fire extinguisher handy.