By TIM UNRUH
finishing touches on brick work around a new fireplace Tuesday at a
Salina
residence. But this season they're swamped.
"We're booking into November," said Miles, co-owner of Milestone Hearth
Service and Stove Store, with Kerby, his brother-in-law. They sell, install and
service gas and wood-burning fireplaces and stoves.
More customers than ever are finding their way to the store at 245 S. Fifth,
which opened in 1994, but their motivation is not so much the shivers as it is
the savings.
"Most people that are coming in are expressing concern, anticipating higher
heating costs," said Miles who has been in the business 22 years, "and they
express an interest in keeping their heating bills down. A lot of people are
expecting a harsh winter."
Alternative forms of heating are commanding consumer attention since
temperatures dipped into the 20s, said Pat Wingler, manager of the Sutherlands
home improvement center, 2450 S. Ninth, especially with an Energy Department
prediction that prices of conventional fuels, like natural gas, are going up
this winter.
"We always do pretty well with them," Wingler said of wood stoves that were
featured in a recent Sutherlands sales circular.
Sales could be even more brisk this season, he said, driven by escalating
fuel costs.
They could definitely climb this winter, said Dave Payne, president of Payne
Oil, 410 W. North, a propane dealer.
"There's some potential for some high prices, certainly if crude oil stays as
high or goes higher," Payne said, adding that cold weather "could drive prices
up in a hurry."
Miles said customers have reported cutting their heating bills in half with
wood-burning stoves.
Wood-burning
fireplaces and stoves are a cozy addition to home heating systems, but
they also represent fire dangers. Here are some tips to consider before
burning wood in your home this winter: -- Sources: Steve Moody, interim chief, Salina Fire Department, and
Steve Miles, co-owner, Milestone Hearth Service & Stove Store.
Modern wood stoves are 70 percent efficient, whereas an open fireplace is 10
percent efficient at best. They can actually cost you money by sucking warm air
up the flue.
"The airtight stoves prevent you from losing so much heat up the chimney,"
Miles said.
The bulk of Milestone's sales are wood stoves, and there has been some
movement in stoves that burn wood pellets. The wood-burning units aren't cheap.
Average cost, with installation, ranges from $2,500 to $3,500.
"I think people can justify installing them because they pay for themselves
in savings," Miles said.
He said gas stoves and gas logs for fireplaces are more for atmosphere, but
in the past 10 years there has been a buying trend for those products.
"They put out heat, but I can't say they're going to save any money," Miles
said.
Payne questions the wisdom of some consumers who seek to lower their heating
costs by burning wood.
A Btu, or British thermal unit, is the amount of heat required to increase
the temperature of a pound of water 1 degree Fahrenheit.
Miles disagreed. He said even though the savings would be greatest if one
went to the work of cutting wood, there would be a savings also in purchasing
firewood. A cord of wood -- a stack 4 feet high, 4 feet wide and 8 feet long --
costs from $100 to $150.
"I haven't burned two cords of wood in a winter in a long time," he said. "If
you're getting it yourself, you're definitely going to see a savings. Either
way, you're going to see a savings."
Miles said wood stoves also serve as backup heat in case of a power outage.
Any form of home heating carries risks for fire and carbon monoxide
poisoning. Adding diversity to your system requires being that much more
careful, said Steve Moody, interim chief of the Salina Fire Department.
"If rates go up, we anticipate more people might try to save a buck by using
alternative ways of heating," he said. "More people may be looking to heat with
wood. You can do that safely if you use precautions."
Any heating system should be checked by professionals and maintained, Moody
said. Miles and Kerby advocate the National Fire Protection Association's
recommendations: Have your chimney inspected annually and cleaned when
necessary.
Soot and creosote, substances of unburned particles that collect in the flue,
can ignite and pose a fire danger, Miles said. Bird nests and other items in the
chimney can also cause problems.
"The biggest producer of creosote," he said, "is not giving the wood stove
proper oxygen."
Dense, hard woods -- oak and walnut -- are the best to burn, Miles said, but
they're hard to find. Medium-grade woods like locust and hackberry, are more
common in this area. Wood should be dry and not green.
The partners have enjoyed the heavy sales, but they admit it would be better
if the business was steady throughout the year.
"The best time to call us is in the spring and summer," Kerby said.
Wood stoves have to meet strict government standards for emissions, Miles
said, and that has reduced the number of manufacturers from hundreds in the
1970s to about 20 today. But better designs have reduced the required distance
from a combustible wall from 3 feet to a minimum of 5 inches with some models.
The average distance is 10 to 12 inches.
"You have to make sure they're installed correctly," he said. "If they are
used properly and maintained, they are safe."
The Salina Journal
Steve
Miles and Jim Kerby expect to be busy when frost forms in the fall.
"The
stove is providing constant heat, so when a furnace does come on, it doesn't
have to run so long," he said, "and it doesn't come on as often."
Fires add risk
* Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 823-6464, Ext. 137, or by
e-mail at sjtunruh@saljournal.com.