Wood stove business is up around Green Country

Thursday, January 11th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The wood stove business is red hot, after weeks of power outages and news of higher prices for natural gas and propane. At one wood stove dealership in Tulsa. the calls are coming in, and the orders are backed up all the way to the factory.

Why are wood stoves proving to be so popular? The stoves can heat without electricity, and can save the owner money even when the power isn't off. "We can offer them a heating system that is less expensive than any other way they can heat,â€ said Buck Stove Home Energy Center spokesperson Mar Lyn Gorden. â€œHeating with wood is the least expensive way."

The fireplaces of years ago were drafty and could only heat one room. Today's wood stoves and fireplace inserts can comfortably heat an entire home with a blast of warm air from the fireplace. â€œYou don't have to back up to one and then turn around to heat the other side, you can heat the whole area,â€ Gordon explained.

The stoves take a little work, since they use wood for fuel. However, the payoff comes with efficiency that rivals natural gas fired inserts, and can prove to be cheaper than conventional types of heating. There are dozens of models to fit almost any application, but most of the people looking these days are looking for anything cheaper than gas. â€œIt's still less expensive than the other means of heating, much less than natural gas right now,â€ noted Gordon. â€œIt costs less than electricity and propane which many of the people are using right now."