# How much $$$ do you save by burning wood?



## spike60 (Jan 3, 2008)

Well, it's zero outside right now, and I was just thinking about how much money I'm saving by burning wood. And the more oil costs, the more I'm saving.

I figure that I'll save somewhere around $2500 this winter. 

How 'bout you guys?


----------



## gtstang462002 (Jan 3, 2008)

At close to $4 a gallon for heating oil and the previous homeowner used 4 - 275gallon tankfulls a winter to heat this house I figure that I am saving $4000 this year alone in heating oil costs as I anticipate only using about 1/3 of a tank of oil as backup. It is 17 degrees outside right now here in MD yet still 83 in the house. I used just over a half of a tank last year with an inefficient fireplace insert that wouldn't burn past 3am. I have since gotten another insert that will hold a burn for nine hours so when I get up in the am it is still 75+ in the house.


----------



## Corley5 (Jan 3, 2008)

I've never heated with anything but wood so my budget doesn't even have a place for heating costs. I do know that I'd have a major lifestyle change if I had to use fossil fuels to stay warm


----------



## grandpatractor (Jan 3, 2008)

Don't know the actual savings but I would keep it alot cooler in my house and shop if I was buying all my fuel.:monkey:


----------



## Sprig (Jan 3, 2008)

Corley5 said:


> I've never heated with anything but wood so my budget doesn't even have a place for heating costs. I do know that I'd have a major lifestyle change if I had to use fossil fuels to stay warm


Yup^^^^ same as Corley, I have nothing to base 'savings' on. I do have about 7000w of base-board heater in this place but I'll be !#%&*'d if it ever gets turned on (and not in 6yrs, so there), bottom line is 2&1/2-4 cord a year, depending on how cold, and I burn 7-9months a year, hm, about 6-7 are 24/7.
Just a wee blather fer da night. 



serge


----------



## wdchuck (Jan 3, 2008)

All paid for in the first winter:

Splitter
Saws
ppe
woodfurnace
good smokepipe
rods/brush for chimney

380 gallons of LP in one winter month, we did that once, when LP was $0.98/gal. Just to keep the house at 65*. 

Now, plastic on the windows, and 7cords at the ready, costs are now only consumables to aquire the wood
fuel- saw, truck
chains, files, bar oil, 
leather gloves

Other benefits: new skills, meet new people, excercise, therapuetic....

There is no heating budget here either, if I got hurt, we'd have to sell.


----------



## spike60 (Jan 3, 2008)

gtstang462002 said:


> At close to $4 a gallon for heating oil and the previous homeowner used 4 - 275gallon tankfulls a winter to heat this house I figure that I am saving $4000 this year alone in heating oil costs as I anticipate only using about 1/3 of a tank of oil as backup.



Wow, $4000! Really makes it worth the effort. 

My $2500 might be low, as I was figuring around 700 gallons saved @$3.50, which is what it was back in the fall the last time I got filled up. It might be up around $4 now. I'm probably due for a "visit". I'd guess they'd drop between 100 and 150 gallons. I'll still go through about a tank, Sept. to April for hot water and back up when I'm not home. And on nights like tonight, (now it's -2), I'll let it run a bit to keep the system warm.


----------



## gtstang462002 (Jan 3, 2008)

spike60 said:


> Wow, $4000! Really makes it worth the effort.
> 
> My $2500 might be low, as I was figuring around 700 gallons saved @$3.50, which is what it was back in the fall the last time I got filled up. It might be up around $4 now. I'm probably due for a "visit". I'd guess they'd drop between 100 and 150 gallons. I'll still go through about a tank, Sept. to April for hot water and back up when I'm not home. And on nights like tonight, (now it's -2), I'll let it run a bit to keep the system warm.



I think that the previous homeowner like to keep the house on the warm side with the fossil fuel. I topped the tank off in august at 2.50 a gallon two weeks later it went over 3 a gallon. I told the old lady that if she wants the house warm like it is she is going to have to keep the woodstove burning. She has even figured out how to light it on her own now.


----------



## Husky137 (Jan 3, 2008)

I don't even know what the price of oil is but if it is at $4.00 a gallon then I'll save around $5500 by using my OWB. Paid for that baby in 2 heating seasons.


----------



## Lagrue (Jan 4, 2008)

Based on my historical average propane useage. At current prices I am saving about 3850 dollars. Now Its costing my something to cut this wood but I doubt much more than 500 bucks. I am saving 3,000 easy. My OWB & 3 heat exchangers, will be paid for after this yr, its third yr.


----------



## Freakingstang (Jan 4, 2008)

Let's see, in the last two years I saved, erh spent it on 27 saws at one point in time. the bigger spenders included a 5100, 7900, 084 complete rebuild, 066, then a 660, a 372 here and there, a few less dollar saws, and the lastly aquired right before chistmas a 440. Add in the couple reels of chain, all the numerous bars for all those saws, then the chainsaw mill (that really helps with heating costs, when you are cold, go run it for a couple hours and your warm again LOL), spare parts, extra mufflers for modding, bar covers for all those bars, etc, etc, etc.

I could go on for days at how happy I saved so much in heating costs, cutting firewood! lol. :censored:


----------



## MATTYB11 (Jan 4, 2008)

I installed an insert in my fireplace in fall 2006 and my natural gas bill went from $300 a month in the winter to $35 a month. Now I only use the gas for hot water or for heat if we are away. I figure after buying a load of logs to process into firewood and all the incidentals (gas for saws + splitter, bar oil, chains) I still save at least $1300 a year on heat. the best part is we now keep the house at about 70 degrees instead of 64-65 and i don't have to constantly hear "I'm cold" from the wife.


----------



## Dok (Jan 4, 2008)

I had no idea how much we were saving until I talked to our old neighbor. We moved recently and these figures are for the old house. The houses were almost identical, same size (1300sf) just the floor plans flipped. My neighbors used the central heat/forced air burning propane. They were spending $500-$600 per month on propane and around $150 per month for electricity. We weren't even getting monthly propane deliveries, our monthly propane bill was averaging $50 per month. Electricity was also around $50 per month. 

How much we saved per year really depends on how cold and how long the winter lasts. Sometimes its 7.5 months, sometimes only three really cold months. Our wood use varies accordingly, I have used a maximum of 8 cords and minimum of 2.5 cords. Wood cutting has become a family hobby, I take my wife and kids and dog and we make a day of it. 

By the way- my neighbor, he now has his son cutting firewood for him. They always had a wood stove but never used it.  

Dok


----------



## Dok (Jan 4, 2008)

Ouch, 'stang! You mean I have to deduct the cost of my saw'in stuff? Does that include my truck? In that case I'm probably breaking even as of this year, next I'll be money ahead so time for a new saw!
Dok


----------



## NORTREE (Jan 4, 2008)

Last year we went through 4 275 gal tanks of heating oil.At current $3.50/gal thats about $3850. We put in a SMALL Frontiersman woodstove and double wall dura-last stainless chimney this year.I'd say we're under 50 gallons of fuel oil so far.The stove doesn't burn through the night so unless we get up and refill it the furnace comes on.It's -4 degrees right now so I stayed up late to keep it going longer.I plan to get a bigger stove for next year so it'll burn through the night.Since I'm in the tree business I get the wood for free I just have to cut and split it.I think we can do the winter on one 275 gal tank of oil so that will save us about $2900. this winter.


----------



## ropensaddle (Jan 4, 2008)

10,000 the first year, now I don't know what the savings
would be. The 10,000 is estimate for a new heat and air unit
wiring and duct to install and operating cost for the first year.
I bought my old wood furnace for two hundred dollars and did
not even have a use for it for 8 years. Two years ago I installed
it and will never look back, nothing like central wood heat owb
mess outside heats all nite I love it.


----------



## windthrown (Jan 4, 2008)

We save $300-400 a month in electric bills in fall/winter months. $2,000 a year I guess? The OWB was $7,000 installed. 4 year payoff w/chainsaw gas, etc. 3 years into it now. And we stay far warmer than 68/65 setting before. Now its 70/68. Money plus comfort. And we burn free wood here... all we need. 

Psssssst! It grows on trees.


----------



## Blazin (Jan 4, 2008)

I'm saving around $8500 a year with my central boiler. I'm heating 2 houses and my garage, which are all in the 2100sq ft range. This is my third year on the central 5648 and I'd have to say it's well over paid for itself! I look back when I bought it and finished the install......I had around 11k in the whole deal. Wow! I thought to myself, It's gonna take six years for this thing to pay it's own way....Not! I burn 14-16 full cord from Oct-June I still have people tell me that's a crazy amount of wood?!?!?! All I can do is laugh at em:hmm3grin2orange:


----------



## spike60 (Jan 4, 2008)

Freakingstang said:


> Let's see, in the last two years I saved, erh spent it on 27 saws at one point in time. the bigger spenders included a 5100, 7900, 084 complete rebuild, 066, then a 660, a 372 here and there, a few less dollar saws, and the lastly aquired right before chistmas a 440. Add in the couple reels of chain, all the numerous bars for all those saws, then the chainsaw mill (that really helps with heating costs, when you are cold, go run it for a couple hours and your warm again LOL), spare parts, extra mufflers for modding, bar covers for all those bars, etc, etc, etc.
> 
> I could go on for days at how happy I saved so much in heating costs, cutting firewood! lol. :censored:



Hold on a minute Steve, you're not going about this the right way.

Proper accounting procedure is that only one saw, say one of your 372's, is designated the official firewood saw. The value of that saw is then added to the heating cost column.

All other saws are considered hobby/recreational items and have no bearing what so ever on the heating equation. No more than would a new dining room set, 75 pairs of shoes, etc.


----------



## beerman6 (Jan 4, 2008)

It use to cost me about $2000 a season to keep the house at 65,my last propane fill was in Nov of 2006.Now the house is a nice 74 degrees,I get my wood free minus the gas in the truck,saw and splitter.

This is my 3rd season with the OWB and it just about paid for itself at the end of last season,I figure by the end of this season it will have paid for the splitter as well.


----------



## Butch(OH) (Jan 4, 2008)

I am not sure how much we actually save because I have never bothered to keep track of the costs of wood heat. I can tell you what I paid for my wood heat system (little over 7K) and what I paid Columbia Gas the last year I heated with gas, 2005 (right at 3K) and what I paid them in 2006 ($350) I am heating my home, shop and domestic water with a Woodmaster 4400. Winter last year was mostly mild and this year hasn't been too bad either. Burned right at 10 cord last year and on track to do same this year. Problem is I like my man toys, 18 working saws sitting on the shelf, newly built super splitter with elevator, about 2K and labor in those two items. Fuel for trucks and saws, couple mauls, Fiskers axe, 'lectric chain grinder consumables like chains, trips for chiropractic. Who knows? Maybe If I could quit buying toys I could save 2K a year? Right now probably would be money ahead to buy natural gas


----------



## kellog (Jan 4, 2008)

The house was using 1300-1400 gal of oil per year (previous owner) for heat and hot water. Now using 600 gals (probably 200 for heat and 400 for hot water / keeping the boiler warm.). So 700-800 gals of oil saved at 3.50/gal is about $2500. 

I spend $500/yr on a logging truck load of wood (7-7.5 cord after cutting and splitting) and burn about 6.5-7 cord.

Spent just less that $3000 on stainless chimney & install, chain saw, homemade cord wood saw, trailer for lawn tractor, wood racks, chimney brush and other capital sundries (already had a stove from previous house and there was a stove set-up in the house already). Very little spent on consumables like gas, files, chain, etc. each year let’s say $100.

So at $3.50 /gal oil and 10% depreciation/maintenance on the capital and $100 on consumables ($2500-500-300-100) the real savings is $1500 to $1600 not including labor of cutting/stacking/moving/loading stoves, etc. 

Having a 75 degree house all winter and not having the women complain about heat – absolutely PRICELESS. Not to mention that I really like the heat too, it is environmentally better, and we are not bankrupting the country by sending all our money to the foreign oil barons.


----------



## stonykill (Jan 4, 2008)

Corley5 said:


> I've never heated with anything but wood so my budget doesn't even have a place for heating costs. I do know that I'd have a major lifestyle change if I had to use fossil fuels to stay warm



Me either, at least not since the winter of 1990, my last winter with oil heat. I don't have a heating or hot water budget. In 1990 it cost me $1200 to heat the house alone, now I'm heating the house, workshop and domestic hot water. Guess I've saved a lot of money. No idea how much. 

I enjoy cutting, scrounging wood in the warmer months. Its an excuse to run my saws. Everyone needs a hobby or 5


----------



## Wood Scrounge (Jan 4, 2008)

By my calculation I will save 3200 this year, which pays for my new saw, splitter, trailer and about 500 left over


----------



## johnha (Jan 4, 2008)

2650/sf split level house built 1969, meaning lousy insulation. Natural gas heat.

I recouped the cost of my stove($100), ss chimney($900), saw(s)($600), and logsplitter($1200) in just about one season when I kept track of such things. That was 6 years ago. 

Used to keep the house at 62 with the gas heat. Last February, we put an insert in on the main floor in addition to the stove. I'll have to calculate how long that will take to pay for itself. 

Past two nights it went down to 15F but it was over 70 in the house in the morning. The heat is yet to come on this winter. I'm waiting for the Ngas supplier to show up and accuse me of stealing gas. 

Also, I scavenge all of my wood.


----------



## reaperman (Jan 4, 2008)

I've never had a heating bill to speak of in the 20 years I've owned a home. I figure I've saved enough money whereas I should be able to retire a few years sooner. It looks good on paper, but reality says I'll be working until the day I die  At least I'll be warm when I get home from those long days at work when I'm 80.


----------



## Rob G. (Jan 4, 2008)

The quick answer:
Three year savings = $4,100 (conservative)
Fireplace and tool investment = $1,900
(that means I can justify up to $2,200 for a splitter and/or more saws)

The usage history is for a 900 sq ft house and the current usage is for a 1900sq ft house so my quality of life is better for less money.

My story of wood burning addiction:
This is only my third season burning wood.
I used to heat our 900 sq ft house with about 600 gal of oil.
I built a 1000 sq ft addition and added a 36" Fireplace Xtrordinair.
The first winter I burned wood, I used about 125 gal of oil to heat 1900 sq ft.
At that time oil was about $2.50/gal
475 gal oil saved times $2.50 is almost $1,200.
The second winter, I used about 200 gal (lots of variables, don't ask).
400 gal times $2.75 is $1,100.
This winter usage to date is about 15 gal (I'm getting better at this), so I expect to use about 75 gal.
525 gal times $3.50 is over $1,800
Heat even when there is no power..."priceless"
Fresh air and exercise from collecting/splitting..."priceless"
Minimal oil dependency..."priceless"
Three year savings is about $4,100

My investment so far: $1,900
The addition was to have a fireplace for asthetics anyway, so the price of a basic zero clearance is part of the addition.
EPA certified upgrade = $1,500
Echo CS440 = $300
Two extra chains $50
Maul, sledge, some wedges = $50

Running these numbers is a rewarding exercise.


----------



## Rob G. (Jan 4, 2008)

The quick answer:
Three year savings = $4,100 (conservative)
Fireplace and tool investment = $1,900
(that means I can justify up to $2,200 for a splitter and/or more saws)

The usage history is for a 900 sq ft house and the current usage is for a 1900sq ft house so my quality of life is better for less money.

My story of wood burning addiction:
This is only my third season burning wood.
I used to heat our 900 sq ft house with about 600 gal of oil.
I built a 1000 sq ft addition and added a 36" Fireplace Xtrordinair.
The first winter I burned wood, I used about 125 gal of oil to heat 1900 sq ft.
At that time oil was about $2.50/gal
475 gal oil saved times $2.50 is almost $1,200.
The second winter, I used about 200 gal (lots of variables, don't ask).
400 gal times $2.75 is $1,100.
This winter usage to date is about 15 gal (I'm getting better at this), so I expect to use about 75 gal.
525 gal times $3.50 is over $1,800
Heat even when there is no power..."priceless"
Fresh air and exercise from collecting/splitting..."priceless"
Minimal oil dependency..."priceless"
Three year savings is about $4,100

My investment so far: $1,900
The addition was to have a fireplace for asthetics anyway, so the price of a basic zero clearance is part of the addition.
EPA certified upgrade = $1,500
Echo CS440 = $300
Two extra chains $50
Maul, sledge, some wedges = $50

Running these numbers is a rewarding exercise.


----------



## PA Plumber (Jan 4, 2008)

Good thread. 

We would have 4 fills per heating season. At approx. 200 gallons/fill and $3.00/gallon fuel oil, I guess that's about $2400.00. 

Last year we used 5/8 of a tank of fuel with a wood guzzling, low effeciency woodstove. With the new Pacific Energy, I suspect that to be around a 1/4 of a tank or so.

We should be able to pay for the woodstove in one heating season.


----------



## JBinKC (Jan 4, 2008)

I did the math when I first installed my Jotul stove (which included extending the hearth and stove pipe) plus 2 saws and incidentals like extra saw chains and splitting tools. I figured my payback period would be 2 years+1 month at $1.50/gallon propane assuming an average heating degree year.

Since then the prices have gone up some and I lost the ability to contract my propane which meant the winter fill ups were at much higher prices


Obviously, I recovered my costs at a faster rate. 

Likely my next new purchase is to convert my propane tank for OTR use and buy a vehicle which uses propane so I can save even more money.


----------



## olyman (Jan 4, 2008)

well--ive been burning for over 25 years----------so how much have i saved????????????????? tons--i built my own 30 ton logsplitter---30 years ago. but its gas powered--have to switch to diesel to save more cash--  wife gets on me!!! owned a small woodburner for 5 years--it died--then got a large 2 stage burn woodstove---still using it!!!!!!!!!! about 5 cords a year---on a not to efficent house!!!!!!! that will change this year!!! all new windows!!!! about 3 years ago, when the price of nat gas jumped--a two week bill--on a 96% gas furnace--was 128.00!!!!!!!!!ouucchhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Tazman1602 (Jan 4, 2008)

spike60 said:


> Well, it's zero outside right now, and I was just thinking about how much money I'm saving by burning wood. And the more oil costs, the more I'm saving.
> 
> I figure that I'll save somewhere around $2500 this winter.
> 
> How 'bout you guys?



I've just been waiting for someone to start this. Wife and I have been married 27 years. For the first ten all we could afford to heat with was wood -- dang furnace never worked after consuming $350 worth of oil in 1981 dollars.

We built a new energy efficient house in 1989 and we built the house around a wood furnace. Used it for two years and then the cost of LP was pretty reasonable. I woke up one winter morning with the stove out and wondered what it would be like to just turn up the thermostat on the LP furnace................that was nice. No hauling wood, no mess, just turn the dial. We used LP and the wood furnace sat dormant for the next 12 or so years....................right up until 6 weeks ago.

The propane company we'd been with for 17 years came and put 272 gals in my tank and left the bill on the door. $3/gallon almost $900. I just about dropped a load in my drawers. NO WAY. At that rate I'm out almost $5 grand to heat the house.

$720 for ten pole cords of wood
$400 in new Husky 353 and other "stuff"
$50 woodsplitter rental (wife runs a rental place, had it for ten days)
$1170 TOTAL

12 days of cutting/splitting 10 pole cords with my 23 year old daughter -- PRICELESS! ALL DONE!

$5000 - $1170 = $3830 in savings even after I bought all the crap I had lost/given away or was just plain too old and heavy for me to work with anymore. 

You know, I plain FORGOT how much I liked cutting that crap and working outside in the winter. Ain't real cold when yer humpin wood all day.

...........I got another 10-pole cord load coming next spring and am going to buy a splitter (and I *think* I've planted the seeds of another saw in wifeys head....) AND I'LL STILL BE AHEAD!!!

:greenchainsaw:


----------



## jjett84724 (Jan 4, 2008)

Hi guys, new to the site. My wife and I live in a moderate climate and were paying $300+ a month for gas and $150 a month for power. We just built a house and insisted on a wood burning stove. We paid $150 for the wood burning stove from a buddy of mine and expect to save the $300 a month in gas. Paid for itself in two weeks.  I already had a saw and looking at your posts realized I have been had by my wife. I need a new saw


----------



## Tazman1602 (Jan 4, 2008)

jjett84724 said:


> I already had a saw and looking at your posts realized I have been had by my wife. I need a new saw




ONLY ONE???????


----------



## grandpatractor (Jan 4, 2008)

jjett84724 said:


> I already had a saw and looking at your posts realized I have been had by my wife. I need a new saw



Dolmar 5100- 1 dealer in Hurricane and 1 in St George.:hmm3grin2orange:


----------



## WVhunter (Jan 4, 2008)

I figure a couple of hundred a month on the electric bill and as much as $300 in colder months, so probably around $1500 a year.
Tom


----------



## ktm250rider (Jan 4, 2008)

We bought 2000 gal of propane last year. So far this year we have bought 100 gals for hot water and cooking. Woodmaster 5500 gets me out in the woods and I get to clear trees for my mx track. If I didnt have my tractor already, it would have been a tougher decision. So far, its one of the best Ive made.


----------



## Firestarter (Jan 4, 2008)

I'm in my third year in the house I'm in now. Previous owners went through a tank of propane a month they installed a wood furnace but didn't use it much. When we bought this house i checked out the furnace it was rusted out, NICE So I replaced the Wood Furnice 900.00 New Chainsaw and etc 500.00= 1400 at todays propane prices i use about 150 gal in the winter = 300.00 for hot water and back up, and when its real cold out like New Years DAY. Crappy insulation and windows soon to be fixed. 

Previous owner bill oct- mar 1200. 
my propane bill oct -mar 300.
furnace, saws, etc 1500.

Mine paid for itself last year.

Cool I Never figured it up before.


----------



## spike60 (Jan 4, 2008)

Tazman1602 said:


> The propane company we'd been with for 17 years came and put 272 gals in my tank and left the bill on the door. $3/gallon almost $900. I just about dropped a load in my drawers. NO WAY. At that rate I'm out almost $5 grand to heat the house.



This was a great post. It would cost me the same or more, to fill my oil tank. A $1000 for a tank of heat can leave anyone shell-shocked. There is a stove store just down the road from mine, and the owner says that people have always calculated how many years it takes to recover the cost of a stove installation. In the past, it averaged 3 years, but now payback is usually accomplished in just one season. Makes it easy for people to take the plunge, and many of them also get fired up after one of those tank fills.

In my store, I've seen a lot of people like Taz, who are already set up to burn wood, but haven't bothered with it the last few years. Many of them say that they had grown tired of it and would only occasionally burn during a power failure, or real cold snap, if at all. But they are having the same reaction as Taz to those $1000 invoices hanging on the doorknob. Folks are dragging saws out that haven't been used in years. I've actually started to stock 59 driver chains for Homelites for the first time in 10 years. The strange thing is that firewood prices haven't really gone up in this area. Only about $25 a cord, but it will likely go higher before the end of the season.

Looking at the posts so far, it looks like we are collectively well over $100,000 a year in savings. Pretty impressive. 

We're all pretty lucky that we have the ability to do this. Most of us seem to live in fairly rural areas, where wood is plentiful. And it looks like most of us get our wood for free as well. Myself, I've never paid for a stick of wood. Think what it would be like to be in the same boat as someone who doesn't have this option, and having to figure how to pay a few thousand dollars in heating bills. My former girlfriend had an old furnace in an old house, and was going through a tank a month. That's insane at current prices. 

I'm going out to the woodshed and bring in a few more pieces.


----------



## aandabooks (Jan 4, 2008)

$150-$200 per month depending on how cold it is. Natural gas though. Friend of mine at work put in a OWB and he hasn't used a noticable amount of LP yet. Last year he was having a 300 gal. tank refilled monthly. Any of them are worth it if a person is willing to put in the work.

Matt


----------



## LNG24 (Jan 4, 2008)

THREAD HI-JACK 

How many of you burn Full Rounds instead of split?

Thanks to someone on here, I discovered I don't need to split all that wood I have stacked outside waiting for the splitter. I began to throw full rounds into there yesterday and its been going great!


----------



## cjcocn (Jan 4, 2008)

LNG24 said:


> THREAD HI-JACK
> 
> How many of you burn Full Rounds instead of split?
> 
> Thanks to someone on here, I discovered I don't need to split all that wood I have stacked outside waiting for the splitter. I began to throw full rounds into there yesterday and its been going great!



We don't have a lot of big wood in our area, so I am able to burn rounds (somewhat). Right now we have a "pretty" stove with a glass door in the front (a Regency). It is a bit small for my taste, especially since I can't really load it up and have it keep a fire all night.

I will be switching over to a plain steel box with some tin around it (Wood Chief? Fire Chief? ... I can't recall the name) fairly quickly. We had one of those growing up and it was big enough to take some decent-sized rounds. All it's gonna do is sit there and throw heat! I like burning rounds, especially at night as they take longer to burn down.

As for the original question, I am not sure how much burning wood has saved me (financially). We have been in this house for 3 years and have always burned wood in the winter. The previous owners had an oil furnace that they replaced in favor of electric heat (baseboard heaters). I can just imagine that meter wheel spinning like crazy if we did not burn wood! So far we have not even turned the baseboard heaters on. 

I love to haul firewood and find it relaxing since I am stuck in an office during the week.

..... in other news

I probably shouldn't say this lest I be shunned for my transgression, but right now I kind of only have one saw (a 455 Rancher). I have a Stihl 039, but it has a scored piston and I need to rebuild it, but do not know if I will keep it after that as it is similar to my Husky and I may opt for a larger saw (and probably in the pro series). Do I "need" another saw? .... well, no - but I am still not sure what that has to do with anything anyway!


----------



## aandabooks (Jan 4, 2008)

I have a 13" sq. door on the Daka. As long as the wood is under about 8" I don't bother splitting. You get longer burn times and less handling. When they start getting too heavy to lift into a hot stove and place for good stacking I split them in half.

The first year I split everything way down into 3-4" pieces. That is what I was used to from helping my father-in-law for a number of years. He has a stove with a much small door and burn chamber. Alot of extra splitting and reduced burn.

Matt


----------



## logbutcher (Jan 4, 2008)

*PRICELESS* 

We built for the wood heating, so can't say how much "saved". Maybe use < 200 gallons of propan/year for hot water, dryer, cooking, go away backup. The cutting and logging is part of life for us. Hard but fun.  
Though right now I'll be damned how to work the harvest in 3+ feet on the ground :jawdrop: 

But who said "...meeting interesting people...." ? Where the H ! Cut wood , get a woman ? :censored: Ain't nobody in our woodlands but deer sh__ , some bear, some moose, some coyote scat (better word for the censors) Gee.....


----------



## aokpops (Jan 5, 2008)

well I don.t know how much I have saved I.am getting tried oh giving all the money to those you do work . ready to say ding dong bush is gone :the end of a error


----------



## aokpops (Jan 5, 2008)

should say to those that don,t work . not do


----------



## Blazin (Jan 5, 2008)

LNG24 said:


> THREAD HI-JACK
> 
> How many of you burn Full Rounds instead of split?
> 
> Thanks to someone on here, I discovered I don't need to split all that wood I have stacked outside waiting for the splitter. I began to throw full rounds into there yesterday and its been going great!



Full Rounds Rule!...........As long as you can lift em


----------



## beerman6 (Jan 5, 2008)

"If the log fits...you dont split"

I made a template out of pvc that is the same dimensions as the door opening on the owb,if it drops over the log it dont get split.


----------



## skytow (Jan 5, 2008)

Back on track....

I would have used about 1100 +/- gallons of oil this year @ 3.30 / gallon = ~3500 $.

Already had the truck, long since paid for.....
Saws!!... (Thanks AS!  650 and rising
Just got the splitter 1060
Gas for the truck 200
PPE 100
Stove paid for itself last year...

I'm at least $ 1500 to $ 1600 better off plus, I have a bunch of equipment that I didn't, instead of another empty tank in the basement. I haven't bought oil since JAN 07.

Added benefits are I enjoy the cutting, scrounging, splitting, stacking and free work out and house is 75 degrees instead of 64 all the time!

Next year I can really think about saws as I won't have the splitter cost for a long time again! Oh, the madness....... 

JD in PA


----------



## wdchuck (Jan 5, 2008)

logbutcher said:


> But who said "...meeting interesting people...." ? Where the H ! Cut wood , get a woman ? :censored: Ain't nobody in our woodlands but deer sh__ , some bear, some moose, some coyote scat (better word for the censors) Gee.....




I did, 90% of my firewood has come from property other than mine, so I have to ask people to get it, and since I have to cut alone, at least someone is around on those properties to call for help if there's an accident. 



We filled our LP tank in Sept, $1.70/gal x 362 gal = $620 , the gauge is at 63%, on a 500gal tank.(cooking/laundry/hotwater/furnace) 

Current price of ~$3/gal, x 362gal = $1086 if I needed to fill up now. :jawdrop: :jawdrop:


----------



## hockeypuck (Jan 5, 2008)

before i got a owb I went through almost 1000 gallons of propane a year for heat and hot water. Propane is at almost 3 bucks a gallon now. I burn 8 to 10 chord a year from october to beg of may. I burn about 100 gallons for hot water during the summer. I save 2700 a year. My wood for the past two seasons have cost me a total of 200 buck for trucking (helps to have a friend who is a logger). I invested 7000 into a boiler start up. I expect to get 10 relatively problem free years ( I am currently in my second year) with 100 bucks or less maintenance per year. Figure 200 bucks a year for wear and tear and gas on saw and wood splitter. With out cost of boiler 3000 - 500 for a total of 2500 savings. If you divide the 7000 dollar boiler by 10 you get 700 dollars per year depreciatio. So netting 1800 savings per year. In a year where would have to buy my wood log length (800) I am down to 1000 bucks saved per year. The yearly savings is only icing on the cake for me. I get much needed exersize from moving 10 chord around and it puts a smile on my face to know that I am doing more in getting america off foreign oil than the nut job driving around in a prius.


----------



## Basica Guru (Jan 5, 2008)

Long time lurker, first time poster. This post looked like a good one to jump in on. Grew up burning wood, so the move to wood was not a huge deal. My stove is in my barn next to the house. There are 2 pipes that go thru the barn floor, under the ground, and then back under the house. One is piped into the furnace, the other is direct vented into the living room.

Because I work in the barn often, it is nice to have it heated by the wood stove. Radiant heat from the stove keeps it about 55-60. If I want it warmer, I open a vent on the plenum. Big savings on kerosene for the salamander.

The stove was free, my brother bought a home that had a 2 yr old add-on burner and did not want the hassle. His laziness is my gain! 

Most of our wood is slabs from a sawmill a few miles down the road. It is clean and rarely has any bark on it. Because the mill cuts only hardwood for furniture makers, they throw out some really nice slabs that aren't dimensional. So along with firewood, I have salvaged a lot of really nice wood to use for projects. At $10 a truckload, I figure it will take about 150-200 bucks for what we will need. Everything so far has been cut with a miter saw.

I will be cutting some trees up for some larger stuff. I can only get about 4 hours at the most on a load of wood. I hope this will keep it going overnight. I have access to several large lots that have been logged and have lots of tops to clean out. Michigan has also been hit hard by the emerald ash borer, so an incredible amount of trees are dieing off. I think there will be free wood for a long time to come.

Last year we burned about 1300 gals propane for the winter. That is keeping the house at 62-64 degrees. Since we use gas for cooking and the dryer there will still be some gas use. I started the wood stove Dec. 3rd. Since then we have used 5% by the gage out of a 500 gal tank. The furnace comes on for a few hours in the morning once the house cools down, but it does not run too long.

It is kind of funny, we have kept the house colder for several winters. Now that it is 70-75 my wife is complaining about how hot the house is. I think the menopause has a bit too do with it, but I will keep that to myself. I figure we will save at least $1500 this year.

When the tax return gets here, I will be buying a new saw. What do you guys think I should get? Kidding, just kidding. I let the wrong guy work on my 2065, so now it is a boat anchor. I have been rubbing on and talking sweet to a 2171 that the dealer has. It is going to go to a loving home next month!

Sorry about the length of the post, just has a bunch to say. In case no one has mentioned it lately, you guys are a great source of information.


----------



## NORTREE (Jan 6, 2008)

I'll have to check when I get my taxes done but...wondering since I'm in the tree business...can I buy an out door wood boiler or for that matter any wood stove/chimney expenditure and depreciate it on my taxes like equipment over several years if I heat a garage and the house?


----------



## aandabooks (Jan 6, 2008)

Is your business operated solely out of your house/garage?

Matt


----------



## NORTREE (Jan 6, 2008)

aandabooks said:


> Is your business operated solely out of your house/garage?
> 
> Matt


 yes it is


----------



## NORTREE (Jan 6, 2008)

aandabooks said:


> Is your business operated solely out of your house/garage?
> 
> Matt


 Hmmnn...Now that I think about what I just replied...the office is in the house,planning to build the garage here this year.Maintanence and storage will be in the garage,obviously the actual tree work is else where.


----------



## aandabooks (Jan 6, 2008)

Whatever percentage of the house you claim for your business on your taxes, you might be able to take that same percentage against the cost of equipment. Wouldn't be able to write off the whole thing since the whole house is not used solely for business? Your accountant should be able to tell you more. 

I used to run an ebay business out my basement part-time and considered writing off a percentage of the house for business use on taxes. If I remember correctly this can be included on taxes. If you need a solid answer quickly, I'll call my mom (she's a CPA) and get some of my usual free tax advice.

Matt


----------



## windthrown (Jan 6, 2008)

LNG24 said:


> THREAD HI-JACK
> 
> How many of you burn Full Rounds instead of split?
> 
> Thanks to someone on here, I discovered I don't need to split all that wood I have stacked outside waiting for the splitter. I began to throw full rounds into there yesterday and its been going great!



A huge reason that we went with the OWB was when we looked at the Central Boiler demo unit at the sales guy's place, he was burning 2-1/2 ft x 12inch logs in there. A light went off in my head and I said... 'hey now, no splitting required!' I had some rounds here the first year, grand fir and light. Went right in, 2 ft by 2 ft in diameter. But that was seasoned, and grand fir is light stuff. Anyway, we cut wood only to a size that we can haul and stack and heave into the OWB. So I split only the big rounds and leave the rest whole. We are burning some big alder half rounds in there tonight. Not only do we burn large wood, it is long wood. I can make less cuts, and tend to cut logs in 2-3 foot lengths now. Bigger is better and easier.


----------



## Freakingstang (Jan 6, 2008)

spike60 said:


> Hold on a minute Steve, you're not going about this the right way.
> 
> Proper accounting procedure is that only one saw, say one of your 372's, is designated the official firewood saw. The value of that saw is then added to the heating cost column.
> 
> All other saws are considered hobby/recreational items and have no bearing what so ever on the heating equation. No more than would a new dining room set, 75 pairs of shoes, etc.



I know, was just playing around. Betweem heating cost savings, selling firewood, buying the saws right, and getting some ridiculously cheap I've about broke even. It is more of a hobby for me, though. Still have too many hobbies for the task at hand, though.

I've always used wood whereever I was at, so I don't have a real comparison. Where I'm at now, takes about 400 month in electric to heat during the somewhat cold months. It was 500 once. Electric heat sucks! Plus there is nothing like heating with wood you cut, split, and lit. Make you feel all warm and tingly inside. lol


----------



## WPanhandler (Jan 6, 2008)

Don't have a clue how much saved, I have had a fire in my stove since early oct. will have till don't need it any more. have a couple of electric space heaters and would rather open windows than turn them on. I do have plenty of free firewood as loggers logged my FIL had his place logged and they left tops and other larger wood all over his place.


----------



## LNG24 (Jan 6, 2008)

Freakingstang said:


> Where I'm at now, takes about 400 month in electric to heat during the somewhat cold months. It was 500 once. Electric heat sucks! Plus there is nothing like heating with wood you cut, split, and lit. Make you feel all warm and tingly inside. lol




I don't think so. In most areas of the US, Electric heat is NOW cheaper than Oil or Gas. Of course nothing is cheaper than Wood  

I am trying to decide which Supplement Heat source I want now that I heat with wood. Why supplement. Well, if I take a few days up North, need to keep the house from freezing. Also Hot Water.

I looked into converting my Oil Fired baseboard Hot Water over to Electrically Heated Hot Water for the baseboards. The Solar Industry says DON'T They suggest Gas followed by Oil. Why? They want you to be able to SELL Electric back to the utility co.


----------



## jrclen (Jan 6, 2008)

Some. We used an average of 700 gallons of propane per year for heat, water, and cooking. With the fireplace I built in, and the 10 - 12 cords of free dead oak from our own woods out back, we are down to around 400 to 500 gallons of LP. This year the LP was $1.53 per. Now I'm not even going to get into the cost of the fireplace, new saw, and the new splitter we're getting this spring. opcorn:


----------



## spike60 (Jan 6, 2008)

LNG24 said:


> I don't think so. In most areas of the US, Electric heat is NOW cheaper than Oil or Gas.



This is definitely true now. 8 years ago, I was paying $.85 a gallon for heating oil. Electricity certainly hasn't gone up 3 to 4 times since then. 

Electric heat/heaters can sort of save you money in that they give you the ability to heat indivdual rooms. I use a small heater upstairs here in my office. I use it on the medium setting, which is 1000 watts. I use it a lot, a real lot, and my electric bill goes up maybe $10 a month. That's 30 cents a day. Can't beat that.


----------



## MNfarmer (Jan 7, 2008)

I'm saving at least $3000 and maybe even close to $3500:hmm3grin2orange:


----------



## bob621 (Jan 7, 2008)

*Net savings*

We're on year 5 of wood for heat and hot water. We had electric hot air before that for heat, LP for hot water, so you'd expect we'd be saving a ton. 

But then I have to deduct the cost of the wood boiler, the repair costs for the old saw and the purchase price of the new one, the cost of the powered wagon we use to get wood from the far corners of the lot to the house, and (in the first two years) the cost of buying firewood. We're not buying wood anymore (plenty to harvest from the lot), but it'll be another 2-5 years before we break even. I measure every wood-heat related cost in terms of cords of wood I have to cut and split to recoup the cost. I have a lot of cords to go.

On the other hand, it's better use of time than the treadmill or the stairclimber, and a lot more fun. The dogs find endless amusement deconstructing woodpiles in search of rodential residents, and many of the dollars spent go to people to who actually make something, rather than to a power or gas company.


----------



## jrclen (Jan 7, 2008)

bob621 said:


> On the other hand, it's better use of time than the treadmill or the stairclimber, and a lot more fun. The dogs find endless amusement deconstructing woodpiles in search of rodential residents, and many of the dollars spent go to people to who actually make something, rather than to a power or gas company.



Good points there. I agree with you. I enjoy my time in the woods.


----------



## gtstang462002 (Jan 7, 2008)

I dont know if electric could be considered a cheaper way to heat over gas/oil... But what I do know is that within the last 3 years my electric bill has close to tripled and my monthly electric usage is decreasing as I put in more efficient appliences... My heating is a hearth heater fireplace insert that provides me with 99% of my heat. I have oil heat as my backup that comes on if i neglect to load the woodstove one night before passing out or when we leave the house for more than 15hours...


----------



## turtleburtch (Jan 9, 2008)

I save around $2400 a year on my gas bill.


----------



## Ryan Willock (Jan 10, 2008)

My house is 1,200sqf and well insulated and when we finished it (fall of 03) we didn't have the money for a wood stove so we used our conventional heating system (appallo system). That system uses the hot water heater to heat the house. Our hot water system uses propane for the heat source. We finished the house the last week November and the first week in January we had to fill up the tank. Well we had to do it again the first week of march! Thats 800 gallons and we only had the temp set at 65!!! If memory serves me correctly propane was $1.80 a gallon then now its $3.50+!!! The summer of 04' we installed a Jotel 400 and now thats all we heat with unless we go out of town for a day or so. I only fill up the propane once a year now (instead of 3-4 times) so my heating costs are much lower. I burn anywhere from 2.5-4 cords per year depending on how cold it is. Lately (the last two years) it has not been that cold. I cut all of my wood on my place and drag it right down to the firewood shed with my tractor and cut, split and stack it on the spot. It costs me about $100-$150 in fuel and expenses to cut that amount of wood so for me its a huge savings espcially since I don't have much work coming in thanks to all of these wonderfull Illegal's undercutting my prices


----------



## drdugit (Jan 10, 2008)

This year I'm saving $349 less than I should be. Was out cutting wood all day on Saturday. After a long hard day, I was finally all finished up and threw my maul into the bed full of wood. Maul takes the weirdest bounce I've ever seen and smashes right through the rear window of my pickup. The weird thing is, a sliding rear window was cheaper than the fixed glass that I had before, so at least I got an upgrade out of the deal.

:lifter:


----------



## beerman6 (Jan 10, 2008)

bummer,at least it didnt clock ya in the head...


----------



## Woodjack (Jan 10, 2008)

This is my first year burning wood which I use as my primary heat source. I got a late start ramping up with wood so I feel like most of my time is spent searching for dry wood on my property. I'm going to break down and buy a couple of cords to get ahead of the game. If I calculated the time I spent heating with wood it would probably come out to about $5/hour. I don't care. I get more satisfaction saying screw you to my oil delivery company, the big oil refineries (Exxon, etc.) and especially to the Middle East scum we send all our money to. And heating with wood is friggin primal. After living in the city for the past twenty years I found out what it's like to feel like a human animal again. ugh ugh.


----------



## farmermike (Jan 10, 2008)

With 3 dollar fuel oil I figure I'm saving between 500 to 700 dollars a month. I'm getting paid pretty well for the time I spend cutting wood. Besides that I like spending time in the wood and it's good exercise. And I get to keep buying new toys to play with.


----------



## StihltheOne (Jan 10, 2008)

I am a heating my house, 2200 sf, and also a detail shop 2000 sf almost exclusively with wood. Stays pretty cool here, I think that we have been just at freezing for highs for 45 days?> +10 to -10 for lows. I thaw out 2 vehicles in the shop each day and maintain 75 constantly for drying, I guess that it would take 600+ per month in gas, oh yeah.. it is 79 in the house right now, my gas bill is 39 per mo avg, with gas water heat and cook stove.
Oh yeah... I love my new 660.


----------



## wdchuck (Jan 11, 2008)

StihltheOne said:


> Oh yeah... I love my new 660.



Talk about your **** somewhere else.  


I wonder how much we'd save if we didn't have power tools, you know, no:
power saws
tractors
pickup trucks
other equipment
to help us handle firewood, you know, all the equipment that requires fossil fuels to run.... 

Thinking out loud, that's all...


----------



## musch (Jan 11, 2008)

I'm not sure how much I've saved, but I know our gas bill alone has been over $400 in the past.
Keeping in mind that we use gas for water heater and dryer (and 5 people's laundry in the house.

Temps were between 5 and 20 last month, and our gas bill was $60.
:chainsawguy: 

Love that wood burnin heat!!! :rockn:


----------



## MNTAINGAL23 (Jan 11, 2008)

*Love the wood stove!*

Before we had the stove our electric bill was hovering at $300 a month.
That is with two teenage girls that claim it is freezing and they have icecicles in thier nose. They would crank the heat up to 80 to get warm.
We run the wood stove with a fan on it and it heats the whole house.
The electric bill dropped $200.


----------



## Lignum (Jan 12, 2008)

Just in heating Oil, around $2800.00 Unbelievable how the price has went up 400% since 2001.


----------



## cjk (Jan 12, 2008)

We used to use about 1500 gals LP per year. Now it is less than 500. Last fill was $2.70/gal so we are saving around $2700 this year. 

Along with the woodstove, we put in an on demand water heater and some new windows. 

After showing the wife this thread, how can she say No to a new saw
:greenchainsaw:


----------



## Sprig (Jan 12, 2008)

cjk said:


> We used to use about 1500 gals LP per year. Now it is less than 500. Last fill was $2.70/gal so we are saving around $2700 this year.
> 
> Along with the woodstove, we put in an on demand water heater and some new windows.
> 
> ...


Having seen some awesome on-demand HW systems I am tempted not to pass up the next Poloma that comes my way, something about never having the water turn cold on ya I like  set up well they seem to be a great back-up resource for wood heat and very efficient, with a surface well like I have power outages of a few days or more, well, just laugh. Many boats around here use them and once passed the intitial cost no one I know is unhappy (other than the costs at the pump).



Serge


----------



## milkie62 (Jan 13, 2008)

I built a new house with no furnace,just a Classic outdoor furnace.2600 sq ft.No fuel bill after living in house for 17 years.Upstate NY.Probably 5-6 gallons of chainsaw gas,5 gallons for splitter and no more than 5 gallons of diesel for tractor to haul it out of woods to house.Month of October on the weekends is wood month for me.Helps stay in shape too.Up yours IRAQ !!!!


----------



## 046 (Jan 13, 2008)

in third season of heating 100% with wood. 

gas bill is $20 per month year round.


----------



## micah79 (Jan 19, 2008)

I save around $200-$300 per month in the winter. I get all of my wood for free (actually I get paid for my wood) I split it all by hand and it is all good.


----------



## charlesfarm (Jan 20, 2008)

Our house is about 2100 sq. ft., built in 1910 and has some pretty crummy windows. I just bought and installed our wood cook stove in 2007, and stainless steel chimney, and installed the tile hearth, bought new Stihls (MS250 and MS361), and chains, and chain files, and PPE, and ... So, this year we're saving nothing -- but, we're sure staying a whole lot warmer that we ever did with propane forced air set to 67 during the day and 50 during the night. 

We've only burned about 30 gallons of propane this year ... using it to give the upstairs a jumpstart when the overnight log won't cut it with outside temps in the single digits.

I figure we'll have all the stuff we bought this year paid for about a third of the way through next heating season. Then we'll be saving about $2500 a year. If we kept the house as warm with propane as we do with the wood stove, we'd probably be saving around $3200 or better.

God bless,
Chris


----------



## mayor (Jan 20, 2008)

Gas budget and electric budget here 12 years ago was:
Gas 156 a month
Electric 128 a month
X 12 months a year
--------------------
$3408.00 per year combined.

Started cutting wood and installed a woodburner for 90 bucks! Stovepipe and all.

Now....
Gas 17.00 a month
Electric 68.00 a month
---------------------
$ 1020.00 per year combined.

Savings of 2388 a year


----------



## CharlieG (Jan 20, 2008)

And the feeling of a little "independence" from big bills also warms me  .


----------



## Tesen (Jan 20, 2008)

Here in Ohio it was 2F when I wokeup this morning; unfortunately my Wife and i were out all day yesterday and got home rather late so our Hotblast was not burning (gas as backup was at 58F though). 

Today reminds me why we decided to install a Hotblast three years ago! Before that we were keeping this old place (built in 1880) at 62 - 65F; now we usually keep it around 72F. At 65F average, we were probably spending $800 a season (that was actually 4 years ago, since we installed the hot blast 3 years ago). I suspect now, it'd be around $1500 easily per season.

Why i love wood; my inlaws have about 90acres combined of wooded land, we take what nature has decided to give us (i.e. fallen trees). This has the bonus of heating our house and clearing the woods out of dead wood (maintenance).

I feel sorry for my co-workers, most are averaging $250 - $350 a month and this was before we got close to 0F ;-)

Tes


----------



## jrclen (Jan 20, 2008)

We are saving money today. It was -22F this morning. Was -20F yesterday morning. They say it may warm up to +2 later today. It's nice and sunny and between the sun coming in the south windows and the fireplace burning, the furnace hasn't run since my wife built the fire. Normally it would run every 15 or 20 minutes in this weather. Saving gasoline too because it is just to cold to bother going any where.


----------



## hanko (Jan 20, 2008)

lets see now, hum! money saved. $3500 charmaster wood furnace, $6000 Timberwolf splitter, $5000 timberwolf conveyor. New chain saw $600. Man this savin money #### is allright. Maybe in 10 years it will payfor itself, be all wore out so i can start over again. I do like the $20 gas bills every month, I do like being out side cuttin wood, keeps me in shape and I give the propane truck the finger when he drives by. Forget all the #####in I just did. Id rather burn wood
HH


----------



## Tesen (Jan 21, 2008)

jrclen said:


> We are saving money today. It was -22F this morning. Was -20F yesterday morning. They say it may warm up to +2 later today. It's nice and sunny and between the sun coming in the south windows and the fireplace burning, the furnace hasn't run since my wife built the fire. Normally it would run every 15 or 20 minutes in this weather. Saving gasoline too because it is just to cold to bother going any where.



-22F? I'll stop complaining about 2 - 3F weather now  What kind of setup do you have? OWB or stove?

Tes


----------



## Kansas (Jan 21, 2008)

We sure dont have it as bad as a lot of you guys here in the midwest no -20 or anything on a regular basis. We get 0 to -10 at the very worst and 15-20 is average and even at that I save about $400 per month at my business (auto repair shop) and we use a corn/wood pellet stove at the house and a fireplace and save aprox $200 there. It has paid for a couple saws recently and a couple grinders and a bunch of beer with money to spare.


----------



## CharlieG (Jan 21, 2008)

It's not often that an investment (stove, chainsaws, Husqvarna BB caps  ) can pay for itself so quickly, and over and over again. I like to spend the money saved on the family, not some oil conglomerations buyouts for its executive staff !


----------



## Hugenpoet (Jan 21, 2008)

Can't be as precise as some of you that have been burning for many years without using oil/gas/electic for much other than hot water (and some not even for that) however, I keep telling myself that a simple rule of thumb is tha one cord of wood equals approximately 170 gallons of #2 Fuel Oil-after adjustment for differing efficiency of systems (Jotul Oslo 72%-new last year oild furnace 86%) I am saving approximately $400.oo per cord-bought three cord at $200/cord and cut three cord myself so my wood averaged $100. The rest is simple $400. times six cord equals $2400. savings. Next year will save full $500 per cord-assuming #2 stays at approximately $3.25 per gallon, as I am now gather all my own wood. Will pay for the stoves, installation, copper wood baskets, chains saws, new tractor, safety gear, etc., etc. hopefully sometime before I depart to the giant wood pile in the sky.

Hugenpoet


----------

