Any baby boomers still heat with wood?

[Blue Oaks]

My folks were born in 1936 and they still burn about a cord and a half each year in CA.

 

[Big_Al]

Turned 60 this year & still heat exclusively with wood. Burn about 5 cords every winter.

 

[knockbill]

Yep,,, I been retired a while,, still cut, split, stack about 5 cords a year,,, try to keep 2 years worth stacked, so its always seasoned...
I have an old Cawley 800 stove that heats the house fine... I installed a new furnace and AC two summers ago, but just use it for teh AC!!!! I try teh heater occasionally just to make sure it works!

 

[ArtB]

First year boomer, 8-12 cords/year from 74 to 2004, all from either own wood lot or scrap pallets, when wife hit 60 yo said she was old enough to not have to build a fire everyday, quit myself about then. Gained 30 pounds ?
Cabin still all wood stove.

GSHP now, < 1/2 cord a year for house. Still heat a shop with wood when used in winter, about a 1/2 cord a year there.

 

[ijon1]

I am almost seventy six and still cut wood. I just don't cut standing trees. Two many deaths lately around me from trees. You just have to be careful. Watch your foot placement.

 

[cheeves]

Turned 60 this year & still heat exclusively with wood. Burn about 5 cords every winter.

Me too at 69.....since oil embargo of the 70's.

 

[old CB]

68 yrs old here, been burning wood all my adult years. We have an oil furnace w/ baseboard hot water system, but I make sure it never fires up. It only gets used when we travel--I set the thermostats to 55. So the cats and the plumbing won't freeze. Our only TV is down in the basement--my wife watches it. My fire is my TV. I swear, there's something in fire that warms the soul.

Am a full-time sawyer (arborist suggests someone who cares for trees--I just cut 'em down and remove them), and have been feeling my age some. We (I work with one helper--the toughest 54-yr old, 120 lb woman you'll ever meet) mostly keep our workdays to 6 hrs. But it is heavy work, so all this year I've been saying this is my last season of commercial work, I'm retiring. Oddly enough, it's the paperwork that annoys me most--way more record-keeping than you'd think, jumping thru hoops to satisfy county contract stuff, quarterly employment tax filings, etc.

However, I like my work. I agreed yesterday to take on a job I'd already turned down. My helper Lauren says she'd miss it too--it's more than just the $--we're good friends and enjoy the camaraderie. Maybe I'll just slow down.

 

[066blaster]

My dad is 73 ,he only burned wood for about a month this season. I'm not sure why. I have about 5 cords cut split and stacked for him. Financially he is doing well ,and propane is cheap so i guess he just doesn't want to deal with it. He did mention he didn't want to get up at night to put wood in the furnace.

 

[LAH]

1950 model here. 80% of my home (3400 sq ft) is wood. My 700 sq ft cabin is wood. Still cut it all myself. God is good.

 

[Lena]

46 model and burn fire wood since I was knee high to a nat. Used to open the door of the old wood pot belly when I was young and couldn't sleep so I could read.

took out our old 30 plus year old add on furnace in 2015 and installed a New one a England 28 3500.


Al

born 1951 been burning wood in a Kerr inside wood boiler for over 40 years bought the boiler new. lucked out this summer and found a new never used one with everything except the controls for a couple hundred bucks which was a steal. The firebrick were perfect. I have been making my own for the last 30 plus years which don't last long but these new ones will last awhile as long as I am careful loading. Only get a 4 hour burn but I heat my whole house and domestic hot water. I buy truck loads of logs for 700 a load which generates 7 to 8 cords. I burn anwhere from 6 to 10 cords per year. I am very toasty warm 72 degrees. I wish I could get longer burn but it is what it is I'm too old to invest in a more modern one.

 

[dave_dj1]

59 model here and wonder how much longer I will be able to burn wood. I have only ever bought wood once in my life and that was a triaxle load back in 96 because I had knee surgery and couldn't get into the woods to get any. I have a friend that has some land and he lets me cut some there, dead, wind blown etc. I got lucky last year and got about 7 cords from a dirt road nearby that was being cut for new power poles, yes I had permission.
This year as soon as the weather breaks I was offered some at a land adjoining my buddy's, it's his sons property. I really like setting the thermostat at 72 degrees even when its -10 out like last night. I hope I have a few years left to do it.

 

[ericm979]

I only started burning wood a few years ago when we finally ripped out the prefab fireplace that made the house colder and got a good zero clearance stove. We're on land that generates a lot of wood. I don't need to fell trees to burn; enough falls over or dies or gets cut by PG&E. Before we got the stove I gave wood away. Now I can turn it into heat for us. Each cord of wood saves about $850 in propane.

I'm still in pretty good shape and since I have not been doing it for decades it's not too much of a drag. Hearing protectors that play music helps.

 

[Pwhite42]

I've been burning wood since 1983. I'm on my 3rd wood boiler. The first was a Harmon, which along with a 2nd one, were inside boilers. In 2006 I got a Central Boiler which provides the majority of my heat.

 

[lwmibc]

1948, 100% wood; pretty red, rescued from overheat and welded, Pacific Energy Summit Classic, personally-built Panabode log home on 5 acres, firewood cut and dried for 2 years in advance. No different than when I was a kid on the farm, hauling wood in for the kitchen stove and living room heater every day, no different from the cabins in the woods in the Yukon when I worked in mining up there. Love the feel when coming in through the door on a cold day.

 

[calamari]

I'm 77 and we only use wood for heat. We haven't turned the central heat on in 4 years and then only to make sure it works. I enjoy everything about it just some parts more than others. I bought the first "new" thing in a couple decades when I bought an EA 6100 Makita saw. That and my fiances' Redmax G300T 14" 25cc saw is all I need to denude the place.
We use a Sweet Home stove that's over 30 years old and has only needed to have a door gasket replaced once as its only repair. Burn 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 cords of oak and Madrone a year based on the year.

 

[tibikedad]

I'm 67 (1954), and have been heating with wood since the 90's. Almost 100% wood (I have a Tarm indoor boiler). Hope to keep burning until at least my mid 80's. I burn about 6-7 cords a year.

 

[Stihl-in-Ky]

I am 67 have been heating with wood since 1973 heat the house with a Charmaster wood furnace we installed in 1985 when we built the house. We did add a heat pump in 2013 we use it to heat till the temp gets down to about 30 degrees at night. I also have a wood stove in the wood shop. We burn around 3-4 cords a year.
i also cut firewood to sell between 15-30 cords a year I tell people I get paid to workout don't need a Gym membership.

 

[Hard_Yakka]

'53.
Started burning wood after service and going to WWSC (WWU now) on GI Bill. B'ham used to have a cedar shake mill and they'd let you have as much scrap kindling as you could cart off. Had a fireplace and two burner stove in the house built in 1912.. Mt. Baker Nat forest was the main wood source.
First real stove was a Jotul Elephant. it used a lot of madrone and fir and would drive us out (southern oregon)
Next was a Blaze King King in a 4 level split in eastern WA .. worked great, got wood from national forest with permits.
Career took me overseas so for about 15 years and we used bottled propane or electricity, no wood stove.
Put a new smaller wood stove in shop when we were overseas but it wouldnt keep an outhouse warm... can't remember the brand. Finally bought another Blaze King King and it drives us out. I won't put a BK King in the new house.. Not sure if it will be a BK or non-catalytic yet. I've switched out the ceramic cat for a stainless steel one which does burn hotter but clogs up sooner.

 

[djones]

Guilty, 73 and burning 16 cord a year in my OWB since 2005. Some of the wood is my own off of 14 acres and some is gifted to me by a couple of neighbors that want their dead trees cleaned up. Last years birthday gift form Wifey was 8 cord of hardwood logs delivered.

 

[TRTermite]

I ask myself the same thing. I made one thread and now theres like 5 lol turns out everybody on the arborist site likes burning wood..

AND everyone on AS likes to run chainsaws TOO!!!!