Rburg44
ArboristSite Operative
Anyone know any more charts like this one shows how many gallons of oil needed to equal a cord of wood... I think this one is pretty neat i took a screen shot of it long ago and cant find where i got it from anymore!
Cord chart
- Thread starter Rburg44
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Anyone know any more charts like this one shows how many gallons of oil needed to equal a cord of wood... I think this one is pretty neat i took a screen shot of it long ago and cant find where i got it from anymore!
flashhole
Addicted to ArboristSite
According to this chart I knock about $1500 off my winter heating bill every year. I burn Ash, Hard Maple and Shag Bark Hickory. I burn from mid October through April. Thanks for sharing.
Freakingstang
Doctor Freakinstein
I know I burn 3-5 cord a year. the first winter in the house with the thermostat set at 70, I had three fillups, I don't remember gallons I remember dollars. 1200, 1200, 1400. 5 cord last year, 3 the year before with one oil tank. Wood has been "free" until this year.
I can tell you that Shagbark, or any other species for that matter, is no where near as close to Osage Orange as this chart indicates.
stihly dan
Addicted to ArboristSite
Those numbers seem off according to species, but for me the red oak to oil was right on. My house is 10* warmer with wood but that is offset by not using oil for hot water any more. So in my experience the chart is right on.
YMMV depending on the efficiency of your fossil fuel furnace compared to the efficiency of your wood stove. Also have to factor in the huge swings in fossil fuel prices during the past two winters. But this is a great starting point.
For me, I know my old inefficient 1982 LP gas boiler burns 400 gallons in a cold month. My wood boiler will gobble 3 cords of aspen or munch 1.25-1.5 cords of hardwood in a cold month.
400x$1.19 is $476 (this year)
400x$4.50 is $1800 (last year)
476/1.5= $317 per cord hardwood equivalent or $476/3=$158 per cord aspen equivalent.
My maximum cost per cord if I allocate fuel, chain sharpening, and bar oil to haul hardwood from my hunting cabin is about $35 per cord. But I never make a dedicated trip to haul wood, it's always in conjunction with something I needed to do up there. If I had to buy $200 per cord hardwood (compared to $1.19 propane) I'd just throw the money to the gas man as feeding the fire and hauling wood in all month to save $175 isn't worth it.
Now if I replaced the gas boiler with a new efficient unit those figures would likely cut in half.
For me, I know my old inefficient 1982 LP gas boiler burns 400 gallons in a cold month. My wood boiler will gobble 3 cords of aspen or munch 1.25-1.5 cords of hardwood in a cold month.
400x$1.19 is $476 (this year)
400x$4.50 is $1800 (last year)
476/1.5= $317 per cord hardwood equivalent or $476/3=$158 per cord aspen equivalent.
My maximum cost per cord if I allocate fuel, chain sharpening, and bar oil to haul hardwood from my hunting cabin is about $35 per cord. But I never make a dedicated trip to haul wood, it's always in conjunction with something I needed to do up there. If I had to buy $200 per cord hardwood (compared to $1.19 propane) I'd just throw the money to the gas man as feeding the fire and hauling wood in all month to save $175 isn't worth it.
Now if I replaced the gas boiler with a new efficient unit those figures would likely cut in half.
Page 3 has a chart with the same numbers you posted.
I'd think a couple dozen benji's.
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
You get fuel oil for $1.19 a gallon?! It's $3.15 a gallon here!
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
Below two here since spring. Was close to 6 last winter.
Rburg44
ArboristSite Operative
I wouldnt know what i use in oil but the houses on my block are all pretty much the same 2200sqf split level house with 500 gallon oil tanks in them and my neighbors all say they fill up twice based on me using 4-5 cords (mainly oak) id say the oak of 180gallons a cord is pretty close
Here's another one:
flashhole
Addicted to ArboristSite
How can you have a burn chart that does not include Hickory?
I noticed that in somewhat of a shock as well. In defense of whoever put this chart together (I did not), there are very few hickory trees growing in my area. I seldom see one. I always remember that shag bark hickory is about a notch above white oak in heat content. The rest of the chart is very informative.
Note also that they must be referring to green wood for splitting difficulty. I recently ran into some dry white ash that's harder to split than any dry elm that I've cut and split this year. The grain is running in a spiral pattern like no other ash tree that I've ever encountered. The tree was leaning under stress for most of its life, and that could have produced it.
Box elder smells worse than any species I've ever cut. I avoid it completely.
flashhole
Addicted to ArboristSite
The reason I noticed it is I've been harvesting Hickory the last couple of weeks. Shag Bark to be exact. It's tough and dense and a lot easier to split green than seasoned. Hickory was the first thing I looked for on the chart.
