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

[LNG24]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[Blazin]

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]

"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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

Matt

 

[NORTREE]

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

Matt

yes it is

 

[NORTREE]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.