The Economy of Wood Heat

[CRThomas]

If do not have a job where you get no excersize. You need to do firewood to stay a live. I am 74 years old I do firewood to stay alive and healthy you have to put that in your figures unless living not important too you. I go our drop 4 or 5 trees thats about 4 loads about 16 to 20 tons. If I have no deliverys the next day I split it which comes to about 4 cord after processing it in to bundles 1 cord ends up as trash wood because it want bundle nice and I sell it for $35.00 a rank they pick it up. I don't cut wood off my place that is emergency wood . I have to travel 18 to 20 miles but have way I stop and eat breakfast. But I don't burn wood my home is electric $70.00 to $100.00 a month My shop garage and Gen set is NG $19.00 a month. Every holiday we burn a fire in our fire place to look at. If I had to work hard at firewood I would quit.

 

[sb47]

If do not have a job where you get no excersize. You need to do firewood to stay a live. I am 74 years old I do firewood to stay alive and healthy you have to put that in your figures unless living not important too you. I go our drop 4 or 5 trees thats about 4 loads about 16 to 20 tons. If I have no deliverys the next day I split it which comes to about 4 cord after processing it in to bundles 1 cord ends up as trash wood because it want bundle nice and I sell it for $35.00 a rank they pick it up. I don't cut wood off my place that is emergency wood . I have to travel 18 to 20 miles but have way I stop and eat breakfast. But I don't burn wood my home is electric $70.00 to $100.00 a month My shop garage and Gen set is NG $19.00 a month. Every holiday we burn a fire in our fire place to look at. If I had to work hard at firewood I would quit.

Gotta agree, you gotta keep moving to say alive, My mother is 81 and still bowls 3 day a week.

 

[olyman]

On 6 beers? Best not travel north.

if you get pulled over,, and submit to a alcohol test..................

 

[olyman]

most insurance companies in the province will no longer insure if heating with oil, .[/QUOTE]
all the ins co's get together for that one??? sheeesh.......

 

[jrider]

You best figure out where your oil supplies are coming from, as the vast majority are domestic.

http://www.realclearenergy.org/charticles/2012/04/23/where_does_the_us_gets_its_oil_106533.html
I wouldn't say the vast majority, but quite a bit more than what most people probably think.

 

[Big_Wood]

Is it one of those that circulate water through pluming in the flooring?
If so the only draw back is you have a power outage and those pipes freeze, it would be a mess.
Maybe there full of glycall and cant freeze. just

To tell you the truth I don't even know. I do know the pipes they use are a 1" with a 4" around it and foam in between them. I was here while this place was being built. I don't think it has anything to do with water but Ya never know. Never froze up on us ever though if it does.

 

[timberjak]

Im hoping that the wood heat is getting cheaper yet.

I had an aquastat go out on me recently.

I live in a small town and i needed something sooner than later.

I installed a home water heater type aquastat. It was cheap and adjustable. And readily available.

Like 80 dollars cheaper than my last one.

So far it works great.




Timberjak

 

[CTYank]

You best figure out where your oil supplies are coming from, as the vast majority are domestic.

IIRC, that hasn't been true in the US since the '40s. Some recent figures show daily oil consumption in the US of 18.7 MegB/day, with imports running between 9 & 12 MegB/D, about 33% of those imports from Canada, about 99% of Canada's exports.

Except for Bakken shale crude, there'd be a big difference, in domestic production. And that's pretty recent, of course.

 

[Whitespider]

Einstein said time is relative... and so it is.

There ain't nothin' wrong with placing value on your time, but it can't always be monetary... or, at least a set monetary value. Yeah, when you go to work for someone (or even yourself) your time is valued in dollars (in this society). But if you value your off-time in work-time dollars... everything is a looser. Just cuttin' the grass, I spend 4-6 hours a week (depending) plus time for equipment maintenance; if I place the same monetary value on that time as I get paid at work... heck, I can hire it done a lot cheaper, plus I wouldn't need to buy and maintain the equipment‼ I choose to spend that time cuttin' the grass, so I can spend the money I would'a paid to hire it out for something else. My cost of cuttin' the grass is the cost of equipment/fuel/maintenance, divided by the years, how many times a year the grass needs cuttin'... then subtract that value from what it would'a cost me to hire the job out, and that's the amount my time saved each week of the the grass cuttin' season.

So let's say I cut grass 15 times a year, and I could hire it out for $100.00... and using the above equipment/fuel/maintenance math I figure it costs me $35.00 each time. So I save $65.00, divided by a 5½-hour average each time (includes time for maintenance and cleanup)... $11.82 per hour, $975.00 per year. Well crap, if I start thinkin' $11.82 an hour ain't worth my time, and I'll just hire it out... I don't have the extra $975.00 at Christmas time, or when I take the family on vacation. Well, I can't speak for everyone, but I can't afford to hire everything out, I don't have enough money commin' in... and $975.00 is a pretty good chunk of change in my world.

Heck... if I hired the job out, sat on the porch watchin' and drinkin' a box-o-beer, what does it actually cost me??
*

 

[olyman]

Im hoping that the wood heat is getting cheaper yet.

I had an aquastat go out on me recently.

I live in a small town and i needed something sooner than later.

I installed a home water heater type aquastat. It was cheap and adjustable. And readily available.

Like 80 dollars cheaper than my last one.

So far it works great.




Timberjak

thinking outside the box,, I like it...

 

[CRThomas]

I saw what happened around here just last winter..no propane! You couldn't get it! It was unobtanium for any money for a few weeks. All the trucks got hustled up north to provide propane up there when people where running out due to the polar vortex blast. Thing is, people around here got the same blast and ran out. See, the companies don't give a crap, they go where they can squeeze the most dineros out, they'd let folks freeze around here, they don't care.

QUOTE]
dang straight, zog.. I was talking with a man,,that goes to canada to get it. he said it was 67 cents a gallon....nice LITTLE profit margin...esp when in NE,,they were charging as high as 6.21.......

Where I live we have NG 0.43 cents a gallon 16 miles away it is $1.19 a gallon whats wrong with this picture

 

[chucker]

cr Thomas="Where I live we have NG 0.43 cents a gallon 16 miles away it is $1.19 a gallon whats wrong with this picture" like everything else new , its cheaper to draw you in! after you are signed up for service and connected to their meter you are screwed !!you old fuel oil/propane tank has disappeared for the last time and like me giving them the friendly bird for a farewell !! now you are really screwed!! join the club as I, will find out next spring when the propane man get's his high flyer!!

 

[firebrick43]

Heck... if I hired the job out, sat on the porch watchin' and drinkin' a box-o-beer, what does it actually cost me??
*

What brand of beer? PBR
How good are you at drinking that beer? Meaning is a box to you six or twenty four?

 

[Whitespider]

What brand of beer? PBR
How good are you at drinking that beer? Meaning is a box to you six or twenty four?

LOL
I only know of two brands of beer... Budweiser and free... I drink 'em both.
A box-o-beer holds 24 cans... a 12-pack is a small box, a 18-pack is a short box (or light box), a 30-pack is a big box (or heavy box), and 6-packs don't come in a box (do people actually buy 6-packs?).
No self-respectin', beer-swillin', Iowa boy would show-up with a small box, it ain't proper form. But if the short box is on sale it's OK... as long as ya' show-up with two of 'em
There's a lot of handy size coolers that will hold 12 cans and bag of ice; so a small box is useful for filling that cooler, which is normally left in the trunk or behind the seat as back-up... 'cause ya' just never know, do ya'?? B'sides, ya' might get thirsty on the way home.

How good am I at drinkin' beer?? Heck man... I'm a friggin' professional‼
*

 

[stihly dan]

So the great American spidey, Supports the country that hostilly took over an American legend, icon, soul of the country. What a shame.

 

[1project2many]

LOL
I only know of two brands of beer... Budweiser and free... I drink 'em both.
A box-o-beer holds 24 cans... a 12-pack is a small box, a 18-pack is a short box (or light box), a 30-pack is a big box (or heavy box), and 6-packs don't come in a box (do people actually buy 6-packs?).
No self-respectin', beer-swillin', Iowa boy would show-up with a small box, it ain't proper form. But if the short box is on sale it's OK... as long as ya' show-up with two of 'em
There's a lot of handy size coolers that will hold 12 cans and bag of ice; so a small box is useful for filling that cooler, which is normally left in the trunk or behind the seat as back-up... 'cause ya' just never know, do ya'?? B'sides, ya' might get thirsty on the way home.

How good am I at drinkin' beer?? Heck man... I'm a friggin' professional‼

Years ago a friend's uncle ran an industrial dump. One day my friend gets a call... "Get a truck and get down here ASAP!" All we could get was a '69 El Camino and Unc wouldn't say what was up, so we grabbed the car and headed out. We get down to the dump and there's case after case after case of Busch beer in cans. Turns out there were only 11 ounces in those 12 ounce cans. The bottler just dumped all the inventory in question. We stacked beer into that wanna-bee pickup until it was so tipsy we thought it was gonna fall, then we scrounged around for plywood to make sides and rope and tied it off. We had to drive nearly 60 miles to get back home with the rear wheels hitting the fenderwells and the car feeling like it would tip at every turn, bump, and wind gust but eventually we made it. And we didn't even have to take any beer out of the back since Unc was nice enough to find us a cooler and give us some of the unclaimed beer to put inside for the ride. I was 18 when this happened and it seems like we drank Bush for years after that but I'm betting that load was gone before the end of summer. Folks seem surprised when I say I quit drinking at 21 but there's probably good reason. And although I was a pretty competent amateur I 've never claimed I was a perfessional because perfessionals get paid.

 

[zogger]

Years ago a friend's uncle ran an industrial dump. One day my friend gets a call... "Get a truck and get down here ASAP!" All we could get was a '69 El Camino and Unc wouldn't say what was up, so we grabbed the car and headed out. We get down to the dump and there's case after case after case of Busch beer in cans. Turns out there were only 11 ounces in those 12 ounce cans. The bottler just dumped all the inventory in question. We stacked beer into that wanna-bee pickup until it was so tipsy we thought it was gonna fall, then we scrounged around for plywood to make sides and rope and tied it off. We had to drive nearly 60 miles to get back home with the rear wheels hitting the fenderwells and the car feeling like it would tip at every turn, bump, and wind gust but eventually we made it. And we didn't even have to take any beer out of the back since Unc was nice enough to find us a cooler and give us some of the unclaimed beer to put inside for the ride. I was 18 when this happened and it seems like we drank Bush for years after that but I'm betting that load was gone before the end of summer. Folks seem surprised when I say I quit drinking at 21 but there's probably good reason. And although I was a pretty competent amateur I 've never claimed I was a perfessional because perfessionals get paid.

Ha! Great scrounge! One of those things you wish you had pics of later on in years.

 

[Bob95065]

It takes me up to a good six hours including sometimes a 15-40 mile round trip when I go out for the purpose of cutting and bringing home and stacking enough processed wood to heat my house and shop for one week. That can get into two chains, expense of driving, half gallon of mix, you know depreciation on the stuff, etc. Broken maul handles so-on. I like driving my truck so that's just a trip to the woods. The OWB is paid for twice in saved heat over 13 years. I get all my wood from tops I leave behind logging so access is free and it makes farmers happy.

What's the cost/benefit though if you value your time and expense monetarily vs. purchasing wood, oil, coal or gas whatever is in your area?

I get wood free so my cost is fuel and time. We burn about 4 cords a year.

I have a diesel truck that is pretty fuel efficient. I rarely drive more than 20 miles one-way for firewood. Lately I have scored wood from arborists that removed trees. I pick it up on the way home from work. If I fill my truck and trailer I can haul around 1.5 cords per load. To be conservative let's say I average 10 MPG loaded, truck and trailer. This is very conservative because I average 20MPG empty. I'll say 40 miles one-way or 80 miles round trip. If I bring 4 loads home I burned 32 gallons and at $4/gallon (high) I spent $128 in diesel.

I'll be conservative again and say $50 in gas, 2 cycle oil and B/C oil. I'm up to $180.

I bought a pile of chains from a dealer that went out of business a few years ago. They were demo chains and all were only used once or new loops. I paid $4 each and have a minimum of 6 loops for all my firewood saws but one. I file by hand and buy files in bulk.

I buy clothes for outdoor work I probably wouldn't if I didn't heat with wood. I have safety gear like chaps, safety screen glasses and hearing protection too.

I split with a maul and found a local hardware store chain that gives a lifetime guarantee on wood handles for my two mauls. I can't believe they exchange them but then again they made up the rule not me.

I never bought a piece of power equipment new. I either bought my saws not running and fixed them or used. I have an old log splitter that someone gave me because the engine threw a rod. They asked me to haul it to the dump. I brought it straight home.

I figure it would cost us around $200 - $300 per month to heat our house. I think I am way ahead.

Now for the benefits that are hard to quantify.

I am a mechanical engineer. I sit at a desk and work on the floor when they need me. We have a gym at work that few take advantage of. I go daily. The trainers ask me what my goals are. I tell them I want to spliit hard oak all day. No one seems to understand. I lift weights and run every day to stay in shape for firewood season.

I pass physicals with flying colors. An engineer in my industry did a study on retirees. The average aerospace retiree collects 9 pension checks. Cutting and splitting wood keeps me active, helps me relax and burn off stress. Plus there is nothing more peaceful then standing out in the woods, in the beauty of nature with a 90cc chainsaw screaming wide open in your hands.

I know how to do things others where I work don't. I fix broken machines with my own two hands. I don't pay people to work on my house, cars or equipment. I have skills that are practical that I can and do use every week. I love rebuilding saws that were straight gassed or run lean. I sell saws I don't want or need. I may or may not have a problem collecting chainsaws (CAD) so pretty much all the money I made rebuilding saws went back into saws. - but I can quit anytime, honest.

I grew up with wood heat in Illinois and I plan to bring up my two boys the same way. At 6 and 4 they help stack wood as much as they can. A life outside doing things in the yard will be so much better than TV and video games.

I can't put a price on these things. I know am ahead financially heating with wood and the savings has only grown with the passing years. As far as I am concerned the benefits I can't quantify far outweigh the benefits I can.

Bob

 

[woodchuck357]

I have hauled in a very few loads of wood this year that I was not paid for removing, mostly from vollenter work helping folks that were in a bind. so I have to figure my wood as free except for the splitting. I give away as much or more than I burn most years.
I may have to sell a couple of rick to make up for dropping cash to buy that x27.

 

[wood4heat]

Maybe it's just me but the house is far more comfortable when there is a fire going in the wood stove. It's something deeper than the heat that I can't put into words just now. I love ending the day out here in the light of the Christmas tree and the warm glow of the fire as the rest of my family sleeps. No tv, the only sound is the occasional crackling of the fire. After the stresses of the day what kind of $$$ value would you put on this?