What got you started in heating with wood?
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Trapper_Pete
ArboristSite Operative
my parents and grand parents had wood stoves .
grandma and grandpa burned all the time and mom and dad burned some the stove was more recreational burning and for when the power went out as they both had full time jobs and the stove was in the finished basement.
I didn't get to run saw till I was about 13-14 started with grandpas 029 and a year or two later I was running an MS440 at the farm I worked on.
was looking ta putting a stove in my first house but it didn't have a good chimney and we were only there for 4 years before we needed more bedrooms.
2007 the price of fuel oil was killing us it jumped from 1.50 to 4 something that year or about to and we priced it out go wood and just about pay for it in the first year , also started working from home in 2007 and the wife homeschooling the kids.
we had been using 750 gallons we dropped to 250
500 gallons at 4.20 a gallon 2100 dollars and it would be all burnt up or buy a 999 dollar floor model stove and chimney and have about 2700 invested in long term savings.
also bought a MS260 , started scrounging wood Craig's list any where I could and then a couple at church said you cut wood , I have a bunch of down trees and they didn't burn.
I cut there for a few years till I had all his down and dead fairly well cleaned up , then met some friends through homeschooling association that had a farm not far from us and had many down and dead I have been working on cleaning up the farm since.
this is our 11th season burning
the MS260 had some issues and was sold for parts last year and I have a Jonsered cs-2255 I got in 2016 and new Dec 2018 a CS-2166 as I was getting into much larger trees at the farm.
grandma and grandpa burned all the time and mom and dad burned some the stove was more recreational burning and for when the power went out as they both had full time jobs and the stove was in the finished basement.
I didn't get to run saw till I was about 13-14 started with grandpas 029 and a year or two later I was running an MS440 at the farm I worked on.
was looking ta putting a stove in my first house but it didn't have a good chimney and we were only there for 4 years before we needed more bedrooms.
2007 the price of fuel oil was killing us it jumped from 1.50 to 4 something that year or about to and we priced it out go wood and just about pay for it in the first year , also started working from home in 2007 and the wife homeschooling the kids.
we had been using 750 gallons we dropped to 250
500 gallons at 4.20 a gallon 2100 dollars and it would be all burnt up or buy a 999 dollar floor model stove and chimney and have about 2700 invested in long term savings.
also bought a MS260 , started scrounging wood Craig's list any where I could and then a couple at church said you cut wood , I have a bunch of down trees and they didn't burn.
I cut there for a few years till I had all his down and dead fairly well cleaned up , then met some friends through homeschooling association that had a farm not far from us and had many down and dead I have been working on cleaning up the farm since.
this is our 11th season burning
the MS260 had some issues and was sold for parts last year and I have a Jonsered cs-2255 I got in 2016 and new Dec 2018 a CS-2166 as I was getting into much larger trees at the farm.
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
Would be nice if it was that cheap. I just got my 500 gallon tank filled, was almost $1500.
James Miller
Addicted to ArboristSite
I grew up in town wood heat wasn't a part of my life till I met my wife at 19. For awhile I would just help her dad if he was out cutting or splitting. It gave us time to get to know each other most important to me it gave me time to make it known I wasn't there to take advantage of his daughter (15 at the time) with out mom or girl friend around. After a few years he started to slow down and barely keep enough wood on the racks to make it through winter. I started getting more involved with scrounging/cutting/splitting on my own time to keep him ahead a little. About 3-4 years ago he was ready o hang it up and get a pellet stove. I told him as long as we lived there he wouldn't have to worry about firewood and iv been doing it all since then.
We bought a house off the bank. The house sits on acreage and we didn't realize the gas line didn't run out this far. The propane tank had been repossessed from the previous owner so we had no idea. After one winter...and after our 1st C3H8 bill...and making our kids do jumping jacks to stay warm we jumped into a Hardy H2. Chainsaws, splitters, and the hottest shower in NE Ohio soon followed.
Bought a farm to hunt on 20 some years ago.
My boss at the time burned wood for his house and started cutting on my property. I helped him,and he told me I should buy my own wood furnace and SAVE some money.
Boy,that worked out great.
Moved to said farm a few years later and built a new house ,like a poster above said.
Tractor,front end loader,splitter,you need at least 3 chainsaws,and a back up tractor if you get first tractor stuck...
Does it save money?Most people could work and extra day or two a month and pay for their fuel oil or propane.
That said,I do enjoy playing with toys and it's great exercise,unless you get hurt
My boss at the time burned wood for his house and started cutting on my property. I helped him,and he told me I should buy my own wood furnace and SAVE some money.
Boy,that worked out great.
Moved to said farm a few years later and built a new house ,like a poster above said.
Tractor,front end loader,splitter,you need at least 3 chainsaws,and a back up tractor if you get first tractor stuck...
Does it save money?Most people could work and extra day or two a month and pay for their fuel oil or propane.
That said,I do enjoy playing with toys and it's great exercise,unless you get hurt
[emoji23][emoji23]
it’s a good thing I manage the credit card account[emoji6].
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Wood Hound
ArboristSite Operative
I was born,into heating with wood-back then you heated with wood or coal-down town they had natural gas..
bowtechmadman
Addicted to ArboristSite
So this stove that heats 15k sq. ft. do you have pictures it must be a monster!! Chop you should burn more wood and less propane...
I grew up cutting as my parents main heat source was wood stove. Once married wife's father believed that heating with wood would only cause your house to burn down so no wood heat for me...finally after about 8 yrs of living in 60 degree temps all winter, I compromised with an OWB. Wife was accepting to the fire being 100' from the house (her Dad still thinks we will probably burn the house down). House now 73 all winter.
Agreed with what a few others stated...with all the necessities of burning wood (tractor, bulldozer, 50+ chainsaws, log splitter, etc...) more than likely could heat cheaper with propane. What's the fun in that? Love playing with my toys and heat the house to boot.
I grew up cutting as my parents main heat source was wood stove. Once married wife's father believed that heating with wood would only cause your house to burn down so no wood heat for me...finally after about 8 yrs of living in 60 degree temps all winter, I compromised with an OWB. Wife was accepting to the fire being 100' from the house (her Dad still thinks we will probably burn the house down). House now 73 all winter.
Agreed with what a few others stated...with all the necessities of burning wood (tractor, bulldozer, 50+ chainsaws, log splitter, etc...) more than likely could heat cheaper with propane. What's the fun in that? Love playing with my toys and heat the house to boot.
Antarctica
ArboristSite Member
Tell the old man to pound sand or take a punch on your man card bud!
Trapper_Pete
ArboristSite Operative
I must be doing it wrong I heated a bunch of years one saw the utility trailer I already had and my 15 passenger van. I will say it took more work to wheelbarrow the wood to the trailer. now I have 2 saws and an f150 and don't use the trailer as much.
Friend of mine has a morton style building for a shop.Guessing probably40 something feet by 120 some feet.14 foot walls.Runs end dumps.
He built a furnace where you use a Skidsteer to put a pallet loaded with wood in it.Door is probably 4' by 3'?
It's a monster.
He got the idea from somewhere up north where they used something similar to burn big round bales of (hay?Straw?).
Don't remember,he can run it with the boiler or without for forced air only.
Keeps the shop cozy,but I THINK he goes thru the wood by dump truck loads also
He built a furnace where you use a Skidsteer to put a pallet loaded with wood in it.Door is probably 4' by 3'?
It's a monster.
He got the idea from somewhere up north where they used something similar to burn big round bales of (hay?Straw?).
Don't remember,he can run it with the boiler or without for forced air only.
Keeps the shop cozy,but I THINK he goes thru the wood by dump truck loads also
lknchoppers
ArboristSite Operative
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Back in the 70's growing up when the fuel shortage came my Dad and his buddies built indoor add-on wood & coil boilers. I helped cutting wood and hauling wood and splitting wood. When I moved South to NC, had a big house and a corporate job, hated it. Got divorced and bought a doublewide in the woods with electric heat, first electric bill $200+ came and I bought the woodstove I have now, next electric bill was $60, that was 8 years ago, bought a splitter and started selling firewood, that was 5 seasons ago. I have a different job now at a lower pay scale and sell some firewood to help out. Every year I manage to move more firewood with less wear and tear on my body, as you get older it's better to automate as much as possible. It's all fun in the end and I like having the place as warm as I want it. 75* is comfortable, tee shirt and shorts for me in the winter.
James Miller
Addicted to ArboristSite
My FIL was using an 011avt and an s10 pickup when I met my wife said he did it that way for 15 years. One saw, small truck, and a splitter he made from scraps at work.
Trapper_Pete
ArboristSite Operative
2007 to 2014 I would have a stack of rounds and we would rent a splitter from the hardware store 40 dollars a day first thing Saturday morning and return it when they opened Sunday , we would split till dark sometimes a little later then be up to finish in the morning.
sometimes we timed it for a holiday weekend like memorial day and split all day Sunday and Monday and returned it before work Tuesday.
2014 the wife went back to work , the first thing we bought when she got paid was a DHT log splitter.
now I split as I bring the wood home much nicer to split an hour here and an hour there than a all day long splitting marathon . much easier to split 10 times for an hour than to split 1 time for 10 hours .
sometimes we timed it for a holiday weekend like memorial day and split all day Sunday and Monday and returned it before work Tuesday.
2014 the wife went back to work , the first thing we bought when she got paid was a DHT log splitter.
now I split as I bring the wood home much nicer to split an hour here and an hour there than a all day long splitting marathon . much easier to split 10 times for an hour than to split 1 time for 10 hours .
NSMaple1
Addicted to ArboristSite
Born into it...
bowtechmadman
Addicted to ArboristSite
Sorry Antarctic way to much respect for the man. He's a hard working, god fearing man that I've learned a great deal from. My wife had just never had the experience of heating/burning with wood. I know growing up he didn't have the option of heating with anything other than wood and one home/cabin had burned down from a chimney fire in the UP. He just doesn't want to see that happen to one of his daughters.
Antarctica
ArboristSite Member
Just givin' you a hard time bowtechmadman. Completely concur on your respect for her dad. As most of us know, 'Happy wife, Happy life!!"
$350-$400 gas bills each month & an unlimited supply of free, split wood. All I have to do is haul & stack it
James Miller
Addicted to ArboristSite
Its taken me 3 years but I'm around 2 years ahead now and split mostly by hand for the exercise. 
After almost 30 years the home made splitter is getting a bit tired. So a modern splitter is in the near future.
