So I finally convinced my brother there was more to life than paying 500-600 bucks a month to the utility! He ended up blowing a foot of insulation in his attic this fall to add to the 4” that was there .....I know, right? Then, this past weekend, he was able to finish installing his chimney liner and attached his new fireplace insert. He’s already in love! It’ll be interesting to compare February’s utility bill to last February’s. I gave him a cord of seasoned firewood to get started and told him to help me replace whatever he uses more than a cord, but to keep in mind that he needs to cut ahead for next years burning as well. I’m setting up a date for he and a friend of mine along with all our boys to go and make a day of firewood processing, so we’ve been texting today. He asked me if we were going to be splitting rounds that I already had in my wood yard. I told him he’s not missing out on any part of the firewood production process We’re gonna go cut a tree down, manage the brush, cut the rest of the tree into firewood lengths, split the rounds, load the trucks, take it home, and stack it. He’s not afraid of hard work, but it’s entertaining to see people’s perspective who’ve never done it before. Really proud of him and looking forward to having another reason to hang out together!
Nice. Wife and were just remembering what it was like to burn oil. We kept it 67-68ish and cringed at deliveries. Now we are 75-77 degrees and top off the tank maybe once every 3-4 years.
. Makes too much sense to make use of all the wood available. We throw away so much of it. And 4" of insulation? That's like going for a walk in shorts & a t-shirt.
Haftacut that is awesome that you are giving him the full perspective. I hope that you find trees that will season in your time frame.
Im trying to pass the bug on to my dad because my moms complaining there house it too cold and he already has a wood stove but he refuses to listen to me about burning seasoned wood..he told me Friday wood is wood and proceeded to load his stove with green as could be poplar… i had a stack of seasoned black locust ready to bring him he didnt want it
Not to hijack your thread, but we did the same when my wife and I were first married 10 yrs ago. Paid approx $3,500 in heating oil ($4.00+ per gal) and decided that wasn’t sustainable. That summer we installed an Englander NC-30 which we used most of the time. Sold the NC-30 and now we have a BK Princess that runs 24/7 if it’s heating season. Acquired 150 gal of heating oil that sits in the tank in case of unforeseen circumstances last spring from a friend who converted to natural gas furnace and needed to empty their tank.
Every time I see this it makes me wonder how many dollars we have saved over the years. We married in 1962 and did burn oil for a while but just had to go back to heating with wood. The last time I remember heating with anything but wood was once we rented a house for 4 or 5 months back in the 70's. We almost froze.
Nice job Haftacut. Be sure to tell him there's always something to learn with this addiction, err I mean lifestyle. I got my brother in law in the loop of being ahead. He doesn't burn much but he's retired now and I think he's forming a habit. Though his stove burns cordwood and coal. As far as saving money not buying oil, Im in the same boat. First winter we moved in and were without a stove we had to get oil delivery almost every 3 weeks., (dec - april) Made me sick. First year with the stove we broke even. That includes stove, install, new saw and 2 cords I bought. Next year I'll have to buy oil as we still burn some. Be 5 years since we bought. Sorry for hijack.
I can't imagine not heating with wood. I love everything about it and would do some even if oil was free. I bought 167 gallons of oil in June 2020 after 6 seasons. I could have gone longer but the odds of being cheaper than 1.89 a gallon in the future were slim. We've burned a little more than usual this year with all the sub zero weather. I was starting to stress a little, then realized that when we refill again sometime after 2024 the odds are pretty good the price will be lower again.
Ask him why firemen use water to put fires out? All that extra water (that's built in with green wood) quench's the fire and and the steam that is created as the water is boiled off carries the heat right up the chimney with it...wood is wood, unless its half water. Think of it this way, if you load 20 lbs of 30% moisture content wood (that poplar is probably higher) that's about 6 lbs of water, or roughly 3 quarts...ask him if he thinks dumping 3 qts of water in the stove when he loads is a good idea?
Nice to see you again Haftacut Good thing you didnt get the shots! So will he be hoarding with you on a regular basis?
To start burning wood, I had to start from scratch. Bought a truck, saw, stove and chimney. The amount we've saved, all that has been paid for. Great feeling!
