Because the crazy females in my life say it’s cold when 75 degrees inside in the winter and set Air conditioners to 68 in the summer I tried to convince them if we set heat to 68 and AC to 75 degrees I would save thousands!! since we use more heat here September to May. And arguing with females is pointless! I burn wood!! yes I burn in May and open windows cause it’s too hot when we lost heat in October (house fire) and it was snowing we burnt wood. We were warm and cracked windows!! plus FHC is best people’s on earth!
There is little lime the feeling of a hot fire when its dern cold out. Yeah...Pipeline disruptions, wars, rumors of wars, job loss or limited income situations... Not to be too negative, or vengeful, but I enjoy bending big oil and big electric over the same table they bend us over all the time. I like knowing that if i crap out, the wife will have a year or three of fuel on hand. We were spending $2000 on oil every winter, 4 or 5 fills at $4-500 each fill, and $500 on kerosene. (And the old oil burner ate electric too). And that only kept us from freezing. This was the first winter in 4 years here we were actually comfortable here. Cooked meals on it, and made more soup on that woodstove....kept "dishes water" hot, and could sponge bath from that if we had to... I too enjoy the fellowship of working together, the sense of accomplishment from doing something constructive (when work is relatively devoid of the same)...and the solitude of cutting and hauling, splitting and stacking alone. Sca
Burning wood may help keep benjamins in your wallet but has also been demonstrated to be a healthy pastime: SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class research journals tldr: watching (controlled) fire lowers your blood pressure and serves as a calmative with (many) other related positive health effects.
It started out to save money roughly $4000 a year, but now it has to do with the enjoyment of getting the wood!
I grew up feeding the old pot-bellied stove so it's in the blood. I now live in the middle of the woods and sometimes run the wood stove during every month but July and August, so would much rather walk out into the woods and get firewood than see the propane truck coming down the road. Going up the mountain early in the morning and cutting firewood is mental therapy. Heat from the wood stove is much better than that provided by my floor radiators (IMO) and then there is just something about the ambiance of the wood stove. Just the smell of a wood stove or fireplace burning brings back good memories. And not to wax poetic, but Thoreau put it well: Every man looks at his wood-pile with a kind of affection. I love to have mine before my window, and the more chips the better to remind me of my pleasing work. I had an old axe which nobody claimed, with which by spells in winter days, on the sunny side of the house, I played-about with stumps which I had got out of my bean-field. As my driver prophesied when I was ploughing, they warmed me twice, once while I was splitting them, and again when they were on the fire, so that no fuel could give more heat. …Hard green wood just cut, though I used but little of that, answered my purpose better than any other. I sometimes left a good fire when I went to take a walk in a winter afternoon; and when I returned three or four hours afterward, it would be still alive and glowing. My house was not empty though I was gone. It was as if I had a cheerful housekeeper behind. It was I and Fire that lived there; and commonly my housekeeper proved trustworthy.
Hear! Hear! I've had people ask "Why don't you just turn the thermostat on the wall?" Pity these people - they just don't understand.
Meche_03 Your picture of your tank looks like mine. I think the company calls it a "pug". It only holds about 100 gallons of LP and the last fill cost me between 200 and 300 dollars. Just over 4 per gallon.
Older thread, but saw no reason to start a new one. There are only six houses on my road, and only four of them are lived in year-round. Three out of the four full-time residents burn wood (two of us get it ourselves, the third has it delivered). In the last month and a half, I've seen propane trucks (we're all on propane here) going down my road just about every week and wondering what the heck these people are doing (it hasn't been that cold). Granted there is a huge home at the end of the road on the river that some rich out of state schmucks bought and immediately turned into an Air BNB, so a lot of the propane may be going there, but still, that's a lot of deliveries for only a few homes. Well, it finally came time for the propane truck to deliver to my house this week and I was dreading it (they haven't made a delivery to my house since March). However, I was very pleased that I only needed 68 gallons to fill the tank. In the last 13 or so years here, I don't recall ever needing less than 115 gallons to top of the tank, and it was usually much more, so my focus on wood heat has paid off over the years and through continuous tweaking, my reliance on propane has continued to dwindle. Cost per gallon of propane was $3.64. 68 gallons for a 9+ month time period is pretty good in my book considering propane is used for all my hot water, as well as baseboard heat on three floors (one being a raised basement that gets no heat from the wood stove). As of yet, the baseboard heat has only been used once on the main floors this season and that was only for about 15 minutes to help get the heat up one morning when I had let the wood stove go out overnight. A lower propane bill is not the only reason I burn wood (there are so many), however it is an important one. Yes, the cost of the tools and equipment for wood processing add up however those are long-term investments so to me, that's a bogus argument. Propane is a one-time use, so there is no investment in it. And I'm lucky enough to be able to scrounge locally from the national forest for a pittance of $10.00 a cord for dead and down. As an aside note, I tried starting my log splitter a couple weeks ago and it wouldn't start. Opened the tank and oof, smells like turpentine. It dawned on me then that I hadn't split a single piece of wood this year (not really sure how that happened but medical issues were a big part of it). I scrounged a bunch this year, and have plenty to split, but somehow splitting never happened. Yet I've been burning 24/7 for over two months, and I still have plenty of seasoned splits for this winter and next season. It's good to be ahead!
Nice post EODMSgt . It's been over 4 years since the oil truck came down our lane. The other day I asked my wife how much money does she think heating with firewood has saved us. Never came up with an answer. I know that even with the cost of the stove, saws, equipment, bar oil, gas and wood that I have bought, we are well ahead. Putting the savings aside, it's fun to me. Though I admit there have been times I thought it's a pain in the rear. But those feelings quickly go away sitting next to the stove on a cold winters night. Last week we lost power when the temps dropped out. House was still comfortable. Thanks to the stove and woodheat! I know my family appreciates the efforts I go through with the entire heating with wood process, last week they really appreciated it.
We too use propane for cooktop and hot water. Fuel oil furnace for forced hot air. Ducts carry AC in summer. We pay higher for propane, per gal. We don't use much, so it's manageable. Fuel tank has been refilled once in the last years. Very happy to be able to burn wood. I seem to have enough of a supply network and opportunities, to be able to reload empty racks without needing to purchase wood. If you ever find yourself behind on firewood, sound the FHC horn and I know I'll get myself up there for a day or two of wooding!
Great points, and I agree that there are times it can be a PITA, however I never look at wood processing as work, or a dreaded chore, I enjoy it. Especially the early mornings out in the woods scrounging for dead and down. Most evenings I'm doing the same thing and sitting comfortably by the wood stove reading a book and soaking up the ambiance of the wood heat. Never gets old. And like you said, you can't beat wood heat when the power goes out! Much appreciated Mike. I hate to put a burden on others when everyone has their own lives and issues, but if it gets to that point, the offer for assistance is greatly appreciated. It's funny how when you are attuned to your quantity of firewood on hand (and you can't help looking for scrounges every time you drive down the road) that one can just about always keep their stacks full. That's why it kind of came as a surprise to me when I realized I hadn't split any wood this year (but still have plenty left). Like we've said in the past, a little here and there adds up over the year.
All that carbon y’all are releasing …. I’m putting up our first years worth of heat for the 25/26 heating season now.
This reminds me MikeInMa i noticed some plastic pallets with a free sign the other day while I was running around. I thought I remember you were looking for some?
I read a post on the Nextdoor app that someone was having trouble getting propane delivered. They were below 5% and looking for recommendations on a dependable service. During the cold snap I saw oil and propane trucks every time I left the house. We lost power during the big temp drop winds and NC had rolling blackouts because of the increased power demand from folks turning up the heat. My parents lost power for close to a week when whatever new age klan group decided to shoot up substations to stop a drag show. At least Duke Energy still makes billions and I have heat no matter what happens to the grid.
Definitely not a burden. I see those things as an opportunity. To help someone other than myself, to hang with others, love on others, get outta town for a day . . . .And, like others here, I've been the recipient of goodness from FHC folks. While I do not feel the need to pay it back as it be, but I'm good to sew in.
