There ARE ways to help wood season faster (kilns and driers), but for most normal human beings the good ol' "C/S/S off of the ground for 2-3 years" is the easiest and most reliable way to make that wood ideal. Having a shed helps even more.
you guys are all crazy CSS 2-3 years?? I just buy mine by the bag, it is cut, dried and ready to burn. Has no bark, dirt or bugs. Comes in easy to move 40lb sacks, go to the store pay the man and he puts a ton in the back of my truck, which last a month. Pour into the stove, set it and forget it until the next day, empty ashes once a week. what are these great things you ask?? they are called pellets.
But then you don't get to have the fun of buying way to many chain saws and having all the fun cutting up trees.
Butt the guvment says oak will dry in only 6 months! Oregon DEQ says so. Muss be tru! Web + Go'vt = FACT!
At my age, and having to be independent with all the process of cleaning and burning, pellets was a good alternative. But I am a true wood burner at heart. I might still try to get something hooked up to the fireplace. I am very limited because it was prefab.
At my age, I'm happy to be burning wood! Just had a birthday a few days ago so added one more. Hint. It has been quite some time since I turned 65.
Dennis you are one of the most active people I know for your age ! It always impresses me when I come over just how much you don't let life get you down ( literally ). I think you could out run me most of the time and I am a young one
I have never had a storm come blow down a ton of free pellets in my backyard....... (I know, they aren't really free but......)
[rant mode=on] How much for a ton of pellets? I figure my out-of pocket cost for firewood about $50/cord (permit, fuel, bar oil, 2-cycle oil, chain sharpening). I burn 5 cords (maximum) in a heavy winter. $250/year for heating. Add $270/year for registration and insurance on the truck, I'm still way ahead. I enjoy cutting and splitting wood, I'd much rather spend a day in the woods than at work. Not to mention I get exercise and Heidi's gratitude and admiration (priceless). Cutting your own wood puts you in direct control of your heat just like hunting and gardening put you in control of your nutrition. When I first moved to the mountains, there was a pellet shortage (due to the collapse of the housing market, reducing demand for lumber and the supply of waste to make pellets), not only were pellets expensive, they were hard to get. Many pellet burners ended up using propane or electricity. No shortage of trees, though. Even if I am unable to cut my own wood, there is no shortage of hungry people with a saw and truck. So, while pellets maybe be cleaner and more convenient than cordwood, so are electricity, propane, natural gas and oil. All of those are delivered to your home and fed directly to your furnace without straining your back. If cleanliness and convenience are your criteria, why are you messing with pellets? [rant mode=off]
The same reason billions of people around the world use electricity, propane, natural gas and oil. Some people are into doing other things as well. And easy, cool fuels let them. And pellets let them have their cake and eat it too. You can still feel the warmth and see the fire right in front of your eyes. So they satisfy two ancient senses. Comfort. And COMFORT!
A ton aroumd me is about $210 average (can get for $175 easily though). So lets use $200 a ton. Before pellets, I spent about $3,400 on ProPain. When I burned just pellets, I burned 4-4.5 ton a yr. Or $800-$900 a year. Now that I burn wood and use a pellet furnace for the coldest spells, I only use about 2 ton of pellets and almost 3 cord of wood. Either way, staying way under $1,000 and having fun doing it. As for cleanliness? Wood is very dirty. The whole process. From processing, burning, to cleaning. Pellet stoves are not only much cleaner (neat bags stack nicely and no bugs are attracked to them), but EVERYDAY when I come home, my entire house is always the same temp Add a bag a day and your good to go. No messing with the air control or worry of overfire (auto shutdown if temp gets to high). I love my wood stove. Dont get mw wrong. But the convenience, ease of use, and automation, will always keep pellets near and dear to my heart. Especially when you have young children and need good heat all night. I no longer even use my LP furnace (6 yrs and counting). There is still a significant savings and its a heck of a lot easier. Thats why people burn pellets
There is also not much danger in buying pellets. Compared to firewood processing. Which I do, and enjoy, but if you have experience felling trees, cutting, moving, hauling, etc. the danger is there. Pellets have also come a long way. I just bought my first pellet stove for my camp. So far, I am really enjoying it. It does not take much of my time to go down and load a bag of pellets into the stove. And an occasional cleaning. Nice.
Your heating cost are more than double what mine are. My permit is free, I use my work truck so no extra insurance is needed, I even sharpen my own saw, so if I just figure in just the fuel and oil cost (I might even write off some of that truck fuel ), not cost associated with installing wood stove or saw purchase, or expense of building my wood shed, then it cost me about $25 per cord, and I burn a max of 4 cords a year in the house without using any aux heating. So $100 a year. Gota like it. Wait! I did buy a new spark plug for my chainsaw this fall,,,,,,??? So I guess it's gona cost me 106 dollars to heat the house this winter, Oh my!
