A lot of clowns operating old OWBs, burning wet wood and smokin' out the 'hood. Now, if you haven't operated one of the newer stoves, and have a good house layout for moving the heat around (can be assisted to a degree,) a free-standing stove would be the way I would go. You could get a 'value stove' for about $1K, a few hundred for a liner if you already have a fireplace, and I'd think you could pay that off in a couple of years, heating in the tundra of WI. You've got everything else you need. How much does it cost you now, to heat the place with gas?
I just looked at the bill and it was $1002/year. That was for the house and 30 x 40' garage. It will be more this year since I put in another furnace in the old garage which is 24 x 32'. I am guessing the new furnace in the old garage is going to be a wash as I burned about a cord heating it and I don't expect the cost of the gas to be more than what I can sell wood for. Natural gas doesn't have the big price swings like propane does and it's a bunch cheaper. Disclaimer: The gas bill includes the hot water and stove/oven.
I see you don't have much snow over on the west side of the state either. Hickory is my favorite as well.
This year I am going to try and keep the hickory separate. This is the other end of the pile with the hickory.
Nice work Firewood Bandit! How much wood do you typically sell in a year? Do you sell just seasoned wood? What is the going rate for seasoned wood in your area? Just wondering for comparison. I sold a little Ash this year that was seasoned for 6 months. $75 a face cord or $225/cord. (I charged a little extra to delivering 20 miles.)
I'll sell it next fall. Where I have it stacked it gets full Southern sun all day, no shade and lots of wind so it is ideal conditions. Last year I had 20 full cord. Around here $200 is a fair # but might bump it up a little because it sold so fast, (customer picks up). I was hoping for more this year but that is contingent on the loggers being in the area. They have contracts to do two parcels I already have permission to.
Here in the Milwaukee area, a split cord of hickory or oak is 300, . Fwiw. I know things don't cost as much over by you, but you knowing this can't hurt. Our natural gas is also probably more expensive, based on your bill from last year. My house has ng water heater, furnace, clothes dryer and gas range. My fireplace helps, but isn't efficient enough to drastically cut our heating bill. Our gas bill is 300 a month with a programmable thermostat, for a 1700 sq ft open concept ranch. We replaced several windows recently, but there's a couple that were not replaced that would help. Our furnace isn't high efficiency, but its not too old either.
BTW, all of my mom's side of the family is over by Tomah, Sparta area. I've got a LOT of relatives out there.
