Well my costs are much less than the OP. Stove was here when I bought the house, Chainsaws were both Christmas presents, and I haven't put up a woodshed or bought a splitter, other than 2 mauls. I cut in the National Forest which is 15 minutes from my house. The biggest cost for me is fuel for truck and saw, and the occasional new chain or saw maintenence. I figure $300 per year for heat, maybe a bit more. But I agree with the others who say they cut wood for the lifestyle, same reason I garden. I love being as self-sufficient as possible, and I love being outside. It is a lifestyle, but not for everyone, but that's a good thing otherwise the woods would be full of saws when I go cut.
not sure what this means, Sawdog. Is your OWB only good for 10 years before it needs replaced?!? Sorry, I'm not familiar with OWB's
I don't think the math works out for a lot of folks. For me, I have just around $1000 in saws/splitter/other equipment. The water stove came with the house so my only other investment is my time. But if/when the tank or pipes give out on my boiler, which could be any time since it's 30 years old, I'll have to think long and hard if it's worth the cost to replace it as it'll probably be a 10 year ROI, and while I'd like to still live in this house in 10 years who know what'll happen.
For me this is a hobby and a way of life. Other hobbies cost money, this hobby makes money.Few years ago I figured out that I could make twenty dollars an hour cutting wood for myself but even if it is a doller a year I am still to the good and my hobby did'nt cost me. Then I learn how to use a computer and find out there are other folks out there like me.Probably never joined a LPHC the friends I have met here are priceless.
I kept a spreadsheet for a while and I broke even on year 4, which meant everything was paid for with my savings on heating oil. The rest is gravy and actually now represents liquid assets as my saws, splitter, wood stove, tools etc. have a decent present day value. CAD is a problem, but even at that I only look for good deals and flip saws which holds those costs in check reasonably well. Like walt says, this is one of few hobbies that makes money. I pay myself about $20-$25 an hour for firewood work over buying it outright processed. That would be easily $50/hr if comparing to heating oil even at the cheapest rate last year. Decent side job, keeps me outside playing with power equipment which this out of shape desk jockey desperately needs. I also buy a lot of things used. Pro equipment used takes out the sting and it is still worth fixing when something breaks. Lastly, there is no way this Scrooge would be having the house at 70F during the winter if we were using the thermostat. Happy and warm family... priceless.
I've said it before but if I didn't have tree services dropping wood in my yard it would be gas heat all winter long. Maybe I've been spoiled. I like the heat from wood but without the free drops there is no way I would play the scrounge game and need to have a wood hauler etc. If only I could train a tree guys crew to cut to exactly 16" I wouldn't even need a saw. The biggest cash outlay that I have is to replace tarps. I bought the (expensive) electric Ram-Splitter figuring that with infrequent use it would save on engine maintenance but am still depreciating it. Probably take another year to be breakeven on that.
Just keep in mind that some day you will be older, you might become injured want to enjoy some time goofing off or . That is why I have two heating systems. Both are affordable (as of now anyway) One I enjoy much more than the other. But the one I enjoy, I have to have some help with. Having both allows me to know that if I am down, at least the home will still be warm and my wife will be comfortable. At first, I was saving money. Now with the cost of dino down, I am actually spending more. But these last 7 decades have taught me that things change. Some without any imput on my part! Pick your life style and enjoy the moments. You never know what tomorrow will be.
Grew up with wood, worked in the woods, cut wood for a hobby now. With what I own 2000 gallons of oil keeps it cool. Even if I had to buy tree length wood at $120 a cord and 8 cord a year I'm still ahead. Had a central owb bought used, that went away last year and spent $8000 on a indoor gasser installed. I'm still way ahead of the price of oil. Costs a little to drive 2 hours and cut my wood and do it when my skidder (that is rented out) is available but the cost of trucking is not much. Having a load dropped soon that I cut in January. Has to get some work done on the truck at the dealer right here.
I understand where you are coming from.. this might not be the right group to ask myself, I had two chainsaws, an old splitter, and just to deal with trees that came down in storms... but I also put up chimney did it myself 700 materials and just bought new Woodstock IS for 2,000 last year it makes sense for now.. my house on oil stats set to 50... my house on wood stats still set to 50 but it's normally way warmer than that.. I figured i saved the 2000 for new stove from 5 years of burning wood.. Wood boilers did not make sense to me because I put a new oil furnace in 3 years before stove and always wondered about longevity... Is burnt 1/3 wood I burnt before with longer burn times... Did you mention how much cord you use a year? I know me I have a pellets stove in barn I wouldn't pay for pellets what they are getting.. And if power does go out for 5 days I could always turn it on woodstove then and have enough to last me 10 years... do you have a family? my wife would not live without it!
Wow. I mean, really wow! Many of us have seen threads similar to this one and many folks come up with some good answers and sometimes some very good questions. But when it is stated that some logic is being applied, I apologize but I have to ask what kind of logic? Paying $14,000 for a stove and $1500 for the hearth, or pad starts you way into the hole. I dare say not many will spend nearly that amount even over a 10 year period. And you still have to fill it with water (most buy it and have it hauled to their place). Then there are also some chemicals to add to the water occasionally. Wood splitters do not have to cost $2000. Many get by paying less than half that amount. Ours cost $800 and we've had it for 28 years and no repair costs to date. Only a little gas and oil annually which perhaps could be as high as $15 but I doubt it. Chain saws. You paid $1650 for your saws. Interesting. You could have purchased one saw and got along just fine. In our case, we purchased a new saw for a bit over $200 in 2002 and it is still in excellent condition. Chains / gas / fuel mix/ bar oil per year -$300 Wow. Once again, wow! Perhaps one chain per year, a couple gallons of gas and a couple bottles of fuel mix and a gallon of bar oil can't cost $300. Warped door on stove can be expensive. Gaskets are not. Cat expense is not high and part of regular maintenance. Truck fuel can be high if you need to travel some distance to get firewood. Some of us are blessed and we don't even own a truck nor do we have to travel away from home to get the firewood. All in all, I can not see where it should cost one $2000 per year to heat with wood. Sorry Sawdog but I can't seem to follow your logic. Please forgive me for this and please understand I am not attempting to put you down in any way but only trying to show others that is need not cost this much to enjoy heating with wood. One more thing is that I do not understand why or how you could consider part of the land expense as part of your heating cost. If you did not heat with wood, you would still have the same land cost. In addition to that, by cutting wood on your own land, you are actually improving the land rather than decreasing the value. Attempting to equate burning firewood with hunting deer just doe not make any sense at all so we'll just discount that comment. Many folks have brought up some interesting thoughts on burning wood and we thank you for that. As for ourselves, we have always felt that we would definitely have to decrease our standard of living if we did not heat with wood because it would simply cost us too much to do it. For one thing, we have to keep our home very warm and some even call it hot but we do keep our home around 80 degrees all winter and many times higher than that. We make no apologies for this either and absolutely love it. Many people enjoy owning many saws, many tools, big trucks, etc. But when someone is trying to justify the costs of things, he also needs to ask exactly what is really required. For example, many buy lower cost stoves, get by with one chain saw, split wood with an axe or splitting maul or even a small splitter that cost perhaps $300-$400. We see many hauling wood using a cheap trailer that cost perhaps $100 and that is pulled around with their lawn mower. It really does not take much gas and oil per year to run a chain saw and yes, it does cost more for those who require large amounts of wood per year. This also comes back to the choice of heating plants. Some can get by very easily using a $400 stove but they could also buy a $14,000 stove if they wanted. One additional cost of owing that $14,000 stove is that it requires a whole lot more firewood to heat the home; usually most folks find they burn at least twice the amount of wood in those than in a stove that sits in the home; hence, more cost. Many have already posted about many of the benefits of burning wood so I won't go into that much except to say that even if I could heat our home with oil or gas cheaper than I could by burning wood, I'd still no doubt be burning wood. As Walt stated, this can be and is a hobby; this cutting of wood. And this hobby does not cost you money but instead either saves or makes you money. In addition to that if you find someone in need, because of accident, health or whatever, you could pay out some dollars to have some oil or gas delivered to them or you could take some of the wood you've enjoyed cutting and give it to them and feel really good about it. Enough said for now except to add that as I stated earlier, I am not trying to cut anyone down. That I do not wish to do at all. But I do like to point out to people that there are alternatives. It is sort of like the fellow who owns a Corvette. They are super nice and super fast but to get from point A to point B does not take that much car nor does he need more than one car to get him there. But perhaps he doesn't like the thought of driving a second-hand Ford either. lol Keep smiling! Dennis
We will agree to disagree, Dennis. I never meant for this post to turn into a financial lesson, distortation or an attempt to discount the fact that I / we enjoy heating with wood and all that comes with it. Nor was it to attempt to infer that our pastime is all for financial gain. I will just leave it be and move on. Have a good one
I think Backwoods Savage has some valid points here. Some of us have spent way more than others and that's okay. To each his own and all that jazz. Some of us, me included, have not spent crazy money on this hobby/way of life. I spent very little on my Drolet stove compared to you Sawdog does that mean one of us is better than the other. Not at all! I have a couple nice saws but they have been paid for with the money I would have given the propane pimp. Same goes for the rest of the equipment. I'm sure Dennis meant no disrespect but simply wanted to point out that this is an endeavor that can pay you back and then some if done a certain way. Maybe he gave you a little more of the rod than the carrot but eh such is life sometimes. You have decided to go about heating your home in about the most expensive way possible. But it sounds like it works for you yes? If you'd ever like to go about it in a more economical way there are pleanty of good guys and gals here to help you a little more in that direction.
Everyone from time to time askes themselves, why am I doing this wood burning thing for heat? is it worth it? The answer will be a little different for everyone. Myself do I need all the saws I have to do what I need to do, no that's just another related Hobby. Even if I had to buy all my wood split and delivered, I still think I would come out ahead on cost and be more comfortable in my home in the winter. As long as I can still drag it in the house and stuff it in the stove I will be making fire
Read you loud and clear, and it can be taken to heart quickly, but nonetheless- We can all be certain that the FHC is NOT solely about hoarding potential warmth, but so many other great points of sharing. This group has brought me into contact with other fellow Americans whom I consider lifelong friends now, provided a sounding board for ideas great and small, offered ideas/advice/opinions on angles I hadn't previously considered on projects, etc, etc, etc.... There has been outreach of the most personal matters, yet lighthearted respite injected too. I like the refuge of open dialogue here, and I'm sure many members do as well, so I ask that you maintain your level of contribution for the benefit of yourself and those who are looking to learn, and share....and challenge our very reasons for doing things in what only can be considered the American Way-proud and free
I never really intended to "heat" with wood. When I started down this path in 2013, it was for alternative heat when the power goes out or when TSHTF or TEOTWAWKI... With the high price of oil 3 years ago, the break-even point came for me in one year. (the start of my addiction) First year I bought a nice used Fireview, lined the chimney, and bought 2+ years worth of wood. The second year I saved more than enough to get a new(lighter weight) saw. This year a like-new splitter fell in my lap for half the cost of new. add about another $150 for chains, gas, oils, gloves and misc. equipment and I'm now on a path of almost free heat. Even with the price of oil going down, there's still savings in burning wood. With all the helpful people on this site, it has been a great experience. Best of all I've been able to meet many of the guys here at the GTG's. All great people. Everyone plays the game a little different and we all have different budgets, different ideas, and different opinions. In the end, we are all here for the same reason. Burning wood and the pursuit of BTU's
