Next time your wife asks why you burn firewood

Here's some food for thought......

According to the all powerful internet, a standard 275 gallon oil tank of #2 heating oil is equivalent to approx. 38 million BTU's of heat output. For comparison, firewood BTU charts show most quality hardwoods in the 15-30 million BTU's per full cord of heat output depending on species. So if we took 22.5 million as an average, every 6 full cords of average firewood is equal to approx. 3.55 full 275 gallon tanks of heating oil. At $3/gallon, that'd be almost 3 grand per heating season.

Of course there are variables like how efficient is your oil furnace, and on the flip side, how efficient is your wood stove, how seasoned is your wood, etc. If you burn exclusively oak, hickory, osage orange, etc, figure closer to 6 cords=4 full tanks of oil.

Fun to think about. Here's a MBTU chart for reference


Sweep's Library - Firewood Heat Value Comparison Charts

 

Been through all that. Firewood is still at least a bit less expensive than Nat. gas for us if we buy it (the firewood).
I now have a couple years of wood that was all but free, so the difference is larger.
Nice to see new-er members thinking about this.

 

Yep. We save about $1800 per year on propane last time I checked. More now that prices have gone up. Plus it helps keep you out of the doctors office. Annnd you can tell your friends what pansies they are for heating with gas (JK). All winning reasons in my book.

 

There are several advantages really...

*Gets you out of the house
*An excuse to not do indoor chores
*Exercise
*Saves money
*Better heat
*Excuse to buy and use toys
*Good mental/alone time

Etc....

 

Right now firewood, nat gas and HHO are aroundabout the same price here, so it doesn't make a lot of sense to buy firewood JUST for saving money.
Nat gas can skyrocket here in Jan/Feb so if you heat with that it sure is nice to have a good supply of wood to heat with at that time .

Except for oil and gas and the amortized cost of specific firewood making tools firewood for us is "free".
Plus parts of the house are a lot warmer than what we would set the thermostat to.


The firewood seasoning and BTU chart on thsi page: Firewood BTU & Drying Chart is a little easier on the eyes.

 

I spend approximately $1400 a year on propane for hot water, and for heat in the basement room when we are down there. I figure I would be at least 2.5 times that amount if I didnt burn wood. With those numbers, and what I have paid for my stove and processing tools (saw, splitter, etc) I had a 2 year ROI. We are now in year 3, and its all savings. Now, if only those savings would materialize in my bank account!

 

My wife likes being warm. Really warm so I never have to justify it

 

Same here.
I much prefer wood heat. It's just always there as long as I have wood to feed the stove.

 

We much prefer the heat. When we lived up north it was our primary heat source. Now it is our sole heating for our cabin, and for warming our family room and hearth at our primary residence.

I love everything about firewood, including cutting, moving, stacking, burning, smelling it, and just looking at it.

 

I'd prolly burn even if it wasn't cheaper.

 

Like so many here have already pointed out. The wood heat is much cheaper than propane here and the wife and I can keep the house a lot warmer using wood verses propane and I do like the exercise especially during the winter. Win win win.

 

If I were using propane, the thermostat would be at 68F. With the woodstove, I'm freezing if it's only 68 on the first floor.

 

I am with you.

 

Yep, this. I would have to explain to her why I wasn't using firewood, if I quit.

 

My wife, kids and dog love wood heat. I absolutely love cutting firewood. My family farm is about a 30 minute drive and I cut wood about 2 Saturday’s a month. It’s hard work but peaceful too. I also cut all my father in law’s firewood too. The bonus is I don’t have cell service there, which I love to infinity and beyond. Being able to disconnect from this fast-paced life is a blessing

 

Pretty much sums it up! I think there was a post awhile ago that we came up quite a bit more

 

One advantage that I've not heard anybody mention is that wood is not a fossil fuel, and the CO2 released is from "modern" carbon. When I say "modern", I mean that it was removed from the atmosphere within the last century (or two at most). In addition, that carbon would be liberated as the wood decomposed even if we didn't burn it. So burning wood is carbon neutral, at least as long as there are trees replacing the ones we burn.

So you're all doing your part to reduce climate change, believe (in) it or not.

 

Firewood has been our choice of primary heating fuel for approx 30 years. We've significantly reduced our consumption of 'fossil fuels' over the years and have been pleased with the results. Our wood stove is multi-functional, as we also use it to cook meals & dry laundry.

 

Thank you for the info sirbuildalot, i have never bought wood and havnt turned my heat on in 9 years, i have saved thousands of dollars. Great info

 

Good thread sirbuildalot ... there was a time, when I had to burn wood to heat the old farm. These days, as mentioned here, I burn because I love it. And, because of all of the toys I use to get it done, it wouldn't be a good idea to figger out the ... (reeeeelly don't want ma honey to know) ... ...