Last year there was some discussion about methods of lighting the boiler, and many folks rang in with a typical propane torch. I remember at least one poster objecting, saying that using a fossil fuel to light the fire defeated the whole purpose of burning wood. I admire idealism, but reality works for me. My boiler installation was completed in January of 2009 during one of the worst cold spells in recent times, and I've hardly burned a drop of oil since. I've gone from 800-1000 gallons of oil to 5 or 6 cords of wood, which I harvest from my woodlot behind the house. I'm generating domestic hot water year 'round, and light two fires a day during the cold months. I guess I've burned around 12 cords so far in my Tarm. I don't do my own plumbing, and my plumber gave me a recently opened 14.1 oz propane tank when he finished the project (actually MAP gas, which is a little hotter than propane). I've used it for every fire I've had in my Tarm, and thawed out the snowblower once or twice as well. I finally got the final puff out of it yesterday, and I've replaced it with a tank of propane. At somewhere around 1 oz. of propane per cord of wood, I think the fossil fuel use is perhaps less significant than my chainsaw and tractor gas, and I won't be trading them for a bucksaw and wheelbarrow any time soon.