Burning a wood stove is a lifestyle thing, not a moneysaver.

[Hogwildz]

AH yes, we are manly men! That goes without saying! Ugg Ugg

 

[Mrs. Krabappel]

Love lighting the first fire of the season , then getting into the 24/7 burn season. By about February, the warm gushy feeling will wear off as usual, and I will be wishing for Spring, but still burning till prolly April, depending on the weather temps.
e.

Two early signs that winter might end. The crocus begin to bloom, and Hogwildz posts that he is DONE.

 

[Hogwildz]

I will be done in spirit, but mother _ _ _ _ e r decides when I am truly done. Fill in the blanks with "n a t u r e" or leave as is and you know what I am saying.

 

[windchaser]

To me a wood stove is about more then just saving money. It's about being really,really warm when you save money.

 

[BCC_Burner]

To me a wood stove is about more then just saving money. It's about being really,really warm when you save money.

Precisely. If I am going to spend money for heat in any form, I want to be warm. I keep my house 78+ degrees all winter for about 40% of what it would have cost me to keep it at 68 with my propane heater.

 

[HeatsTwice]

What about no arguments with the wife about the house being too warm and the need to save on the heating bill. Keeping our house at 75+ degrees would be a care payment around here..

 

[ironpony]

I am not arguing the point but if I spent the same time doing what I do for a living as the time spent processing wood, I could easily pay the heat bill and have money leftover.However It would not be as much fun.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

For most of us ITS BOTH.

 

[tfdchief]

Never once have I figured or factoed the cost. As your title said woodburning is about so much more than saving money. It is my winter therapy and it warms my heart. I will not quit until I can't cut or drag a single split to the wood stove. Which will be a long time, because my son knows the meaning of it all and has told me I will not run out of wood as long as he is able.

 

[Lighting Up]

I can't agree more... Because of work I use the stove for supplement heat right now, would love to burn 24/7. But I must say the best for me is when the temp starts to drop, the north winds are whipping and the stove is cold...You fire up the stove and feel a heat source like no other heat source warming up the house...that's a lifestyle or addiction not sure...got to have one addiction in life anyway.

 

[BrotherBart]

I don't know. But I have looked at what it would cost me to get off of wood heat. And headed out to the splitter.

 

[tfdchief]

I don't know. But I have looked at what it would cost me to get off of wood heat. And headed out to the splitter.

What ever works. BB. We all have our different motivations and passions. Some are purely economical and some are.......I can't come up with the right word......pragmatic, no that's you.....

 

[Badfish740]

As I sit in my toasty warm basement family room, the upstairs is a comfortable 70°, it's approaching single digits outside, and the oil furnace has been dormant for three days, I have to say I'm really enjoying this lifestyle

 

[rwthomas1]

My business partner has 4 chords delivered each spring for the next winter, split and dumped in his yard for $900. Cuts his heating bill in half and house is about 5 degrees warmer than using the furnace.

I burn about three tons of pellets each season, costs about $750. Keeps the house at least 5 degrees warmer and costs about a third of the electric heat.

Lifestyle? Only if saving money is a lifestyle....

 

[D8Chumley]

If I need motivation I simply look at the gauge on the oil tanks in the basement. Last bought oil in fall 2010, over $1400 then to fill the 2 tanks from about 1/4. I'm right at 1/4 now so I will need some next year for supplement. That said, does anyone use a stabilizer for their fuel? I dumped a gallon of PS Diesel Kleen I had left from my old diesel truck in last spring just in case. I've been seasonally laid off since Jan 2nd for the first time in 12 years since work is slow so I am able to keep the stove going which is very nice. And the bonus- I normally put 10 lbs on in "winter weight" but I haven't gained an ounce with the scrounging/C/S/S'ing I've been doing this year. Pop a pinch of Skoal in, head outside and get after it

 

[bsruther]

If I need motivation I simply look at the gauge on the oil tanks in the basement. Last bought oil in fall 2010, over $1400 then to fill the 2 tanks from about 1/4. I'm right at 1/4 now so I will need some next year for supplement. That said, does anyone use a stabilizer for their fuel? I dumped a gallon of PS Diesel Kleen I had left from my old diesel truck in last spring just in case. I've been seasonally laid off since Jan 2nd for the first time in 12 years since work is slow so I am able to keep the stove going which is very nice. And the bonus- I normally put 10 lbs on in "winter weight" but I haven't gained an ounce with the scrounging/C/S/S'ing I've been doing this year. Pop a pinch of Skoal in, head outside and get after it

I plan on picking up a bottle of this stuff when I have my tank topped off this fall.
http://www.amazon.com/FPPF-Chemical-Co-00161-Treatment/dp/B001E099MU
They say to put it in before a fill, so that it mixes well.

 

[D8Chumley]

Here's a question, maybe some will frown upon this but I was told it was ok up to 10% and I'm nowhere near that. I have done it for the past 2 years without any issues, yet. I take the drain oil from my truck, about 6 qts comes out (7 goes in) and dump it in the oil tank. I have only avg'ed 1 OC per year since I have had a company truck when I run jobs in the busy season (summer) and the wifes car takes 5 qts, 1 OC per year. So I'm adding a little over 3 gallons of waste oil to my heating oil. I did a test last year, I filled a big Gatorade bottle with fuel almost full then added some waste oil and shook it up. I let it sit for around a week and no separation occurred, it just darkened the red a tad. Does anyone see a problem with doing this? If there is an issue I will discontinue this practice. Our boiler is about 10 yrs old, it was installed a year or 2 before we moved here.

 

[bsruther]

Is 3 gallons of extra oil really worth the risk of damaging your furnace?

 

[D8Chumley]

True. My buddy worked for the company that installed the furnace and he didn't think it would hurt. Just looking for more/other opinions. The Amish guys that built our pole barn told me he used to drain the oil from his 7.3 F350 and dump it right in the tank. Thats 15-40, I use 5-20 in my truck. He said he had over 200K on that truck when he traded it and never had an injector problem. My thinking is a diesel engine injector is probably a little more sophisticated than the injector in my furnace. Good point though, thanks for the input. I'm still on the fence

 

[D8Chumley]

And FWIW the guy that told me up to 10% was ok is an old farmer/equiptment operator I use to work with and he said he had been doing it for years

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Make sure you filter it real good. Most of the problems i have with oil furnaces is from dirty tank ,sludge, dirty oil with water and other contaminents. Iv recently had some vandalism ,jerks put water and SUGAR into the oil tank. Sugar solidified on top of the boiler but she kept running.

 

[D8Chumley]

Make sure you filter it real good. Most of the problems i have with oil furnaces is from dirty tank ,sludge, dirty oil with water and other contaminents. Iv recently had some vandalism ,jerks put water and SUGAR into the oil tank. Sugar solidified on top of the boiler but she kept running.

I do. So you are NOT saying its a bad thing, that's reassuring. I'm just looking for pros and cons. Yes, it is only 3-4 gallons but that's less I have to buy, and I don't have to drive somewhere and drop it off for recycling. I believe some places around here even charge to take it.

 

[Paulywalnut]

I'd love to have chickens,but I've learned from my neighbor that all you're doing is feeding the fox and weasels fresh dinner. A weasel is a slick little predator.

 

[msherer]

They build houses without wood heat? Weird....