wow 3.34 a gal! :gulp: only paid 2.80 a gal a month ago i only run the furnace at nights since i don't like baby sitting my wood burner.. gotta have some peace of mind....
The oil man cometh (but didnst leaveth much oil)
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I used a whole 20 gals last month, compared to 120 avg over 10 years. I actually look forward to the oil man coming so I can calculate the savings 
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Badfish, January 2011 will make it a full two years since we last heard the clanging of the pipes and we still have 3/4 of a tank. The wood burning is plenty of work but well worth it.
zap
zap
Last oil deposited into my tank was in 1998. Still have a quarter tank now.I found the reciept for the delivery a while back...... 88 cents per gal. At that price, gotta make sure it lasts! :lol:
- Oct 3, 2007
- 1,539
vixster said:
I definitely went through my first two cords faster than I thought I would on account of the colder-than-usual late November/early December temps and that's not counting all of the pallets I burned during the shoulder season. Last winter I burned 4 cords, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's closer to 5 this year. This year's wood also wasn't as good as last year's. Last year I had lots of oak and locust. This year is some oak, some maple, some silver maple (crap), poplar, etc...and lots and lots of pallets
I have a full cord of pin oak on tap for next year though-in terms of BTU's its probably equalivalent to two cords of the junk I'm burning now :lol: Such is the life of a scrounger. I suppose it would be easier to pay $175 a cord for nice splits of mixed hardwood, but what fun would that be
IMPRESSIVE! I am almost 30 days in with my brand NEW stove I went through almost a full cord (shy of 20-50 splits). I've been burning almost entirely 24/7. Good pricing you have for a cord. Here in Nyack I pay 250.00 for a cord, and now I plan to buy 2 cords which get delivered Saturday, AND there's no break in price for quantify (wahhhhh). What is the visual description for the splits of locust,maple,oak. I'm not sure what is what. I do know that what I think is oak so more solid/heavy and darker in color.
Shari said:
Oh, my goodness! Man, that is chilly! ;-) I have my oil boiler set to come on to keep the main room where the stove is at no less than 50. It's only 67 in the AM during the summertime. I'm happy to have 67 in there with the stove going full blast during the winter.
And yes, I sure would be happier to have it warmer, but it'll be quite a while before I can afford to get a larger stove. I've surprised myself with how OK I am living with the cooler temps.
Saw a drop of 40% once I started using the stove. Have about 400 square feet above the garage that I have to continue to heat with oil. Stove is in the basement and heats approx. 2000 square feet. If it were not for my hot water being on the boiler, I am certain I would see even more savings in oil.
46hemi said:
Depends entirely on your definition of "really cold." Mine has been totally recalibrated since I started burning. Unlike some of the guys here who like to prance around in their boxer shorts in mid-winter, I don't mind wearing lots of warm clothes indoors in cold weather. My 2nd floor with the bedrooms has never been heated, and it's actually a bit less cold using the woodstove than it was when I was going the baseboard oil heat money-burning route. With good attic insulation, it's never been so cold up there I could see my breath, even at 20-below outside. But it is good and chilly. I like to sleep buried under the blankets in a cold room, and if I want to sit up for a while and read, I just put on a small electric space heater for a few minutes.
Not meaning to brag here, but it's just a matter of your expectations. If you want consistent 70-plus heat throughout the house, don't try to heat with a woodstove.
Mad Tom said:
I blush to admit I had an electric water heater put in. The oil boiler had a "hot water on demand" thingy added to it, but that meant it was burning oil during the summer just to heat the water, so I had it disconnected. It's a very economical way to heat your water if you actually use the boiler for heat during the winter, but not so much if that's the only reason the boiler is running.
gyrfalcon said:
Respectfully I disagree with this statement. There are many, many variables to 'heating your home' with wood heat; stove location, central vs exterior chimney, type of wood, size of firebox, insulated/non insulated liner, etc.
I can see where you are coming from with a home with more than one story. We own a ranch style home; central chimney; lined & insulated; 1700+ sq.ft. but kids are grown and gone so two bedrooms aren't used and are 'closed' in the winter. So, effectively we are heating 1500 sq ft with a stove rated to heat 2,000 sq ft. In our temperate zone, our stove guy said to deduct 25% from manufacturer stated sq. ft. heating - so that puts us right at 1,500 which is what we are comfortably heating, consistently in the 70's.
Granted, I do experience some cooler mornings if the outside temp is in single digits but then again I can avoid that by stoking later at night and burning higher BTU wood.
crossout said:
Actually I think it's $3.44/gal! That's crazy, and why I will never go on a contract with an oil company. COD today here in CT at my local oil company is $3.06. Shop around...
Huskyforlife said:
yeah around here its 150 gal min buy and i called around for the cheapest ones any ways....if they start going any higher then 3.25 i may have to rent a different house i am not paying an avg of 220- 330 a month for heating with fuel oil and yeah its cheap that's about 85-110 gals a month i would be so happy with a 1.00 gal of oil
i would even turn it up little bit...
I have no problem heating a 2 story 2500sq.ft. house with wood.
Actually I think it is easier to heat that amount of space with two story over a one story.
I'm just amazed at how the new cat stove heats the place way more even then the non cat BK.
Yet burns way less wood.
I contribute that to lower but more consistent stove top temps ,which corresponds to less heat going up the chimney..at least that's how I see it.
Actually I think it is easier to heat that amount of space with two story over a one story.
I'm just amazed at how the new cat stove heats the place way more even then the non cat BK.
Yet burns way less wood.
I contribute that to lower but more consistent stove top temps ,which corresponds to less heat going up the chimney..at least that's how I see it.
Six year old 1,700 sq.ft. single story ranch. High efficiency Weil/Mclain (sp) PhD propane boiler used for heat and DHW.
For the first five years I used about 1,200 gallons of LP per year.
Last year was my first burning with a wood stove (see signature). My total propane usage for last year was 400 gals. So, I saved the cost of 800 gals. of propane. I am a very happy wood burner.
John_M
For the first five years I used about 1,200 gallons of LP per year.
Last year was my first burning with a wood stove (see signature). My total propane usage for last year was 400 gals. So, I saved the cost of 800 gals. of propane. I am a very happy wood burner.
John_M
That's great if you can keep your oil consumption as minimal as possible. I still heat my hot water with oil so I go through about 1 gallon of oil a day on average. If you are only using 40 gallons a year, this oil is sitting and getting old. Do you add a preservator?
- Oct 3, 2007
- 1,539
Huskyforlife said:
I guess I'd pay more attention to the price if I bought it more than once a year :lol: Although, $3.44 a gallon is about right at least for New Jersey right now-I just paid $3.75 for diesel today.
stejus said:
I suppose I could (Power Service makes a biocide that boaters use), but as long as the oil doesn't have any moisture in it it should be fine. Fuel oil doesn't go stale the way gasoline does.
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