Burning Wood Is More Expensive Than Gas!?!?!

[Dexter]

I like lodgepole, North. It burns well compared to other pines, and I love the smell of it as it dries in the Autumn.

All: I'm pushing 60, and my brothers are 65 & 70, and still cut our own. I think it's the wood burning -- and all the related tasks -- which that keeps us young. It's fun, whether cheap, or not.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

You are right Kenny. It has been said I am in my "mature years" although my wife says I'm into my second childhood. So maybe it is costing me more?!

I still cut my own wood and did purchase our present chain say about 10 years ago. But, the gas and oil definitely does cost more than it did back in 1958 or so. But does it? My earnings was not just a little bit smaller back then and although I could buy a 5 gallon can of gas for a dollar, I had to work a long time for that dollar.

Maybe I do spend a whole lot more money than I admit but have no idea where that money is going. We have a tendency to put the dollars we save by burning wood into the bank and then it draws interest (not much, sadly) but we could also go the other way and say I am too old to cut wood and do all that other work that is involved. So, let's say I bought my wood. At present I could but dry ash, the same type stuff we already burn for $40. per face cord or $120 per cord. That would mean it would cost us $360 per year to heat our house. Maybe that is more than we'd like to admit.

Oh yes, Kenny, I have had a couple saws last over 25 years. I still have one in the barn that is older than that; I just perfer this new one. The days of me running a saw with a 36" cutting bar is past; thank God for that!

Our propane man left in disgust years ago.

And we should all sit while splitting because it's easier for you that way. :roll:

Wrong again Kenny. You should not split that way because it is easier for me. You should split that way because it is easier to split that way (not just for me).

 

[spirilis]

Around here the difference between hating the extreme heat in the summer and liking the extreme heat in the winter is one of humidity.

Summers here are warm and muggy, disgustingly humid at times. Just miserable.
In the wintertime with the stove going the living room could be in the 80's and maybe 90's (80's back at the thermostat) but as dry as an arizona summer. I can deal with that. I can also deal with the high temps in the summer when it's that dry too. It just doesn't happen very often.

 

[kenny chaos]

You are right Kenny. It has been said I am in my "mature years" although my wife says I'm into my second childhood. So maybe it is costing me more?!

I still cut my own wood and did purchase our present chain say about 10 years ago. But, the gas and oil definitely does cost more than it did back in 1958 or so. But does it? My earnings was not just a little bit smaller back then and although I could buy a 5 gallon can of gas for a dollar, I had to work a long time for that dollar.

Maybe I do spend a whole lot more money than I admit but have no idea where that money is going. We have a tendency to put the dollars we save by burning wood into the bank and then it draws interest (not much, sadly) but we could also go the other way and say I am too old to cut wood and do all that other work that is involved. So, let's say I bought my wood. At present I could but dry ash, the same type stuff we already burn for $40. per face cord or $120 per cord. That would mean it would cost us $360 per year to heat our house. Maybe that is more than we'd like to admit.

Oh yes, Kenny, I have had a couple saws last over 25 years. I still have one in the barn that is older than that; I just perfer this new one. The days of me running a saw with a 36" cutting bar is past; thank God for that!

Our propane man left in disgust years ago.

And we should all sit while splitting because it's easier for you that way. :roll:

Wrong again Kenny. You should not split that way because it is easier for me. You should split that way because it is easier to split that way (not just for me).

I think I'm starting to get it Dennis. Nope, it's gone.
Just can't make sense of some people eh Dennis?

Keep Smiling-

 

[fire_man]

A lot of us back east do not have gas as an option.

Yup, that's the truth, gas is not available here. It's oil or wood for us. I personally don't want gas in my house anyway. Oil is way to expensive right now and wood is the most fun anyway.

 

[48rob]

All: I’m pushing 60, and my brothers are 65 & 70, and still cut our own. I think it’s the wood burning—and all the related tasks—which that keeps us young

Sure is a lot of truth in that thought!

From my perspective, folks that sit in rocking chairs soon graduate to comfy satin lined caskets.

Rob, 51 and going out of my way to find more work to do to stay limber.

 

[Battenkiller]

I am not an insulation expert but when your exterior wall is as warm as your interior, are you sure your house has good insulation?

I meant the inside surfaces of the exterior walls, not the outside surfaces. If the other was true, I'd have a lot more problems than poor insulation.:lol:

 

[joshlaugh]

Not sure I would ever be able to pay $300/cord. I work pretty hard making contacts in my county to get phone calls to cut and haul trees. so I don't ever pay for firewood. This fall I got permission to remove all dead and dying trees from a 10 acre woodlot that hasn't been cleared in over 20 years. At least 3 ash trees over 30"dbh. Lots of free wood and good times enjoying the weather. I recently saw an ad in Columbus(30 min west of me) for 30 cords of wood, cut to length but not split for $1200. THat would be a good deal for someone who could move and stove that much wood. Hey Wkpoor-we just need you to get out of Fairfield County more! I tell all my buddies down that way to come up to God's country here in Licking county to cut down some real big trees.

 

[wkpoor]

Hey Wkpoor-we just need you to get out of Fairfield County more! I tell all my buddies down that way to come up to God's country here in Licking county to cut down some real big trees.

Hahahaerhehehe. This is like the North and South of 70 thing. Not sure either of us is in God's country but Fairfield IMO is closer hehe.
My my this thread has taken a turn.
Hears my take. I burn wood because I like the warmth and cutting firewood is my hobby. I tell peopel if you don't like gathering your own wood then to me its like owning a big yard and don't like to mow. Guess you'll have to pay then.
My own boss asked me one time where to get firewood. I told him where all the free he could load was. He replied I must be crazy if I thought he would do that. He wants it delivered And to tell you the truth......it just might be cheaper that way. Lets see......20K for tractor w/BoDozer grapple ( so I can just bring home logs and never have to bend over to cut a log), about 3k worth of chainsaws and realted stuff, custom built 3pt splitter ( w/awsome cycle speed), chains, cables, safety gear, 14K 24' deckover trailer to haul tractor, dump trailer to haul logs, truck to pull trailers. WOW ad all that up and if I live to 100 I'll never amoritze it out. Yep it would be alot cheaper to buy 300.00 dollars a cord of wood hehehehehehehe. But I'll never do it, its just the principle of I want to feel like I'm saving money.

 

[SolarAndWood]

...its like owning a big yard and don't like to mow. Guess you'll have to pay then...

Next topic: Mowing your own lawn is more expensive than paying someone to do it

 

[kenny chaos]

...its like owning a big yard and don't like to mow. Guess you'll have to pay then...

Next topic: Mowing your own lawn is more expensive than paying someone to do it

Obviously if you're green, you let your Thanksgiving goat do it and you don't even have to park it in the garage all winter.

 

[fjord]

Thanks for all the replies everyone! Sounds like there is a pretty big consensus that when comparing natural gas vs. paying for wood, natural gas is almost always cheaper.

I feel like I'm back to square one with my heating the house decision. It seems like we'll be leaning toward a nice free standing natural gas stove since compared to wood is more convenient, inexpensive, cleaner, and safer (since I won't be sawing / splitting free wood... before you say natural gas is more dangerous, keep in mind we already have it being used throughout our house).

We still have our crazy old and inefficient wood stove and a huge pile of old dimensional lumber / wood in the back yard. I'm thinking I'll just burn this stuff in the old stove and then get a gas stove installed in its place once all the lumber / dimensional wood is gone.

No, NO, and NO.

NG is stihl a fossil fuel. It is not sustainable, carbon neutral, renewable.
For the Excel in you do the numbers: the extraction, refining, transport, tax, installation, appliance in your home.
And yes, NG is explosive. Never seen a log explode.
One more point: with NG, LP, oil all you do is lick the stamp and envelope. Burn wood ? You get goodbody. You get intimate with your fuel. You do need that don't you ? :lol:

 

[kenny chaos]

I got a feeling that if most people were in a different economic situation, they wouldn't be burning wood at all.

 

[wkpoor]

I got a feeling that if most people were in a different economic situation, they wouldn't be burning wood at all.

Nope not me. I love my warm wood heat. If I were in a better economic situation I would just buy a new stove to try it out. I'll always be heating with wood as long as my insurance man will let me.

 

[SolarAndWood]

If I were in a better economic situation

I think Kenny was suggesting was that if we were in a worse economic situation, we wouldn't be able to afford wood heat

 

[shawneyboy]

If I were in a better economic situation

I think Kenny was suggesting was that if we were in a worse economic situation, we wouldn't be able to afford wood heat

I don't think that is what he meant, I think he meant the opposite. If oil goes to 120 a barrell and all other fossil fues, which are pegged to the falling in value US dollar continue to go up people won't be able to afford NOT heating with wood.

For me I am in a good spot financially and yet I still burn wood. I like the heat, the exercise, the self satisfaction. etc. etc. etc. and of course the savings.

I also like knowing that no matter what happens to the economy, the dollar exchange rate, or the supply of oil, I have got 3-4 years of nice warm, comfortable heat sitting in my back yard.

 

[CarbonNeutral]

On top of all this is that with wood you heat differently - closing off rooms, etc. that is more challenging to do with other forms of heating: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/62583/

 

[SolarAndWood]

If I were in a better economic situation

I think Kenny was suggesting was that if we were in a worse economic situation, we wouldn't be able to afford wood heat

I don't think that is what he meant, I think he meant the opposite.

Sorry, the delivery of the sarcasm was a little dry.

 

[kenny chaos]

If I were in a better economic situation

I think Kenny was suggesting was that if we were in a worse economic situation, we wouldn't be able to afford wood heat

I don't think that is what he meant, I think he meant the opposite.

Sorry, the delivery of the sarcasm was a little dry.

Let's try another;
I have natural gas.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I do too Kenny but the doctor gave me something which should lessen it a bit.

 

[tiber]

I read the entire thread here, I feel like there's some missing observations to be made. Namely, CTO of each system.

Yeah wood is cheaper when you compare straight up BTUs. It becomes more obviously cheaper when you're in my situation and your oil burner is 10 years old and it's a mess. For reference, straight up oak is $120 a cord here if you're willing to make the calls and I was able to scrounge just over a cord last week simply by surfing craigslist. Pellets tend to be $250/ton from lowes depot and about $200 otherwise.

The problem, of course, is that your oil burner is going to need about $100 of service a year. Figure that into the price of oil. I don't know ANYONE who takes their own apart and cleans it. Your wood heater is going to require you to brush it out, and maybe spend $100 on a cat every 10 years or whatever (YMMV). So figure that into the price of wood.

But, where I live in PA, you have to rent a propane or CNG tank. You're allowed to own one, but it has to be pressure tested every five years(?) and so no-one does, including the guys across the street from me who got suckered into the marketing material only to see their bills go higher on fuel costs alone. So figure the tank rental into the cost of your device. All these things add up.

Bottom line, even if you're not interested in using the calcs, you can get it for free. Not only can you get it for free but it's efficient and an effective means of heating your house. I've been getting the hang of my VC, and I'm starting to get overnight burns where the upstairs is 73F. That's 5F warmer than we used to keep it on oil, and more on the point each night I do that is free. Oil costs me $2.75/gallon. If I use 5 gallons a night to heat my house, that's $15. Work the math that way and you can see just how bad your oil burner is. It might be 90% efficient at the burner, but you still got to get the heat out of the basement. I convinced my wife (before she was a convert) by taping all the oil bills to the fridge. It's frightening how much money goes out the door when you do that.

 

[kenny chaos]

Bottom line, even if you're not interested in using the calcs, you can get it for free. Not only can you get it for free but it's efficient and an effective means of heating your house. .

What a hoot. Nothing is free and being a space heater, MOST people cannot heat their house.

 

[logger]

My wood's all free. Just gotta do the work myself, which I usually enjoy. If I did have to buy wood, a guy down the road sells cords for $140 if you pick it up yourself. We have propane forced hot air, but I refuse to pay for that crap. All wood heat, all cold season at our house.

 

[Rich L]

I've seen times when a business will come in low x out the competition then when in control jack up the prices.I wonder what would happen if a great many wood burns gave up wood burning for the low gas prices at the present.Would they raise the gas prices after they get you in their pocket?I say don't fall for the okey doke and leaves yourself vulnerable.

 

[tiber]

That's how it goes. They got a promo where they don't have to pay rent on the tank for the first three years on a five year lease. Did I mention that you can't fill it with another companies propane?