Primary heat - gas boiler/radiant or wood stove?

[mcstatz5829]

I’m finally figuring out the wood stove, Alderlea T6. I have 4 cords of hardwood, mostly ash from what some users on here said it looked like. I’ve been splitting the wood and segregating by moisture content. Creating 4 piles: 20% or less, 21-25%, 26-30%, and sopping wet. Most have fortunately fallen in the 20% of less range.

So I had the good fortune to run a little experiment. I had a 3 day work trip and I set the boiler to 60 degrees. House was 62 when I got home last night. I got the stove running with a nice bed of coals and then jammed the box full. I stayed up until I sustained a secondary burn with the air control all the way shut, went to bed. 8 hours later I wake up, the house is 69 degrees, and I have a very nice bed of coals. I tossed a couple small splits on it in the morning and left for work. Long day of work, back home 10 hours later with a barely warm stove, no real embers to speak of. But the house was still 68 degrees despite a high of 42.

So it seems like the stove is doing a good job of heating the house without chewing through woods, and the house is doing a good job of retaining heat. But then I did the math.

The box is 3 cuft. I have four cords of wood, 512 cuft. I used a couple splits to get the coals going, a full load (call it 90% full) for overnight, and a couple splits in the morning. So let’s err on the light side and say I used 3 cuft in a 24 hour period to heat the house and keep it warm. Now I won’t be heating the house from cold every time, but then again it will be colder in the coming months. Again, let’s err on the light side and say I’ll average 3cuft a day. Let’s also say the burn season is mid Oct - mid Mar, or 150 days. If I use 3 cuft a day for 150 days, that’s 450 cuft of wood. I paid $1200 for the 4 cords already bucked, split, delivered, and stacked. Okay so I paid a lot for extra labor, but also saved some capital expenditures.

450 * 1200 / 512 = $1,050 to heat with wood over the fall and winter!

It’s my first winter in this house so I’m not sure how much natural gas will be. I spent about $20 in Sep, mostly water heater, but a little with gas burner in kitchen. Next billing period I will compare the heating time on Nest thermostat with the amount of natural gas used over $20 and get an estimate for $/hr running the boiler, but it seems it should be easy to come under $1,000 for the heating season. It’s about $2.20/therm.

What do you guys think will be more cost efficient? Gas or wood?

 

[jetsam]

If your wood is free, that's easy math. Do you have to keep paying for it?

Your wood use will probably triple in the middle of winter versus what it is in early fall, if you decide to heat primarily with wood.

I heat with lovely free* wood. Of course, I needed a $2500 stove and a couple chainsaws and an old truck and a log splitter and a fancy new maul to go with my old maul and several chain sharpening systems and a mule to pull trees out of the woods etc etc....

P.S. Don't Tell Ashful that I got a tree-pullin' mule or he will be out there painting racing stripes on an ox.


* For certain values of "free".

 

[mcstatz5829]

Lol no have to pay. I have an old once-suburban-now-urban house, only 1/2 acre. A neighbor’s oak tree lost a big branch though. They have probably 1/10th a cord bucked and sitting on the road for free I’m going to snag tomorrow morning. If they buck the rest of it I think it may be a good half cord or so. May be worth investing in a chainsaw and helping them out. But it won’t be ready for 2-3 years. Generally I need to pay.

 

[kennyp2339]

For myself, I burn approx. 4 cords a year, I try to heat exclusively with wood since its pretty much free, I keep the oil boiler set at 60 also for when I'm away.
My first year in this house I didn't have a woodstove yet, so I burnt oil, I think the price was 2.45 a gal, and I ate up close to 1500 gal that year while only keeping the house at 65-68. I bought a stove and installed it myself, the second winter the house was kept around 70-75 but the radiant heat from the stove was / felt much warmer, no drafty cool feelings... from that point I became a woodstove addict. Now its all I think about and we are going on 7 yrs burning wood.
There's nothing wrong with buying wood, but try to find free logs and work it yourself if you can (some people cant) its much more rewarding. Enjoy the stove, the T6 from what I hear is a proven heater and has ease of use controls.

 

[mcstatz5829]

For myself, I burn approx. 4 cords a year, I try to heat exclusively with wood since its pretty much free, I keep the oil boiler set at 60 also for when I'm away.
My first year in this house I didn't have a woodstove yet, so I burnt oil, I think the price was 2.45 a gal, and I ate up close to 1500 gal that year while only keeping the house at 65-68. I bought a stove and installed it myself, the second winter the house was kept around 70-75 but the radiant heat from the stove was / felt much warmer, no drafty cool feelings... from that point I became a woodstove addict. Now its all I think about and we are going on 7 yrs burning wood.
There's nothing wrong with buying wood, but try to find free logs and work it yourself if you can (some people cant) its much more rewarding. Enjoy the stove, the T6 from what I hear is a proven heater and has ease of use controls.

$3500 to heat one winter? Where do you live?

 

[weatherguy]

I spent more than $3500 one year, then I got a stove.

 

[Mark cerel]

I currently live on 5 acres surrounded by thousands of acres of corn fields. However I have 5 cords split ready to go all for free. Jump on Craigslist also check out Facebooks market place. Most people don't have a need for firewood espically in a suburban area. Where I live we have more dead Ash trees than I can count. Most people are willing to give away fallen trees if you come cut them up. I just picked up this free load of wood off Craigslist tonight for next year.

 

[maple1]

If I had access to NG, I'm not sure I'd still be burning wood.

 

[mcstatz5829]

I currently live on 5 acres surrounded by thousands of acres of corn fields. However I have 5 cords split ready to go all for free. Jump on Craigslist also check out Facebooks market place. Most people don't have a need for firewood espically in a suburban area. Where I live we have more dead Ash trees than I can count. Most people are willing to give away fallen trees if you come cut them up. I just picked up this free load of wood off Craigslist tonight for next year.

I suppose I could get a trailer for my Jeep and a chainsaw. I’m a small guy so I’d have to figure out what to do with rounds too large to lift. I guess I could guess whack away with a maul until they got small!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Technique is more important than size. I started with a wedge and sledge, then went maul, then quickly bought an electric splitter. Splitters are awesome.

 

[black smoke signals]

If your wood is free, that's easy math. Do you have to keep paying for it?

Your wood use will probably triple in the middle of winter versus what it is in early fall, if you decide to heat primarily with wood.

I heat with lovely free* wood. Of course, I needed a $2500 stove and a couple chainsaws and an old truck and a log splitter and a fancy new maul to go with my old maul and several chain sharpening systems and a mule to pull trees out of the woods etc etc....

P.S. Don't Tell Ashful that I got a tree-pullin' mule or he will be out there painting racing stripes on an ox.


* For certain values of "free".

Your Mule have a name?

 

[kennyp2339]

$3500 to heat one winter? Where do you live?

NW NJ and that winter was very cold and snowy, plus the insulation wasn’t that well and all the windows needed to be re-caulked, but thankfully I’m down to one 275gal delivery a year thanks to the stove

 

[Woodsplitter67]

$3500 to heat one winter? Where do you live?

My neighbor spent over 1000 in one month ... January 16.. in propane.. he put in a new heating system.. hes back on the wood and just build a wood shed. Were in south jersey

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I think your wood estimate may be short. I would figure 3 cuft for over night and 3 to 4.5 cuft for day for the winter.when it gets cold your going to go through some wood.
As for cost. I dont purchas wood. I scrounge. Once you start making some contacts scoring wood becomes easier. My neighbor looks on Craigslist, he just scored a lot of white oak for free, its over a cord. I would work on wood storage and scrounging wood or look at having log lenth wood delivered and then process at your leisure. Maybe a combination of all of it. Doing it this way will allow the following. You will be insured the proper MC, your wood will be cut and processed to your stove, you will be able to be selective of wood species. I pretty much burn only oak, and some cherry for example. You can process on your own time, i process a little in janyary, February, early may a weekend here and there. What ever you do will offset the cost and then wood heat becomes less and less expensive. I heat my house basically for free and i'v never felt so warm and comfortable. I'm not suggesting you become a super wood processor over night, but come up with a plan and move that way.. you'll be better off.

 

[Mike M.]

Its not always about cost. I have natural gas also but just enjoy cutting wood and being outside. I like the exercise and the work keeps me moving. Finding free wood gets easier every year. Check Facebook market and Craigslist or ask around. I turn down more wood now just because of time and the season, prefer to do all my wood in the winter. Burn what's free and when you run out or short, use the gas.

 

[mcstatz5829]

Yes I feel my wood estimates are very favorable, definitely on the short side.

I looked on craigslist, and there seems to be no shortage of fallen trees or broken branches that need to be bucked and hauled. I’m just rolling through my head the logistics of it all. I need to buck, haul, and split 4+ cords every year, and all I have is a maul and a Grand Cherokee. And I only have storage for four cords. I’d likely need to triple to 12. The storage I have is flimsy and won’t last more than another season. I specced and priced out racks I’d like to build. It was pretty pricy just in lumber, $100 for a rack that would hold 3/4 a cord.

So I’d need, at minimum:
Trailer ($600)
Chainsaw ($150)
Splitter ($600)
Storage ($1,600)

That’s $3,000 of capital expense, plus a lot of personal labor, to start fetching wood I won’t be able to use for 2 years. If I burn wood primarily I’ll need to invest in the racks regardless, even if I keep having it delivered. At this point is where my mind wanders off to selling my investments, buying a wood processor, and starting a side business

I’m going to heat for a few weeks on the natural gas. The Nest thermostat keeps track of heating time, and I can watch the meter. I have a good baseline of gas usage from the water heater and kitchen, so some math I can get at least a rough estimate of winter heating bills.

 

[mcstatz5829]

Oh, and I didn’t even mention access to the backyard stinks!

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Oh, and I didn’t even mention access to the backyard stinks!

Start slow.. trailer... starter saw... fiew racks.. turn the racks into kilns and you will be able to burn all of your wood in the fall of 19.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Stack high. Add 2 feet to a 4 ft stack and gain 50% more capacity. Lots of people have turned free pallets into storage racks.

Electric splitters are cheap and will split 90-95% of what you throw at it.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Stack high. Add 2 feet to a 4 ft stack and gain 50% more capacity. Lots of people have turned free pallets into storage racks.

Electric splitters are cheap and will split 90-95% of what you throw at it


Where there's a will there's a way...

 

[mcstatz5829]

Start slow.. trailer... starter saw... fiew racks.. turn the racks into kilns and you will be able to burn all of your wood in the fall of 19.

Do you have any guides handy for an easy kiln?

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Do you have any guides handy for an easy kiln?

Yes look in the wood shed... go 3/4s down. It's titled solar Kiln for Hardwoods

 

[Mike M.]

If you have no trailer you could call around to the local tree guys. Sometimes they will drop wood right in your driveway. I would try for a saw at least 50cc then if you have no splitter at least you can rip (noodle) some of the big stuff. Check out the Fiskars X27 on sale, which was a must have for me before I got a splitter. Do some wood, save some money, upgrade equipment, repeat.

 

[mcstatz5829]

I am getting more heat out of the stove now that I’m getting better at running it. Last week when it was pretty steady in the 40s for a 48 hour period. I ran one day on the stove and the next day on the natty gas boiler. A stop watch at the meter and some math suggest that paying premium for wood and running the boiler are about the same cost.

One load from the stove kept the house warm for a full 24 hours. Was pretty happy with that.

It’s in the 20s now and was cold all night. I let the house get a little too cold yesterday evening and been struggling to get it back above 70. I probably could run the stove harder but not sure exactly how - open the intake and burn through more wood? Reload sooner? I was lazy getting out of bed (blaming the girlfriend) and probably went 10 hours between loads. Still had enough coals to get it going again, but it would have been much easier if I tried at 8 or 9 hours.

 

[mcstatz5829]

@begreen is the chamber in the bottom front for the EBT? The air deflector over it tends to get covered with ash. Is that bad?