Propane bill.

[Cross Cut Saw]

Just had to have the propane tank filled, we use it for hot water, cooking, and a backup heat source.

We purchased our stove last year after we realized the outrageous amount of money it was going to cost to heat our home to anything near comfortable, here's the results:

October 2011-May 2012:
900 gallons of propane: $2700
Increased electricity to heat bedrooms at night:$600
Grand total: $3300

October 2012-May 2013:
100 gallons of propane: $300.00
No extra electricity needed.
Firewood: $1100.00
Grand total: $1400

The real kicker here is that in 2011/2012 we kept the house at 62 degrees during the day and 55 degrees at night, in 2012/2013 we've kept it around 73 degrees throughout 24/7.

Saved about $1900 this year but it would have cost considerably more the previous year to keep it anywhere near as warm, who am I kidding, baseboard heat could NEVER heat our house like the stove did, EVERYTHING was warm, the floor, the walls, the furniture...

From a strictly financial standpoint the stove will pay for itself and the install in about 3 winters, from a comfort standpoint it's priceless!

I've also gotten a few decent scrounges that have added up to a little over a cord so I'm hoping to pay about $800 for my wood this year...

 

[Locust Post]

I always like to read stories like this Crosscut. I have been fortunate to never have experienced propane or oil heat. Always lived where natural gas was aval. Not really in town but still have gas. BUT, even with that said I have burnt wood for many years. Just like you said the house is just warm all through. I almost feel I would heat with wood even if it cost more than fuel. Nothing keeps you warm clear to your bones like wood.

 

[Cross Cut Saw]

I will heat with wood the rest of my life!

Maybe not to the extent that I do now, but I will always have a stove. I had never lived anywhere that didn't have natural gas and was shocked and horrified at what it cost to heat my home in Maine. Luckily I did something about it, life's too short to spend the winters cold!

 

[Sprinter]

The real kicker here is that in 2011/2012 we kept the house at 62 degrees during the day and 55 degrees at night, in 2012/2013 we've kept it around 73 degrees throughout 24/7.

This is a bonus that a lot of people don't even think of at first. With a furnace, you tend to keep the thermostat as low as you can and often are not really comfortable. With the stove, we keep the house at around 74 which we have never done with a furnace. Some members here like it up to 80. I can't imagine what fuel costs would be then in a cold climate.

Yours is a real success story.

 

[BrianN]

Nice success story for sure.
I hope that mine is as good next year.
I don't have a comparable winter yet with the stove, but, if I still had the pellet stove going (and it would be going 24/7 right now) I would be going through probably 2 bags of pellets a day ($4 each) plus, my hydro bill would be back up in the $300 - $400 range. And my house would be no where as warm as it is with the wood stove.
Last winter I went through about 7 tons of pellets, between $180 - $200/ton, and hydro was averaging $200/month, and the house was cold all winter. Only 20C in the living room where the stove is, and 16C or less every where else. Unless we had the electric baseboards on.
I'm sure this winter will be a lot warmer, and a lot less expensive.

 

[Cross Cut Saw]

I also received some nice wood cutting accessories for my birthday so I'm going to start getting more 4ft. lengths or manageable scrounges that I can cut and split myself which should help cut that dollar amount down even more and maybe help the waistline in the process!

 

[downeast]

Your damn near close to the beginning of what we call The Banana Belt here ( Deer Isle )

Best advice from this site will be:
1. Insulate the H out of the building. Fast amortization comparable to the stove.
Windows, attic, basement.
2. Get the firewood stacked, stored right, and ready now for next winter.
3. Work out the how of bringing it in in stages with racks, carts, storm storage, etc...
4. No need to heat any bedroom: this is the only temperate place where people feel they need 70 sleeping.
We do like Northern Europeans with thick down comforters and open windows. It's cozy, healthy, romantic.

Happy Birthday ( remember PPE. Look around for a chain saw program- SWOAM, Game of Logging. )

 

[BrotherBart]

4. No need to heat any bedroom: this is the only temperate place where people feel they need 70 sleeping.

Sleep under a sheet here year around. If I wanted to be a mummy I would have been born Egyptian royalty.

 

[webby3650]

I will heat with wood the rest of my life! Maybe not to the extent that I do now, but I will always have a stove. I had never lived anywhere that didn't have natural gas and was shocked and horrified at what it cost to heat my home in Maine. Luckily I did something about it, life's too short to spend the winters cold!

Good for you! I couldn't agree more.

 

[swagler85]

I want to be like Dennis when I grow up

 

[downeast]

If I wanted to be a mummy I would have been born Egyptian royalty.

Yes indeed Majesty. ( more banjos B² )

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Cross Cut Saw, one factor you did not mention is the difference in this past winter compared to the previous winter. It was much colder in most places this winter so that would skew your figures even more toward wood heat.

I would have a difficult time attempting to get a close figure on what it would take to warm our home with propane or oil (no natural gas here) but I'd bet it would be very scary. We keep our home 80 degrees or more all winter and love it.

Yes, insulation can help a lot. Yet it also can vary a lot on the results. We put in lots of insulation a couple years ago and are reaping the rewards. Our first winter after new insulation, doors and windows, plus an addition, we found we used 1/2 cord less (had been burning 3 cord). Yet this burning season is not yet over and we are probably going to end up burning 2 3/4 cord. So we are heating more space and still keeping the home toasty and using slightly less wood. We're happy with the results.