wood vs. oil

[PLM0612]

I will be new to wood burning this winter. I was wondering an approximate of how much wood do people burn compared to how much oil they used to.
Basically if I went through about 400gal of oil last winter how much wood should I expect to burn.
Tank You.

 

[PLM0612]

I will be new to wood burning this winter. I was wondering an approximate of how much wood do people burn compared to how much oil they used to.
Basically if I went through about 400gal of oil last winter how much wood should I expect to burn.
Tank You.

 

[Wet1]

400 gal of oil is about 55,400,000 btu. Wood btu content varies with wood species. So if all things are equal, burning cedar you'll need about 4.5 cords. If you're burning hickory, you'll need two cords.

You can look up the btu content for the type of wood you're burning here: (broken link removed to http://chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm)

 

[lugoismad]

I've never owned an oil furnace. However my current house is electric heat, and my last house was gas.

My gas house would be about $150 on the cold months.
My electric house would be about $200 to $300, depending on how warm I kept it and if I heated all the rooms.

I'm estimating I'll need 4 cords of wood, but I have about 5, plus a tree in front of the house I could cut down if need be (its dying and needs downed anyways) that would give me another 2 or so.
I payed for 4 cords of that wood, at $15 for a pickup truck load. It came out to about $300.

$300 to heat my house for an entire winter vs thats what I used to pay for one month.

 

[SteveT]

Link to this thread, there are a number of responses to your question:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/20904/

Since you are in CT you will probably be burning hardwood so ~ 3 cords will replace 400 gallons of oil. But as the linked thread discusses there are issues like getting seasoned wood this late that might be a problem.

 

[savageactor7]

I will be new to wood ... ... how much wood should I expect to burn. Tank You.

If you're going to be a 24/7 wood burner a lot of us have our back up heat set at 68* or so to come on in the early morning. btw it not only keeps the house warm but it's also an incentive to get up and feed the stove.

If you do that I'm thinking you'll burn about 50 gal or less of oil...but it's very difficult to predict. Simply put the more diligent you are at tending the stove the less the oil burner will come on...cause you're maintaining a temp above your thermostat setting.

 

[billb3]

I do aboout 400 gallons (hot water , too) and I'd want 2 cords for a cold Winter.
I wouldn't expect to use two, but if we have one of those Winters where salt water harbors freeze over from extended cold it goes quick.


I have 2 cords right now and there's no way I'll use it all burning just week-ends.

 

[Todd]

Think ahead. If you have the room for it get enough wood for 2 years. Most people burn 3-5 cords with a new EPA stove but that depends on alot of different factors. I suggest 6 cords, see what you burn through this winter and use the rest for the following winter.

 

[billb3]

I do aboout 400 gallons (hot water , too) and I'd want 2 cords for a cold Winter.
I wouldn't expect to use two, but if we have one of those Winters where salt water harbors freeze over from extended cold it goes quick.


I have 2 cords right now and there's no way I'll use it all burning just week-ends.

I should amend that to <<and I'd want 2 cords (minimum) for a cold Winter. This Winter. Advantage to having next year's is you have a reserve. You don't know how valuable a reserve is until you have a really cold Winter and you run out and are scrounging in February with feet of snow on the ground.
Plus, with reserves you almost never start burning not so dry wood (in a sense wasting it).

 

[gerry100]

Consistent with Wet1, a cord of wood will supply about as much energy as 100-150 gallons of fuel oil. The range is due to the types of wood.

Main difference with woodstoves is that the distirbtion of the heat is subject to a lot of variables, stove placement, house layout etc. Your current oil sysytem is designed to distribute heat evenly.

That being said ,a good woddstove setup can keep the oil burner off up to 100% of the time.