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Costs me one to two hundred a cord . I’m 66 years old and I’ve burned wood all my life.I do it for exercise and like the warmth. I always have three or four cords drying in sheds. My house is 850 sq ft well insulated so it takes usually 2 cords a year. I have several saws and a second hand splitter taking dead or storm downed trees. All your equipment is nice but you don’t need all that. I guess that’s why it costs you so much to make a cord of wood. It would be nice to have all that but I don’t envy you I’m content
@@hal8683I heat more than he does. House is 2000 square foot Garages 24 by 30. My basement is 30 by 40. Heat it all with one wood stove. All I use is a chainsaw and a single blade ax. I also pull my own trees and carry them out in the woods on my shoulder. And I'm already hitting temperatures that are his worst temperatures of the year. What stalls been going for almost 3 weeks and I won't shut it down to June.. So he's right. That equipment isn't unnecessary cost.
12/22/23 6:46 pm. I have natural gas and 10 acres of woods so the wood is free except for the equipment cost and lots of work. I bought an expensive enameled soap stone wood stove, two chain saws, small wagon, log splitter, oil, gas, log roller, etc. so it's not completely free. It will take me a few years to get back my investment. Good thing I enjoy cutting, splitting, and the hot fire (minus the mess). Good exercise too.
Being a business owner I look at cutting firewood as a mental enema. It gets all the crap out of my head by paying attention so I don't hurt myself. I hated it as a kid but it's amazing how things come back around.
@@TheRealMonnieme too, until my dad would push the stack over and tell me to re stack it. :) Love my Dad, he taught me and still does teach alot of great life lessons.
I’m a business owner too and I lose my ass cutting fire wood. However I don’t care. It’s fed experience, nostalgia, tradition, and therapeutic aspect I enjoy from it
My love for heating with wood came to an abrupt end after two gas wells were drilled on our farm. My wife put her foot down and said now that we have natural gas, the wood and all the dirt associated with it was going to stay outside. Besides, the gas would be free. By having a lot of trees on our farm there is always a lot of wood that needs to be cut and split, so I sell a little and give the rest away to some of our elderly friends that can use it to help cut their winter heating bills.
@@guatf1 When we purchased our farm in 1973 we never imaged that in 2013 a company would approach us about drilling gas wells. Although there is a little routine maintenance that needs to be done a couple of times a year, they have definitely proved to be a great money saver.
@@vanderumd11 Don't have to worry about that. We have city water because all of our local water has already been contaminated by all of the coal mining that took place in the early 1900s.
in the 70s, we saved more than money. I was a 14 YO jerk, and headed for trouble. gathering, cutting splitting, stacking, and feeding the fire was a priceless return for a 300 investment for a stove, and eventually a chainsaw (I cut everything by hand for two years before we got the chainsaw). the floors were warm, the house was cozy, and I turned out better than I would have otherwise. Thanks for the video
I went from nearly $400 a month to $60 a month electric bill when I switched to wood heat so yes. It's a win win because I love everything about wood heat right down to cutting and splitting. I enjoy it through and through.
electric is the worst way to heat if i use electric it cost about $400-500 in winter months, , gas i feel is cheapest $100-$150 in winter months summer months under $20, we run thru 2-3 face cords a month in winters not counting labor , so once you add it up winters are costing $800-$1000 a month to heat with wood , mostly due to labor , but even the $200-$300 in wood to buy gas is only $150 in those winter months so big savings with gas and no hassle or ruining sleep to load fires. plus health hazard of just loading starting fires over and over isnt good inhaling smoke all the time.
@@weplayitall I think electric is OK if it powers a Geothermal system. We've had Geothermal for 13 years now and it's not too expensive. I still however use the wood stove in the basement to cut down on running time for the Geothermal furnace as well as save a bit of electricity.
@@weplayitallno natural gas where I live and getting and installing a propane tanks along with a propane furnace would be a huge expense. I'll cut the wood and cut my heating bill by 2/3
But wood costs money. And even if you have access to free wood on your property it can’t last forever and it costs time, money, and equipment costs and depreciation costs in order to cut any wood. So even though it could be enjoyable you still have to factor those costs in.
@@oldowl4290 why would the wood not last? If you have a proper management plan, it will outlast you and your kids easily. Plant some fast growing species as you cut. A chainsaw should last a decade at least. Basically just chains and gas. Minimal cost overall
In my case it definately saves money heating with wood. We do not use a lot of wood as the house is very well insulated and the insert is quite efficient. Living remotely the only option is propane, which in reality is not overpriced in my area. The wood is collected from my own woods, just standing dead or blowdowns that need to be cleared even if we were not heating with wood. And, we like to heat with wood, also enjoy the feeling of self sufficiancy, it's not just the cost of heating.
Having been close to being forced out of a home during an ice storm in the mid 90's with no power, I vowed to never buy another home without a fireplace and have some wood and stuck with that! Thanks for the analysis, you got a new subscriber.
same exact experience but with the salt lake city power outage around ( been around the same house sense 2012~ but renting out to 17~ anyways we learned about this possible problem the first week we moved in as residents the dishwasher ( 5+in out flames from under the counters and front of the unit ) burned down ( also had fire coming out the front under the dead-panel aka challenger on fire 1-3in' sideways ) and 😅 it didn't take the rest of the housing with it but got close enough i consideration of retreating for safety reasons ) 2019/covid that the newspaper's/tv covered, my power is still partially nocked off line in 2024 as my challenger 1970 panel fried/fireballed 🔥 and the new 400A ect isn't fully functional/ready yet yes i ended up with minor water damage ( use the firebox's regularly or in time of need they'll fail to function fully ( treating like the generic/stand-by equipment mentioned in the comments, once a month using it or so minimally ) as i found out as the neglect from 5+ years of sitting unlit and full of leaves 🍂dead critters and minor ice and water damage as the mortar and brick didn't like being wet and in a corrosive environment ) and a water-piping repairs and my gas/LPG ( main heat and furnaces are dead, no power down there and there old and nowadays super fussy and time for heat-pump+solar upgrades/replacement's ) development a leaking valve+rusty pipe in 2019~ so the local government+untilty officials shut it down for at least 90day's as i made/payed for indoors repairs and upgraded's ect, water and LPG @13 deca-thermal's ( so converted into pump 85 gasoline 4+ usd per-gallon aka super $$ in my mind ) works in 2024 👍 as for finances $$ 👍for showing and telling me what i should continue consideration for self-pay ( i get my wood myself=paying-myself+any-helper's but yes i still end up paying a K1500-80's or siblings TJ-jeep-bill 😉 and hand-tools, otherwise it's close to free heating, as my taxes pay for a process to gather wood ie county's has it as a supplemental heat program and junk/landscape recycling and forest floor cleaning-ect, good thing too as im not rich/poverty class after 2014~/job-loss and my maintenance/plant career hasn't rekindled yet 🤞 ) vs paying utilities for heating costs
@@QuietlyContemplating im sure thankful that my box's 🔥 works as after that tv-storm ( 2019~ 🤔 ) rolled around my electrical utilities gave me a warning ⚠that the next blizzard that cut power down i might not get reconnected ( the rest of my block would be ) for safety reasons as in my local USA 🇺🇸 county challenger's ( and known failing mains/sub-panels and wiring-inside, as mine also as time when by started poping utility's-fuzz's/poll behind the house in 90f/summertime heat ) aren't approved aka against codes, yes that lineman probably could have got fired for that but thanks 🙏 so i used my grace period to get it replaced the next summertime/2020-25~
I"m 67 and have heated with wood 90 percent of my entire life and it is a lot of work. The exception was thirty- five years where I built a house with a heat pump where we were always cold. When you came in from working out in the cold you had to sit on the couch and hide under a blanket. That was 35 years ago and now days heat pumps are much better but there is still nothing better than warming my backside in front of a wood fire. 20 years ago I built my final home that is super insulated with a large air tight buck fireplace with a catalytic converter. It sits on 85 acres with 30 acres of woods plus I do some tree removal work and run a sawmill so there is always plenty of free firewood so my situation is very different than the typical homeowner. We have a heat pump but only use it when we leave the house for a couple days. Great job on breaking it all down Adam, I think this will help someone who is considering buying wood to heat their home. One thing to also consider is the added dust and mess from sawdust and ash dust from wood heat.
Heat pumps are very drafty. They do not work below freezing and run constantly when below freezing. You need another source of heat if you have just a heat pump in colder parts of the country.
@waynebusse6376 good point added with the mess I am in the hvac industry for 10 yrs now. Not wood burning appliances. We got a new home with a wood boiler.. first winter with it was a fair amount of work. We purchased 4 face quarts of wood was enough to heat this yr in ontario. However!! There was a fair amount of smoke when using the wood boiler and I'm not too sure on how those emissions impact one's health let alone if it could impact the kids health, hopefully next year I get drier wood and a kentic wood splitter. On the fence about a Heat Pump, which I could install at cost and removal of the heat master or giving the heat master another chance. Again it's the emissions that we are most concerned about. Any suggestions or thoughts on the topic. Cheers
I have a 20 year old pickup truck, a chainsaw and a maul for splitting with a boiler. I don’t need a gym membership. It cost me about $30 a month to run my circulation pumps and I heat my house and barn with it. I have to buy maybe 1 saw chain per year @ $25. Maybe 10 gallons of chainsaw gas $40. Per winter. Skip the fancy equipment and it is way cheaper.
We burn 7 cords a year in the cabin we live in. We start getting wood in September and I finished hand splitting the last cord this weekend. You have to love this lifestyle ❤
We heat entirely with wood. Our house is 4100 SF above grade and was built in 2016 w/ 6" exterior walls to new EPA standards so our house is extremely efficient. We installed an Alderlea T6 with the flu running inside up to the 18' ceiling in our great room and then up thru the attic to the roof. Our windows are cheap builders grade though. Now, having said all that, we only burn about 1 1/2 chords a season where we live in Southern PA. And to top that ridiculous fact, our neighbor has a tree service and drops off free hardwood logs on our property for no charge. We just have to process it, which we actually love, love, love doing. Fire up the chainsaws, the splitter and the 4 wheeler w/ trailer. Great family time processing AND sitting in front of the fire which is priceless!
I figured I would chime in here ! My oil bill last year was 6500.00 At 1.89 - 2.20 a litre Roughly anywhere from 800 - 1400 a month in the cold season . I bought my wood boiler for 15,000 all in with install ( 30 year warranty ) covering my hot water and heat. This will also down the road heat my new garage going in. I have arborist’s drop wood at my house for free as a lot of people don’t burn in my area , and I can get a cord done in roughly 1.5 hours . Sometimes I don’t need to split the wood if it’s small enough ! It is worth it for me!
I totally understand... Just an interesting way to look at it ... I'm curious to see if you calculated your yearly consumption for that set up and just processed all that wood and sold it how much money you would come up with ... compared to cost of your gas bill 😊 but I'm definitely on the same page and also heat with an owb... But did just make the leap to a gasser😁
It does for me because me being an arborist, means I have a free wood source. I also process everything with a chainsaw, an ax, and a splitting maul, so in my case even with a natural gas central air backup, the wood does save me a lot of money. But this is an extremely good and thorough video!! Thank you for this!
My parents have used only chainsaw, ax, splitting maul to create firewood. Cuts way down on cost. They have gotten it from federal lands, their own property, never bought a load from a logger. Again, cuts down in cost. Way down.
Thank You for the numbers. Having heated with firewood for more years than I’d like to admit to, I would say your analysis is right on. I would like to add what I think is another big plus namely, the health benefit gained from the regular and consistent exercise. As someone who is way north of 50 and in reasonable good health and weight (did say perfect) I would credit doing the cutting and splitting of firewood for aiding with good health.
North of the 45th parallel and way north of 50. I currently have 75 face cord cut, split and stacked. That's three years. I'm taking dead ash out right now and have another 35 in blocks waiting for the splitter. Gotta stay young till your not.
Sir, you have no idea how much your information is truly appreciated. So many people are misled by "RUclipsrs" and "homesteaders" when discussing the REALISTIC costs of certain aspects of off grid living.
You really did a good job explaining the different costs to heat your home. We live in northern Canada and heat our home with a catalytic wood stove and it does a great job but like you said some stoves are not cheap. We live in an area where natural gas is not available so electric is our only back up in the home and electricity costs here are very high in months like January to March. We have 80 acres of land with tons of trees so we can make our own firewood but of course takes labor to do it. In our situation burning wood is the most affordable option and the heat and satisfaction of knowing we are supplying it ourselves is unbeatable. Really enjoyed your video and a new subscriber.
I really enjoy getting and processing firewood. I’ve actually brought more in this year than we’ll probably need for the next 2 winters. We love this type of heat too
I have a wood stove in my shop but don't heat my house with wood. Your analysis is spot on. The factor that is hard to quantify in dollars is the value of the exercise, enjoyment, and therapeutic benefit it provides.
Very well put together. Also good to see you laying out the opportunity cost of additional work needed to get "free" firewood. It can really be a dealbreaker but some folks don't get it. We heat with about one and a half cords of wood each heating season but our house is very small. It is our only heat source. To handle the frozen pipes issue, we drain our entire plumbing system if we leave in the winter. I built the plumbing system with this in mind. It takes about 3-4 minutes to drain out using only gravity. Also I ran all the pipes outside of the walls instead of inside. Some people think it looks ugly but I think it looks really cool. I used copped and brass instead of plastic, which would have been cost prohibitive in a large house but in our tiny place it was no big deal.
I put a good fan blowing on the front of my wood-burning insert (lopi) and increased its heating capabilities ~30%. The main thing it does is disrupt the warm bubble of air that forms directly in front of the insert (pushing colder air over the insert instead of recycling warm air - better transfer of heat). I'm in the same region as you but southern Indiana - had the same problem when it got really cold - the fan made a huge difference. I put the fan away when its warmer outside since its not needed.
What he didn't discuss was cutting the wood with a chain saw and splitting it manually. It is significantly cheaper than his estimates but, you increase your labor input to compensate. Even in the south, where we don't have nearly as many cold days and have cheaper energy prices, it can still be economical if you cut and split with a chainsaw and axe/maul.
We live out in the boonies but have electric and plenty of free wood. We have discovered that mini split heat/ac/dehumidifier combo units, with a small wood stove, is an ideal combo.
The fire you have going is far more than what’s needed to heat. Enjoyed and appreciated the break down. Now that I’m in Florida I rely on a fire pit to get my fix.
No its not for that tiny woodstove he has. Look at the thermometer on the back wall it looks to be about 66 degrees in there...not so hot friend. That thing is made for supplemental heat not primary heat...
I think that saving money is secondary to many people. For me (and I don't burn wood at the moment) ambiance and self sufficiency would be the two most important reasons, once I can move to a place where I can install a stove/burner.
Interesting video, Adam. Two situations. I live in Sparks, NV. My nephew lives on a 170 acre ranch in Arkansas. He's got 100 acres of hay fields and 70 of old-growth hardwood. My home is heated with natural gas. A week ago, in a severe snowstorm, we lost power for four days. Single digit temps at night. The house got down to the low-mid 40s at night. I came out to the shop (heated with propane) and sat in 70 degree comfort in the dark, and then went inside and froze. My nephew heats his home with propane and a generator if he loses power, so his house is taken care of. He heats his 40x60 shop with wood. In his case, he has a 'forever' source of firewood for the shop. The final issue, and I agree with you, there's nothing more personally satisfying than sitting in front of a fire... staying warm... and thinking about those who don't have it as good as I do.
Lost power last year in WI for 4 days in Dec, backup generator ran my natural gas furnace just fine. U just need a 220v generator and space in your panel for a 30amp, 220v breaker. Shut the main off, then backfeed the panel from the gen to the 30amp breaker. Power comes back on, flip the 30 off and the main on.
I have a forced air wood burning stove which came with the house, a $400 chainsaw, $800 log splitter and a $3500 truck. We burn roughly 6 cords a year. I believe my cost per cord is way less. But I also don’t have the heavy equipment
We live in Europe and have geothermal heating with a wood burning furnace as an integrated secondary heating source. With current prices for electricity, we are constantly using the wood burner, ie very low electricity bills. As an extra bonus it's worth mentioning that the heat allows the water in the pipes to be almost self circulating (no immidiate need for pumps). I really agree with your stance that the wood in your storage gives a sense of relief since it's already "paid for". Great Video! All the best to you and yours and Merry Christmas!
We bought our wood stove mainly for a secondary heating source but it has off set our natural gas bill by quite a bit so far, in fact our usage has gone down so much our supplier has to send out an actual meter reader because it was so much lower than our average. Getting started heating with wood is definitely an investment and a long term one at that, new wood stoves will range anywhere from 2-10k + with professional installation and could take years to recoup that money.
Hi i am 72 y.o and i been burning wood for 40 plus years.I agree with you it might not be cheaper than gas but the heat is much better.Where i live the trees are free and i make my own firewood.I live in northern Alberta so its get pretty cold.But i love doing it and its good exercise
Same, and power goes out here for a day or more at least once a year. 6-8 hours more frequently. Wood heat from an outdoor wood stove allows me to run a mostly normal house, even hot showers, with a fuel sipping inverter generator.
Ran a combined heat and power plant here in Alaska that ran off biomass, woodchips. Since local and state forestry numbers were always falsified based on their current agenda I did all the numbers for various heating sources used in this area. For a homeowner, with heating fuel at $4.00/gal, wood was usually not more cost efficient if a person paid for it. Depands of course on their other type of heating source. A oil fired boiler or forced air furnace being the most expensive in regards to fuel and electricity, then to hydronic boilers like Quietsides and toyos, down to the most efficient, Toyo oil fired heaters, 91% efficiency. One could beat the cost of the Toyo oil heater only if one did not pay for the wood but went out and cut it fro start to finish. If one had a boiler or forced air furnace, then if one paid more than 150 per cord, one was losing money. Hard to tell people this when they normally pay $150-300 per cord in this area, that they were more often than not paying more for wood, but they usually are. Especially when they use an old style wood stove that is 40% or less efficient. The best thing of course is to insulate one's home. That will save far more money than anything, along with not going stupid over installing large windows. If you want the equivelant of one side of ones home to be less than R-3, go ahead on the glass. Want to spend a lot on electricity running fans, have that 30 foot high vaulted ceiling. I built my house to be very efficient, burn four cords of wood a winter using a 74% efficient modern woodstove. Even when it's 50 or 60 below, it's warm and cozy.
Another great example of what happens when an accountant makes firewood. I appreciate you taking the time to share info like this. I have told many people the same. I would also add that home efficiency such as insulation plays a huge part in it as well. In my area of Missouri a good insulated 2,000sqft home with a good stove or insert will only need 2 cords give or take some.
As an old guy, chopping and splitting firewood is my exercise routine. So I save on gym memberships and medical bills. My trees are free and I always have plenty of windfall, dead branches etc that have to get cleaned up.
Wood is a great back up if you lose power. Need nothing but some good dry kindling and a match. That is some security you just can't get away from. Next is having morning coffee or happy hour cocktail by the gas boiler/furnace. That doesn't even sound right much less look the same.
Heating with firewood accomplishes several things for us. Cutting wood is a hobby for me. I like felling trees, hauling, splitting and drying the wood. All that activity is great exercise. I like chainsaws. I like running them, working on them, and sharpening chains. The cost savings is debatable. I mostly have the ability to heat with wood as a way to hedge against not being able to get propane. Wood heat also helps to stretch a tank of propane through the winter, minimizing the risk of having to pay high propane prices.
Its probably a wash on the cost, but fire wood gives me a sense of security if power ever goes out or fuel prices spike or there is a shortage. Also im retired now and making wood helps me stay in shape. I have a soap stone wood stove with viewing window which we really enjoy. However this stove struggles to heat my entire home in -5 or below weather. I also have a wood boiler which is now my primary heating choice. Its much easier to just block up woof for the boiler. I just dump in a pile with my tractor loader bucket. I dont split anything unless its to hard to get into boiler. Have had the boiler for 6 years now. It was over 12 k including set up for heating hot water. I will continue to burn wood until im not physically able to do it. I fear that fossil fuels we sky rocket in the near future. Im glad im set up with wood heat.
My primary source of heat is a large kerosene heater and I supplement with electric baseboard heat. I have a large woodstove for power outages. I used it during a recent power outage and I do love the heat vs the other heat. You're right about the sense of security you get from having wood heat!!
I just bought a Heco 520 for heat, cook and hot water. My utility costs are minimal. Hot water boilers are very inefficient and consume ginormous amounts of wood. An indoor device is direct benefit and does not require electricity. The Heco also burns coal so it all boils down to dollars and sense.
And your right it's not about the cost but being ready, when all goes down hill. All good things must come to an end. And believe me it will be soon and fast. Most will not know what's going on due to them not focusing on life as a hold. Just like the great depression it will happen again. This is why so many need to be more dependent on themselves. Most do not know but football fields of solar panels are going up around the country, ask yourself why? Because I cannot get a clear answer from any one on why so many are going up. But in my opinion, 12 monkeys movie, everything is about to go underground. Too many depend on others to keep them safe.
@@hillbilly4christ638 I have a endless supply of dead elm, dead ash and dead red oak on my property. The consumption of wood in my boiler is not a concern for me. If its not below zero i often get 24 hr burn times. Plus it will continue to heat much longer due to the large volume of hot water in the well insulated jacket. Plus it is hooked up to my hot water heater and gives me endless hot water!
In many parts of British Columbia Canada the dead standing wood can be cut and gathered for just the cost of driving under 50 miles round trip so the cost of the wood doesn't amount to much and I get to be out in the forest again. I was a faller for 12 years so have some skills that others don't. The cost of a cord of dried wood delivered to the front door costs 350 -400 dollars here so when I am unable to get my own wood we will stop burning wood for heat. And like he said the heat from wood is very comforting especially for those of us who have been raised with it. Cheers
There’s a trend in the eco movement to stop allowing nat gas connections and in NY there was a group that looked into not allowing wood burning appliances. I’m a self reliant person. We supplement our home with wood and run our camp on wood. We truly enjoy the entire process of wood burning. We have our own forest and get by with Atvs and splitter rentals, so cost to us is pretty low. Good comparison!
Yeah these eco people are nuts. Instead of burning natural gas in your house for heat they want to make it burn in the power plant then transmit the electricity to you through horrendously inefficient power lines. #logic
I’m surprised nobody’s discussed the efficiency of a heat pump. If the temperature is above 35°F there’s really nothing that beats it. On those really cold days supplementing with our wood fireplace insert seems to work well.
You still love the numbers and analysis that goes with your profession. I can tell like me you were trained to analyze and help people make decisions. Being a CPA can be a blessing. I am unable to use firewood because of some physical problems but so far natural gas is reasonably priced.
I'm actually working on a video on this exact topic! As you say, it really depends. Here, we don't have natural gas, only electric as a heat source other than wood. Most people have electric as a supplement (when they go away/on the shoulder seasons), but they mainly heat with wood because it's legit so much cheaper.
We are lucky enough to heat 💯 with wood. We source our wood at local dump station and by helping the community/neighbors clean up after storms or as needed. Slit with ax... burn all types of wood, even pine or poplar. Season all wood for 3 years from split to burn. Osborne 2500... awesome stove. Sharpen own chains and ax. Costs us literally pennies, even in 40 below. Highly recommend this strategy in challenging times ahead. 🙏
Great video Adam! I reside in Northern PA. In my situation I had the option when building my house to go the firewood route with the use of a outdoor wood burner. This has been 16 years ago now, and yes I do heat the home and domestic water with this appliance. I’ve been able to do some close calculations since my house is well insulated and I’ve found that it’s always a win for me. I’m fortunate to always have sourced free wood and the outdoor burner can always straighten the most knotty and crooked prices😂. Being like minded as you are the enjoyment of being outside and getting lots of exercise has unending benefits and I’ve met many great people along the way during the journey. Great videos! ~Josh
I was a little surprised that one big benefit didn't get much attention: eliminating a single point of failure. That can be worth a significant amount, and is more than enough to justify the cost for me.
Nice video, but probably not situationally analogous to your audience's lived experience. I went from $2500/yr propane bill to $500 (still used for hot water and kitchen stove) with a 2667 sq. ft. house. Not every room is comfortable, but most are ideal. Wood is from adjacent property and log splitter retails for 60% more than when I purchased it. I might be able to sell it used in a few years for 1/2 off retail and get 100% back. Chainsaw is Farmboss and it'll last forever. Stove was $5150 installed in 2012. I do my own chimney sweeping with the duravent T cleanout. Your choice to have all that equipment is not relevant to the cost of firewood. You bought that for a much larger reason and would have never bought it for an average of 3 cords a year. With your woods, identical to mine, you could use a garden cart on a $1200 craftsman lawnmower and haul out your wood. It takes me about $10 in gas to haul a full tree, my mower was purchased in 2007. As for labor cost, I'm willing to take an absurd swing (and maybe a miss) and submit that the majority of your audience would be outdoors doing something, or more candidly could use the exercise regardless. We have a honeywell T10 thermostat with 4 remote temperature sensors. Heat is always on at 52 degrees in case we leave or don't have a fire. It will trigger off any of the 4 remote sensors. I think this was $50 after BGE rebate.| Prior to having access to the woods, I used to rent a 26' uhaul and get 2 or 3 trees at a time. That is about $200 for a year's supply.
Hey my friend, I use the same mower though a 2006 YS4500 - 24HP Briggs. Still running strong! And yes it was around $1200! I use a wheelbarrow with a trailer style arm attached to a mounting plate on the cart. Works great! When it comes to my saw it is my dads old Stihl 031AV purchased in 1987 (HaHa). Still going strong.. I am the type of man who loves a challenge; to see how little I can spend/live on.. It's not that I am without $$, I have plenty. I just enjoy the game. I must say though I/we just purchased a new home on over 100 acres and I'm pretty sure I'm upgrading my mower to a mini or BHLoader. Happy cutting!
It's about time somebody finally sat down and laid the numbers out there. Too many people are fooling themselves into thinking firewood heating is free.
For me- it’s definitely cheaper to heat with wood. In the next year I hope to switch over to a wood boiler that can heat the house and shop. Being in the logging and firewood business, wood comes cheap and I use a lot of pieces I don’t sell.
@D P old conventional boilers (shown in the video) do burn alot and are not as efficient as indoor units. The next step up is a wood gasification boiler. They burn much less wood and produce much less smoke. Much closer to indoor units, with less wood handling, MUCH more money though to setup.
@D P we have one. It BURNS WHOLE TREES. No joke. Plus going Outside to fill a stove in the snow and early mornings is not fun at all. Moving 45lb logs isn't fun either
I live in Northern Britain, I heat my 5 bed farm house, my new 3 bedroom barn conversion and my work barn solely with timber with a large whole wood biomass boiler . We’re fortunate that we have a continuous supply of timber as we are a tree maintenance company. We burn more than 150 IBC containers each season. The downside of all that free timber is processing it and being a slave to the burner! The kit that we have is very costly to buy and maintain, it includes a JCB loadall, a 360 excavator with wood grab rotator, a cone splitter, a wood processor and a purpose built steel framed open sided shelter to store the wood fuel in. That said it’s nice to have all that lovely heat and hot water. I also enjoy working with the machines, it’s very satisfying looking at a full wood store. Great video.🇬🇧
Very well explained Adam! I think you are right on with firewood costing more than natural gas, of course it depends on the price of wood. Speaking of natural gas it has increased by 30 plus percent in my area this year. I switched to natural gas from fuel oil about six years ago I burn about one to one and a half cords a season just on the coldest days and or on weekends. I payed $250 a cord this year for dry firewood. I do like wood heat and the enjoyment that goes with it, and if there’s a bad storm that knots the power out I have heat. Thanks for sharing and have a good day! From Northwestern Vermont
So we have had a wood stove since I was 9 (1978) I always enjoyed splitting wood and when I was 50 a year ago i purchased a log splitter. the warmth and glow of a woodstove is beyond incredible. The heat provided is worth is a welcome blessing especially on a rain, snowing or cold day. there is an externality in that. I always have my stove burning plus, my last oil delivery was 5.9 a gallon. to me it's welcome found money worth the time and effort. Happy Holidays.
I live in Maryland, and primarily heat with gas. My heating bill isn’t terribly expensive, however, I too really enjoy heating with wood. Like you have said, heating with wood is fulfilling. Provides that self reliance feeling, provides a good workout and can be romantic- when splitting and burning. I practically get my wood for free. My local city has a community pile of cut wood at the local Public Works. The tree crew (city staff) will dump cut logs into a pile for residents to split and burn. They get the wood from trees that have either died on city property or been damaged by car accidents and such. My cost is a days rental of a log splitter ($70) and my time. My City cuts it and leaves it for residents so that they don’t have to pay dump fees at the local County transfer station.
This was very helpful. This is our second winter without heat in our home in northern Illinois. Trying to make sure my fireplace will be safe to use before trying to heat part of the home with it. Because of this video I learned I will In fact need to repair/replace the natural gas boiler and won’t be able to rely fully on wood and that wood will also be expensive. Thanks for helping a city slicker southern boy out.
Interesting video Adam, our new house doesn’t have a fire place or the option to install one, first time ever and I really miss both the quality of the heat and the atmosphere a stove provides. Having said that our last home was a barn conversation, small two bedroom. Our boiler ran off LPG, we had regular electrical outages so were getting over 50% of our heat from our stove, it was a very modern clean burning stove, extremely efficient. We burned c. A cord and half, at the time we were paying £400 for dry, seasoned wood delivered and I would estimate it saved us at least two tanks of LPG or £1,200 so a big difference added to having heat, light and the pleasure of a wood fire.
I just had a new outdoor boiler installed last year. the new models are picky but very efficient. Went through 4.5 cord in maine heating our 1700sf house garage, small greenhouse and all our hot water. I miss the fire in the living room but it’s nice to have warm feet again 😊
Hello Adam, I heat completely with fire wood(2 tsc stoves). After the 3rd boiler flooded out during hurricane Sandy, the insurance company said that they wouldn’t replace it until I found a new or better location to relocate it! Between building code and contractors it was going to cost me the price of a new house😢! So I opted for wood heat not having large amounts of money on hand, it has cost me about 1000 dollars a year, including equipment, fuel, maintenance and such. Oil heat was costing about 12 grand a year!
Have a Central Boiler outdoor boiler. In the coldest of winters (Wisconsin), we only use 5 full cords of firewood. Thermostat is set at 70 degrees. House is 2000 sq ft with a finished basement. We cut our own wood on the farm and generally take 3 days of cutting and hauling to get the needed 5 cords. We usually start the wood boiler on 1 November and shut it down on 1 May. A propane furnace is our secondary source of heat.
its really hard to beat the cost of natural gas or even propane when you have a well insulated house and a very efficient furnace. Wood makes sense when you have enough acres of hardwood that you don’t have to buy the wood. To be honest it would make more sense for most people to replace their windows and doors and add insulation.
Hey Adam, awesome content 👍👍. Your absolutely right about the insurance companies. On average, it cost me $300. 😥More each year to have a wood stove in my house. Not to mention, I'm now a wood stove babysitter 🤔. Keep up the great content ☺️
Nice setup you have there! I have about 40ac and there are always damaged trees to clean up. More than enough to provide my firewood, and I'd have to clean them up anyway (win-win). Plus, trees are like grass, always growing. If you have some land, it doesn't hurt to harvest a few mature trees each year. Even choosing trees that will improve the health of adjacent trees. Your land will get better and better, and you get exercise and "free"-ish heat.
Our house was 3,500sqf and used 7 -330gal of oil per year. We installed a Tractor Supply wood stove that heats 2,000sqf. The stove cut the oil usage down to 2 - 330gal tanks per year. Saved us a ton of money.
I have an older electric forced air furnace so wood heat saves me about 50% cost out to the electric company. I make my own wood so it definitely saves me. Plus it's a hobby to process my firewood
good work out too, im 280 lbs i was 320 and sweat like a pig chopping wood on our 14 acres for heat... deff lost weight since i moved out in the country
I live in the suburbs, and we supplement our heat with a highly efficient wood stove with a catalytic element. Our neighbors fell trees all the time, and I have had to take a couple down, so there is always plenty of free firewood. As I near the mid-century mark, it’s a great way to stay in shape, be outdoors, and be a little self-reliant. When the power goes out, my house is still toasty and warm.
Yes it saves me money! Boonies and propane here. I made a related video not long ago - you could’ve factored in chimney and stove maintenance too! Producing firewood is “productive” recreation. My production “costs” are way lower than yours with more hand labor and dropping my own trees. I enjoy it for a couple hours on weekends for exercise and stress relief, so the labor is my pleasure! Regarding language on primary vs supplemental heat: I had a long and informative convo with our insurance agent this summer. Insurance won’t touch it if the wood is “primary” heat because it requires you to be there and maintaining it to keep temps up. They’re worried about freeze damage more than fire where I am… So technically the wood stove is “supplemental” and the central furnace is “primary” as it will kick in if the wood can’t keep up. Of course, I always hope to not need it - wood first, propane to help on the real cold nights…
@@505fastlife6 Water expands when it freezes and can burst pipes and crack toilets. If pipes burst in walls it’s a major undertaking to repair. That’s why insurance companies don’t want anything to do with a “primary” heating system that isn’t “automatic” via thermostat control - they don’t want to cover freeze claims that are the owner’s fault.
I live in NH on 45 acres of woodland, so if I were half my present age (83) I'd definitely be heating my house with wood, and would definitely save money if I cut and split it myself. I calculated that I'd use 6 cords of wood to keep the house nice and toasty, which would be $2,400 to buy it. With the increased price of propane, I've estimated that I'll be paying $2,800 - $3,000 for propane, but that includes the cost of cooking, hot water, the clothes dryer and the generator. I miss out on the joys of a woodstove, but I don't have to cut, split, stack and lug propane. So woodstoves are a good deal for some people, but not for folks like me.
Keep in mind that I've only used it for a couple weeks, that being said, so far so good ruclips.net/user/postUgkxAU9pOCSV9Y5JprooHvfxTpOrt4hx8uRM . Using it at 8 ft. by 8ft. deer blind that is insulated. I have to keep the door cracked for it to get enough air to burn, but that is very likely the wood I've used. Much better quality than I expected for the price. Now if I can just take it easy in the beginning it won't be 90 degrees in my blind. All in all it seems like a keeper.
In the mid 70s (72-74) we heated part of the house with firewood. There was an energy crisis so the price per cord went from $75 up to $150+. My dad was a construction foreman. His company paid for his truck and gasoline. Many days he brought home wood and us kids would split it with an ax. Eventually the competition for the wood made it hard to get. By 1974, starting in January, he started bringing home pallets (free), 6-12 everyday. We kids were required unload the pallets, remove the nails and break them down for him to use his electric saw to cut to size. We took turn helping him, our job was to hand him the next piece and stack the finished pieces. He cut once a week. The expense would be blades and electricity plus his labor. Kid labor is free, contributes to the home and allows kids to be warm during the winter. Since the pallets were oak, he was happy, no pine wood sappy.
I'm glad you mentioned selling your firewood to offset the cost. In my situation I don't have all the fancy tools to make firewood, just a truck, small trailer and a 25-ton splitter. I spend a lot more time to make 1 cord not only because of less tools but also because I have to go pick up all of my own wood sometimes driving an hour away. But I don't include time in my cost analysis because it's more like a hobby to me and good exercise. If I did include time maybe it'd be a wash anyway since I get my wood for free and in some cases get paid to clear fallen trees (also not including that since it's infrequent). So anyway, excluding time, a cord costs less for me than for you, but because I don't have all of the tools to make the work go faster I don't end up processing more wood than we will use so cannot sell any. So in your case you help offset the cost of your tools by selling the wood, and I'm guessing where you live there's more of a market for firewood than in Iowa in the middle of cornfields where I live.
You are spot on what you said. I have a outdoor wood boiler, a propane boiler as a backup and forty acres, have I saved $ ? Not really but I enjoy the harvesting and the accomplishment behind it. Living in ALASKA and not off the grid!
We used to heat our pole barn with wood. First thing I did when I took over the house was throw away that headache of a wood stove. Just not for me. The last thing I want to do in the winter is go and start a fire hours before I want to do work in the garage. Torpedo heater gets it warm almost instantly and a couple of electric heaters for my small office area.
Propane here in Nevada is $3.19-$3.50 a gallon. I live in the foothills of the Sierria Nevada Mountains. With a 6 month burn season average 4.5 cords. I cut and split my delivered logs at $220 a cord. My neighbors go thru 100 gallons a month. The fireplace heat is so much better. Great video.
I can't believe i just now subscribed to your channel now. I was probably so entrenched in your thought provoking content that i forgot to hit the button!
My brother in law installed an outdoor wood furnace at a cost of $15K. It works in conjunction with an indoor boiler. Prior to that he was heating with oil and paying between $3000 & $3600 annually. He still has the oil as a backup fuel source. He uses about 5 bush cords annually which would amount to less than a truck load of wood. He has access to his own wood and the savings paid for his furnace in about 5 years. If he purchased the wood, he would be paying between $1000 & $1500 annually and would simply take a few years longer to pay off the furnace. He is definitely saving money either way.
Glad I watched this to the end. Excellent work with the numbers. Your "million different scenarios" is so true. I have one that is probably unique. I have a gas well and heat my home with a high efficiency boiler and radiant floor heat here in WNY. Yet, I cut, split, stack, burn 4 full cords in my basement wood stove each year. WHY? Because I do have a gas allotment which I don't want to exceed...and never do. I'm retired, have 45 acres of woodland and enjoy the work heating with wood requires. It's great exercise. For me it's somewhat of a game. How far below my allotment can I get each year regardless of the severity of the winter? If I ever need to use just the gas I can. (and if I want to leave home for a week the gas is available.) You are so right, there is a great deal of satisfaction looking at that pile of wood...and NOTHING heats like wood. Folks considering starting to burn wood would be well advised to listen carefully to your presentation.
I live in the south and only need about a cord and a half of seasoned oak to heat all winter. Cut and split myself and find free "you pick up and haul" deals. It's a no brainer economically. That said, I like the point about being tied to your home all winter. It's easy to keep a home warm once you've got heat but if you leave for a day or two and it has a chance to cool completely, it takes a minute to get that heat back up. So it takes a commitment to the labor of felling, splitting, stacking and maintaining that heat.
I have a cabin on my farm. It doesn’t have power or water. We just camp there when hunting. It had a cast iron stove which heated well, but took a lot of wood. I had a friend build a rocket mass heater. It’s not as big as some I’ve seen. It burns 1/5 the wood and maintains very even heat. Also, before we go to bed we feed it fairly heavily and it will maintain the heat all night and the cabin is warm in the morning. We restart the fire and hunt the morning, come back and cook on it.
Great break down Adam, I agree with the numbers. I believe most on the channel dont buy the wood in cords, we have access to trees or logs and take it from there. I also love cutting and splitting the wood on some weekends and I save a lot of money on oil to heat my home. I will spend 1000K on oil for the entire year, and that heats the water for showers too, but if we had to heat with that, it would be about 4K. My house is warm all day so its worth a little work to get the benefit, IMO. Keep the content coming!
Excellent video! We're blessed to have plenty of hardwood on our PA. property - I typically cut and split around 5 cords every 2 years maintaining an inventory of 6 - 8 cords so our wood is seasoned for 3 yrs. which is very important. I process everything using my Kubota and log splitter. We burn about 4 cords per yr. - we love wood heat - I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment looking at big piles of split firewood but it's hard work...which I enjoy but I'm now 64 and not sure how long we'll be in the firewood burning game.
Fifteen years ago I owned a small cape cod. I installed a Napoleon insert, and used wood to supplement an oil fired boiler. I absolutely noticed a reduction in my oil burner use.
I calculated my savings over 7 years I saved $12,000 in fuel costs by heating with wood. I scrounge my firewood and have saved a ton using a wood burning insert.
Outdoor wool boiler in a 130 year old manor house really tweaked my wood stove bone. I still live out in forest and have dead trees to cut, so I got an electric chainsaw, woodstove that came with the place, and an axe or two. I'll use some electric for mild cold like autumn, since electric is reasonably cheap here being that its hydroelectric, in rainforest. I think the firewood work, even less, will keep you humble and do work for yourself instead of just for others. My gramps is still felling and chopping firewood and he's 73. His mother still drives over for a cup of tea as well.. healthy habits keep you young.
We have heat pump and a situation similar with yours. A brick fireplace hearth and arch with an airtight Blaze King stove. We can expect power outage up to a week in the winter. I typically lay a fire about 4pm now and everyday until April. We are at 250 feet elevation and about 5 miles from the ocean and Tillamook Bay. Definitely marine air. Our wood fire and wood pile is about comfort from heat regardless of electric power. And, we are in our 80's and enjoy the ambiance as well as the, beyond the usual furnace setting of 70 degrees. I order rounds of fir, hemlock, spruce or some alder. 3 cords of rounds usually splits into 5 cords of fire place wood. Our supplier picks the rounds up in the forest and delivers them to a spot just uphill from the barn. I bought my splitter from a friend who moved to AZ. I figure it to be built in the 70's. It has a CAT cylinder 5x36 and I have replaced the Briggs 12 hp with a Duromax 15 hp elect start. Belt drive with 3;1 belt to jack shaft and direct to a gear pump from a back hoe. My mechanic friend says it will be running when we are all gone. With the tongue on the ground it is on an angle and I can roll the large (over 2 feet dia) into the jaw and split with about 6 inches of penetration of the double angle wedge. I set the relief at about 3000 so if I screw up and forget to stop or reverse, it kills the engine. I sit down on a round with cushion and load the rounds from the two tired barrow or the hand truck with my waist and shoulders. That action and my tree swing has eliminated my trips to the exercise room at the Y. I have no pain and take no medicines on a regular basis. We notice a decrease in our electric bill compared to previous winters. However, heating with wood is not about saving money. More about comfort and exercise in our old age. Iguans
Great video, I heat with wood, but can rely on a propane backup, but will not use it unless out of town , not paying the man. And always remember, he who cuts his own wood stays warm twice!
Good info! Thanks man! We burn wood for the comfort in the living room, we love the look, smell, making popcorn, roasting marshmallows and if you need a quick warmup, scoot to the fire. I get all of my wood from people that have taken down trees and some that have just fell, I haven't paid for anything yet. Plus I get my smoking and cooking woods this way too, selling bundles, chunks and a couple of cords that I didn't intend to sell but the offer came. Nice slabs on the wall there, looks awesome.
Thanks Adam for addressing this issue. I live in a northern climate and heat with a small woodstove and have calculated that it costs me between $200-$250 to produce a cord of wood. We have baseboard electric as a backup and last winter an early snowfall blocked obtaining an adequate wood supply so we used electricity about half the winter. The cost of heating was surprisingly similar. We have low rates (7¢ per kwh) because we are so close to the Grand Coulee dam. I would like to put in a plug for building a super insulated home for reducing the cost of both winter heating and summer cooling. We spent a total of $325 last winter and it was a rough one down to -25° F. It's especially nice on an old retired fellow not to have to work so hard collecting firewood.
We live in the high desert above Klamath Falls, Oregon...our first winter here temperatures got down to -30 degrees below zero...(yesterday it was -10 degrees below zero; it's been -10 for more than a week)...I use a wood stove for everything; heating, cooking, hot water... Other than the initial cost I only pay for bar oil, and chains... I used to use a gas powered chainsaw, but I switched to battery...I bought a Kobolt 80v chainsaw, with 18 inch bar, for less than $400, it is almost 5 years old and still running strong...I am off-grid and use solar to charge the battery... The solar cost less than $1000, and has been powering our home for almost 10 years... I go through 2 to 4 chains per year, at approximately $40 for a two pack of chains...(I do brushing on the side also, so the number of chains I go through is partly from brushing and cutting other people's firewood...)... I don't have to pay for a gym membership because of all the exercise I get cutting and splitting the wood...I use a Fiskars X27 splitting axe...I will be 60 years old, this coming year, so I don't want to hear anyone say that they are too old to process their own firewood... I have plenty of firewood, on my property, though, last year and the year before I just burned limbs from the brushing jobs that I get...(I used to have a brushing/landscaping business, until my wife got sick; but I still take a few jobs, now and then, to supplement our income...(people will have me cut down trees for firewood, but they don't like messing with the limbs, although some of the limbs are as big as trees themselves; so I bring them home and process them into firewood)... I don't have to pay for fuel, as the saw is battery powered, and the person I did the brushing for pays for fuel and my time (fuel for the truck and chipper; I do have a 6 inch capacity chipper that I use for brush and limbs that are smaller than 2 inches...depending on the wood, the chips are used for mulch or muddy walk/drive ways...I am in the process of building a chip-burning rocket-stove; so I will be using the chips to heat the house and greenhouse)... Here's the skinny: in the last five years I have used five gallons bar oil, approx $50; 10 chains, approx $200; chainsaw, battery, charger, approx $400... That's $650 for 5 years of heating, cooking, hot water...that is approx $130/year...of course, I don't run the wood stove in summer, so I do use propane for cooking and hot water during the summer...however, when the rocket stove is finished I will be using it year round, as it will be between the house and greenhouse and I will be able to cook and heat water even in the hottest days of summer...
I really want a woodstove for grid down situations and sitting in front of the fire on the weekends. As a rural homeowner without access to NG, I gotta say this mini split system I put in is working out amazing compared to heating with oil last season. No more worrying about clearing the driveway for deliveries or fluxuating prices. IMO a mini split/ low ambiant heat pump is the perfect compliment to those with a woodstove without access to natural gas.
I have never purchased firewood or had to work outside cutting and splitting. I am a hardwood floor installer. I burn all the cutoffs from daily work. I am obligated to clean up my daily mess and part of that is bagging the scrap wood, bring the bags home and throw them in the pile. I bring plastic bins In the winter to fill, bring home throw in the fire.
Most excellent synopsis and thank you. Always nice to compare prices. Fairbanks Alaska (12/19/22) Currently minus 40F (-40C) outside. Small Cabin user here (500 sq,ft) and I use 250 gallons #1 Heating Oil. I own 15 acres of rural property that I homesteaded. I usually cut 5 cords of combination: birch/popular/spruce per summer. I give it all to my 80 year old neighbor in exchange for wild game (Moose/Caribou). Interestingly... The local Fairbanks city energy plant installed a kiln dry firewood processing plant that uses excess heating steam re-directed to a firewood drying kiln. $450/cord and the demand far exceeds the supply. Here, #1 Home heating oil costs $4.25/gallon (Twice the national average). The one situation you did not address is the power outage issue. Over the last 2 weeks, we have experienced almost 14 power outages. Wood stove do not require power while a Heating Fuel stove does. Wood provides an excellent backup. I am in the process of retrofitting a medium size wood stove into my small cabin.
We've got electric baseboard heating only and definitely save with wood heat. Last winter we paid $600/mo to heat the house. We get split wood for $120/cord near us. When we put in a heat pump we'll use wood for the cold months where it regularly gets below 30F.
We've been heating our old farm house with a wood, coal and oil combo hot air furnace for almost 40 years. We burn wood mainly in the spring and fall but change to coal in the bitter cold part of the year. If the furnace when burning wood or call goes below the thermostat the oil burner kicks in. This allows us to leave the house for a couple of days without worrying about the pipes freezing.
Definitely saves me money. I have oil (natural gas isn’t available for me) and I process all the wood myself - I get a log truck delivery of 5-7cord every year at least. I use about 4 cord for my home (have an insert and a free standing stove) and sell the rest. It does save me money but is a boatload of work. Hard work, and can be dangerous. I agree that many are fooling themselves about the savings. For most, it is really more of a middle class luxury item. Although I do save, that isn’t my primary purpose, I love the lifestyle. Great video.
Saving was absolutely my primary reasoning, with the health benefits of infrared light being an important second and atmosphere being third. We have saved an enormous amount of money by switching from natural gas and electric to exclusively wood. Our heating costs dropped from $300/month for a lukewarm-at-best house, to $40/month for a toasty warm cozy house. Absolutely hands down cheaper and we do buy our wood pre split.
We've got propane as our main source and wood as a backup. We live about 20 minutes out of town, and sometimes our power goes out in the winter. I agree wood heating is just more fun and cozy. I really enjoy it.
the quality of heat from wood can't be beat I love that its the same temperature everywhere in the room , thats not the case with electrical or gas heat
Huge difference here. My area has mixed hardwood for $200/cord. Another thing to consider is heat pumps. We have 3 heating sources and 2 cooling. Mini split heat pump runs off electric but does heating and cooling normally. Wood stove does the freezing winter months when the outdoor is below 30. Oil is hooked up for radiator heat and it runs our hot water so it’s always on but mainly does water unless the other two fail.
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Costs me one to two hundred a cord . I’m 66 years old and I’ve burned wood all my life.I do it for exercise and like the warmth. I always have three or four cords drying in sheds. My house is 850 sq ft well insulated so it takes usually 2 cords a year. I have several saws and a second hand splitter taking dead or storm downed trees. All your equipment is nice but you don’t need all that. I guess that’s why it costs you so much to make a cord of wood. It would be nice to have all that but I don’t envy you I’m content
@@tamieheadrick8786 he is heating near triple your space! Enjoy the work ?
@@hal8683I heat more than he does. House is 2000 square foot Garages 24 by 30. My basement is 30 by 40. Heat it all with one wood stove. All I use is a chainsaw and a single blade ax. I also pull my own trees and carry them out in the woods on my shoulder. And I'm already hitting temperatures that are his worst temperatures of the year. What stalls been going for almost 3 weeks and I won't shut it down to June.. So he's right. That equipment isn't unnecessary cost.
12/22/23 6:46 pm. I have natural gas and 10 acres of woods so the wood is free except for the equipment cost and lots of work. I bought an expensive enameled soap stone wood stove, two chain saws, small wagon, log splitter, oil, gas, log roller, etc. so it's not completely free. It will take me a few years to get back my investment. Good thing I enjoy cutting, splitting, and the hot fire (minus the mess). Good exercise too.
Being a business owner I look at cutting firewood as a mental enema.
It gets all the crap out of my head by paying attention so I don't hurt myself.
I hated it as a kid but it's amazing how things come back around.
Same, except I loved it as a kid.
@TheRealMonnie Heck yeah, we was doing Man stuff.
@@TheRealMonnieme too, until my dad would push the stack over and tell me to re stack it. :)
Love my Dad, he taught me and still does teach alot of great life lessons.
I’m a business owner too and I lose my ass cutting fire wood. However I don’t care. It’s fed experience, nostalgia, tradition, and therapeutic aspect I enjoy from it
I think I liked it but Saturday mornings after a Friday night football game were not fun. My Dad didn't care..."you decided to play football" :)
My love for heating with wood came to an abrupt end after two gas wells were drilled on our farm. My wife put her foot down and said now that we have natural gas, the wood and all the dirt associated with it was going to stay outside. Besides, the gas would be free. By having a lot of trees on our farm there is always a lot of wood that needs to be cut and split, so I sell a little and give the rest away to some of our elderly friends that can use it to help cut their winter heating bills.
Imagine having your own gas well in these times
@@guatf1 When we purchased our farm in 1973 we never imaged that in 2013 a company would approach us about drilling gas wells. Although there is a little routine maintenance that needs to be done a couple of times a year, they have definitely proved to be a great money saver.
@@Willy12927 hopefully your water supply doesn't get contaminated..
@@vanderumd11 Don't have to worry about that. We have city water because all of our local water has already been contaminated by all of the coal mining that took place in the early 1900s.
@@Willy12927 sounds accurate. Well keep on pushing on. With respect sir. 👍🏾
in the 70s, we saved more than money. I was a 14 YO jerk, and headed for trouble. gathering, cutting splitting, stacking, and feeding the fire was a priceless return for a 300 investment for a stove, and eventually a chainsaw (I cut everything by hand for two years before we got the chainsaw). the floors were warm, the house was cozy, and I turned out better than I would have otherwise. Thanks for the video
Well said! The value of learning a good work ethic and staying out of trouble cannot be overstated.
@@rowanmulvey8632 thank you
That's exactly what a teenage boy needs. A way to harness that foolishness of youth energy into something constructive that leads to manhood.
@@Salvation4DJews Yes, indeed. My father thank you . (and many others that knew me after I grew up)
@@thomasgronek6469 Now go on and get out there and cut up another cord! Right now Dammit!!
I went from nearly $400 a month to $60 a month electric bill when I switched to wood heat so yes. It's a win win because I love everything about wood heat right down to cutting and splitting. I enjoy it through and through.
electric is the worst way to heat if i use electric it cost about $400-500 in winter months, , gas i feel is cheapest $100-$150 in winter months summer months under $20, we run thru 2-3 face cords a month in winters not counting labor , so once you add it up winters are costing $800-$1000 a month to heat with wood , mostly due to labor , but even the $200-$300 in wood to buy gas is only $150 in those winter months so big savings with gas and no hassle or ruining sleep to load fires. plus health hazard of just loading starting fires over and over isnt good inhaling smoke all the time.
@@weplayitall I think electric is OK if it powers a Geothermal system. We've had Geothermal for 13 years now and it's not too expensive. I still however use the wood stove in the basement to cut down on running time for the Geothermal furnace as well as save a bit of electricity.
@@weplayitallno natural gas where I live and getting and installing a propane tanks along with a propane furnace would be a huge expense. I'll cut the wood and cut my heating bill by 2/3
But wood costs money. And even if you have access to free wood on your property it can’t last forever and it costs time, money, and equipment costs and depreciation costs in order to cut any wood. So even though it could be enjoyable you still have to factor those costs in.
@@oldowl4290 why would the wood not last? If you have a proper management plan, it will outlast you and your kids easily. Plant some fast growing species as you cut. A chainsaw should last a decade at least. Basically just chains and gas. Minimal cost overall
In my case it definately saves money heating with wood. We do not use a lot of wood as the house is very well insulated and the insert is quite efficient. Living remotely the only option is propane, which in reality is not overpriced in my area. The wood is collected from my own woods, just standing dead or blowdowns that need to be cleared even if we were not heating with wood. And, we like to heat with wood, also enjoy the feeling of self sufficiancy, it's not just the cost of heating.
Same.
Having been close to being forced out of a home during an ice storm in the mid 90's with no power, I vowed to never buy another home without a fireplace and have some wood and stuck with that! Thanks for the analysis, you got a new subscriber.
One thing I don’t have in my house but wish I did!
Go n take a walk,money doesn't come into it, u missing the point by a mile. Go n snuggle up. Ext to u electric heater, n kiss mummy good night!
I have a small generator for that reason it will run the furnace and fridge and tv. It also be used to keep my neighbours house running.
same exact experience but with the salt lake city power outage around ( been around the same house sense 2012~ but renting out to 17~ anyways we learned about this possible problem the first week we moved in as residents the dishwasher ( 5+in out flames from under the counters and front of the unit ) burned down ( also had fire coming out the front under the dead-panel aka challenger on fire 1-3in' sideways ) and 😅 it didn't take the rest of the housing with it but got close enough i consideration of retreating for safety reasons ) 2019/covid that the newspaper's/tv covered, my power is still partially nocked off line in 2024 as my challenger 1970 panel fried/fireballed 🔥 and the new 400A ect isn't fully functional/ready yet
yes i ended up with minor water damage ( use the firebox's regularly or in time of need they'll fail to function fully ( treating like the generic/stand-by equipment mentioned in the comments, once a month using it or so minimally ) as i found out as the neglect from 5+ years of sitting unlit and full of leaves 🍂dead critters and minor ice and water damage as the mortar and brick didn't like being wet and in a corrosive environment ) and a water-piping repairs and my gas/LPG ( main heat and furnaces are dead, no power down there and there old and nowadays super fussy and time for heat-pump+solar upgrades/replacement's ) development a leaking valve+rusty pipe in 2019~ so the local government+untilty officials shut it down for at least 90day's as i made/payed for indoors repairs and upgraded's ect, water and LPG @13 deca-thermal's ( so converted into pump 85 gasoline 4+ usd per-gallon aka super $$ in my mind ) works in 2024 👍
as for finances $$ 👍for showing and telling me what i should continue consideration for self-pay ( i get my wood myself=paying-myself+any-helper's but yes i still end up paying a K1500-80's or siblings TJ-jeep-bill 😉 and hand-tools, otherwise it's close to free heating, as my taxes pay for a process to gather wood ie county's has it as a supplemental heat program and junk/landscape recycling and forest floor cleaning-ect, good thing too as im not rich/poverty class after 2014~/job-loss and my maintenance/plant career hasn't rekindled yet 🤞 ) vs paying utilities for heating costs
@@QuietlyContemplating im sure thankful that my box's 🔥 works as after that tv-storm ( 2019~ 🤔 ) rolled around my electrical utilities gave me a warning ⚠that the next blizzard that cut power down i might not get reconnected ( the rest of my block would be ) for safety reasons as in my local USA 🇺🇸 county challenger's ( and known failing mains/sub-panels and wiring-inside, as mine also as time when by started poping utility's-fuzz's/poll behind the house in 90f/summertime heat ) aren't approved aka against codes, yes that lineman probably could have got fired for that but thanks 🙏
so i used my grace period to get it replaced the next summertime/2020-25~
I"m 67 and have heated with wood 90 percent of my entire life and it is a lot of work. The exception was thirty- five years where I built a house with a heat pump where we were always cold. When you came in from working out in the cold you had to sit on the couch and hide under a blanket. That was 35 years ago and now days heat pumps are much better but there is still nothing better than warming my backside in front of a wood fire. 20 years ago I built my final home that is super insulated with a large air tight buck fireplace with a catalytic converter. It sits on 85 acres with 30 acres of woods plus I do some tree removal work and run a sawmill so there is always plenty of free firewood so my situation is very different than the typical homeowner. We have a heat pump but only use it when we leave the house for a couple days. Great job on breaking it all down Adam, I think this will help someone who is considering buying wood to heat their home. One thing to also consider is the added dust and mess from sawdust and ash dust from wood heat.
Heat pumps are very drafty. They do not work below freezing and run constantly when below freezing. You need another source of heat if you have just a heat pump in colder parts of the country.
It is always good to have backups to backups.
STory makes no sense. First you say it was 5 years ago. Then you say it was 35 years ago.Which is it?
I should have proof read my story, made some corrections. Thanks for the heads up.@@jarateman6427
@waynebusse6376 good point added with the mess I am in the hvac industry for 10 yrs now. Not wood burning appliances. We got a new home with a wood boiler.. first winter with it was a fair amount of work. We purchased 4 face quarts of wood was enough to heat this yr in ontario. However!! There was a fair amount of smoke when using the wood boiler and I'm not too sure on how those emissions impact one's health let alone if it could impact the kids health, hopefully next year I get drier wood and a kentic wood splitter. On the fence about a Heat Pump, which I could install at cost and removal of the heat master or giving the heat master another chance. Again it's the emissions that we are most concerned about. Any suggestions or thoughts on the topic.
Cheers
I have a 20 year old pickup truck, a chainsaw and a maul for splitting with a boiler. I don’t need a gym membership. It cost me about $30 a month to run my circulation pumps and I heat my house and barn with it. I have to buy maybe 1 saw chain per year @ $25. Maybe 10 gallons of chainsaw gas $40. Per winter. Skip the fancy equipment and it is way cheaper.
We burn 7 cords a year in the cabin we live in. We start getting wood in September and I finished hand splitting the last cord this weekend. You have to love this lifestyle ❤
We heat entirely with wood. Our house is 4100 SF above grade and was built in 2016 w/ 6" exterior walls to new EPA standards so our house is extremely efficient. We installed an Alderlea T6 with the flu running inside up to the 18' ceiling in our great room and then up thru the attic to the roof. Our windows are cheap builders grade though.
Now, having said all that, we only burn about 1 1/2 chords a season where we live in Southern PA. And to top that ridiculous fact, our neighbor has a tree service and drops off free hardwood logs on our property for no charge. We just have to process it, which we actually love, love, love doing. Fire up the chainsaws, the splitter and the 4 wheeler w/ trailer. Great family time processing AND sitting in front of the fire which is priceless!
I figured I would chime in here !
My oil bill last year was 6500.00
At 1.89 - 2.20 a litre
Roughly anywhere from 800 - 1400 a month in the cold season .
I bought my wood boiler for 15,000 all in with install ( 30 year warranty ) covering my hot water and heat.
This will also down the road heat my new garage going in. I have arborist’s drop wood at my house for free as a lot of people don’t burn in my area , and I can get a cord done in roughly 1.5 hours . Sometimes I don’t need to split the wood if it’s small enough !
It is worth it for me!
I totally understand... Just an interesting way to look at it ... I'm curious to see if you calculated your yearly consumption for that set up and just processed all that wood and sold it how much money you would come up with ... compared to cost of your gas bill 😊 but I'm definitely on the same page and also heat with an owb... But did just make the leap to a gasser😁
Sounds like an outdoor boiler?
It does for me because me being an arborist, means I have a free wood source. I also process everything with a chainsaw, an ax, and a splitting maul, so in my case even with a natural gas central air backup, the wood does save me a lot of money. But this is an extremely good and thorough video!! Thank you for this!
My parents have used only chainsaw, ax, splitting maul to create firewood. Cuts way down on cost. They have gotten it from federal lands, their own property, never bought a load from a logger. Again, cuts down in cost. Way down.
Thank You for the numbers. Having heated with firewood for more years than I’d like to admit to, I would say your analysis is right on. I would like to add what I think is another big plus namely, the health benefit gained from the regular and consistent exercise. As someone who is way north of 50 and in reasonable good health and weight (did say perfect) I would credit doing the cutting and splitting of firewood for aiding with good health.
It's definitely a good way to stay in shape.
North of the 45th parallel and way north of 50.
I currently have 75 face cord cut, split and stacked. That's three years.
I'm taking dead ash out right now and have another 35 in blocks waiting for the splitter.
Gotta stay young till your not.
I'm a member of that club.
Sir, you have no idea how much your information is truly appreciated. So many people are misled by "RUclipsrs" and "homesteaders" when discussing the REALISTIC costs of certain aspects of off grid living.
You really did a good job explaining the different costs to heat your home. We live in northern Canada and heat our home with a catalytic wood stove and it does a great job but like you said some stoves are not cheap. We live in an area where natural gas is not available so electric is our only back up in the home and electricity costs here are very high in months like January to March. We have 80 acres of land with tons of trees so we can make our own firewood but of course takes labor to do it. In our situation burning wood is the most affordable option and the heat and satisfaction of knowing we are supplying it ourselves is unbeatable. Really enjoyed your video and a new subscriber.
With 80 you have enough for two life time of wood
I really enjoy getting and processing firewood. I’ve actually brought more in this year than we’ll probably need for the next 2 winters.
We love this type of heat too
I have a wood stove in my shop but don't heat my house with wood. Your analysis is spot on. The factor that is hard to quantify in dollars is the value of the exercise, enjoyment, and therapeutic benefit it provides.
Not for me, as Maynard G Krebs says, WORK!
Very well put together. Also good to see you laying out the opportunity cost of additional work needed to get "free" firewood. It can really be a dealbreaker but some folks don't get it. We heat with about one and a half cords of wood each heating season but our house is very small. It is our only heat source. To handle the frozen pipes issue, we drain our entire plumbing system if we leave in the winter. I built the plumbing system with this in mind. It takes about 3-4 minutes to drain out using only gravity. Also I ran all the pipes outside of the walls instead of inside. Some people think it looks ugly but I think it looks really cool. I used copped and brass instead of plastic, which would have been cost prohibitive in a large house but in our tiny place it was no big deal.
I put a good fan blowing on the front of my wood-burning insert (lopi) and increased its heating capabilities ~30%. The main thing it does is disrupt the warm bubble of air that forms directly in front of the insert (pushing colder air over the insert instead of recycling warm air - better transfer of heat). I'm in the same region as you but southern Indiana - had the same problem when it got really cold - the fan made a huge difference. I put the fan away when its warmer outside since its not needed.
What he didn't discuss was cutting the wood with a chain saw and splitting it manually. It is significantly cheaper than his estimates but, you increase your labor input to compensate. Even in the south, where we don't have nearly as many cold days and have cheaper energy prices, it can still be economical if you cut and split with a chainsaw and axe/maul.
I agree. That's what I do. I have the spare time and I let it dry for a long time before burning it, which helps a lot
We live out in the boonies but have electric and plenty of free wood. We have discovered that mini split heat/ac/dehumidifier combo units, with a small wood stove, is an ideal combo.
Yup, I will totally heat with AC if I have a home.
The fire you have going is far more than what’s needed to heat. Enjoyed and appreciated the break down. Now that I’m in Florida I rely on a fire pit to get my fix.
No its not for that tiny woodstove he has. Look at the thermometer on the back wall it looks to be about 66 degrees in there...not so hot friend. That thing is made for supplemental heat not primary heat...
Sounds like you’ve never been to California or anywhere cold
I think that saving money is secondary to many people. For me (and I don't burn wood at the moment) ambiance and self sufficiency would be the two most important reasons, once I can move to a place where I can install a stove/burner.
Interesting video, Adam. Two situations. I live in Sparks, NV. My nephew lives on a 170 acre ranch in Arkansas. He's got 100 acres of hay fields and 70 of old-growth hardwood. My home is heated with natural gas. A week ago, in a severe snowstorm, we lost power for four days. Single digit temps at night. The house got down to the low-mid 40s at night. I came out to the shop (heated with propane) and sat in 70 degree comfort in the dark, and then went inside and froze. My nephew heats his home with propane and a generator if he loses power, so his house is taken care of. He heats his 40x60 shop with wood. In his case, he has a 'forever' source of firewood for the shop. The final issue, and I agree with you, there's nothing more personally satisfying than sitting in front of a fire... staying warm... and thinking about those who don't have it as good as I do.
Lost power last year in WI for 4 days in Dec, backup generator ran my natural gas furnace just fine. U just need a 220v generator and space in your panel for a 30amp, 220v breaker. Shut the main off, then backfeed the panel from the gen to the 30amp breaker. Power comes back on, flip the 30 off and the main on.
I have a forced air wood burning stove which came with the house, a $400 chainsaw, $800 log splitter and a $3500 truck. We burn roughly 6 cords a year. I believe my cost per cord is way less. But I also don’t have the heavy equipment
We live in Europe and have geothermal heating with a wood burning furnace as an integrated secondary heating source. With current prices for electricity, we are constantly using the wood burner, ie very low electricity bills. As an extra bonus it's worth mentioning that the heat allows the water in the pipes to be almost self circulating (no immidiate need for pumps). I really agree with your stance that the wood in your storage gives a sense of relief since it's already "paid for".
Great Video! All the best to you and yours and Merry Christmas!
We bought our wood stove mainly for a secondary heating source but it has off set our natural gas bill by quite a bit so far, in fact our usage has gone down so much our supplier has to send out an actual meter reader because it was so much lower than our average. Getting started heating with wood is definitely an investment and a long term one at that, new wood stoves will range anywhere from 2-10k + with professional installation and could take years to recoup that money.
Hi i am 72 y.o and i been burning wood for 40 plus years.I agree with you it might not be cheaper than gas but the heat is much better.Where i live the trees are free and i make my own firewood.I live in northern Alberta so its get pretty cold.But i love doing it and its good exercise
My house is entirely electric, so went a winter storm knocks out the lights I'm screwed. That's why I've always loved the reliability of burning wood
Same, and power goes out here for a day or more at least once a year. 6-8 hours more frequently. Wood heat from an outdoor wood stove allows me to run a mostly normal house, even hot showers, with a fuel sipping inverter generator.
I would consider an off grid solar backup system
Ran a combined heat and power plant here in Alaska that ran off biomass, woodchips. Since local and state forestry numbers were always falsified based on their current agenda I did all the numbers for various heating sources used in this area. For a homeowner, with heating fuel at $4.00/gal, wood was usually not more cost efficient if a person paid for it. Depands of course on their other type of heating source. A oil fired boiler or forced air furnace being the most expensive in regards to fuel and electricity, then to hydronic boilers like Quietsides and toyos, down to the most efficient, Toyo oil fired heaters, 91% efficiency. One could beat the cost of the Toyo oil heater only if one did not pay for the wood but went out and cut it fro start to finish. If one had a boiler or forced air furnace, then if one paid more than 150 per cord, one was losing money.
Hard to tell people this when they normally pay $150-300 per cord in this area, that they were more often than not paying more for wood, but they usually are. Especially when they use an old style wood stove that is 40% or less efficient.
The best thing of course is to insulate one's home. That will save far more money than anything, along with not going stupid over installing large windows. If you want the equivelant of one side of ones home to be less than R-3, go ahead on the glass. Want to spend a lot on electricity running fans, have that 30 foot high vaulted ceiling. I built my house to be very efficient, burn four cords of wood a winter using a 74% efficient modern woodstove. Even when it's 50 or 60 below, it's warm and cozy.
Doesn't Alaska have some coal mines too? Is there any culture of home heating coal in Alaska?
Another great example of what happens when an accountant makes firewood. I appreciate you taking the time to share info like this. I have told many people the same. I would also add that home efficiency such as insulation plays a huge part in it as well. In my area of Missouri a good insulated 2,000sqft home with a good stove or insert will only need 2 cords give or take some.
As an old guy, chopping and splitting firewood is my exercise routine. So I save on gym memberships and medical bills. My trees are free and I always have plenty of windfall, dead branches etc that have to get cleaned up.
Very well put together. I’m very torn on the subject, I have natural gas but love wood heat!
I recommend getting one and just burning it when you feel like dickin around with a fire.
Wood is a great back up if you lose power. Need nothing but some good dry kindling and a match. That is some security you just can't get away from. Next is having morning coffee or happy hour cocktail by the gas boiler/furnace. That doesn't even sound right much less look the same.
@@markw2266 I keep spare camping gas stoves, lighters and wood etc and I live in the UK
Heating with firewood accomplishes several things for us. Cutting wood is a hobby for me. I like felling trees, hauling, splitting and drying the wood. All that activity is great exercise. I like chainsaws. I like running them, working on them, and sharpening chains.
The cost savings is debatable. I mostly have the ability to heat with wood as a way to hedge against not being able to get propane. Wood heat also helps to stretch a tank of propane through the winter, minimizing the risk of having to pay high propane prices.
Its probably a wash on the cost, but fire wood gives me a sense of security if power ever goes out or fuel prices spike or there is a shortage. Also im retired now and making wood helps me stay in shape. I have a soap stone wood stove with viewing window which we really enjoy. However this stove struggles to heat my entire home in -5 or below weather. I also have a wood boiler which is now my primary heating choice. Its much easier to just block up woof for the boiler. I just dump in a pile with my tractor loader bucket. I dont split anything unless its to hard to get into boiler. Have had the boiler for 6 years now. It was over 12 k including set up for heating hot water. I will continue to burn wood until im not physically able to do it. I fear that fossil fuels we sky rocket in the near future. Im glad im set up with wood heat.
My primary source of heat is a large kerosene heater and I supplement with electric baseboard heat. I have a large woodstove for power outages. I used it during a recent power outage and I do love the heat vs the other heat. You're right about the sense of security you get from having wood heat!!
I just bought a Heco 520 for heat, cook and hot water. My utility costs are minimal. Hot water boilers are very inefficient and consume ginormous amounts of wood. An indoor device is direct benefit and does not require electricity. The Heco also burns coal so it all boils down to dollars and sense.
And your right it's not about the cost but being ready, when all goes down hill. All good things must come to an end. And believe me it will be soon and fast. Most will not know what's going on due to them not focusing on life as a hold. Just like the great depression it will happen again. This is why so many need to be more dependent on themselves. Most do not know but football fields of solar panels are going up around the country, ask yourself why? Because I cannot get a clear answer from any one on why so many are going up. But in my opinion, 12 monkeys movie, everything is about to go underground. Too many depend on others to keep them safe.
@@hillbilly4christ638 I have a endless supply of dead elm, dead ash and dead red oak on my property. The consumption of wood in my boiler is not a concern for me. If its not below zero i often get 24 hr burn times. Plus it will continue to heat much longer due to the large volume of hot water in the well insulated jacket. Plus it is hooked up to my hot water heater and gives me endless hot water!
In many parts of British Columbia Canada the dead standing wood can be cut and gathered for just the cost of driving under 50 miles round trip so the cost of the wood doesn't amount to much and I get to be out in the forest again. I was a faller for 12 years so have some skills that others don't. The cost of a cord of dried wood delivered to the front door costs 350 -400 dollars here so when I am unable to get my own wood we will stop burning wood for heat. And like he said the heat from wood is very comforting especially for those of us who have been raised with it. Cheers
There’s a trend in the eco movement to stop allowing nat gas connections and in NY there was a group that looked into not allowing wood burning appliances. I’m a self reliant person. We supplement our home with wood and run our camp on wood. We truly enjoy the entire process of wood burning. We have our own forest and get by with Atvs and splitter rentals, so cost to us is pretty low. Good comparison!
Yeah these eco people are nuts. Instead of burning natural gas in your house for heat they want to make it burn in the power plant then transmit the electricity to you through horrendously inefficient power lines. #logic
Trying to get rid of gas appliances in Australia, can’t beat the heat off a wood fire there is no comparison
I have a customer that owns a house in NYC and her only option is to heat with fuel oil.
Good people don't follow bad laws
The move against natural gas is happening in commie Washington State as well, I don't understand why if it not about controlling people.
I’m surprised nobody’s discussed the efficiency of a heat pump. If the temperature is above 35°F there’s really nothing that beats it.
On those really cold days supplementing with our wood fireplace insert seems to work well.
Yeah, heat pumps suck in places that get a real winter. Next.
@@LOGIBEAR01what do you consider a real winter? Modern heat pumps are quite capable of handling winter where 90% of Americans live.
You still love the numbers and analysis that goes with your profession. I can tell like me you were trained to analyze and help people make decisions. Being a CPA can be a blessing. I am unable to use firewood because of some physical problems but so far natural gas is reasonably priced.
I'm actually working on a video on this exact topic! As you say, it really depends. Here, we don't have natural gas, only electric as a heat source other than wood. Most people have electric as a supplement (when they go away/on the shoulder seasons), but they mainly heat with wood because it's legit so much cheaper.
We are lucky enough to heat 💯 with wood. We source our wood at local dump station and by helping the community/neighbors clean up after storms or as needed. Slit with ax... burn all types of wood, even pine or poplar. Season all wood for 3 years from split to burn. Osborne 2500... awesome stove. Sharpen own chains and ax. Costs us literally pennies, even in 40 below.
Highly recommend this strategy in challenging times ahead. 🙏
Great video Adam! I reside in Northern PA. In my situation I had the option when building my house to go the firewood route with the use of a outdoor wood burner. This has been 16 years ago now, and yes I do heat the home and domestic water with this appliance. I’ve been able to do some close calculations since my house is well insulated and I’ve found that it’s always a win for me. I’m fortunate to always have sourced free wood and the outdoor burner can always straighten the most knotty and crooked prices😂. Being like minded as you are the enjoyment of being outside and getting lots of exercise has unending benefits and I’ve met many great people along the way during the journey. Great videos!
~Josh
I was a little surprised that one big benefit didn't get much attention: eliminating a single point of failure. That can be worth a significant amount, and is more than enough to justify the cost for me.
Nice video, but probably not situationally analogous to your audience's lived experience. I went from $2500/yr propane bill to $500 (still used for hot water and kitchen stove) with a 2667 sq. ft. house. Not every room is comfortable, but most are ideal. Wood is from adjacent property and log splitter retails for 60% more than when I purchased it. I might be able to sell it used in a few years for 1/2 off retail and get 100% back. Chainsaw is Farmboss and it'll last forever. Stove was $5150 installed in 2012. I do my own chimney sweeping with the duravent T cleanout.
Your choice to have all that equipment is not relevant to the cost of firewood. You bought that for a much larger reason and would have never bought it for an average of 3 cords a year. With your woods, identical to mine, you could use a garden cart on a $1200 craftsman lawnmower and haul out your wood. It takes me about $10 in gas to haul a full tree, my mower was purchased in 2007. As for labor cost, I'm willing to take an absurd swing (and maybe a miss) and submit that the majority of your audience would be outdoors doing something, or more candidly could use the exercise regardless.
We have a honeywell T10 thermostat with 4 remote temperature sensors. Heat is always on at 52 degrees in case we leave or don't have a fire. It will trigger off any of the 4 remote sensors. I think this was $50 after BGE rebate.|
Prior to having access to the woods, I used to rent a 26' uhaul and get 2 or 3 trees at a time. That is about $200 for a year's supply.
Hey my friend, I use the same mower though a 2006 YS4500 - 24HP Briggs. Still running strong! And yes it was around $1200! I use a wheelbarrow with a trailer style arm attached to a mounting plate on the cart. Works great! When it comes to my saw it is my dads old Stihl 031AV purchased in 1987 (HaHa). Still going strong.. I am the type of man who loves a challenge; to see how little I can spend/live on.. It's not that I am without $$, I have plenty. I just enjoy the game. I must say though I/we just purchased a new home on over 100 acres and I'm pretty sure I'm upgrading my mower to a mini or BHLoader. Happy cutting!
@@peterl4614 Awesome to hear!!! I think our similarities and choices align well. Be blessed my friend!
@@TakeNoneForTheTeam Thank you. God bestows His blessings, His grace, His mercy on me and my family daily.. Be well my friend.
It's about time somebody finally sat down and laid the numbers out there. Too many people are fooling themselves into thinking firewood heating is free.
For me- it’s definitely cheaper to heat with wood. In the next year I hope to switch over to a wood boiler that can heat the house and shop. Being in the logging and firewood business, wood comes cheap and I use a lot of pieces I don’t sell.
I to am in the logging business ☺️...
@D P old conventional boilers (shown in the video) do burn alot and are not as efficient as indoor units. The next step up is a wood gasification boiler. They burn much less wood and produce much less smoke. Much closer to indoor units, with less wood handling, MUCH more money though to setup.
@D P yes they absolutely do.
@D P we have one. It BURNS WHOLE TREES. No joke. Plus going Outside to fill a stove in the snow and early mornings is not fun at all. Moving 45lb logs isn't fun either
I live in Northern Britain, I heat my 5 bed farm house, my new 3 bedroom barn conversion and my work barn solely with timber with a large whole wood biomass boiler . We’re fortunate that we have a continuous supply of timber as we are a tree maintenance company. We burn more than 150 IBC containers each season. The downside of all that free timber is processing it and being a slave to the burner! The kit that we have is very costly to buy and maintain, it includes a JCB loadall, a 360 excavator with wood grab rotator, a cone splitter, a wood processor and a purpose built steel framed open sided shelter to store the wood fuel in. That said it’s nice to have all that lovely heat and hot water. I also enjoy working with the machines, it’s very satisfying looking at a full wood store. Great video.🇬🇧
Very well explained Adam! I think you are right on with firewood costing more than natural gas, of course it depends on the price of wood. Speaking of natural gas it has increased by 30 plus percent in my area this year. I switched to natural gas from fuel oil about six years ago I burn about one to one and a half cords a season just on the coldest days and or on weekends. I payed $250 a cord this year for dry firewood. I do like wood heat and the enjoyment that goes with it, and if there’s a bad storm that knots the power out I have heat. Thanks for sharing and have a good day! From Northwestern Vermont
So we have had a wood stove since I was 9 (1978) I always enjoyed splitting wood and when I was 50 a year ago i purchased a log splitter.
the warmth and glow of a woodstove is beyond incredible. The heat provided is worth is a welcome blessing especially on a rain, snowing or cold day.
there is an externality in that. I always have my stove burning plus, my last oil delivery was 5.9 a gallon. to me it's welcome found money worth the time and effort. Happy Holidays.
I live in Maryland, and primarily heat with gas. My heating bill isn’t terribly expensive, however, I too really enjoy heating with wood.
Like you have said, heating with wood is fulfilling. Provides that self reliance feeling, provides a good workout and can be romantic- when splitting and burning.
I practically get my wood for free. My local city has a community pile of cut wood at the local Public Works. The tree crew (city staff) will dump cut logs into a pile for residents to split and burn. They get the wood from trees that have either died on city property or been damaged by car accidents and such. My cost is a days rental of a log splitter ($70) and my time.
My City cuts it and leaves it for residents so that they don’t have to pay dump fees at the local County transfer station.
This was very helpful. This is our second winter without heat in our home in northern Illinois. Trying to make sure my fireplace will be safe to use before trying to heat part of the home with it. Because of this video I learned I will
In fact need to repair/replace the natural gas boiler and won’t be able to rely fully on wood and that wood will also be expensive. Thanks for helping a city slicker southern boy out.
You make a good point Adam 😊
Fireplaces burning wood is pretty😊
You may even cook with firewood as some do😊
Interesting video Adam, our new house doesn’t have a fire place or the option to install one, first time ever and I really miss both the quality of the heat and the atmosphere a stove provides. Having said that our last home was a barn conversation, small two bedroom. Our boiler ran off LPG, we had regular electrical outages so were getting over 50% of our heat from our stove, it was a very modern clean burning stove, extremely efficient. We burned c. A cord and half, at the time we were paying £400 for dry, seasoned wood delivered and I would estimate it saved us at least two tanks of LPG or £1,200 so a big difference added to having heat, light and the pleasure of a wood fire.
I just had a new outdoor boiler installed last year. the new models are picky but very efficient. Went through 4.5 cord in maine heating our 1700sf house garage, small greenhouse and all our hot water. I miss the fire in the living room but it’s nice to have warm feet again 😊
Hello Adam, I heat completely with fire wood(2 tsc stoves). After the 3rd boiler flooded out during hurricane Sandy, the insurance company said that they wouldn’t replace it until I found a new or better location to relocate it! Between building code and contractors it was going to cost me the price of a new house😢! So I opted for wood heat not having large amounts of money on hand, it has cost me about 1000 dollars a year, including equipment, fuel, maintenance and such. Oil heat was costing about 12 grand a year!
Have a Central Boiler outdoor boiler. In the coldest of winters (Wisconsin), we only use 5 full cords of firewood. Thermostat is set at 70 degrees. House is 2000 sq ft with a finished basement. We cut our own wood on the farm and generally take 3 days of cutting and hauling to get the needed 5 cords. We usually start the wood boiler on 1 November and shut it down on 1 May. A propane furnace is our secondary source of heat.
its really hard to beat the cost of natural gas or even propane when you have a well insulated house and a very efficient furnace. Wood makes sense when you have enough acres of hardwood that you don’t have to buy the wood. To be honest it would make more sense for most people to replace their windows and doors and add insulation.
Hey Adam, awesome content 👍👍. Your absolutely right about the insurance companies. On average, it cost me $300. 😥More each year to have a wood stove in my house. Not to mention, I'm now a wood stove babysitter 🤔. Keep up the great content ☺️
Nice setup you have there! I have about 40ac and there are always damaged trees to clean up. More than enough to provide my firewood, and I'd have to clean them up anyway (win-win). Plus, trees are like grass, always growing. If you have some land, it doesn't hurt to harvest a few mature trees each year. Even choosing trees that will improve the health of adjacent trees. Your land will get better and better, and you get exercise and "free"-ish heat.
Great video Adam. A lot of good info for people considering using wood.
Our house was 3,500sqf and used 7 -330gal of oil per year. We installed a Tractor Supply wood stove that heats 2,000sqf. The stove cut the oil usage down to 2 - 330gal tanks per year. Saved us a ton of money.
I have an older electric forced air furnace so wood heat saves me about 50% cost out to the electric company. I make my own wood so it definitely saves me. Plus it's a hobby to process my firewood
good work out too, im 280 lbs i was 320 and sweat like a pig chopping wood on our 14 acres for heat... deff lost weight since i moved out in the country
I live in the suburbs, and we supplement our heat with a highly efficient wood stove with a catalytic element. Our neighbors fell trees all the time, and I have had to take a couple down, so there is always plenty of free firewood. As I near the mid-century mark, it’s a great way to stay in shape, be outdoors, and be a little self-reliant. When the power goes out, my house is still toasty and warm.
Yes it saves me money! Boonies and propane here. I made a related video not long ago - you could’ve factored in chimney and stove maintenance too! Producing firewood is “productive” recreation. My production “costs” are way lower than yours with more hand labor and dropping my own trees. I enjoy it for a couple hours on weekends for exercise and stress relief, so the labor is my pleasure! Regarding language on primary vs supplemental heat: I had a long and informative convo with our insurance agent this summer. Insurance won’t touch it if the wood is “primary” heat because it requires you to be there and maintaining it to keep temps up. They’re worried about freeze damage more than fire where I am… So technically the wood stove is “supplemental” and the central furnace is “primary” as it will kick in if the wood can’t keep up. Of course, I always hope to not need it - wood first, propane to help on the real cold nights…
It all comes down to how much you value your time and effort.
What damage could happen from freezing?
@@505fastlife6 water lines could freeze and burst.
@@505fastlife6 Water expands when it freezes and can burst pipes and crack toilets. If pipes burst in walls it’s a major undertaking to repair. That’s why insurance companies don’t want anything to do with a “primary” heating system that isn’t “automatic” via thermostat control - they don’t want to cover freeze claims that are the owner’s fault.
I live in NH on 45 acres of woodland, so if I were half my present age (83) I'd definitely be heating my house with wood, and would definitely save money if I cut and split it myself. I calculated that I'd use 6 cords of wood to keep the house nice and toasty, which would be $2,400 to buy it. With the increased price of propane, I've estimated that I'll be paying $2,800 - $3,000 for propane, but that includes the cost of cooking, hot water, the clothes dryer and the generator. I miss out on the joys of a woodstove, but I don't have to cut, split, stack and lug propane. So woodstoves are a good deal for some people, but not for folks like me.
Keep in mind that I've only used it for a couple weeks, that being said, so far so good ruclips.net/user/postUgkxAU9pOCSV9Y5JprooHvfxTpOrt4hx8uRM . Using it at 8 ft. by 8ft. deer blind that is insulated. I have to keep the door cracked for it to get enough air to burn, but that is very likely the wood I've used. Much better quality than I expected for the price. Now if I can just take it easy in the beginning it won't be 90 degrees in my blind. All in all it seems like a keeper.
I love the way you break down the costs of different things you do on your channel.
In the mid 70s (72-74) we heated part of the house with firewood. There was an energy crisis so the price per cord went from $75 up to $150+. My dad was a construction foreman. His company paid for his truck and gasoline. Many days he brought home wood and us kids would split it with an ax. Eventually the competition for the wood made it hard to get. By 1974, starting in January, he started bringing home pallets (free), 6-12 everyday. We kids were required unload the pallets, remove the nails and break them down for him to use his electric saw to cut to size. We took turn helping him, our job was to hand him the next piece and stack the finished pieces. He cut once a week. The expense would be blades and electricity plus his labor. Kid labor is free, contributes to the home and allows kids to be warm during the winter. Since the pallets were oak, he was happy, no pine wood sappy.
I'm glad you mentioned selling your firewood to offset the cost. In my situation I don't have all the fancy tools to make firewood, just a truck, small trailer and a 25-ton splitter. I spend a lot more time to make 1 cord not only because of less tools but also because I have to go pick up all of my own wood sometimes driving an hour away. But I don't include time in my cost analysis because it's more like a hobby to me and good exercise. If I did include time maybe it'd be a wash anyway since I get my wood for free and in some cases get paid to clear fallen trees (also not including that since it's infrequent). So anyway, excluding time, a cord costs less for me than for you, but because I don't have all of the tools to make the work go faster I don't end up processing more wood than we will use so cannot sell any. So in your case you help offset the cost of your tools by selling the wood, and I'm guessing where you live there's more of a market for firewood than in Iowa in the middle of cornfields where I live.
You are spot on what you said. I have a outdoor wood boiler, a propane boiler as a backup and forty acres, have I saved $ ? Not really but I enjoy the harvesting and the accomplishment behind it. Living in ALASKA and not off the grid!
We used to heat our pole barn with wood. First thing I did when I took over the house was throw away that headache of a wood stove. Just not for me. The last thing I want to do in the winter is go and start a fire hours before I want to do work in the garage. Torpedo heater gets it warm almost instantly and a couple of electric heaters for my small office area.
Propane here in Nevada is $3.19-$3.50 a gallon. I live in the foothills of the Sierria Nevada Mountains. With a 6 month burn season average 4.5 cords. I cut and split my delivered logs at $220 a cord. My neighbors go thru 100 gallons a month. The fireplace heat is so much better. Great video.
I can't believe i just now subscribed to your channel now. I was probably so entrenched in your thought provoking content that i forgot to hit the button!
My brother in law installed an outdoor wood furnace at a cost of $15K. It works in conjunction with an indoor boiler. Prior to that he was heating with oil and paying between $3000 & $3600 annually. He still has the oil as a backup fuel source. He uses about 5 bush cords annually which would amount to less than a truck load of wood. He has access to his own wood and the savings paid for his furnace in about 5 years. If he purchased the wood, he would be paying between $1000 & $1500 annually and would simply take a few years longer to pay off the furnace. He is definitely saving money either way.
Glad I watched this to the end. Excellent work with the numbers. Your "million different scenarios" is so true. I have one that is probably unique. I have a gas well and heat my home with a high efficiency boiler and radiant floor heat here in WNY. Yet, I cut, split, stack, burn 4 full cords in my basement wood stove each year. WHY? Because I do have a gas allotment which I don't want to exceed...and never do. I'm retired, have 45 acres of woodland and enjoy the work heating with wood requires. It's great exercise. For me it's somewhat of a game. How far below my allotment can I get each year regardless of the severity of the winter? If I ever need to use just the gas I can. (and if I want to leave home for a week the gas is available.) You are so right, there is a great deal of satisfaction looking at that pile of wood...and NOTHING heats like wood. Folks considering starting to burn wood would be well advised to listen carefully to your presentation.
I live in the south and only need about a cord and a half of seasoned oak to heat all winter. Cut and split myself and find free "you pick up and haul" deals. It's a no brainer economically. That said, I like the point about being tied to your home all winter. It's easy to keep a home warm once you've got heat but if you leave for a day or two and it has a chance to cool completely, it takes a minute to get that heat back up. So it takes a commitment to the labor of felling, splitting, stacking and maintaining that heat.
I have a cabin on my farm. It doesn’t have power or water. We just camp there when hunting. It had a cast iron stove which heated well, but took a lot of wood. I had a friend build a rocket mass heater. It’s not as big as some I’ve seen. It burns 1/5 the wood and maintains very even heat. Also, before we go to bed we feed it fairly heavily and it will maintain the heat all night and the cabin is warm in the morning. We restart the fire and hunt the morning, come back and cook on it.
Well done. Detailed & quantitative, pros-&-cons without bias.
Great break down Adam, I agree with the numbers. I believe most on the channel dont buy the wood in cords, we have access to trees or logs and take it from there. I also love cutting and splitting the wood on some weekends and I save a lot of money on oil to heat my home. I will spend 1000K on oil for the entire year, and that heats the water for showers too, but if we had to heat with that, it would be about 4K. My house is warm all day so its worth a little work to get the benefit, IMO. Keep the content coming!
Excellent video! We're blessed to have plenty of hardwood on our PA. property - I typically cut and split around 5 cords every 2 years maintaining an inventory of 6 - 8 cords so our wood is seasoned for 3 yrs. which is very important. I process everything using my Kubota and log splitter. We burn about 4 cords per yr. - we love wood heat - I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment looking at big piles of split firewood but it's hard work...which I enjoy but I'm now 64 and not sure how long we'll be in the firewood burning game.
Fifteen years ago I owned a small cape cod. I installed a Napoleon insert, and used wood to supplement an oil fired boiler. I absolutely noticed a reduction in my oil burner use.
I calculated my savings over 7 years I saved $12,000 in fuel costs by heating with wood. I scrounge my firewood and have saved a ton using a wood burning insert.
Outdoor wool boiler in a 130 year old manor house really tweaked my wood stove bone. I still live out in forest and have dead trees to cut, so I got an electric chainsaw, woodstove that came with the place, and an axe or two. I'll use some electric for mild cold like autumn, since electric is reasonably cheap here being that its hydroelectric, in rainforest.
I think the firewood work, even less, will keep you humble and do work for yourself instead of just for others. My gramps is still felling and chopping firewood and he's 73. His mother still drives over for a cup of tea as well.. healthy habits keep you young.
We have heat pump and a situation similar with yours. A brick fireplace hearth and arch with an airtight Blaze King stove. We can expect power outage up to a week in the winter. I typically lay a fire about 4pm now and everyday until April. We are at 250 feet elevation and about 5 miles from the ocean and Tillamook Bay. Definitely marine air.
Our wood fire and wood pile is about comfort from heat regardless of electric power. And, we are in our 80's and enjoy the ambiance as well as the, beyond the usual furnace setting of 70 degrees. I order rounds of fir, hemlock, spruce or some alder. 3 cords of rounds usually splits into 5 cords of fire place wood. Our supplier picks the rounds up in the forest and delivers them to a spot just uphill from the barn. I bought my splitter from a friend who moved to AZ. I figure it to be built in the 70's. It has a CAT cylinder 5x36 and I have replaced the Briggs 12 hp with a Duromax 15 hp elect start. Belt drive with 3;1 belt to jack shaft and direct to a gear pump from a back hoe. My mechanic friend says it will be running when we are all gone. With the tongue on the ground it is on an angle and I can roll the large (over 2 feet dia) into the jaw and split with about 6 inches of penetration of the double angle wedge. I set the relief at about 3000 so if I screw up and forget to stop or reverse, it kills the engine. I sit down on a round with cushion and load the rounds from the two tired barrow or the hand truck with my waist and shoulders. That action and my tree swing has eliminated my trips to the exercise room at the Y. I have no pain and take no medicines on a regular basis. We notice a decrease in our electric bill compared to previous winters. However, heating with wood is not about saving money. More about comfort and exercise in our old age.
Iguans
Great video, I heat with wood, but can rely on a propane backup, but will not use it unless out of town , not paying the man. And always remember, he who cuts his own wood stays warm twice!
Good info! Thanks man!
We burn wood for the comfort in the living room, we love the look, smell, making popcorn, roasting marshmallows and if you need a quick warmup, scoot to the fire.
I get all of my wood from people that have taken down trees and some that have just fell, I haven't paid for anything yet. Plus I get my smoking and cooking woods this way too, selling bundles, chunks and a couple of cords that I didn't intend to sell but the offer came.
Nice slabs on the wall there, looks awesome.
Thanks Adam for addressing this issue. I live in a northern climate and heat with a small woodstove and have calculated that it costs me between $200-$250 to produce a cord of wood. We have baseboard electric as a backup and last winter an early snowfall blocked obtaining an adequate wood supply so we used electricity about half the winter. The cost of heating was surprisingly similar. We have low rates (7¢ per kwh) because we are so close to the Grand Coulee dam.
I would like to put in a plug for building a super insulated home for reducing the cost of both winter heating and summer cooling. We spent a total of $325 last winter and it was a rough one down to -25° F. It's especially nice on an old retired fellow not to have to work so hard collecting firewood.
Yea our electric 9:00 cost is about .24 on LI NY
We live in the high desert above Klamath Falls, Oregon...our first winter here temperatures got down to -30 degrees below zero...(yesterday it was -10 degrees below zero; it's been -10 for more than a week)...I use a wood stove for everything; heating, cooking, hot water...
Other than the initial cost I only pay for bar oil, and chains...
I used to use a gas powered chainsaw, but I switched to battery...I bought a Kobolt 80v chainsaw, with 18 inch bar, for less than $400, it is almost 5 years old and still running strong...I am off-grid and use solar to charge the battery...
The solar cost less than $1000, and has been powering our home for almost 10 years...
I go through 2 to 4 chains per year, at approximately $40 for a two pack of chains...(I do brushing on the side also, so the number of chains I go through is partly from brushing and cutting other people's firewood...)...
I don't have to pay for a gym membership because of all the exercise I get cutting and splitting the wood...I use a Fiskars X27 splitting axe...I will be 60 years old, this coming year, so I don't want to hear anyone say that they are too old to process their own firewood...
I have plenty of firewood, on my property, though, last year and the year before I just burned limbs from the brushing jobs that I get...(I used to have a brushing/landscaping business, until my wife got sick; but I still take a few jobs, now and then, to supplement our income...(people will have me cut down trees for firewood, but they don't like messing with the limbs, although some of the limbs are as big as trees themselves; so I bring them home and process them into firewood)...
I don't have to pay for fuel, as the saw is battery powered, and the person I did the brushing for pays for fuel and my time (fuel for the truck and chipper; I do have a 6 inch capacity chipper that I use for brush and limbs that are smaller than 2 inches...depending on the wood, the chips are used for mulch or muddy walk/drive ways...I am in the process of building a chip-burning rocket-stove; so I will be using the chips to heat the house and greenhouse)...
Here's the skinny: in the last five years I have used five gallons bar oil, approx $50; 10 chains, approx $200; chainsaw, battery, charger, approx $400...
That's $650 for 5 years of heating, cooking, hot water...that is approx $130/year...of course, I don't run the wood stove in summer, so I do use propane for cooking and hot water during the summer...however, when the rocket stove is finished I will be using it year round, as it will be between the house and greenhouse and I will be able to cook and heat water even in the hottest days of summer...
I really want a woodstove for grid down situations and sitting in front of the fire on the weekends. As a rural homeowner without access to NG, I gotta say this mini split system I put in is working out amazing compared to heating with oil last season. No more worrying about clearing the driveway for deliveries or fluxuating prices. IMO a mini split/ low ambiant heat pump is the perfect compliment to those with a woodstove without access to natural gas.
Mine worked to 28 below last year. We were huddled around the wood stove those days. Nothing warms the bones like radiant heat.
@@timothylongmore7325 I had a woodstove put in and I agree!
I have never purchased firewood or had to work outside cutting and splitting. I am a hardwood floor installer. I burn all the cutoffs from daily work. I am obligated to clean up my daily mess and part of that is bagging the scrap wood, bring the bags home and throw them in the pile. I bring plastic bins In the winter to fill, bring home throw in the fire.
Most excellent synopsis and thank you. Always nice to compare prices. Fairbanks Alaska (12/19/22) Currently minus 40F (-40C) outside. Small Cabin user here (500 sq,ft) and I use 250 gallons #1 Heating Oil. I own 15 acres of rural property that I homesteaded. I usually cut 5 cords of combination: birch/popular/spruce per summer. I give it all to my 80 year old neighbor in exchange for wild game (Moose/Caribou). Interestingly... The local Fairbanks city energy plant installed a kiln dry firewood processing plant that uses excess heating steam re-directed to a firewood drying kiln. $450/cord and the demand far exceeds the supply. Here, #1 Home heating oil costs $4.25/gallon (Twice the national average). The one situation you did not address is the power outage issue. Over the last 2 weeks, we have experienced almost 14 power outages. Wood stove do not require power while a Heating Fuel stove does. Wood provides an excellent backup. I am in the process of retrofitting a medium size wood stove into my small cabin.
We've got electric baseboard heating only and definitely save with wood heat. Last winter we paid $600/mo to heat the house.
We get split wood for $120/cord near us. When we put in a heat pump we'll use wood for the cold months where it regularly gets below 30F.
Excellent cost analysis, great comparison and detailed figures. Thanks
We've been heating our old farm house with a wood, coal and oil combo hot air furnace for almost 40 years. We burn wood mainly in the spring and fall but change to coal in the bitter cold part of the year. If the furnace when burning wood or call goes below the thermostat the oil burner kicks in. This allows us to leave the house for a couple of days without worrying about the pipes freezing.
Definitely saves me money. I have oil (natural gas isn’t available for me) and I process all the wood myself - I get a log truck delivery of 5-7cord every year at least. I use about 4 cord for my home (have an insert and a free standing stove) and sell the rest. It does save me money but is a boatload of work. Hard work, and can be dangerous. I agree that many are fooling themselves about the savings. For most, it is really more of a middle class luxury item. Although I do save, that isn’t my primary purpose, I love the lifestyle. Great video.
Saving was absolutely my primary reasoning, with the health benefits of infrared light being an important second and atmosphere being third. We have saved an enormous amount of money by switching from natural gas and electric to exclusively wood. Our heating costs dropped from $300/month for a lukewarm-at-best house, to $40/month for a toasty warm cozy house. Absolutely hands down cheaper and we do buy our wood pre split.
We've got propane as our main source and wood as a backup. We live about 20 minutes out of town, and sometimes our power goes out in the winter. I agree wood heating is just more fun and cozy. I really enjoy it.
the quality of heat from wood can't be beat
I love that its the same temperature everywhere in the room , thats not the case with electrical or gas heat
Huge difference here. My area has mixed hardwood for $200/cord. Another thing to consider is heat pumps. We have 3 heating sources and 2 cooling. Mini split heat pump runs off electric but does heating and cooling normally. Wood stove does the freezing winter months when the outdoor is below 30. Oil is hooked up for radiator heat and it runs our hot water so it’s always on but mainly does water unless the other two fail.
First time watching and I will definitely subscribe. Nice presentation and you speak very clearly. 👍 👍 👍
This is why I'm subscribed - just straight forward info without a spin, what you get when you get an accountant who cuts wood. Thanks!