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Home heating, idea on why I burn wood...

O

OliverGuy

Well-known Member
I know there's always a discussion on how this or that is more efficient and cleaner than burning with wood. I do because I like to use what God has given me and I have an abundance of it. It used to be when I was younger we didn't have enough money for big nat. gas bills, so I heated the house with it. Why should I pay the company if I can do it and get some good exercise? Fast forward 10-15 year, it's funny how things change, now I that I have 3 girls under 10, I have them help me haul it in, make the fire, haul the ashes out. It's not a perfect system, but by them doing it, they can work towards something with a worthwhile goal, not some stupid video game or youtube videos. I can't see any reason why they shouldn't do some of the work, learn to build a fire and learn how to respect it. Believe me, this doesn't always work out perfect, but for now why not? I bet when I get older I might just want to click the thermostat up though!!
 
Well I am 68 now and 40 years ago had my 3 girls help with the firewood till they left the nest. I have an unlimited source so a couple of them along with my grandson still help me drag logs,help split and stack firewood to this day.
Grandson even runs my track loader to knock trees down for me.
 
We bought this place in 1977, house was built in late 40s, very low to ground, no way to put furnace underneath. Only three acres, but plenty of tree tops available due to sawmilling so we bought a wood heater. Wife and three kids would help me cut and haul on Saturdays, and I would split it nights during the week. In 2001 we bought a doublewide and installed it across the yard from the house, total electric with head pump. I really like that part, but still miss my wood heater.
Just recently my younger daughter (now 41), mentioned how much she missed coming in from the cold and backing up to the old wood heater. Ain't nuthin' like wood heat! And I will never be convinced that wood smoke pollutes as much as claimed.
 
I forgot their favorite part, when they take a bath they say "Daddy will you get the fire going good for when we get out?" Well sure you can't say no. Our five year old with extra Italian blood will come out to the living room when done with a big grin on her face with only a towel on. She will then proceed to do the "Bruce Almighty" and shed her towel right in front and stand there butt nked to air dry! Can't blame her, that ole Dutchwest stove can put it out.
 
Some of my best memories of my father were from time spent in the woods helping him split wood, burn brushpiles and hauling the wood to the porch. I learned a lot about driving trying to coax that old 37 Chevy pickup up the "big hill" on the back of our place when it was muddy or snowy. I bet your girls will look back on these days when they're older with fond memories.
 
While I see what your saying, it's almost cheaper to heat with natural gas. You can heat a house for $500/year. Wood ain't worth it compared to NG, when you consider the money you have in multiple saws, wood splitter, and time. Then you add in the time spent keeping the fire going, always having to have someone home, the dust from the ashes no matter how careful you are, and bringing bugs to the house if you store the wood near or in the house. It's a bad deal, but dang cheap for those that don't have NG available to them.
 
When I had my house built in the 70's the way a lot houses were heated back then was ceiling heat. It was wires strung back and forth in the ceiling, then plastered over the wires. It didn't take long to figure that was a expensive way to heat a room. We used propane for the stove and water heater. I put in a wood stove in the late 70's. Wood is the major source of heat for me now. Pushing 72 now the wood thing is getting to be a pain in you know where.I am thinking of installing a furnace, as we have natural gas now. But for now wood will still be brought in to burn with bugs, dust, and all. Stan
 
I would take my sons to cut firewood on the weekends also. When we got to the timber, I would tell them take your bb guns and go exploring, when you hear the chainsaw quit, come back and we will load. Would follow that same routine until the truck was full. They enjoyed our trips to the timber. gobble
 
You've got that last line exactly right. When you're pushing 60 and all the kids are gone,you'll find out how much easier it is to just write a check.
 
Well I'm 60+ amd still heat with wood and overall enjoy it.I have enough prime Hickory,Locust and Oak to last several lifetimes and most of the time
I about get enough wood from trees that have fallen in the way or have fallen on fences during the year that I need to cut up anyway.
 
I'm 25 new house only heat with wood, kids help they get paid two dollars 2 dollars a load for helping load and stack it... They enjoy helping and gives them something to work for.. I enjoy being outside have tons of wood to cut, and I get to do it with my father and our old tractors.. Can't beat that...
 
I've never heard of elecrtic ceiling heat before. Which parts of the country was that used in?
 
Did God not also make the natural gas, propane, coal, oil, and for that matter the water that produces hydroelectric power?

We burned wood for years, and my kids grew up helping with stacking and bringing the wood into the house. I did enjoy the facts that OUR house would be warm and cozy if the electricity went out and that we had much more control over whether or not we would have heat. But I do not miss the mess of dealing with a wood stove in the house. I also do not miss the large amount of work that heating with wood used to cause me to have to do. And I pay MUCH less for home insurance since I no longer have a wood stove.

About 20 years ago, I heard about a natural gas line going down our road, and as I planned to build a new house about then, I got that set up to use natural gas for most heating jobs. Since we moved in, I have had to do nothing to the furnace but change filters, nothing at all to the water heater, and only changed a defective motor in our gas clothes dryer. My gas bill has never been over $200/month, and some months it is only about $20. Gas is EASY, inexpensive and dependable. And since my wife developed asthma, wood heat is really no longer an option.

Not everyone has the option of hooking up to a natural gas line, but in my opinion, if it is available, gas is probably the easiest and cleanest heating choice. It also may be the least expensive, if your time is worth anything to you.

Good luck with your wood heat. I hope you and your family continue to enjoy it!
 
I could not heat a house for $ 500 per year on NG, NO WAY.
My gas bill for last month was $150, and there are 5 months of winter. Wood heat is an even steady heat, I like it, it is all natural, And wood is the cheapest way to go vs. all other means. I understand the mess part, a shovel and pail and 10 minutes and you're done.
 
I used to burn 1500 gallons of propane a heating season to keep this old farm house at around 63 degrees. I added a wood stove to the basement and cut that down to around 1000 gallons still at 63 degrees.

I added an outdoor wood stove and now heat the house to 70+ degrees and burn zero propane. It uses about twice the wood of the indoor stove but I am also heating 100% with it and also heating my domestic hot water.

Propane is around 2.67 a gallon today UP here. So not buying 1000 gallons of propane saves me 2670 dollars this year alone. I can cut a lot of firewood for 2670 dollars, and my house is 7-10 degrees warmer for that savings.

As I clear fence lines, field edges, fields, driveway edges, etc I get most of my wood and those trees would get cut even if I heated with gas so its a win win.
 
Yup. Wood heat is best! I am lucky in that we moved to an area surrounded by Amish sawmills. They will cut the chunks to whatever length you ask, and even load your trailer as they cut! Around here, neighbors help neighbors, and they came over to help me unload and stack. I have ZERO splitting to do, the wood is the right size, and it is CHEAP (as much as I can pile on an 18' car trailer with 2' sides - heaped up in the middle for $25, heaping pickup load for $10)! I have enough for at least 2 years here, and add more every year. I am done by June, so don't even get cold. The LP furnace rarely comes on, so very little usage.
 
My father was a contractor and he built many total electric homes that had the radiant heat cable in the plaster ceilings. With that you also got foil faced r 13 wall insulation and extra attic insulation and poly under the concrete floors. This was in the early 70's when NSP was advertising electricity as "penny Cheap". Those features were ahead of their time and although expensive that kind of heat was perfectly even and virtually maintenance free. We owned apartments with it and the genius tenants would put swag hooks in the ceilings and short it out. That was really the only bad thing about it when electricity was penny cheap. This was in Minnesota,just south of thr metro.
 
I heated with wood back in the early 80's. I don't ever want to have to do that again! I liked the heat but figure there are better ways to spend my time than cutting and splitting wood.
1300SF house in northern IL with an inefficient 35 year old furnace. We just got our December gas bill. $86. In 2012 we spent less $400 on NG for the entire year. It pays to have good windows and insulation.
 
What's your cost on the NG? Is it sold in ft3 or M3? Here it ranges from 11.8 to 18.5 cents per cubic metre plus any other charges they may add. I don't have NG, so I don't know how it's actually billed out.

Fire wood in this area is around $225.00/bush cord or $0.01/1000btu. NG @0.2095/m3 is .00625/1000btu. This means nothing if you cut your own wood, but in this area if you have to pay market value for it and NG is avialable, it's the way to go.
 
Hal,

Growing up on the treeless plains heating with wood wasn't really an option. Coal was always less expensive to have hauled in than wood. To me heating with wood is the same as shoveling snow by hand: they are both great when I need the excersise and I don't have a better alternative.
 
I had two kids to help me with the wood and when they got married and moved out they ask me how come I quit burning wood -- I had to tell them that now that they are gone I can afford the heat bill -- my daughter told me -- enough said
 
I just got hooked up to the NG. I have only paid 2 bills so far.
I know that firewood is cheap, if you buy by the dump truck load it is real cheap. (unless you cut it yourself)
 
I agree with some of your points, but I like doing it, get excercise, have a warm spot to stand next to and warm up, dry my bibs boots ect when they get wet being out in the snow, have a cooking source, and power outage dosent bother me, as long as generator doesn't quit. I have a wood stove insert, and a indoor wood boiler in the basement, that's the nicest thing, having a heated basement.
 
My house was built in 70s and was all electric radiant heat in the ceilings I bought it in oct.of 93 and immediatly put in a chimney and oil fired forced hot water with hot water off the boiler. That first month electric bill was $200 I put in a wood stove and now heat mainly with wood,with oil backup. With the added insulation they used with electric heat the wood stove is plenty.The electric heat is still there and functional and was real nice feeling heat just couldn't afford it. BTW I am in NH.
 
I agree, we helped dad with wood as kids, and it must have done some good, both my brother and I burn wood. It really is the best and cheapest heat source for us, we have oil back up thought, and dad has propane back up. I bought my house in October 2000, 1 winter with just a fireplace and I couldent stand it, 2001 I put in a indoor wood boiler in tandem with my oil boiler, than in 2003 I got a woodstove insert for the fireplace. My 2 year old daughter can say firewood, and watches my, I bring her on the atv to bring in wood, so I hope when she's older she will like it. Never hurts to teach kids.
 
I am disabled for 20 years now, but still burn wood. Kids and grandkids get together for a wood cutting day each spring. Cut, haul, split & pile using tractors & 4 wheelers. A good time for all. 2 sons at home haul & stack in the basement. I have a wheelbarrow with 2 wheels on the back so I can move it just by pushing. I can keep the stove going good. Stove in the basement that I built myself has been heating for 26 years. Burn wood that has aged for 2 years & most is dead wood to begin with.
 
As long as the Lord allow's me the health
to cut/split/load/unload/burn/cleanup the mess.
I will do so, to me it isn't work if I enjoy
it. When I am done cutting up a down'ed wind
fall tree or tree top, I stack the brush for
the wild game. I try to be a steward of my
property, give back something of what I take.
Plus I get to use my tractor for something
other than farming.. I receive great enjoyment
looking at my tractor with a large load of
hickory on the wagon... Some of you may think
I'm Wierd & I'm OK with it!!!!!!!
 
I love burning wood for several reasons. It helps getting some real use out of cleaning up fence rows and field edges. At near 65 yrs. it helps keeping me fit. I love that whole "mastication" thing with firewood cutting & splitting. I use a rear mounted buzzsaw on Ford 9N and chainsaws too. You can"t beat the wood heat warmth and watching a woodfire (almost as good as TV, maybe better for you). And just plain independence and that feeling of self sufficiency.
 
I grew up cutting wood. First with a cross cut saw then a chain saw. Mother cooked on a wood stove when I was small. Set in a cold room with my back up to an old 55 gallon drum burning wood while stripping tobacco. I said if I ever was in a position where I could afford any other type of heat I would NOT burn wood. never have and never will. I have NG thermostat sets on 63 degrees most of the time and that is the way I like it. Can't stand a hot house.
 
(quoted from post at 13:02:04 01/11/14) While I see what your saying, it's almost cheaper to heat with natural gas. You can heat a house for $500/year. Wood ain't worth it compared to NG, when you consider the money you have in multiple saws, wood splitter, and time. Then you add in the time spent keeping the fire going, always having to have someone home, the dust from the ashes no matter how careful you are, and bringing bugs to the house if you store the wood near or in the house. It's a bad deal, but dang cheap for those that don't have NG available to them.
Click to expand...

There is no way you can possibly heat with NG or anything else as cheap as wood, especially if there isn't a NG line within 20 miles of you! Amortize the cost of my saws and splitter over a 2o-40 year working lifetime, and I have working saws older than that, and the fact I already have the land and other equipment and then compare it to what it costs you per hour to work to pay for the NG. Talk about false economy. I think a lot of people simply hate the labor involved with wood. I can understand that, but please don't try to tell me anything is cheaper than wood for someone who owns land with woods on it. For the taxes I pay, I'm going to get every last penny out of this place!
 
I am not going to argue that burning wood can be cheap and even enjoyable.

That said, many of you seem to value your time at $0 dollars. In reality If you paid yourself say $7.00 and hour for all time spent on cutting or handling wood then it just might not be quite as cheap as many of you think it is. (especially after amortizing saws, splitters, gas, oil, axes, etc which some of you have at least mentioned).

Granted, you may enjoy it and you might not even consider it work but your time is easily worth $7.00 an hour. Almost any of us could get 2nd a job making $7.00 an hour so that is sorta the low threshold that I use. Now whether you want to get a 2nd job then that is another separate issue.

In reality though wood is unpaid 2nd job. Nothing wrong with that. Simply not as cheap as many claim it is as they are forgetting the hidden costs.
 
(quoted from post at 22:59:56 01/11/14) I've never heard of elecrtic ceiling heat before. Which parts of the country was that used in?
Click to expand...
irst time I ever saw ceiling heat strips was in Fla. when I worked there as an electrician. It was not very warm but being in Fla. it was OK.
 
Or instead of cutting wood they could be paying to go to an
exercise club or doing something really useful like sitting in front of the TV.Few people 'optimize' their time especially away from their normal job or work.So I'd say the pay back from cutting wood is better than playing golf,watching TV,going to tractor shows or even working on restoring a tractor thats worth about 1/3 what you have invested when finished.Plus when the power goes off I have heat and no frozen pipes and the wife cooks all sorts of good things on the stove all Winter.
 
Liars figure and figures lie....anyone can draw a bunch of zeros behind some numbers and do "Rainsoft Math" and prove how you can be come a millionaire either burning wood or not burning wood.

For anyone not familiar with "Rainsoft Math" all you have to do is sit through their presentation and watch the zeros appear behind the numbers they throw on the paper to show you how to fund the college education of all your kids with the money you save by using their water softener. One of the most ridiculous pitches I have ever witnessed !!!

Having retired recently, my company was charging near $100/hour for my labor....so at that rate by paying myself what my boss charged for me I'll heat with wood AND become very RICH at the same time !!!! But wait....where does that $7.00/hour OR that $100.00/hour come from that I'm gonna pay myself !!???

I think it boils down to how you wanna justify what it is that you do...Quoting Shakespeare here, "To burn, or not to burn, that is the question". All you gotta do is figure out how to lie to justify it....why just this afternoon, I cut and split wood for just under 4 hours...So with almost $400.00 in my pocket for this afternoons labor, I'm going to take the wife to a really nice restaurant this evening.... Gosh, I LOVE Rainsoft Math.

....maybe Shakespeare really intended to say: "TO BE (warm and cozy) OR NOT TO BE (warm and cozy), THAT IS THE QUESTION".....
**********************************
A fellow should never take himself too serious....
 
Still burning wood after nearly 40 years. I use an add-on wood furnace to my forced air system, in the basement. My three sons grew up helping cut wood on weekends, and they all learned how to work that has served them well in life. One of my favorite time is the day after Thanksgiving when all of us get together to haul wood to the house. We put enough in the basement to last the rest of the year, and the fun and hi-jinks of the day are enough to keep me laughing for weeks. Then I have the rest of the winter to replenish the wood pile. At age 70 that is a good thing, I couldn't stand being inside that long. As far as expense goes, I'm using the same four saws I bought over the years for a total of $500 and I'm pretty sure they'll outlast me. My wood splitter cost $85 to build in 1978 and I use one of the tractors to haul wood. I am sure I've saved thousands of dollars over the years, and the health benefits are beyond measurement. And I'm too stubborn to quit cutting wood.
 
(quoted from post at 15:10:33 01/12/14) I am not going to argue that burning wood can be cheap and even enjoyable.

That said, many of you seem to value your time at $0 dollars. In reality If you paid yourself say $7.00 and hour for all time spent on cutting or handling wood then it just might not be quite as cheap as many of you think it is. (especially after amortizing saws, splitters, gas, oil, axes, etc which some of you have at least mentioned).

Granted, you may enjoy it and you might not even consider it work but your time is easily worth $7.00 an hour. Almost any of us could get 2nd a job making $7.00 an hour so that is sorta the low threshold that I use. Now whether you want to get a 2nd job then that is another separate issue.

In reality though wood is unpaid 2nd job. Nothing wrong with that. Simply not as cheap as many claim it is as they are forgetting the hidden costs.
Click to expand...

Ridiculous. First off, at the current $4.00 per gallon price of fuel oil here you have to consider I'd use 5-8 gallons a day. That's $20-32.00 a day. Then you have to add in getting to work at this phantom job in my 10mpg Burb. Even if it was in my closest town there's at least $20.00 a day in gas. Then there's taxes on the money I earn, so that minumum wage job that might pay $8.00 an hour (min wage here) becomes more like $6.00@ hour. And then there's the amount of hours I worked- lets say it's 40, which isn't going to happen. Take home might be $250-275 a week. Fuel oil is costing me $140-224.00 a week PLUS $100.00 in gas which just ate up my whole paycheck even IF I could find this phantom 40 @ week job. FYI- I put in at a bunch of places locally and I didn't even get a call- OVERQUALIFIED! And then there's the other costs you forget- whose gonna do all the work here on the farm while I'm off paying for fuel oil? It would be just like before I retired, ME, working from the minute I got home till I couldn't take it any longer and half of what I needed would never get done.

If I sat on my butt in a little house in town getting that other job might make sense. Otherwise your premise is totally flawed.
 
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