# Quanity of wood this season



## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 4, 2018)

Before we moved additional wood up to the house for the next couple of weeks or so. My son and i figured out how much wood we have used so far for the season. We took some measurements and figured out that so far we have burned .75 cord this year that would be from when we started burning in October to basically December 1st

Were thinking we may use a little more this year
So how much have you guys used so far.. rough guess is fine if you dont want to measure.


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## thewoodlands (Dec 4, 2018)

We've burned 1.24 cord of shoulder season wood or 4 face cord of white pine and by the end of this week we'll have burned 0.62 cord of cherry or 2 face cord.

We also have a pellet stove but I'm not sure how many bags we've burned this year. Last year was very cold in Northern NY and we burned either 52 or 53 bags. We had the pellet stove before we bought the property we get our firewood from.


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## Dug8498 (Dec 4, 2018)

We’ve burned about 1/2 cord so far, we’ve been burning since mid October; way earlier than I expected to be burning! I have some pine that was recently cut that I’d love to be burning but it’s not ready yet. Been burning mainly ash, birch, and maple as that is what’s currently dry enough


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## GadDummit (Dec 4, 2018)

We've gone through about 1/3 cord so far, but we've only had a few days of below 45 degree weather so far. For us it has to be under 45 to fire up the um..fire.


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## weatherguy (Dec 4, 2018)

It's been a cold November so wood usage is up from the last few years. I've burned half a cord but have let the furnace run now and then.


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## Woody5506 (Dec 4, 2018)

I've burned a bit less than 2.5 face cord so far. So almost 1 cull cord. I'll probably hit the 1 cord mark by the end of the month. Wood use has gone down a little bit since I got my attic insulation up to par.


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## coutufr (Dec 4, 2018)

At least 1 - 1.5 cord of ash .


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## trguitar (Dec 4, 2018)

I think I'm somewhere between 3/4 and 1 cord of mostly white pine and a little red maple. Definitely feels like more than previous years.


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## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Dec 4, 2018)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> Before we moved additional wood up to the house for the next couple of weeks or so. My son and i figured out how much wood we have used so far for the season. We took some measurements and figured out that so far we have burned .75 cord this year that would be from when we started burning in October to basically December 1st
> 
> Were thinking we may use a little more this year
> So how much have you guys used so far.. rough guess is fine if you dont want to measure.


Hard to keep track, as we use the shoulder season to clean up the uglies, funkies, and shorts.  It's not all we use, but has made up a significant part of the fuel burned so far, starting at beginning of October.


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## CentralVAWoodHeat (Dec 4, 2018)

2/3 cord


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## firefighterjake (Dec 4, 2018)

Guessing . . . about half a cord . . . a guess since I have maybe a quarter cord left in the stack and at least that amount, if not a bit more, stacked on the porch.


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## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 4, 2018)

ED 3000 said:


> Hard to keep track, as we use the shoulder season to clean up the uglies, funkies, and shorts.  It's not all we use, but has made up a significant part of the fuel burned so far, starting at beginning of October.



This is funny as i am the complete opposite.. i go for the ugly, and crotchety wood once we start getting in the thick of winter. Its the only time i can get rid of them. I will burn them on a weekends here and there. There big and burn slow, and oddly shaped. Pretty much is all oak. I'll put up a pic later
I feel i'v gone through a little more wood so far and it going to be colder the next 6 days


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## peakbagger (Dec 4, 2018)

Its been a cold November. I have gone through more than 1/2 cord of hardwood. I normally run my minsplit until mid December and not use the boiler but the temps have been cold enough I have run the boiler. I definitely need to ramp up cutting wood this winter and summer to keep on the two year season cycle.


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## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Dec 4, 2018)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> This is funny as i am the complete opposite.. i go for the ugly, and crotchety wood once we start getting in the thick of winter. Its the only time i can get rid of them. I will burn them on a weekends here and there. There big and burn slow, and oddly shaped. Pretty much is all oak. I'll put up a pic later
> I feel i'v gone through a little more wood so far and it going to be colder the next 6 days


Well, probably 90% of the off-wood has been tulip poplar from the center of the loafhausen. That's all burned and the outside rows burned or restacked next to the house.  

 We're starting to work through the better wood uglies, stuff that had been on top of the good stacks. Ash and oak, mostly, with a little walnut.  A constant stream of tulip poplar as well.

Next, we have a stack from a big black birch that is pretty punky and fungus-y.  It was from the neighbors.


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## weatherguy (Dec 4, 2018)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> This is funny as i am the complete opposite.. i go for the ugly, and crotchety wood once we start getting in the thick of winter. Its the only time i can get rid of them. I will burn them on a weekends here and there. There big and burn slow, and oddly shaped. Pretty much is all oak. I'll put up a pic later
> I feel i'v gone through a little more wood so far and it going to be colder the next 6 days


I'm the opposite of both if you, I burn that stuff in the spring shoulder season, keep the nice fat, straight stuff for midwinter.


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## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Dec 4, 2018)

weatherguy said:


> I'm the opposite of both if you, I burn that stuff in the spring shoulder season, keep the nice fat, straight stuff for midwinter.


I'll have plenty left for spring ss as well.


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## TedyOH (Dec 4, 2018)

.75 cord as well (along with 200 lbs of sawdust)

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## Allagash350 (Dec 4, 2018)

We have to be at a cord now I would bet. We started burning again in early October I think. It has been cold lately, and I mean like February cold for daytime highs.


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## Jan Pijpelink (Dec 4, 2018)

Just under a cord I guess, but that is with 2 stoves and an Asian lady that is always cold (in the winter time that is).


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## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 5, 2018)

weatherguy said:


> I'm the opposite of both if you, I burn that stuff in the spring shoulder season, keep the nice fat, straight stuff for midwinter.



I use the uglies when im home during the day. It hasent been cold enough to burn during the day.. today was the first day i could burn when i got home.. i threw in some Walnut Uglies


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## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 5, 2018)

TedyOH said:


> .75 cord as well (along with 200 lbs of sawdust)
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


 Dude your sooo on track.. lets throw a bunch of scrap and garbage wood in our stoves and then Jam a bunch of instruments in the flu to see if we can get it to burn correctly by tuning it  even though there is nothing for adjustments on the stove


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## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Dec 5, 2018)

TedyOH said:


> .75 cord as well (along with 200 lbs of sawdust)
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


Was the sawdust seasoned long enough?  These modern EPA stoves don't like green sawdust.


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## Jan Pijpelink (Dec 5, 2018)

ED 3000 said:


> Was the sawdust seasoned long enough?  These modern EPA stoves don't like green sawdust.


It depends if the sawdust was form softwoods or hardwoods. If it was from Pine: stomach cramps!


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## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Dec 5, 2018)

Jan Pijpelink said:


> It depends if the sawdust was form softwoods or hardwoods. If it was from Pine: stomach cramps!


Good point, Jan!  

Just walking by my little stand of white pine gave me diarrhea last week.  Or, maybe it was that romaine lettuce that I picked up on a great sale at the Food Lion.


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## Jan Pijpelink (Dec 5, 2018)

ED 3000 said:


> Good point, Jan!
> 
> Just walking by my little stand of white pine gave me diarrhea last week.  Or, maybe it was that romaine lettuce that I picked up on a great sale at the Food Lion.


TMI Ed.


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## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 5, 2018)

Can someone please explain to me on how to check the moisture content of my sawdust.. its been seasoning now for 2.5 years and i want to see where im at, i have so little experience with sawdust im not sure how to do it


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## Jan Pijpelink (Dec 5, 2018)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> Can someone please explain to me on how to check the moisture content of my sawdust.. its been seasoning now for 2.5 years and i want to see where im at, i have so little experience with sawdust im not sure how to do it


Simple. You put about 1 cup in your microwave at High for 1 minute. If it ignites after 23.4 seconds it has an MC of 15.7389% SCIENCE!


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## TedyOH (Dec 5, 2018)

Lol

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## Tar12 (Dec 5, 2018)

It has been a cold November and December is starting off with more of the same....I have gone through 1.25 cord and I have been burning 24/7...been enjoying this 3.5 year seasoned White Oak...


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## weatherguy (Dec 5, 2018)

Jan Pijpelink said:


> Simple. You put about 1 cup in your microwave at High for 1 minute. If it ignites after 23.4 seconds it has an MC of 15.7389% SCIENCE!


No, you throw a shovel full in and if your stove blows up, its seasoned.


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## Jan Pijpelink (Dec 5, 2018)

weatherguy said:


> No, you throw a shovel full in and if your stove blows up, its seasoned.


I approached from a scientific way. Not destructive.


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## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 6, 2018)

Tar12 said:


> It has been a cold November and December is starting off with more of the same....I have gone through 1.25 cord and I have been burning 24/7...been enjoying this 3.5 year seasoned White Oak...




Our temps have not been consistently that cold yet. But it has been colder than normal. I can see me going through more wood this year. Not that I'm stressing over it, I'm sitting on plenty.. I'm  guessing ill be over 4 cords this year.


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## jaoneill (Dec 6, 2018)

Was a cool late Oct & Nov - I've been through a bit over three cord already, a little over half a cord of that was box elder shoulder season wood but this is shaping up to be another old fashioned (cold) winter, our Thanksgiving day low was fifteen below zero.


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## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 6, 2018)

jaoneill said:


> Was a cool late Oct & Nov - I've been through a bit over three cord already, a little over half a cord of that was box elder shoulder season wood but this is shaping up to be another old fashioned (cold) winter, our Thanksgiving day low was fifteen below zero.



3 cord is alot of wood so far. 3 cord is what im going through in a mild winter.. mild winter usage is between 3 to 3.75 cords.. im heating solely with wood. I burn verry little oil.. last year was under 100 bucks in oil. Whats your estimated usage for the year and how much wood total are you sitting on


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## jaoneill (Dec 6, 2018)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> 3 cord is alot of wood so far. 3 cord is what im going through in a mild winter.. mild winter usage is between 3 to 3.75 cords.. im heating solely with wood. I burn verry little oil.. last year was under 100 bucks in oil. Whats your estimated usage for the year and how much wood total are you sitting on


On average we will burn 12-14 cord of wood and 1000 gal or so of fuel oil....


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## Chas0218 (Dec 6, 2018)

A little over 1.5 cord, less than last year at this point. Probably about 20 gallons of fuel oil so far.

I go through about 6 cord based on last season. This year I'll take the average and add a cord so I'll be ready for next year and the year after.


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## Dug8498 (Dec 6, 2018)

jaoneill said:


> On average we will burn 12-14 cord of wood and 1000 gal or so of fuel oil....



Holy cow! That’s the most I’ve heard of anyone burning! You must be real busy with wood processing. 25 cords to stay 1 year ahead... damn 



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## Jan Pijpelink (Dec 6, 2018)

Dug8498 said:


> Holy cow! That’s the most I’ve heard of anyone burning! You must be real busy with wood processing. 25 cords to stay 1 year ahead... damn
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I wonder if those are face cords considering the 1000 gallons oil.


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## Dobish (Dec 6, 2018)

my spreadsheet is telling me that I have have used .52 cord from the back patio, and .12 cord from the 2016 vintage of pine and spruce. I have also burned through roughly .07 cord of kindling, uglies, and other such things, for a grand total of roughly .73 cord.


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## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 6, 2018)

jaoneill said:


> On average we will burn 12-14 cord of wood and 1000 gal or so of fuel oil....



Thats like 300 million BTUS in just wood.. what are you heating... the white house..


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## Jan Pijpelink (Dec 6, 2018)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> Thats like 300 million BTS in just wood.. what are you heating... the white house..


Like I said, I think it are face cords.


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## Dug8498 (Dec 6, 2018)

Jan Pijpelink said:


> Like I said, I think it are face cords.



I hope so


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## Qster (Dec 7, 2018)

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In a normal year in CT, I don't burn 24/7 til December and then go one cord a month till March. So it's usually half a cord in November and another half in March with 3 cords for December through February.

This year, I've been burning 24/7 since mid November and have gone through about 3/4 cord plus maybe 20 bundles of those envi logs. That's pretty close to a full cord already.


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## CincyBurner (Dec 7, 2018)

Brought in the stack of ~1 cord of ash (CSS summer '15 - MC = ~17% It was stacked in shady area with poor air movement) and have burned about half of it so far.
Started burning late October.  November seemed cooler than normal but not brutally cold.


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## Ashful (Dec 7, 2018)

I am just finishing up my second cord for this year.  Will be moving a third cord up to the house tomorrow, assuming the ground stays frozen.

This is another year of almost 100% oak, and it’s been colder than usual for November.  I burn the same amount of wood when it’s cold, regardless of species, but the house stays warmer when it’s oak.  

Please don’t use face cords.  It’s just stupid.


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## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 7, 2018)

Dobish said:


> my spreadsheet is telling me that I have have used .52 cord from the back patio, and .12 cord from the 2016 vintage of pine and spruce. I have also burned through roughly .07 cord of kindling, uglies, and other such things, for a grand total of roughly .73 cord.



So is this more or less than last year.. whats your average for a year


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## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 7, 2018)

Ashful said:


> I am just finishing up my second cord for this year.  Will be moving a third cord up to the house tomorrow, assuming the ground stays frozen.
> 
> Please don’t use face cords.  It’s just stupid.



What quanity of wood are you burning per year.. if your starting your 3rd cord i would assume that your burning like 7 to 8 cords


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## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Dec 7, 2018)

Ashful said:


> I am just finishing up my second cord for this year.  Will be moving a third cord up to the house tomorrow, assuming the ground stays frozen.
> 
> This is another year of almost 100% oak, and it’s been colder than usual for November.  I burn the same amount of wood when it’s cold, regardless of species, but the house stays warmer when it’s oak.
> 
> Please don’t use face cords.  It’s just stupid.


I agree, saying face cord when referring to 1/3 cord confuses everyone, and assumes 16' lengths.  Let's just agree to call that a rick.


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## Dobish (Dec 7, 2018)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> So is this more or less than last year.. whats your average for a year



i am slightly lower than last year, but I don't have a direct comparison by month for it. This we year don't have people in the house all day, so I have not been as diligent about getting the stove going in the morning, and my 3pm load turns into a 5pm load. 
Overall last year, I burned 3.15 cord, from November to May.


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## Ashful (Dec 7, 2018)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> What quanity of wood are you burning per year.. if your starting your 3rd cord i would assume that your burning like 7 to 8 cords


I burned as much as 10 cords per year in the old Jotuls, but I’m putting about 25% less thru the BK’s, so your guess is probably pretty close.

To be honest, I have not managed to have an “average” year of burning since I bought the BK’s, so I can’t say with any certainty.  We have had a few freakishly warm years in a row, and last February I couldn’t burn at all, when everything melted and my yard turned to swamp (couldn’t access the stacks, until it re-froze in March).

I have a spreadsheet that tracks my oil usage and heating degree days, but until recently, I wasn’t recording my wood usage in the spreadsheet.  Silly oversight, on my part.


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## Dobish (Dec 7, 2018)

Ashful said:


> I burned as much as 10 cords per year in the old Jotuls, but I’m putting about 25% less thru the BK’s, so your guess is probably pretty close.
> 
> To be honest, I have not managed to have an “average” year of burning since I bought the BK’s, so I can’t say with any certainty.  We have had a few freakishly warm years in a row, and last February I couldn’t burn at all, when everything melted and my yard turned to swamp (couldn’t access the stacks, until it re-froze in March).
> 
> I have a spreadsheet that tracks my oil usage and heating degree days, but until recently, I wasn’t recording my wood usage in the spreadsheet.  Silly oversight, on my part.



i have a cousin who just recently decided to do an energy study on my house, and was trying to figure out what my total energy usage was (including wood consumption).  He was very happy he could just take my spreadsheet, and after his analysis, we were able to come up with the conclusion that by burning wood, we are saving energy and money since our furnace is so inefficient.


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## Ashful (Dec 7, 2018)

Oh, I’m definitely saving thousands of dollars in oil, per year.  Of course, I’m also spending thousands of dollars per year on wood processing equipment and storage facility construction.  I might be at net zero, after all of these years, I haven’t put much energy into making a tally of it all.


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## Dobish (Dec 7, 2018)

Ashful said:


> Oh, I’m definitely saving thousands of dollars in oil, per year.  Of course, I’m also spending thousands of dollars per year on wood processing equipment and storage facility construction.  I might be at net zero, after all of these years, I haven’t put much energy into making a tally of it all.


we also determined that it is more efficient to burn wood than dollar bills, on a BTU scale.


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## Ashful (Dec 7, 2018)

Okay, a quick stab at a tally:

Expenses:

Splitter:  $1000
Chainsaws:  $1500
Tractor:  $10,000
- $3000 for smaller tractor I’d have bought otherwise
Splitter hot-rodding:  $1000
Stoves:  $6000
Insulated chimneys:  $3000
Wagon:  $1000
Misc. accessories:  $1000
===== 
$21,500 expenses

Oil saved per year:  700 - 1200 gallons
Avg. price:  $3.2/gal
======= 
$3k per year

So, 7 years in, I might be close to net zero.  But now I’m looking at building a 1000 sq.ft. pavilion for wood and equipment storage, another $9k, so I’ll be back in the red.

What we’re not accounting for is my time, but I’d rather be spending my extra hours splitting and hauling wood, than sitting behind a desk.


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## paulnlee (Dec 7, 2018)

My Harmon goes from late Oct. to Memorial Day. If I have a good supply of large pieces to put in at night I'll go thru 7 cords. This year my overnighters are not as large as usual so I expect to use more this season plus my damper is broken.


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## Bushels20 (Dec 7, 2018)

Jan Pijpelink said:


> I wonder if those are face cords considering the 1000 gallons oil.



Right. So maybe actually 3-4 cords?


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## Ashful (Dec 7, 2018)

Jan Pijpelink said:


> I wonder if those are face cords considering the 1000 gallons oil.



If he is like me, there’s another factor at hand.  When heating with oil, I keep my house at 70F for about 6 hours per day, and 62F the rest of the time.  So, assuming some ramp up/down time, the average might be 65 - 66F, indoors.  But when heating with wood I keep the house 73 - 76F all day, ever day.

We average 5000 HDD’s per year, and heat for roughly 6 months, so that’s 27 HDD’s per day, or a daily average temperature around 38F.  So, with oil we’re heating by ~28F from outside, and on wood we’re heating by ~38F from outside.  That additional 25% differential translates into 25% higher BTU loss, and higher wood usage than you might expect, from the amount of oil they’re “saving”.


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## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 7, 2018)

Ashful said:


> If he is like me, there’s another factor at hand.  When heating with oil, I keep my house at 70F for about 6 hours per day, and 62F the rest of the time.  So, assuming some ramp up/down time, the average might be 65 - 66F, indoors.  But when heating with wood I keep the house 73 - 76F all day, ever day.
> 
> We average 5000 HDD’s per year, and heat for roughly 6 months, so that’s 27 HDD’s per day, or a daily average temperature around 38F.  So, with oil we’re heating by ~28F from outside, and on wood we’re heating by ~38F from outside.  That additional 25% differential translates into 25% higher BTU loss, and higher wood usage than you might expect, from the amount of oil they’re “saving”.



My man just dropped som knowledge on us....i feel insecure now...


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## Dabster13 (Dec 7, 2018)

Ashful said:


> Okay, a quick stab at a tally:
> 
> Expenses:
> 
> ...





Hey dude, don't forget to add in that gym membership you don't have to pay for with all the wood you're moving around


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## blades (Dec 7, 2018)

After one week, hardly a dent in the 1/3 of cord I brought into basement , so of the 168 hours the propane furnace would have been in use , that has been reduced to around 16 hours. If I can make it to next May on the current propane fill, that will amount to a savings of apx 1200. Therefore May of 2020 may be the break even point stove install costs vs propane.  Added in winter of 20/21 and the break even point would be May of 2021 if including the purchase of a 6 log cord and 4cord of slabs.   Slabs will be useful 2021, log cords 2022 if I get may tail in gear. Current inventory of css should last until  2021+.  Current green inventory will be available in 2021 as well some 3-4 cords worth mixed hardwoods. Equipment paid for along time ago vs NG at previous 2 abodes.


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## edyit (Dec 8, 2018)

so far we've gone through a full cord, 2/3's of it has been pine slabs we started burning in mid october winter appears to have fully settled in here in the adirondacks, guessing it'll easily be a 4 cord winter this year


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## jebatty (Dec 8, 2018)

First burns were in September. It's been a cold Fall into winter, snow covered ground and lake is fully frozen over for two weeks already. And +4F thermometer reading right now. Have burned just about one full cord of birch so far.


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## kennyp2339 (Dec 8, 2018)

Living in NWNJ last year (winter 17-18)  was pretty much in the top 5 bad winters, temps dropped in the beginning of November and got even colder in December (below zero at night for a few weeks) Jan was cold but it moderated to near normal cold towards the end of the month (low teens at night, sometimes single digits) Feb was much the same and March was our long snow month, April hung onto old man winter and come the first week of May like a light switch we switched to Summer weather. I burnt through about 4.5 cords of wood during that time, only circulating the baseboard heat twice a day (morning and at night) for 10 min just to make sure I wasn't setting myself up for frozen pipes. Total oil consumption for the season was approx. 120gal (also used for hot water production) or just under a gal a day.
This year seems like last year, November got cold, so far, looking at the empty spot in the shed I would say I used just over a 1/2 cord. The house is a smaller raised ranch with the stove in the basement, heating approx. 1500sq ft, Upstairs living spaces stay in the low 70's throughout, mid to upper 60's in the far bedroom which is perfect for sleeping. 
My wood this year is primarily red oak, Norway maple, ash with a little bit of cherry. All split and stacked 3 years ago, oak is measuring 15% on a room temp fresh split face.


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## Ashful (Dec 8, 2018)

kennyp2339 said:


> Living in NWNJ last year (winter 17-18)  was pretty much in the top 5 bad winters, temps dropped in the beginning of November and got even colder in December (below zero at night for a few weeks) Jan was cold but it moderated to near normal cold towards the end of the month (low teens at night, sometimes single digits) Feb was much the same and March was our long snow month, April hung onto old man winter and come the first week of May like a light switch we switched to Summer weather. I burnt through about 4.5 cords of wood during that time, only circulating the baseboard heat twice a day (morning and at night) for 10 min just to make sure I wasn't setting myself up for frozen pipes. Total oil consumption for the season was approx. 120gal (also used for hot water production) or just under a gal a day.
> This year seems like last year, November got cold, so far, looking at the empty spot in the shed I would say I used just over a 1/2 cord. The house is a smaller raised ranch with the stove in the basement, heating approx. 1500sq ft, Upstairs living spaces stay in the low 70's throughout, mid to upper 60's in the far bedroom which is perfect for sleeping.
> My wood this year is primarily red oak, Norway maple, ash with a little bit of cherry. All split and stacked 3 years ago, oak is measuring 15% on a room temp fresh split face.



I’m surprised you were much different than us.  December was crazy cold, into January, as was April into May.  But February was freakishly warm, I remember being outside without a jacket most of that month.


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## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Dec 8, 2018)

Ashful said:


> I burned as much as 10 cords per year in the old Jotuls, but I’m putting about 25% less thru the BK’s, so your guess is probably pretty close.
> 
> To be honest, I have not managed to have an “average” year of burning since I bought the BK’s, so I can’t say with any certainty.  We have had a few freakishly warm years in a row, and last February I couldn’t burn at all, when everything melted and my yard turned to swamp (couldn’t access the stacks, until it re-froze in March).
> 
> I have a spreadsheet that tracks my oil usage and heating degree days, but until recently, I wasn’t recording my wood usage in the spreadsheet.  Silly oversight, on my part.


If I were getting a 24 hour burn out of each load, I'd only be burning 25% of the wood that I'm currently burning, on about 6 hour reloads.  But you say you are burning 75% of the wood you were burning.

If I were getting 12 hours per load, I'd be burning 50% of what I'm burning.

What am I missing?


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## kennyp2339 (Dec 8, 2018)

Ashful said:


> I’m surprised you were much different than us.  December was crazy cold, into January, as was April into May.  But February was freakishly warm, I remember being outside without a jacket most of that month.


Maybe I blocked all that out of my head lol, time keeps going by faster and faster, im gona have to start writing this stuff down to remember.


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## Ashful (Dec 8, 2018)

Moved 3rd cord up to the house this morning, before lawn had a chance to thaw.  About 80% oak, 15% hickory, and 5% sassafras or sycamore.


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## bfitz3 (Dec 8, 2018)

.7 cord on the nose, even with a cold November. 2.6 cord more stacked in the garage ready to go. It’ll need to last me through May.


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## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 8, 2018)

Ashful said:


> Moved 3rd cord up to the house this morning, before lawn had a chance to thaw.  About 80% oak, 15% hickory, and 5% sassafras or sycamore.
> 
> View attachment 235214
> 
> ...




You and i.split similar. I split square or rectangle. It packs the stove nicely.


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## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 8, 2018)

My son and i will be moving additional wood up to the house tomorrow. It won't be much but I'll put more on the rack. Next weekend is going to rain, so i want plenty on hand

One of the things that I'm enjoying about this thread is to see how many people actually track and manage what they're burning and actually what kind they're burning it seems to be a very organized group of people


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## Todd67 (Dec 8, 2018)

So far I have burned roughly 1.25 cords in my Fisher Mama bear stove. No furnace heat all all in my poorly insulated 2-story house. Thanksgiving day was -9 with a -27 wind chill. I burn between 4-5 cords a year, and my stove fire doesn't go out for 5-6 months straight. My wife won't let it


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## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Dec 8, 2018)

Ashful said:


> Okay, a quick stab at a tally:
> 
> Expenses:
> 
> ...


Yes, but you are doing it all _with style.
_
That's got to be worth something.

Did the $6k on the stove include the Jotul experiment?


----------



## Ashful (Dec 8, 2018)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> My son and i will be moving additional wood up to the house tomorrow. It won't be much but I'll put more on the rack. Next weekend is going to rain, so i want plenty on hand
> 
> One of the things that I'm enjoying about this thread is to see how many people actually track and manage what they're burning and actually what kind they're burning it seems to be a very organized group of people



Yes, when my stove is full, I mean it’s FULL, sometimes as if there were a single solid 2 cu ft brick of wood in there.  Square is the only way to go, when splitting big stuff, IMO.  I quarter the big rounds, then start splitting the quarters parallel to one of the straight sides.


----------



## Ashful (Dec 8, 2018)

ED 3000 said:


> Yes, but you are doing it all _with style.
> _
> That's got to be worth something.
> 
> Did the $6k on the stove include the Jotul experiment?



No, I didn’t count the cost of the Jotuls, but I probably broke even on reselling them, anyway.  I think I paid about $6k for two Ashford 30’s, with delivery, but my memory could be off. 

“Style” would be a firewood-sized pneumatic tube system between my wood lot and the porch!


----------



## weatherguy (Dec 9, 2018)

ED 3000 said:


> If I were getting a 24 hour burn out of each load, I'd only be burning 25% of the wood that I'm currently burning, on about 6 hour reloads.  But you say you are burning 75% of the wood you were burning.
> 
> If I were getting 12 hours per load, I'd be burning 50% of what I'm burning.
> 
> What am I missing?


A Blaze King


----------



## wooduser (Dec 9, 2018)

Ashful said:


> So, 7 years in, I might be close to net zero. But now I’m looking at building a 1000 sq.ft. pavilion for wood and equipment storage, another $9k, so I’ll be back in the red.
> 
> What we’re not accounting for is my time, but I’d rather be spending my extra hours splitting and hauling wood, than sitting behind a desk.




It sounds as if the real beneficiary of your wood burning is your wife.  Not only does she know you'll be busy with wood burning chores,  but she probably gets a man who's turned into a hunk,  too.


----------



## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Dec 9, 2018)

kennyp2339 said:


> Maybe I blocked all that out of my head lol, time keeps going by faster and faster, im gona have to start writing this stuff down to remember.


Totally agree that time passage seems to accelerate as I get older.  It's a strange phenomenon.  I hope it means we are enjoying ourselves.

I'd like to keep a journal, Dick Proenneke-style, but not a chance in hell that's happening before retirement.


----------



## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Dec 9, 2018)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> My son and i will be moving additional wood up to the house tomorrow. It won't be much but I'll put more on the rack. Next weekend is going to rain, so i want plenty on hand
> 
> One of the things that I'm enjoying about this thread is to see how many people actually track and manage what they're burning and actually what kind they're burning it seems to be a very organized group of people


There is some consolation in the fact that there are other weirdos out there that get so much enjoyment out of the same thing we do.  

And trust me, our neighbors think all the wood is weird.


----------



## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 9, 2018)

Last week when i looked at my wood i didnt post what % of wood i had gone through. 
Sofar i'v burned .5 cord of cherry
.25 cord of oak.
I moved more oak up to the house last weekend and will do the same today after breakfast


----------



## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 9, 2018)

ED 3000 said:


> There is some consolation in the fact that there are other weirdos out there that get so much enjoyment out of the same thing we do.
> 
> And trust me, our neighbors think all the wood is weird.



 The people that dont burn may think its weird.. I know for a fact the others that burn around me are envious. My neighbor has just finished his wood shed, after years of watching me having nice dry wood.  Now had a DHT splitter and now looks for hardwoods like maple and oak after burning nothing but poplar. My brother-in-law comes over and remarks on how clean my wood looks, how square it is and is envious of such wood storage and now has a wood shed filled with hardwoods... apparently my weirdness is contagious..


----------



## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Dec 9, 2018)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> The people that dont burn may think its weird.. I know for a fact the others that burn around me are envious. My neighbor has just finished his wood shed, after years of watching me having nice dry wood.  Now had a DHT splitter and now looks for hardwoods like maple and oak after burning nothing but poplar. My brother-in-law comes over and remarks on how clean my wood looks, how square it is and is envious of such wood storage and now has a wood shed filled with hardwoods... apparently my weirdness is contagious..


I think it might be contagious.  Not much in my neighborhood. But that's a good thing for me, lots of wood to be had.  

There is one new neighbor who moved in last year to a forclosed property that had been vacant for a while.  He fixed it right up.  Shortly after, a storm came through through and blew a big oak over, probably over 3' in diameter.  They had a tree service help clean it up, and he had it all css in short order.  Now I see he gets big dumps of tree trimmings from the tree service regularly.  One day he's got a big pile of logs and branches in the yard, a couple days later, it's all in sharp looking stacks.

I wouldn't say I'm jealous, but I am impressed with the efficiency of his operation.


----------



## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Dec 9, 2018)

Ashful said:


> No, I didn’t count the cost of the Jotuls, but I probably broke even on reselling them, anyway.  I think I paid about $6k for two Ashford 30’s, with delivery, but my memory could be off.
> 
> “Style” would be a firewood-sized pneumatic tube system between my wood lot and the porch!


I think you are being facetious, but that's actually an interesting idea.  Elon Musk thought so, he's on his way to moving people that way. 

Maybe not pneumatic for the wood conveyor, but perhaps an electric winch based system. 

I do like the metaphor it conjures of wood being like depositing checks at the bank.


----------



## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Dec 9, 2018)

weatherguy said:


> A Blaze King


Of course! 

 I have long wondered, as I enjoy all the BK revelry here, why the numbers don't seem to add up.  If I was getting 24 hour burns, I'd be using about 25% of the wood I am using.


----------



## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 9, 2018)

ED 3000 said:


> Of course!
> 
> I have long wondered, as I enjoy all the BK revelry here, why the numbers don't seem to add up.  If I was getting 24 hour burns, I'd be using about 25% of the wood I am using.



What is your stove if you dont mined me asking..


----------



## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Dec 9, 2018)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> What is your stove if you dont mined me asking..


Flame xtd insert by SBI.  Almost identical to Drolet 1800i and Century 2900i.  2.4 cf tube stove.  Big bang for the buck!

I think it's in my signature?


----------



## Chas0218 (Dec 10, 2018)

kennyp2339 said:


> Living in NWNJ last year (winter 17-18)  was pretty much in the top 5 bad winters, temps dropped in the beginning of November and got even colder in December (below zero at night for a few weeks) Jan was cold but it moderated to near normal cold towards the end of the month (low teens at night, sometimes single digits) Feb was much the same and March was our long snow month, April hung onto old man winter and come the first week of May like a light switch we switched to Summer weather. I burnt through about 4.5 cords of wood during that time, only circulating the baseboard heat twice a day (morning and at night) for 10 min just to make sure I wasn't setting myself up for frozen pipes. Total oil consumption for the season was approx. 120gal (also used for hot water production) or just under a gal a day.
> This year seems like last year, November got cold, so far, looking at the empty spot in the shed I would say I used just over a 1/2 cord. The house is a smaller raised ranch with the stove in the basement, heating approx. 1500sq ft, Upstairs living spaces stay in the low 70's throughout, mid to upper 60's in the far bedroom which is perfect for sleeping.
> My wood this year is primarily red oak, Norway maple, ash with a little bit of cherry. All split and stacked 3 years ago, oak is measuring 15% on a room temp fresh split face.


Last winter was lllloooonnngggg, I burned through 7 cords and all the way to the end of April. At that point we went to our cottage to open it up and left the furnace on from there on out. 



Ashful said:


> I’m surprised you were much different than us.  December was crazy cold, into January, as was April into May.  But February was freakishly warm, I remember being outside without a jacket most of that month.



Yeah I burned for a long time last season, we were in the 30's up until almost May. At that point I was out of seasoned wood and just turned on the furnace. Long heating seasons last year.


----------



## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 10, 2018)

Chas0218 said:


> Last winter was lllloooonnngggg, I burned through 7 cords and all the way to the end of April. At that point we went to our cottage to open it up and left the furnace on from there on out.
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah I burned for a long time last season, we were in the 30's up until almost May. At that point I was out of seasoned wood and just turned on the furnace. Long heating seasons last year.



So what have you burned so far this season


----------



## Chas0218 (Dec 10, 2018)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> So what have you burned so far this season


1.5 cords figured out this past weekend, last winter I was burning 24/7 almost a month earlier and had already gone thru 2 cords. I had a total of 5 seasoned cords for last season and burned through all that and little reserve that was a little higher M.C. After getting sub par heat for 2 weeks in April I called it quits and turned on the furnace. In the beginning of last season up until January I was heating with only wood as I didn't have the 2nd story hot water baseboard plumbed yet.

Now I'm working on getting the radiant floor heat plumbed on the 1st floor.


----------



## Ashful (Dec 10, 2018)

Chas0218 said:


> Yeah I burned for a long time last season, we were in the 30's up until almost May. At that point I was out of seasoned wood and just turned on the furnace. Long heating seasons last year.


You’re right!  I had forgotten that I shut down the stoves in spring, as I pretty much always do, once yard work season starts.  There are only so many hours in a day, and I need my firewood wagon for moving mulch in the spring.  Did 110 yards of the stuff over two weekends, last April.


----------



## thewoodlands (Dec 11, 2018)

We have more yellow birch with some soft & sugar maple going in the Liberty today, that will be the same mixture of wood tonight.

We had 2 for a low last night.


----------



## Eater309 (Dec 11, 2018)

Across the river from you in StateLine and agree it's colder earlier than last year.
Gone through cord plus of Maple and getting ready to hit the Hickory.
We do like it warm in the house!


----------



## Eater309 (Dec 11, 2018)

Tar12 said:


> It has been a cold November and December is starting off with more of the same....I have gone through 1.25 cord and I have been burning 24/7...been enjoying this 3.5 year seasoned White Oak...



Nice packing job you did there.....


----------



## billfred (Dec 12, 2018)

I just went thru 1.5 cords. First year of wood burning for me.  A lot of this was Poplar, elm and cherry. 






	

		
			
		

		
	
Now moving to the ash.


----------



## EODMSgt (Dec 12, 2018)

So far I've used just under 2 cords (mix of oak, maple, beech and birch). Not too bad considering how cold it's been and I am only using wood for heat.


----------



## kvesi122 (Dec 12, 2018)

^^

Beautiful shed!


----------



## JRHAWK9 (Dec 12, 2018)

Dobish said:


> my spreadsheet is telling me that I have have used .52 cord from the back patio, and .12 cord from the 2016 vintage of pine and spruce. I have also burned through roughly .07 cord of kindling, uglies, and other such things, for a grand total of roughly .73 cord.




My spreadsheet tells me I've burned 4,369lbs of wood, LP furnace has ran a total of 21.6 hours (combination of being gone and simply not cold enough to light a fire in early fall/late summer) and have had 2,285 HDD's so far this heating season up to and including Dec 11th.


----------



## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 12, 2018)

billfred said:


> I just went thru 1.5 cords. First year of wood burning for me.  A lot of this was Poplar, elm and cherry.
> 
> View attachment 235588
> 
> ...



I like your racks and stacks.. looks clean and neat..


----------



## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 12, 2018)

JRHAWK9 said:


> My spreadsheet tells me I've burned 4,369lbs of wood, LP furnace has ran a total of 21.6 hours (combination off being gone and simply not cold enough to light a fire in early fall/late summer) and have had 2,285 HDD's so far this heating season up to and including Dec 11th.



Different wood spices weight different so are you saying 1.5 cords


----------



## EODMSgt (Dec 12, 2018)

kvesi122 said:


> ^^
> 
> Beautiful shed!



Thanks! Built it about 8 years ago. I originally put slats on the back as well but took them off to access the wood from both front and back (cuts down on rotating seasoned wood at the end of the burning season). I don't remember the dimensions offhand but it holds just shy of four cords in each bay.


----------



## JRHAWK9 (Dec 12, 2018)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> Different wood spices weight different so are you saying 1.5 cords



I convert it all to red oak and use 3,650lbs/cord for red oak.  I burn mostly red oak....some white.  During the shoulder seasons I burn pine and poplar, but convert it all to red oak.


----------



## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Dec 12, 2018)

billfred said:


> I just went thru 1.5 cords. First year of wood burning for me.  A lot of this was Poplar, elm and cherry.
> 
> View attachment 235588
> 
> ...


I love the brick. Looks fantastic.  Even better with the wood in front of it.


----------



## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Dec 12, 2018)

EODMSgt said:


> Thanks! Built it about 8 years ago. I originally put slats on the back as well but took them off to access the wood from both front and back (cuts down on rotating seasoned wood at the end of the burning season). I don't remember the dimensions offhand but it holds just shy of four cords in each bay.
> 
> View attachment 235622


That is a FINE wood shed. I appreciate and applaud your commitment.


----------



## Tar12 (Dec 12, 2018)

Eater309 said:


> Nice packing job you did there.....


It runs 24 hours regardless of the neatness of the stacking job...


----------



## Dobish (Mar 11, 2019)

I just hit 2.18 cord.


----------



## Woodsplitter67 (Mar 11, 2019)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> Before we moved additional wood up to the house for the next couple of weeks or so. My son and i figured out how much wood we have used so far for the season. We took some measurements and figured out that so far we have burned .75 cord this year that would be from when we started burning in October to basically December 1st
> 
> Were thinking we may use a little more this year
> So how much have you guys used so far.. rough guess is fine if you dont want to measure.



Im looking at 3.65 cords this year total. My original post i had burned .75 cord at December 1st i have 1 rack filled left to burn for the rest of the season. So through December, January, February I burned approximately 2.62 cords

Grand total.. 3.65 cords..


----------



## Kevin Weis (Mar 11, 2019)

I only use about 2 cords per season more or less.  Sheds hold about 2.5 cords total.  That amount is already cut and split for next year and maybe a little more.  I'm also going to mix in a pallet for wood bricks next year.  Unless I come across a standing dead or dead fallen I'm done cutting till maybe next October.


----------



## Dobish (Mar 11, 2019)

Kevin Weis said:


> I only use about 2 cords per season more or less.  Sheds hold about 2.5 cords total.  That amount is already cut and split for next year and maybe a little more.  I'm also going to mix in a pallet for wood bricks next year.  Unless I come across a standing dead or dead fallen I'm done cutting till maybe next October.


i actually just had 2 standing dead elms blow onto my power lines right next to my wood pile the other day. and a 3rd blew down on the other side of my creek. 

Then a friend called me up and asked if I wanted wood from a maple that they had to take down.  I guess I just added to the 2023 pile!


----------



## Ashful (Mar 11, 2019)

I just broke into my ninth cord on Saturday, so just over 8 cords burned so far.  We have another 2.5 moths of burning left, but I’m already running out of ambition.  I’ll probably use the 3/4 cord that’s on the wagon now, and then be done with it.  It’s almost time to start using the wagon for mulch, if it could dry out a little, here.  We have standing water everywhere, after a record wet year.


----------



## Woodsplitter67 (Mar 11, 2019)

Dobish said:


> i actually just had 2 standing dead elms blow onto my power lines right next to my wood pile the other day. and a 3rd blew down on the other side of my creek.
> 
> Then a friend called me up and asked if I wanted wood from a maple that they had to take down.  I guess I just added to the 2023 pile!



One can never have to much wood.. your lucky to have all of this fall your way...


----------



## Chas0218 (Mar 12, 2019)

I think I will be going through 1 more cord before the season is done. If I did the math right I should be around 2.75 cords burned which is a lot less than last year I was up to 6 cords by May but this year should be around 4 cords.


----------



## EODMSgt (Mar 12, 2019)

Easily into my sixth cord and it's only the middle of March.


----------



## kennyp2339 (Mar 12, 2019)

I'm currently a hair under 3.25cords so far, with temps warming up during the day, full sun on my south and west exposures I'm really just heating for night time at this point although I'm keeping the fire low and slow during the day time, I'll probably finish the season between 3.5 & 3.75 cords which isn't bad at all considering oil heat was only used 3 times when I was away this year.


----------



## Chas0218 (Mar 12, 2019)

Ashful said:


> I just broke into my ninth cord on Saturday, so just over 8 cords burned so far.  We have another 2.5 moths of burning left, but I’m already running out of ambition.  I’ll probably use the 3/4 cord that’s on the wagon now, and then be done with it.  It’s almost time to start using the wagon for mulch, if it could dry out a little, here.  We have standing water everywhere, after a record wet year.


Same our driveway is on a hill and the water is running down it and freezing every night. Kids love sledding down it but makes it treacherous when trying to walk down it. At least it thaws during the day and doesn't keep adding more ice.


----------



## Dabster13 (Mar 12, 2019)

Ashful said:


> I just broke into my ninth cord on Saturday, so just over 8 cords burned so far.  We have another 2.5 moths of burning left, but I’m already running out of ambition.  I’ll probably use the 3/4 cord that’s on the wagon now, and then be done with it.  It’s almost time to start using the wagon for mulch, if it could dry out a little, here.  We have standing water everywhere, after a record wet year.



Are these facecords by change? 9 cords seem like a lot. 


Is your house old/drafty? Is it huge? Is your stove old?


----------



## Dobish (Mar 12, 2019)

Dabster13 said:


> Are these facecords by change? 9 cords seem like a lot.
> 
> 
> Is your house old/drafty? Is it huge? Is your stove old?


he lives in the biltmore


----------



## Eureka (Mar 12, 2019)

12 full cords for us so far.  Guessing we'll burn another 2. All low grade or half rotten softwood that most people would stick their nose up at.  Heating 2 buildings 5600 sq ft and 100% of our domestic hot water in frozen NW WI.  Heatmaster C Series OWB. I'll be burning more hardwoods in the years to come, went with junk wood so I could get it dry quickly.  It's a lot of wood but I don't spend a lot of time cutting or splitting and I'm warm and happy.  Might burn 25-30 gallons of propane this whole winter.


----------



## Todd67 (Mar 13, 2019)

I've burned almost 4 full cord so far this winter. You know it's been a harsh winter when the ol' timers complain about the cold and snow. We'll be burning wood into May, and start burning again in September, roughly 8 months of heating with nothing but our Fisher Mama Bear.


----------



## Ashful (Mar 13, 2019)

Dabster13 said:


> Are these facecords by change? 9 cords seem like a lot.


That’s full cords, and I agree, it’s a lot!  Too much, to the point where it’s starting to wear on me, now at the end of my 8th season.


Dabster13 said:


> Is your house old/drafty?


Main part was built in 1770’s, with one corner that seems to be part of an older house that stood here in the 1730’s.  All windows and doors were replaced in the 1770’s.  It’s stone, so it’s actually remarkably tight for an old house, but the doors aren’t great, I can see light around a few of them.  We also have 60 windows and eight entry doors.



Dabster13 said:


> Is it huge?


Not huge, but it is larger than average.  I’m only heating roughly half of it (less than 4000 sq.ft.) directly with wood, though.



Dabster13 said:


> Is your stove old?


Two BK Ashford 30.1’s, purchased 2015.


----------



## Woodsplitter67 (Mar 13, 2019)

Ashful said:


> That’s full cords, and I agree, it’s a lot!  Too much, to the point where it’s starting to wear on me, now at the end of my 8th season.
> 
> Main part was built in 1770’s, with one corner that seems to be part of an older house that stood here in the 1730’s.  All windows and doors were replaced in the 1770’s.  It’s stone, so it’s actually remarkably tight for an old house, but the doors aren’t great, I can see light around a few of them.  We also have 60 windows and eight entry doors.
> 
> ...



Soooooo how much would you oil or gas bill be if you didnt have wood..


----------



## Ashful (Mar 14, 2019)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> Soooooo how much would you oil or gas bill be if you didnt have wood..


Probably much to admit, if I even had bothered to tally it.  I’ll just say that I got more serious about wood burning when the general manager at my oil delivery company referred to me as, “an every 7 - 10 day’er.”  The oil truck was in my driveway weekly during my first winter in this house, and I have a 275 gallon tank.


----------



## Dabster13 (Mar 14, 2019)

I've read that if you want to estimate, a cord of wood is roughly the same as 113 gallons of oil if you wanted to give yourself an estimate


----------



## Kevin Weis (Mar 14, 2019)

Ashful said:


> Probably much to admit, if I even had bothered to tally it.  I’ll just say that I got more serious about wood burning when the general manager at my oil delivery company referred to me as, “an every 7 - 10 day’er.”  The oil truck was in my driveway weekly during my first winter in this house, and I have a 275 gallon tank.



I'm surprised there wasn't a 500 gallon tank installed with that much oil used.


----------



## JRHAWK9 (Mar 14, 2019)

Dabster13 said:


> I've read that if you want to estimate, a cord of wood is roughly the same as 113 gallons of oil if you wanted to give yourself an estimate



A cord of wood can vary GREATLY in terms of BTU's between species.  It needs to be a certain weight of wood equals so many gallons oil.  Wood has the same BTU's per POUND, regardless of species.

I use 6,500 BTU's per LB of wood (@20% MC).  
https://mha-net.org/docs/v8n2/docs/WDBASICS.pdf

140,000 BTU's/gal of #2 fuel oil.

113 gallons of oil would be equivalent of ~2,435lbs of properly seasoned wood.  A cord of red oak at ~20% MC weighs 3,650lbs.  So a cord of Red Oak would be ~170 gallons of #2 fuel oil.  This is net BTU's, you then need to take into consideration stove efficiency.  

As a comparison, a cord of poplar would only equal ~95 gallons of #2 fuel oil, while a cord of Hedge would equal ~225 gallons of #2 fuel oil.


----------



## Ashful (Mar 14, 2019)

Dabster13 said:


> I've read that if you want to estimate, a cord of wood is roughly the same as 113 gallons of oil if you wanted to give yourself an estimate


The trouble is, while I have receipts and tracking to show exactly how much oil I’ve saved, I have kept zero records of my wood usage, over those time intervals.  I know that I’m into my ninth cord this year, and I can add that to my oil usage for this year, but I’ll have to back out my heating degree days for this year versus an average winter.  We have had a few screwy winters in a row, here.



Kevin Weis said:


> I'm surprised there wasn't a 500 gallon tank installed with that much oil used.


Yes, I should have a larger tank.  My last house was 1/3rd the size of this place, and we had 550 gallons in the basement.



JRHAWK9 said:


> A cord of wood can vary GREATLY in terms of BTU's between species.  It needs to be a certain weight of wood equals so many gallons oil.  Wood has the same BTU's per POUND, regardless of species.


I’m not sure this is accurate, either.  But you’re right, closer than just 113 gal per cord.  I’ll burn about nine cords this year, before I need to let the stoves go cold and get on with spring time stuff.  It’s about 90% oak, with other misc. hardwoods, but without knowing the MC% of each species (namely the oak), you’re still guessing at BTU’s.  It’s just not worth the effort to figure it out, IMO.


----------



## Woodsplitter67 (Mar 14, 2019)

Ashful said:


> The trouble is, while I have receipts and tracking to show exactly how much oil I’ve saved, I have kept zero records of my wood usage, over those time intervals.  I know that I’m into my ninth cord this year, and I can add that to my oil usage for this year, but I’ll have to back out my heating degree days for this year versus an average winter.  We have had a few screwy winters in a row, here.
> 
> 
> Yes, I should have a larger tank.  My last house was 1/3rd the size of this place, and we had 550 gallons in the basement.
> ...



Ok... Im guessing 4000 to 4500 for an oil bill. Thats not terrable..
I have a friend that has a propane bill of over 5k.... in a modern home.. so looking at it that way ASH your not doing that bad...


----------



## Tar12 (Mar 14, 2019)

5 cord of Oak so far...wood heat only...I was hoping to get by with 4 cord or less per year...I will be installing a propane stove over the summer to ensure that I keep it at or under 4 cord per year...thats all the more that I want to process.


----------



## spudman99 (Mar 14, 2019)

Not even close @Woodsplitter on the oil calculation for Ashful.  Around here oil runs $3.25 per gallon delivered from a service, could be higher if your not locked in.  Figure 225 gallons for a delivery, perhaps 16 deliveries over a 20 week period (Nov-Apr) that equates to 3600 gallons.  That equates to $11,700 in oil.  

In my 4,000 sf quadplex, 1/2 of which is 100 years old with no insulation I use 1,400 gallons of oil (includes domestic water).  I spend close to $4k for oil and am half the size of Ash's place.


----------



## JRHAWK9 (Mar 14, 2019)

Ashful said:


> I’m not sure this is accurate, either.  But you’re right, closer than just 113 gal per cord.  I’ll burn about nine cords this year, before I need to let the stoves go cold and get on with spring time stuff.  It’s about 90% oak, with other misc. hardwoods, but without knowing the MC% of each species (namely the oak), you’re still guessing at BTU’s.  It’s just not worth the effort to figure it out, IMO.



It seems pretty close in my situation.  I have 5-6 years of LP records to look back at to compare.  I have also compared the total weight of a known stack of wood and it was surprising dang close.  My wood is also all under 20%.  If anything though, I'm actually getting more BTU percentage out of my wood than I was out of a gallon of LP.  When I look at the total number of computed gallons of LP I've saved over a heating season, it pretty much falls into what I was using before heating with wood, but the house is warmer (hence why it seems like I'm getting better efficiency out of the wood). 

I've averaged ~1,300 gallons of LP a heating season over those 5-6 years.  INCLUDING LP drier and LP water heater usage.  Seeing I keep track of them as well, they account for ~100 gallons a year between the two.  Just two of us in the house.  We kept the house at 68° with LP and did not heat the basement.  Since heating with wood we keep it 70°+ and the basement gets heated solely with radiant heat off the furnace (stays around 66°-68° all winter long).

Here's my computed LP savings since burning wood, since I started keeping track and weighing my loads.

2015-2016:  1,223 gallons  (6,549 HDD's)
2016-2017:  1,217 gallons  (6,716 HDD's)
2017-2018:  1,419 gallons  (7,603 HDD's)
2018-2019 (so far):  1,177 gallons  (6,530 HDD's so far, on track to be colder than last year)


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## Woodsplitter67 (Mar 14, 2019)

Tar12 said:


> 5 cord of Oak so far...wood heat only...I was hoping to get by with 4 cord or less per year...I will be installing a propane stove over the summer to ensure that I keep it at or under 4 cord per year...thats all the more that I want to process.



 I agree I like to keep it at 4 cords or under.. if i had to do 5 to 6 cords... I probably wouldn't  be  so enthusiastic... i went through a phase where I was sitting on over 14 cord... I said to myself WTF are you doing....


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## JRHAWK9 (Mar 14, 2019)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> I went through a phase where I was sitting on over 14 cord... I said to myself WTF are you doing....



I'm sitting on ~60 full cord.....I haven't asked myself that question yet as I know the reasons why I am doing it.


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## Ashful (Mar 14, 2019)

Lol... guys, i never knew there would be so much interest in this! 

I’ll try to tally it this evening.  Cast your bets, now!


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## Tar12 (Mar 14, 2019)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> I agree I like to keep it at 4 cords or under.. if i had to do 5 to 6 cords... I probably wouldn't  be  so enthusiastic... i went through a phase where I was sitting on over 14 cord... I said to myself WTF are you doing....


There are several reasons I want to limit how much I have to process..one my kids have left the nest and they helped me a lot...2 they both blessed me with grandsons this year..3 neither one lives very close to me so travel on weekends it is..4 I like to hunt and fish a lot with my son..5 this old body is getting wore out!..6 I wanting to start enjoying what is left of my life!


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## Ashful (Mar 14, 2019)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> Ok... Im guessing 4000 to 4500 for an oil bill. Thats not terrable..
> I have a friend that has a propane bill of over 5k.... in a modern home.. so looking at it that way ASH your not doing that bad...


Okay, I have only had one winter period in this house where I had zero wood stoves running, winter 2012.  If I look at my monthly oil usage at that time, and scale by the heating degree days for that date range versus our climate average for the same date range, I can give some rough numbers.

I used a scale average 8.72 gallons of oil per day that January.  In other words, my real usage was 6.7 gallons per day, but we were averaging only 28 HDD per day versus our normal climate 36 per day for that month, so 6.7*36/28 = 8.7 gal/day.

In 2015, when I was still running the old Jotuls, I peaked at 8.8 gallons per day WHILE burning two 3 cu.ft. stoves 24/7.  But it was exceptionally cold (averaging 46 HDD/day), and those stoves weren't very good at keeping this joint warm.  I was burning a half a cord per week, while simultaneously burning 8.8 gallons of fuel oil per day, but again... those Jotuls weren't the greatest stove for this house.

I got lazy entering my oil receipts this year, but since switching to the BK's in the fall of 2015, my usage per HDD has been trending downward.  This graphic shows the oil usage over time, for the Jotuls (blue) and BK's (orange).  The high points are always in summer, when the denominator (HDD/day) goes real small, and the low points are always exceptionally cold periods (big denominator).  







An easier way to look at this, for some people, may be this:






My oil usage hits a floor at 1 gal/day, our usage for DHW.


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## Ashful (Mar 14, 2019)

Oh... all that data, and I forgot to answer the question.  Well, that's a screwy thing.

My oil usage while burning 6+ cords of wood per year (occasionally up to 10 cords) is 1000 gallons per year.  I just did a crap ton of simple arithmetic and found that my oil usage without wood is only 400 - 600 gallons higher.  At first, not stepping back and really thinking about it, I was convinced I made an error.  But every which way I came at the numbers brought me back to this same, irrefutable answer.

Here's why:  When I heat the house on oil alone, I bring certain parts of the house up to just 70F for an hour in the morning, and maybe 6 hours in the evening.  The other 19 hours per day, all of the thermostats are sitting at 62F.  But when I burn with wood, I keep most of the house at 73F all day every day, and that accounts for about 20% higher heat loss over every 24 hour period.

What did I learn from all of this?  If heating with wood and chatting with you guys wasn't so fun, I'd be wasting my time.


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## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Mar 15, 2019)

JRHAWK9 said:


> I'm sitting on ~60 full cord.....I haven't asked myself that question yet as I know the reasons why I am doing it.


You live in Wisconsin.  Once I saw that, I didn't think it was crazy at all.  

You can always sell some, and you'd be the unicorn wood seller selling truly seasoned wood.  I'd wait until the dead of winter and sell at a premium to help pay expenses of your hobby (addiction?).


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## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Mar 15, 2019)

Ashful said:


> Oh... all that data, and I forgot to answer the question.  Well, that's a screwy thing.
> 
> My oil usage while burning 6+ cords of wood per year (occasionally up to 10 cords) is 1000 gallons per year.  I just did a crap ton of simple arithmetic and found that my oil usage without wood is only 400 - 600 gallons higher.  At first, not stepping back and really thinking about it, I was convinced I made an error.  But every which way I came at the numbers brought me back to this same, irrefutable answer.
> 
> ...



I enjoyed your two posts.  First, because you referred to your house as "this joint".

Second, because when I got done reading the first post, I was like, wtf.  Then you resolved the tension with the second post.  Good writers do that.  Doesn't matter if it was accidental.

Third, your conclusions.  I actually don't agree that you are wasting your time at all.  73 keeps me a lot more comfortable than 70, even though it doesn't seem like a lot, and if you kept the house at 73, you'd be burning a lot more oil.  There is something about these old stone houses that makes that little difference very meaningful, both in comfort and fuel use.  But, your conclusions showed some humility.

Other ancillary benefits: Who knows what mischief you might cause if you didn't have this outlet;  You are teaching your kids a good lesson, by example, about self sufficiency and the value of hard work; Finally, your wife probably likes you more, as there is just something about a lumberjack...


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## happycamper (Mar 18, 2019)

burned 3 to 4 cords


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## Woodsplitter67 (Mar 28, 2019)

So look like im going to pull a little wood out of the shed..im going to be over the 3.6 cords.. been cool the past couple of days


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## JRHAWK9 (Mar 29, 2019)

As of last Sat.

~4.2 cords of mostly red oak by volume.

-or-

15,253lbs, which comes out to 4.18cords of red oak by weight (using 3,650lbs/cord).


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## billb3 (Mar 31, 2019)

About a cord and a half + of oak.
About a cord of maple
A cord and a half of eastern white pine. 
A little more than last Winter ( which didn't seem to end until May ) but the house was often 73 or 74. Plus we used a LOT less HHO.


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## happycamper (Nov 21, 2019)

burned 10 cords


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## Ashful (Nov 22, 2019)

happycamper said:


> burned 10 cords



Same. Last year was 9 cords red oak + 1 cord ash and maple + 1100 gallons heating oil + 3200 kWh electric. This year will be the same wood usage, my burn rate is dictated by my schedule and not the weather, my oil and electric use will vary accordingly.


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## Gearhead660 (Nov 22, 2019)

Got about 6 cord.   Mostly Ash, some Walnut and Maple.   First year with new burner, not sure what my usage will be this season.  Trying to only use propane when leaving town.


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## johneh (Nov 23, 2019)

This will be my last year burning wood 
Doctors orders


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## thewoodlands (Nov 23, 2019)

So far this year we've burned just under four face cord of shoulder season wood (white pine), after tomorrow you can add a face cord of cherry and some yellow birch when it was colder.

If we have a warmer winter, we'll burn 12 face cord of hardwood but if we have a colder winter we'll burn  just under 14 face cord.

About every three years we'll get 125 gallons of oil which will fill the 275 gallon tank.


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## Sawset (Nov 23, 2019)

JRHAWK9 said:


> As of last Sat.
> ~4.2 cords of mostly red oak by volume.
> -or-
> 15,253lbs, which comes out to 4.18cords of red oak by weight (using 3,650lbs/cord).


About the same average usage here:
15253lb
4.18 cord
7200 heating degree days for 18/19
2.11lb/dd
According to that I should have used .6 cord so far.
We've used 1cord so far.
It's been colder so far this year compared to last. We'll see how it plays out in the end.


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## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Nov 23, 2019)

johneh said:


> This will be my last year burning wood
> Doctors orders


Sorry to hear it, johneh.  I think I'd probably just ignore those orders, but I'm no MD.


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## JRHAWK9 (Nov 23, 2019)

Sawset said:


> About the same average usage here:
> 15253lb
> 4.18 cord
> 7200 heating degree days for 18/19
> ...



Here's the end result from the 18/19 heating season.
17,091 lbs
4.68 cord
7,994 HDD's (includes part of September and all of May)
2.14 LBS/HDD

I've burned 2,785 lbs so far this heating season and 1,464 HDD's so far.


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