how far into your pile are you?

[JRHAWK9]

The funny thing in that thread is that if he uses 2 cords of wood which would amount to a gas bill of less than 750, his efficiency in wood burning is very low and he does not realize that...

Excellent point. Of course, that didn't stop him from arguing on behalf of his vast experience on the subject.

yeah, people like that are not worth arguing with. They have their own sets of "facts" not based on reality/science.

 

[DonTee]

I came across this website for calculating $/BTU:

Fuel Cost Calculator | Tarm Biomass

Calculate your fuel needs and potential savings with our user-friendly cost calculator. Ideal for cord wood, wood pellets, and wood chips. Try it now!

woodboilers.com

Using that calculator and inputting my wood consumption (4 cords) it looks like this.
If I had to pay for firewood, and I was somewhere where natural gas was available it does look like that’s a cheaper option

I used all the default prices, including 338$ per cord of wood. Maybe it could be gotten for less if you bought green wood and seasoned it yourself. They just took the average price where this website is. NH I think.

And it’s fairly easy to get free firewood. As long as you have the time to CSS it.

 

[Ashful]

338$ per cord of wood

I'll admit I haven't ever bought firewood, but I always hear locals who do quote $225 per cord of mixed hardwoods, split and delivered. Are you sure $338 is a good average for upstate NY, and that you're using the correct BTU value?

 

[ericm979]

Taking the efficiencies of my propane furnace and wood stove and current propane price into account, I estimate that a cord of hardwood is worth about $775 of propane. The wood is all off my land so it's free. It costs me time and some fuel and equipment to retrieve and process it. But since its all deadfall or dead trees that need removal, I'd have to do some of that anyhow, then find a way to get rid of it.

 

[JRHAWK9]

I estimate that a cord of hardwood is worth about $775 of propane

At what price/gal of LP?

 

[kennyp2339]

Dry cord wood here will be between 350-450 this year.

 

[DonTee]

I'll admit I haven't ever bought firewood, but I always hear locals who do quote $225 per cord of mixed hardwoods, split and delivered. Are you sure $338 is a good average for upstate NY, and that you're using the correct BTU value?

I just went to the link posted above and punched in how many cords I use. It gave me the approx value for the other forms of heating like propane, kero, pellets, etc. That’s just using the values that are default for the site, which I think is for New Hampshire.

I’m not sure about that info for my area, because I don’t buy wood or any other form of fuel. On the site there is the option to change the price for your area, as well as the heating appliance efficiency. If you wanted a real comparison for your area.

It was just something fun to do. I don’t plan on switching from burning wood any time soon. I enjoy burning wood. Burning propane or something else is boring

 

[DonTee]

Ok so I googled the current prices in my area for propane and heating oil. They’re very high right now it looks like. It’s 3.84$ for LP and 5.21$ for heating oil.

I checked on Craigslist and FBM for firewood. People around here don’t really sell full cords, but face cords average 75$ for seasoned wood. So 225$ for a full cord assuming you don’t get a bulk discount.

I also want to mention it’s hard with the sliders to select and exact amount. So my cord wood price was 224.50$ instead of 225$. But you get the idea. Just wanted to explain why it said 898$ on the chart and not 900$

Oh and I punched in 3.85$ per 40 lbs bag of pellets.

Here is what the chart looks like now. I crossed out natural gas and wood chips. I don’t have natural gas as an option, and googling I couldn’t find wood chips for sale by me.

Look better?

 

[Ashful]

Look better?

Definitely better.

It'd be interesting to look at the cost of wood for those cutting and hauling our own.

Direct costs:
Truck fuel
Tractor fuel
Chainsaw fuel
Splitter fuel

Indirect costs:
Trailer depreciation
Tractor depreciation
Chainsaw depreciation
Splitter deprecitation

I left out truck depreciation, unless you bought it specifically and only for hauling wood. If you were going to own a truck anyway, the depreciation specifically due to wood hauling is negligible. Similarly, tractor, trailer, and chainsaw depreciation might be only partially attributed to wood heating activities.

If I make 200 cords of wood over 20 years, and all this equipment costs me $5k in depreciation (when figuring fractional on tractor I'd need for other things anyway), I'm looking at $25/cord indirect. Add to that maybe $10/cord in fuel for all that equipment, and I'm spending maybe $35 per cord?

Just a guess, and I'm not sure I care about the accuracy. Saving money is more a nice side benefit to burning wood, than my true reason for doing it.

 

[Tar12]

Just shy of 3 cords here and 150 gallon of propane..I only run the propane on very mild days and on the weekends I go to see the grandsons....depending upon what March brings I expect to burn 3.5 cord total and maybe another 50 gallon in propane..

 

[stoveliker]

March is already done bringing stuff - at least around here ;-)

 

[SpaceBus]

$100/yr is impressive. When i count fuel and oil for the chainsaws, utv and tractor, depreciation, repairs, etc, its a lot more than $100. While it’s not directly analogous, my cost of operation for my 100 hp tractor is about $40/hr

Just fuel for tractor stuff, chainsaws, milling, splitting, etc. definitely comes out to over $100/yr for me too, and I don't even burn that much.

 

[kennyp2339]

I just glanced at the calculator and entered 3.5 cords of wood for my house, the oil portion seems pretty spot on for myself, I have a 225gal tank and I remember before burning wood at this house I would fill the tank twice during the heating season, the calculator indicated that I would need 517gal #2 oil just for heating.

 

[Riff]

Nice! That brings back memories. That's how I used to split with my dad, he even made a short-handled sledge for me using an old 6'ish lb. head, when I was probably 4 - 6 years old. I'm not sure I was much help, but I thought I was.

It gives a breather so I'll take it, plus makes you feel better watching the next generation's eyes light up at helping.

Earliest splitting attempts I remember were my dad letting me try out the axe when I was working towards my Totin chip in the scouts. I always picked out a hollow log thinking they were easier to split and he'd sit back to watch the show. Was not amused when I realized solid pieces were easier to split...