Save $$$ - Heat with Wood

[4570Man]

10 cord is an excessive amount for most people. 6-7 seems more accurate. And that's failing to account for the fact that most of the wood I burn is un sellable.

 

[turnkey4099]

Amen. Come in from the cold and back up to a vent of heat pump air at 85 degrees and freeze your backside off for an hour, or back up to a rip roaring fire in the stove and be warm in a minute.....no comparison in my book.

As I told my wife, when it comes time to go to 'the home', if they ain't got a wood stove, keep looking !

LOL. My mother spent around 50 years heating with wood on the farm. First central heat they had was when they moved to town in IIRC 1968. When I retired (AF) in 1975 I bought a country hourse and started heating with wood. From thence on, whem mom came to visit it was in the door and back up to the stove

 

[turnkey4099]

And while in most cases another heat source would be capable of maintaining higher temperatures few people are actually going to pay for it. If I was paying for natural gas heat I'd settle for using more blankets. Burning wood doesn't directly cost me money so I can toss more in.

Yep. I get up in the moprning "D*** it's cold in here! Look at the thermometer and it's 68. And people keep it there all day long?? I won't let it get below 75 without chucking another chunk on.

 

[ultrarunner]

LOL. My mother spent around 50 years heating with wood on the farm. First central heat they had was when they moved to town in IIRC 1968. When I retired (AF) in 1975 I bought a country hourse and started heating with wood. From thence on, whem mom came to visit it was in the door and back up to the stove

My first experience with wood heat was when I spent the summer on my Grandparents rural Dairy Farm... I was age 4. Grandmother had a big porcelain and chrome cook oven... one side was wood and the other electric... all winter she used the wood side and baked all the time from scratch... didn't even own a can opener.

The heat was radiant heat with big radiators near the windows in the in the basement workshop a very large water tank fueled by wood or coal... so hot water, cooking and heat was all done by wood...

They owned a large chest freezer but no refrigerator... as they had a cold room.

 

[turnkey4099]

Then what's your beef with me?

I can sell wood for $160 cold hard cash.

I know how much heat I can buy for that $160 cold hard cash, and it Trump's the heat I can get from wood.

Taxes have absolutely nothing to do with anything I have said.

And to get that $160 cold hard cash you had to earm considerably more to cover the 160 plus taxes on what you make. You are totally missing the point.

 

[LD1]

10 cord is an excessive amount for most people. 6-7 seems more accurate. And that's failing to account for the fact that most of the wood I burn is un sellable.

It was just a simple generalization.
There are variables in every aspect. If you have a house that can be heated with 6-7 cord of wood, you probably arent paying $1800 a season to keep it warm either unless you have electric resistance only, or crazy high propane prices.

Just kept numbers simple with the 10 cord deal. And tried to come up with something realistic for the cost to replace that amount of heat with something else, and arrived at $1800.

Yes, many good and valid reasons to burn wood, as I have agreed with all along. Some just like it, or like the nice fire going in the living room fireplace, burning junk/un-sellable wood that you have to cut/clean up anyway.....etc etc.

I am just making generalizations here. And that being that most people think they save a TON of money heating with wood because its "free". And for most, that simply isnt true. Is there savings.....yea in most cases you can save some money with wood, but weather its worth the hassle, weighing pros and cons, up to each person to decide. Thats all Im saying.

And to get that $160 cold hard cash you had to earm considerably more to cover the 160 plus taxes on what you make. You are totally missing the point.

Nope. To put $160 in my pocket selling wood, I have to earn exactly $160. Ive explained this. maybe you didnt read. I pay NO taxes on the wood I sell. PERIOD. Am I not claiming it? Or am I pulling a fast one on uncle sam cheating them out of taxes? NOPE. Explained that as well.

 

[IXLR8]

That was my same scenario.

House had baseboard. Expensive.

Got through two winter's with wood. But did nothing for ac.

The cost of JUST and AC system was not much savings over a heat pump or geothermal.

So I chose Geo so I can heat AND cool with it.

I can now heat cheaper with Geo than I could with wood.

Sure it's a big upfront cost. And that certainly factors. But for me, I was looking at a big cost anyway wanting air conditioning.

I looked into Geothermal, too expensive where I live, house is basically on a ledge and putting in the coils was going to be very expensive. I put in a mini-split system to give me heat in spring and fall, AC in the summer and I do wood for the winter months. Geothermal is going in my 'forever' home, but not this one. As far as I am concerned, when building a new home, first choice sould be geothermal.

 

[LD1]

As far as I am concerned, when building a new home, first choice sould be geothermal.

Agreed

 

[Industrial Toys]

I have numerous customers with geothermal. I have heard the horror stories of compressor failures, computer boards, terribly expensive DC fans and all the service calls. Funny how no ever seems to figure that into the cost.

One tech I spoke with at length, says his Boss loves to sell the premium systems but the tech says the cheap ones are actually your better bet. The simpler and less computerized, the better. One friend actually built his own. A compressor and a few relays. I wonder what a computer could add to the value? I did the digging.

Found some pictures:

 

[IXLR8]

I have numerous customers with geothermal. I have heard the horror stories of compressor failures, computer boards, terribly expensive DC fans and all the service calls. Funny how no ever seems to figure that into the cost.

One tech I spoke with at length, says his Boss loves to sell the premium systems but the tech says the cheap ones are actually your better bet. The simpler and less computerized, the better. One friend actually built his own. A compressor and a few relays. I wonder what a computer could add to the value? I did the digging.

Lots of folks buy cheap, and get what they pay for. Computers allow full control over fans and compressor motors which add to system efficiency AND costs and complexity. The extra that it costs to get that few extra few % of efficiency, I am not sure is worth it.