Actual cost of firewood

[ultrarunner]

On the road home in Olympia there is always a pickup parked to the side with a load of wood with a sign $200 free local delivery followed by a phone number.

It is silent as to cord, volume, qty. etc... but sometimes that pickup moves several times a day...

 

[hosspuller]

Another thought on the relative cost of heating with firewood is TAXES...

Money paid for fuel or electricity is after tax. Money earned from selling wood is taxed (or should be)

Figuring a round number of 25% for Federal, FICA, Medicare, & SALT means every dollar you spend is worth $1.25 of firewood.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Md does not tax firewood.

Dont know why people are getting hung up on taxes

 

[4570Man]

Who actually pays tax on firewood sold? While I don’t think it’s fair to lump a lot of tractor or vehicle cost into firewood cost, but if I was paying taxes on the bottom dollar I definitely would. I also pay help. That doesn’t leave much money to tax.

 

[aczlan]

Who actually pays tax on firewood sold? While I don’t think it’s fair to lump a lot of tractor or vehicle cost into firewood cost, but if I was paying taxes on the bottom dollar I definitely would. I also pay help. That doesn’t leave much money to tax.

If you are selling firewood as a business, I would hope that you are deducting your business expenses from your taxable income.

Aaron Z

 

[CobyRupert]

I'm guessing if didn't burn wood, almost exclusively, I'd burn 500 gallons of fuel a year (I have no real idea). Over 22 years at an average price of $2.50 (another guess), that's a savings of $27,500.

Seeing how I handle firewood about 9 times from tree to stove, I'll estimate I've saved a $30/month gym membership for 22 years too ($7920). Plus cutting and burning firewood smells better too :laughing:

 

[turnkey4099]

Couldn't give cut and split oak away two years ago... no one burns anymore with the burn bans.

Even put up a notice on the Hospital bulletin board... no takers.

When I was in High School... wood was a steady commodity... a lot of people put inserts in and President Carter led the way during the oil embargo... saying wood is America's Renewable Natural Resource... my how times change.

The home I grew up in has two fireplaces... and they make a beautiful fire and will make the room nice... but consume an enormous amount of wood compared to the small pedestal stove at my brothers place... maybe 4 to 5 to 1....

Yep, open fireplace - best waster of wood ever invented.

 

[turnkey4099]

I have penciled it out, It cost me $2,500.00 a year for propane and I save $1,700.00 back every year by cutting/burning wood for heat, not including my labor...

The difference between those two, buys me some propane (cooking and hot water and small amount of heat) and pays for all of my wood cutting expenses, including equipment cost.

EXCEPT for my tractors and the reason I don't include them is, I already had tractors BEFORE I started burning wood full time AND my tractors have made for me, MORE than what they cost me, BEFORE I started using them for firewood.

As for the mess, I have an unfinished basement and all the firewood goes down there, (by the stove) using gravity to get down there, so it dosn't put ANY mess in our living area...

As for even heat, my wood stove heats our living space, and how we run the stove determines how even the heat is. When I'm running it, it varies about 1/2 degree between high and low during the day. At night, we let it burn down a little as we like a cooler house at night.

One BIG deal for us, is we LOVE the dry heat the stove puts out!

SR

BTW, I have used my splitter for others, and made some money that way too...

And then there is the savings over having to have a gym membership to get the same exercise you get for free when heating with wood. Or in my case, no gym membership = turning into a fat corpse years ago (83 now)

 

[Piston]

Firewood vs all others round 2 :laughing:

I cut firewood. Have sold a little over 20 full cords this year. (about 60 face, rick, rack etc if thats how you wish to measure).

This bitter cold snap that has lasted a few weeks now......sold out of wood. Oh well.

I cut because of two reasons.....1. cleaning up the woods. ~20 acres that was logged out a few years ago, and cutting down all the dangerous standing dead ash (due to the EAB). 2. beacuse I enjoy it.

The money and selling it is just an outlet to get rid of the wood.

I have geothermal. Selling wood for $160/cord.......that $160 buys MORE heat than burning that cord would. So I would loose money if I burned it and let my geothermal sit idle.

So I sell it, and keep the bugs, mess, and hassle of keeping a fire going out of my house.

You sell a full cord for $160???

“Seasoned” wood here goes for $300. In 2 years I’m gonna start selling firewood, because I don’t think anyone around sells actually truly seasoned firewood. Even the seasoned stuff is wet.
I can’t believe how cheap you sell it for. I know it’s all regional, but amazing how much of a difference.

 

[4570Man]

You sell a full cord for $160???

“Seasoned” wood here goes for $300. In 2 years I’m gonna start selling firewood, because I don’t think anyone around sells actually truly seasoned firewood. Even the seasoned stuff is wet.
I can’t believe how cheap you sell it for. I know it’s all regional, but amazing how much of a difference.

That’s what I get for a cord of green wood. I can’t get any seasoned wood because I’m selling green wood for the same price and the demand exceeds the supply. There’s too many people selling 2 month old seasoned wood I gave up selling actually seasoned wood.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Guy down the road gets logs in, splits into firewood, then puts it along the road as seasoned firewood. I cant say how long the logs were cut, but doubt it's too long. Dont know what they charge. I know the farm is owned by a family that is questionable..

 

[Rock Crawler]

You sell a full cord for $160???

“Seasoned” wood here goes for $300. In 2 years I’m gonna start selling firewood, because I don’t think anyone around sells actually truly seasoned firewood. Even the seasoned stuff is wet.
I can’t believe how cheap you sell it for. I know it’s all regional, but amazing how much of a difference.

Look up Pittsburgh Craigslist and punch in firewood... Around $80-$120 for what they call a cord... Don't know if it is or not since I live on 14 acres and do my own thing.

My wife asked why I don't sell wood, I told her that for the time it would take me drag trees, cut to rounds, split, move out of the woods up to the house.... You can kiss my butt if your taking a truck load for $80. Not a chance.

Around here it's a poor man's game in my opinion. If you have no job, in the system and have time you can make tax free "real time bonus" money by doing wood. I don't have the time, do the value I place on my time is to high for that game.

 

[Deere Dude]

I recently sold my house with 24 full dry cord stacked nicely inside shelters for $100 a cord. But I was in a crunch and had to move them, or burn them.

A friend in Madison WI pays $300 a cord for dry split and tumbled (no bark and clean) for his living room burner. He has enough room to store maybe a cord and a quarter in his garage. The last time he brought some he stacked it then found he couldn't get it to burn, or hardly burn. He got a moisture checker and checks the content before it get unloaded now.

 

[LD1]

Here we go with taxes again.

Just another way for some to try to justify that their burning wood is saving more money than it really is. Nothing more.

And yes, pricing is very regional. I see alot of "cords" advertised ranging from $100 to $200 on the high side.

Weather they are true cords, or seasoned....that's another story

 

[PILOON]

Firewood venders are generally a sneaky lot around here.
They sell 'cordons' vs cords, the cordon being what is commonly known as a face cord.
However that face cord, 1/3d of a true cord, should then be 16" X 48" X 96" but most of the vendors tend to cut not 16, but 14 or 15" lengths.
Then they sell 'semi seasoned' which translates to having been cut in this years spring and still full of sap.
Then comes the 'mixed' which can be just about anything close to their truck.

A buddy of mine sells 40-60 'cordons' per year of what he calls 'ambience' wood.
Mostly mixes of various soft woods just for the 'ambience' to w/e cottage clients that enjoy a glass of wine after supper, but to his credit he accurately describes what he sells and that is for a mere $40.00/ 'cordon' (face cord.
His clients are mostly w/e chalet renters up here in ski country.

 

[motownbrowne]

You壇 have to have side boards and a 8 bed truck and stack the wood to come close to getting a cord on a pickup. Even then not much short of a 3500 DRW can handle the weight. I get mad every time I look through the wood adds. It痴 hard to judge volume because most people put a picture from a pile, but most people痴 seasoned wood was cut last week. I致e got an add with a picture of a wood stack and an add with a picture of my loaded truck selling a truckload. That add gets a lot more responses. I can haul a tad more than a cord loose and a cord and a half stacked. View attachment 534893

Here is my F250 loaded with a full cord of white oak. I measured it after I helped unload and stack it (sister and BIL) get special treatment), so I'm sure of the amount. I'm not sure if it's actually legally loaded, or slightly over the limit. My truck is a bit unique in that it grosses at 8600#, but it has a very low curb weight (6cyl, 5 speed, 2wd, single cab). So my payload capacity is very high, like north of 4000#. Some helper springs or air bags would help three handling, but the axles and tires are within their load limits.

But yeah, a DRW would be a big improvement!

 

[tcreeley]

A rick is the standard measurement locally which is 4x8 with no standard on length. I think a face cord is the same thing. I致e sold a lot of truck loads of wood which is the dumbest æ�œeasurement of all. Nearly everyone ask how long I cut my firewood to which I reply 16?- so they sorta know how much wood thereæ±*e getting.

When I buy wood I tell them how many cords I want. The guy I get it from has two trucks. One holds 3 cords and one holds 4 cords. The wood is thrown in, not stacked. When I stack it it has com out exact every time. He asks how long I want it. I usually say 21". A cord for us is 4 x 4 x 8 or 128cu ft. If you buy 4' lengths, you'll get a full value of wood. Every time it is cut smaller - you tend to lose wood. - 200 cut split and delivered. It has even spent sometime being kiln dried - but it still is not dead dry. I age it another year before I burn it.

 

[4570Man]

When I’m asked if my wood is seasoned I avoid the question and tell them when it was split. They can draw their own conclusions from there.

 

[HillStreet]

I burned wood for 25 years or so. Bought log length for $100 a cord and cut/split myself. I had the whole year and I was pretty much a couple years ahead anyway. Now I have a coal stove in the basement, with three tons of coal in stock. This year we decided to just burn propane and I would say it is about equivalent of wood or coal. We are warm, and estimate about $125 a month. That is an estimate because
I read the tank gage and it is about 5 gallons per one percent of gage.

 

[nickmags]

Yes there is something soothing about an open fire. Also true that many stoves are very efficient, But the actual cost of producing your own firewood can be substantial if you step back and calculate the investment. Summarily just from the equipment perspective, the saw(s), chains, tractor, splitter, hand tools, covers, wear and tear, oil, fuel, and frustration when things break. There is the personal toll, strained muscles, poison ivy, cuts, scrapes, clean up, yea it makes a mess, bugs ( included at no charge). But we claim the enjoyment and satisfaction of depriving utility companies of our income. There is risk of burning the dam house down, chimney cleaning, outdoor furnace heaters are not exempt from their own set of issues. Yes there is much labor involved, but you tell yourself, I love it, and great exercise. So you never keep a running total of the hours spent and the direct and indirect costs. This list is NOT all encompassing, just a few thoughts to stimulate a conversation. So exactly what is the actual cost of producing your own firewood?

What seems to be missing in the discussion here is very basic to our situation. I own 45 acres of mature hardwood forrest. The wood does not cost me a cent. If I owned an oil refinery, or a natural gas well, I might use those products. Since I don't, I use what I do own. There are always trees that need cutting, trimming or removal (called managing the forest). I seldom cut live trees, for example, we had a flood here this past spring that uprooted dozens of large oaks and hickory. Some were 36 in. diameter and over a hundred years old. Easily got 7 cords of cut wood from them. Cost, a new chain for the saw, and a couple of gallons of gas, some saw oil and my time. Cheapest heat I know of.