Actual cost of firewood

[Peter 315]

Not here, i have a wood stove and a pellet stove if i get free wood if not i buy pellets . We use the pellets for the horses also

 

[FTG-05]

Let's see:

- $650 for the wood stove
- $1500 for the chimney pipe (Class A SS)
- $8500 for carpentry and stonework for eharth
- $100 wood stove shipping
- $700 chainsaw (Stihl MS-362CM)
- $250 for little chainsaw (MS-180)
- $1000 for 2 woodsheds
- $80 for log arch (no longer needed since I got my grapple)
- $80 for log rack in living room (wifes' birthday gift, so a two-fer)

The good news is that I'm saving $$$ on heat vs. propane. I figure I'll break even right around 32 years after I die......

 

[Creamer]

Let's see:

- $650 for the wood stove
- $1500 for the chimney pipe (Class A SS)
- $8500 for carpentry and stonework for eharth
- $100 wood stove shipping
- $700 chainsaw (Stihl MS-362CM)
- $250 for little chainsaw (MS-180)
- $1000 for 2 woodsheds
- $80 for log arch (no longer needed since I got my grapple)
- $80 for log rack in living room (wifes' birthday gift, so a two-fer)

The good news is that I'm saving $$$ on heat vs. propane. I figure I'll break even right around 32 years after I die......

It is not that expensive. I spent just under $300 for a used Stihl saw 20+ years ago and nothing on repairs since - just chains, oil, and gas - if you are careful with it and cut properly they last a long time. (I would have had to purchase the chainsaw anyway as I use it as much for trimming back the trees on my property as I do for woodcutting.) Trees are free right out the back of my property on a few neighbors that want them cleaned up. I cut downed and dead one year for burning the next. Store in recycled crates with tarps over them that I get from Harbor Freight for free. My tractor I already had and still have - if anything it needs more work as it only has 1350 hours on it and it is a 1983.

I did have to purchase a used fireplace insert 20+ years ago ($200) and I had some modifications done to it for cleaner burning (another $200). My house had two large fireplaces when I bought it - one with an insert which I do not use anymore due to keeping the mess out of the main floor. I did have to purchase a splitting maul - I believe it was $39.99 and now another since I just broke that one. I also use some chimney cleaner that costs me about $14 each year.

Working by myself I can cut a cord of smaller stuff or cut and split a cord of larger stuff in about 4 hours. The wood crates get moved as needed to outside my walkout basement and a wheeled handcart carries the wood into the basement so I have very minimal handling. (In fact there is so little work in the wood that a few years ago I bought an exercise bike.) I do have to pull the insert and inspect the chimney each year which is a dirty 2-3 hour job. I haven't had to clean the chimney since I started using the chimney cleaner powder.

I burn about 6 cord a year and with such minimal costs I have saved thousands. If I was cutting to sell i would have more stringent requirements and more hassle that I do not want so i do not sell wood - it is just for me.

Total everything up and I have saved thousands - especially when propane was $4/gallon - and my house is a lot warmer. By heating the basement the floors on the main floor are so much nicer and the house is so much more comfortable. I also have a heat source when the power goes out which thankfully is much less than it used to be.

 

[tcreeley]

I compare the cost of purchased propane to the cost of purchased wood to heat my house. I'm not set up for gas now. But say I had a gas stove going, the cost of wood for the heating season is still cheaper than the cost of propane for the season. That's money saved out of my pocket.


Re saving money, I suppose I am losing money on the wood I buy because I could turn around and add 20 dollars over what I bought it for and sell it. 4 cords, 80 dollar loss per season. Maybe I could deduct this from my taxes! - I never take seriously the potential of what could be when it comes to money - but then this is probably why I am not in the 1%. :laughing:

 

[deezler]

Something nobody mentioned is the uneven heat in the house with a Woodburner, unless it is an outside kind running through the furnace.

Nawp. We built our house with R30 walls and R50 roof. With no central furnance or ducting, our bedrooms (which also have decent winter solar gain) are only a few degrees cooler than the living room, perfect for sleeping. So I'm talking ~68f vs 70-72f in living room.

Tractor: had it anyway
Chainsaw: got my dads old Stihl, runs like a champ
Splitter: share with my dad (was $700 used)
Woodstove and flue pipe: $2k during house build
No furnace or ducting required: - $3000 or more ?

Cutting only yard clearing and dead-falls for firewood: totally free wood that needs to be cleaned up anyway.

With our passive solar home design and highly insulated envelope, we only burn 4-8 FACE cords a year to heat 1700 sq ft. That's worth what, $300-600 per year around here. While I really enjoy cutting firewood and othe rmanly chores, I would never do more of the full firewood processing work just for fun; plenty of better ways to make a buck.

Economically speaking, I'm WAYYY ahead after not needing to buy a furnace, pay to run a gas line, and then pay a utility for fracking to ruin peoples ground water and blow out clouds of methane. And a Geothermal system would have added at LEAST $20-30k more to my home build. Even LD1 cannot possibly convince me that given an intelligent home design, a woodstove is not the most economical way to heat. I looked at all the alternatives and there was no question - if you're willing to do some annual chores, wood heat is the sustainable and economical choice, hands down.

 

[ultrarunner]

I will continue to harvest a bit each year to replenish our stock of firewood, but I have no interest myself in cutting, loading, stacking and selling firewood - just don't want to deal with all that. We used to give it away to friends but it seems there is not as much demand as before, so I am letting a local high school kid take as much wood as he wants to cut and take and sell. He is a nice kid and we hire him to take care of our animals when we are gone. He wants to buy a truck and this is a way he can earn some money toward that.

Exactly what I have found... a few years back a good local kid was saving for a truck... he processed a lot of firewood earning that truck..

What I do see is small boxes of split/seasoned firewood at the market selling for $10 a box for the small one and $16 for the larger one.

Will need to do the math and see what this works out by the cord... it is sold by the cu. ft...

 

[turnkey4099]

Not to mention the equipment.

Factor in the depreciation on $50k+ of equipment
Mileage for delivery
Trailer tags and expenses
Cost of saws and splitters etc etc etc

On paper there is no money to be made selling firewood. Which is why many people who sell a mere 10-20 cord dont even bother uncle same with taxes.

Whats the point of saving and documenting everything, filing schedule C.....just to break even?

.

Almost zero dedpreciation on equipment. Saws and splitter yes but most of my saws are so old they wouildn't count, Splitter was cheap, Sharpening equipment. A file...well, there is replacement of that. Ax, wedge, maul. Also to old to count.

Yes, I am a "hobbyist". I susspect your figure for depreciation is rather low for someone doing it commercially and making enough at it to be profitable.

I try to sell all my surplus but just mentally computing without keeping track my gas expense alone says taht what I sell is probably at a loss. I only sell around 6 cord/yr, I hae had high years uf 12 or more.

I have enough locust (doesn't rot) in storage now that I wouldn't have to cut any more for as long as I am likely to last. (82 now)

I enjoy every minute of getting out there, getting dirty, sweaty and totally wrung out. Unfortunately, the later only takes asbout 3-4 hours anymore.

 

[LD1]

RE:deezler....

Not trying to convince anyone of anything. And I don't mean i stick to the facts.

An economical design, super insulated, and passive solar....yep you have low heating requirements. You chose to invest $2k in burning equipment and burn $300-$600 a year in wood.

Those are the facts.

If your heating needs are indeed that low.....don't know why you were figuring $20k-$30k for Geo.

I installed my system myself. Hired the ductwork out. Taking off Federal and local credits.....I came out at $7k or so. But my Geo does two things most people's.wood burners don't. 1. It heata my matter in the winter AND summer. And 2. It cools my house as well. And given your low heating requirements, you probably wouldn't need anywhere near the 4 ton system I installed. As that 4-tons replaced 6 cord a year. So a Geo sized to your house would be even cheaper.

I didn't see you mention air conditioning. .aube you don't need or want that where you live. But that's not the case for most people.

Alot of the proponents claiming how much they save burning wood......ALSO spent the money for an HVAC system with ductwork and all just for cooling.

I save money NOT burning wood. Sure the Geo was a large upfront cost. That's a given. But I needed (wanted) air conditioning anyway, which the house didn't have. And the cost difference between installing a central AC unit.....and the Geo with all the rebates.....was nil.

And at the end of the day....even if I could save $400 or $500 a year burning.....is it really worth the mess in the house, and the hassle? For me...no.

Now before Geo, I heated with wood for two seasons. The alternative was baseboard heat at $300/month more than the wood. So the hassle was worth it then

 

[Rock Crawler]

TurnKey, if you're able to get out there, yoke up and pull for 3 to 4 hours at 82 years old you're doing pretty **** good! I hope I'm doing that well at your age.

 

[LD1]

I try to sell all my surplus but just mentally computing without keeping track my gas expense alone says taht what I sell is probably at a loss. .

That's my point.

If you track expenses on paper, and take the deductions you are entitled to take......most joe-bob selling 10 or 20 cord a year on Craigslist....are doing so at a loss on paper.

Which is why most don't file taxes on it because it's pointless. And by not claiming the loss, they are actually saving the IRS money.

Don't know how all the crap about tax evasion, and cheating the government, and firewood being cheaper because to buy electric or fuel heat is after tax money....no idea how it got started. But it's simply just not true. Just people who don't know how the real world works....trying to justify their false savings of burning wood.

Like I said in the other thread, I have nothing against anyone wanting to burn. Many good reasons to do so. Some people burn wood that can't be sold (junk wood). Others like the hot dry heat, others like the visual of a fire, others don't have any other access to heat other than expensive electric or fuel.
And yes, I agree that in many cases wood is the cheaper reasonable form of heat.
I get it. Just don't fool yourself into thinking you are saving thousands.....when it may only be hundreds.

 

[Deere Dude]

In our town I noticed a lot of wood stacking in pallet sized cubes in the rear of the county police station. Whenever anyone needs any tree work down in town they bring cons along with their their chainsaws and commence to toppling and cutting up and splitting trees. They cut and get rid of the tree for the homeowner at no charge.

I heard they give the wood to the needy that burn wood, but may be wrong on that, they may charge a little bit. It is a fairly big operation to give the cons something to do but it seems to work.

 

[4570Man]

In our town I noticed a lot of wood stacking in pallet sized cubes in the rear of the county police station. Whenever anyone needs any tree work down in town they bring cons along with their their chainsaws and commence to toppling and cutting up and splitting trees. They cut and get rid of the tree for the homeowner at no charge.

I heard they give the wood to the needy that burn wood, but may be wrong on that, they may charge a little bit. It is a fairly big operation to give the cons something to do but it seems to work.

Do the cons know what they’re doing or are they a mostly a tree in an open field type work? That’s how I get most of my firewood and several and a couple loads of saw logs, but I won’t cut standing tree.

 

[Deere Dude]

Do the cons know what they’re doing or are they a mostly a tree in an open field type work? That’s how I get most of my firewood and several and a couple loads of saw logs, but I won’t cut standing tree.

I should have stated and I believe a tree guy will fall the tree then the cons take over. A lot of it is done in town.

A friend in town was having a 28-30' big oak taken down and was going to call the sheriffs dept just like other trees he had cleaned up. I told him to cut it down and get rid of the brush and I will get the rest instead of the cons. I got probably a 11-12,000# load out of that tree.

I was at a body shop a few months ago and a sheriffs dept. pick pulls up with tool boxes on if and out comes a couple cons, got their Stihl chainsaws and started cutting brush and 2" vines from a chain link fence. I think it bordered a government property and buildings. So a lot of maintenance is done by these guys.

 

[4570Man]

Here the cons pick up garage and mow the court house lawn and a few other places I can’t think of. That’s about the existent of there work.

 

[gladehound]

Ahead, maybe. $20k+ in 12 years....unlikely.

How many cord of wood do you burn a year, and what is the going rate for it locally?

6-8 cords a year depending on weather. $225 a cord to dump it in the driveway. $300 per cord to have it stacked also. Then I still have to bring it in and load the stove so buying wood does not replace the whole process and can't be used as a comparator alone. Oil is a better comparator and cost about the same as having buying wood by the cord and having them stack it. So roughly, I'm ahead $2000 a year. My stove / flu paid for in Year 1. My equipment paid for from other uses and would have independent of if I burned or not. Plus I get the heath benefits (both mental and physical). As others stated, some people actually pay money to go work out!!! I'd rather go get firewood.

 

[LD1]

6-8 cords a year depending on weather. $225 a cord to dump it in the driveway. $300 per cord to have it stacked also. Then I still have to bring it in and load the stove so buying wood does not replace the whole process and can't be used as a comparator alone. Oil is a better comparator and cost about the same as having buying wood by the cord and having them stack it. So roughly, I'm ahead $2000 a year. My stove / flu paid for in Year 1. My equipment paid for from other uses and would have independent of if I burned or not. Plus I get the heath benefits (both mental and physical). As others stated, some people actually pay money to go work out!!! I'd rather go get firewood.

If the wood you burn has a value in your area roughly equal to what a cord of wood cost....I fail to see how you come out ahead.

Currently you are cutting, splitting, and stacking 6-8 cord of wood to burn in your home.......all so you don't have to give the fuel company $2000.

If you were to cut, split, and stack that same amount of wood, but rather haul it to and stack on someone else's property......collect $2k to pass along to oil company....and then heat your home with oil and not hassle with a fire and mess in the house.

Isn't that about a wash? Equalling no savings....or very little if you factor in delivery cost

 

[dodge man]

Another point, it would cost some people to have more expenses to sell wood. For example a pick up truck or a dump trailer. I have a pick up but I think I've only hauled fire wood in it once, and that was given to me. All my wood handling takes place with my tractor. I don't worry about denting the end load on my tractor but I would the outside of my truck, the bed, or the back glass. Also it seems like it would take handling the wood more often to sell it, pick it up and load it in your truck, then dumping and stacking it. For me personally I would have to get something like $500 a cord to make it worth my time and effort to sell it.

 

[LD1]

Another point, it would cost some people to have more expenses to sell wood. For example a pick up truck or a dump trailer. I have a pick up but I think I've only hauled fire wood in it once, and that was given to me. All my wood handling takes place with my tractor. I don't worry about denting the end load on my tractor but I would the outside of my truck, the bed, or the back glass. Also it seems like it would take handling the wood more often to sell it, pick it up and load it in your truck, then dumping and stacking it. For me personally I would have to get something like $500 a cord to make it worth my time and effort to sell it.

All valid points that I have touched on in the past.

Some people already use a truck to haul their wood from wherever they cut. In that case.....no extra risk and expense other than a little more milage.

Another option is sell wood for pickup only.

I offer both delivery and pickup. 25% opt for pickup at a slight discount.

 

[4570Man]

I charge $5 a rick and a dollar a mile for delivery. 9/10 people opt for delivery. If you only have a regular pickup you’re going to beat the crap out of it hauling firewood. I don’t stack the wood on delivery and I have a dump truck, but I handle wood less times for delivery than if I burned it myself.

 

[/pine]

Just an observation...
If I was going to sell firewood...I would seek out long term customers that have the room/ability to store and season next seasons wood as well as the present...
...This would allow loading a truck or trailer directly from the splitter to the delivery vehicle...eliminating loading, moving, unloading, storing, reloading before delivery...IMO secondary handling cost time and that is a valuable asset for most...cutting and splitting is the part most tend to enjoy...the fun ends at the splitter IMO...

Granted a lot of folks just don't have the room but many do...a side line to selling cord wood might also be selling simple, basic, prefabbed wood sheds...