If it's cold where you live, what are you heating with and what is it costing?

[Oaktree]

Yellow birch is different than white, and has almost the same BTUs as maple. You also have black birch down there which looks similar to yellow but with darker bark; about the same color as cherry. It also has the minty scent of yellow, but has more heat for some reason.

I was referring to white for the spring/fall wood. Agreed that yellow is much denser. Have some black here, but not much at least what I've seen.

 

[cqaigy2]

I hand split, a hydraulic splitter might be different, but for me, presently the twisted maple and cherry are the hardest to split.

The straight maple is fairly easy, one or two hits, the twisted stuff is just banging away at it to get it to split. I've put that stuff off to the side for when my buddy shows back up with the wood splitter on his tractor. I kinda wish i'd noticed the twisty grain as i'd have left longer pieces. I have a buddy that does wood working, he was pretty excited about the twisty maple, but not so much with the lengths, 14"

The cherry, i've started to use the hatchet to score the bark, lengthwise on both sides, then it splits ok. Otherwise the bark acts like a thick rubber band and absorbs the energy.

Alder splits easy.

Doug fir splits the easiest, quick fire, least ash.

I got some oak from a buddy, he had a tree cut at his house in town. I bucked it up and piled the mess up. It was probably best burning, it somewhat reminded me of coal. Splitting the smaller pieces was fine, but the larger diameter took a bit of work.

Then wood some friends asked if i wanted it. I have no idea what kind of tree. terrible to split, lots of cross connection, smelled like old cigarettes when burning, good fire medium ash.

 

[ovrszd]

I don't know if this a new way or even a better way, but I don't split wood any more. Even if the diameters are huge. I'll call it the "chip system." Nothing is cut or split longitudinally. Its all done in slices, like cutting a carrot. Why are we still thinking about the grain? We have chainsaws now.
For me, fire wood is divided in to three sets. If you need kindling, you cut very thin slices. Just stepping on these will break them up. Then there is middling wood. These are slightly larger slices, that also can be jumped on to break up, and these are to get the stove to operational temp. Then you have your long burnings, and these are 6 inch thick or so "Chips." Very easy to quarter with a sledge hammer to the center, to fit in any stove.
The nice thing is that these are easily stacked in a compact way out side, and you can control the wood stove burn in how you stack the "Chips" in the stove. They burn like they are a solid on stack.
I should do a video on this method. Though, me thinks most people would think its a prank. I've just found it to be the laziest, and cheapest way of doing things. It doesn't look like a traditional fire in the stove, but it burns all the same, and wood dries out faster if cut this way.
And one may point out that there is a lot of saw dust doing it this way, too many cuts and maybe some waste. That dust gets a bit of wax, from old candles and becomes starters. So there is little to no waste in the extra cuts.

Ur gonna hafta show me a pic, I'm from Missouri.

 

[m1garand762]

Wood with gas backup. My wife is a stay at home mom and keeps the wood stove going my typical gas bill is barely above minimum charge except for around Christmas when the oven is going all day every day

 

[BoylermanCT]

Oil is dropping. Now $3.70. I filled up this week but still keep the fire burning 24/7.

 

[Oaktree]

Oil is dropping. Now $3.70. I filled up this week but still keep the fire burning 24/7.

Where are you getting oil at that price? Do you have some sort of "in" where you can buy at wholesale price?

 

[BoylermanCT]

The price is either from the oil company's website or from www.cashheatingoil.com. The latter is a site where they show the price, you order and then you find out what dealer it is coming from. Used them for years. Today's prices are $3.60 at a local dealer www.priceriteoil.net or $3.50 from CashHeatingOil. My zip is 06063. Works in NY, CT, MA, NJ, RI, MD. Sorry, not NH.

 

[LouNY]

And apparently only downstate NY,
no dealers in my area.