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

[Ken45101]

I see firewood sold all different ways around here, face cords, full cords, ricks and bundles. I think most are probably a rip off. I know what I'm getting with pellets and corn because it's all by weight not volume.

Legally in Ohio the only measure is a cord, 4x4x8', tightly stacked. Of course that's ot the way it is normally sold. Often by the (undefined) "truckload." One time I inquired about how big the truckload was and was told "I don't know but the truck has a lot of gears".....Hmmmm

 

[ovrszd]

We heat a 2,400 sq ft house and a 1,900 sq ft shop. Use Hydronic floor heat in both. Propane tankless heaters. We burn 1,000-1,200 gallon of propane per year. This year price is $2.15 p/gallon.

House thermostat set on 72F. Shop thermostat set on 69F.

Heated my previous shop with wood for 25 years. I'm over it.

 

[BigBlue1]

Main heat is a propane fired furnace. This year propane (we buy it for the season) was highest since we've been here: $2.10/gallon. Takes about 750 gallons a year. Since we moved here in 2016 it historically has been $1.00 to $1.40/gal. Supplemented by in-floor radiant heat in the lower level via electric boiler, which tends to bump our electric bill about $30/mo. The house is 2-level and quite large & spread out, so these costs seem to be not too out of line. Sure would be nice to have the oil/propane/petroleum prices back to what they were prior to 2021 though!

 

[lman]

Ground source heat pump. Electricity is .128/kwh plus $43.50 in fees. In the winter heat is about $75-100/month.

 

[TIMMYDUCK]

It’s cold and I use wood .

Just say no to the oil man .

I shall fell , buck up and process wood till the cows come home .

 

[Jstpssng]

Firewood is one of the lowest value wood products there is. A “cord” (chord) was developed as a uniform way for woodcutters to get paid years ago when they used to go into the woods in November, and come out on the log drives in spring.
Aside from the standard 128 cubic foot definition, there is also a “thrown cord”… loosely dumped from a truck it should measure 180 cubic feet.
Another is 85 cubic feet… that’s the amount of solid wood which should be in a pile.

These are defined by statute here, but vary from state to state. ( or Province, for our Canadian neighbors.)

You could have this same discussion when talking about gravel; a yard should be three feet by three feet by three feet. Yet is that the measurement at the pit, or after bouncing up the gravel road to the highway, then settling more as it goes down the road to your house.

 

[cqaigy2]

I've not heard of the "thrown cord".

My favorite is the "face cord", sounds good and probably is good if you don't have much room to store wood.

 

[ovrszd]

You could have this same discussion when talking about gravel; a yard should be three feet by three feet by three feet. Yet is that the measurement at the pit, or after bouncing up the gravel road to the highway, then settling more as it goes down the road to your house.

Our gravel is measured and priced by the ton.

In my area there's a lot of difference in a "load" of wood which is how it's priced.

 

[Jstpssng]

Our gravel is measured and priced by the ton.

In my area there's a lot of difference in a "load" of wood which is how it's priced.

Just out of curiosity, do they consider moisture content? Most people here are contractors who have a pit, a loader and a few trucks. Gravel is sold “by the load”, with various sized trucks and prices.

 

[ovrszd]

Just out of curiosity, do they consider moisture content? Most people here are contractors who have a pit, a loader and a few trucks. Gravel is sold “by the load”, with various sized trucks and prices.

No adjustment for moisture is ever made.

When buying gravel for our Township, 3,500 tons, I try to get it when the crusher is running and building a fresh pile for the year. That way I get dry gravel. Rather than gravel that has laid in the pile since last Summer collecting moisture. It's very noticeable when spread on the roads.

 

[ovrszd]

Just out of curiosity, do they consider moisture content? Most people here are contractors who have a pit, a loader and a few trucks. Gravel is sold “by the load”, with various sized trucks and prices.

Forgot to mention cost. 1.25" crushed limestone is used on our roads. It costs $18.43 p/ton in the pile at the quarry. Haul rate to my Township is $6.50 p/ton based on distance from quarry to center of township. $24.93 p/ton spread.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Interesting thread, last Thursday I decided to turn the single burner propane forced air furnace up to 72 degrees for "date night". Normally it's set on 66 but the kitchen drops to 62 in that case. I left it on 72 and on Saturday my wife told me to turn it back down and quit wasting propane lol. She's working now and helps pay the bills! We have a small electric space heater set on low in my son's bedroom and if it's set too warm it keeps the furnace from running. This morning it was 61 in the kitchen, brrrrr. I told her to turn down his heater a little.

We paid $2.09 for propane. 400 gallons will last until next fall if we don't have an extremely cold winter. Electricity is about $100/month until January when I expect rates to rise since our contract is up. Our little manufactured home is only about 1000 sq. ft.

 

[shooterdon]

I heat with wood and propane. About 65-80% wood depending on the weather.

Propane is $2.35/gal. on pre-buy.

Even with buying logs and processing them, wood heat is economical. Current cost for wood is about $100/logger cord and that will yield about 2.5 face cords. Works out to $120/cord for the logs and cost to process is about $70/cord using a processor. Total of $190/cord. $1300/100 million BTU compared to over $2700 for propane.

 

[deezler]

Firewood. Have only used a half face-cord so far this winter - it was a warm fall!

I would say it is basically completely free (tractor I would own anyway, inherited a Stihl saw and log splitter from my pops, just cutting deadfall or nuisance trees from my own land in my spare time) but then some of you would get all angry for no good reason.

So fine, I bought an extra used chainsaw last winter as backup for $300. Chainsaw and log splitter needed around 7 gallons of gasoline this season. And my wife took the chill out of the living room by running our mini-split on heat mode for a handful of mornings this fall, so that was probably an extra 4 dollars or so also.

 

[deezler]

I see firewood sold all different ways around here, face cords, full cords, ricks and bundles. I think most are probably a rip off. I know what I'm getting with pellets and corn because it's all by weight not volume.

It's.... really not that complicated. Cord - 4x4x8' stacked in rows. Face cord = 1/3 of that, or a single 4x8 row of 16" long pieces (which is typical). Most homeowner firewood racks are 8 feet long and can be piled 4' high. So if you buy a face cord, it either fills up your rack or it doesn't. My buddy buys a few deliveries per winter and noticed his guy's loads were a little shy, so he mentioned it, and the dude more than made up for it.

But the grocery store bundles for $7 or $8 each, good grief! Now that's a true rip off, it's like $1.25 per piece. I need to get into that business.

 

[NoTrespassing]

It's.... really not that complicated. Cord - 4x4x8' stacked in rows. Face cord = 1/3 of that, or a single 4x8 row of 16" long pieces (which is typical). Most homeowner firewood racks are 8 feet long and can be piled 4' high. So if you buy a face cord, it either fills up your rack or it doesn't. My buddy buys a few deliveries per winter and noticed his guy's loads were a little shy, so he mentioned it, and the dude more than made up for it.

But the grocery store bundles for $7 or $8 each, good grief! Now that's a true rip off, it's like $1.25 per piece. I need to get into that business.

I'm curious who's buying the little $10 bundles of firewood. Is it campers?

 

[MossRoad]

I'm curious who's buying the little $10 bundles of firewood. Is it campers?

Campers or someone that just wants a little ambiance in their fireplace on Saturday night.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Does an old-fashioned open front fireplace actually draw cold air into the house in most cases?

 

[MossRoad]

Does an old-fashioned open front fireplace actually draw cold air into the house in most cases?

Sure. But your date looks good by firelight eating s'mores.

Heck, our wood burning stove sucks cold air in through every crevice in our 100+ year old house. If I light it up, get it going good, I can sit in front of it and feel a cold breeze on my back.

A well-sealed house needs a fresh air intake for a wood stove or fireplace or it can't make a draft up the chimney nor draw enough air for good combustion.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Sure. But your date looks good by firelight eating s'mores.

Heck, our wood burning stove sucks cold air in through every crevice in our 100+ year old house. If I light it up, get it going good, I can sit in front of it and feel a cold breeze on my back.

A well-sealed house needs a fresh air intake for a wood stove or fireplace or it can't make a draft up the chimney nor draw enough air for good combustion.

That's what I thought. Don't some woodstoves come with an option to plumb make up air into them from outside the house? I'm thinking back to 20 years ago when I was considering a woodstove in a manufactured home. I believe the woodstoves I was considering had mounting kits to attach them to the floor and outside air supply options since newer manufactured homes can be pretty airtight.