spike60
Addicted to ArboristSite
This is one of the best discussions I've seen here in a long time. A very enjoyable read. :msp_smile:
I figure that my savings is in the $2500-$3000 range anually. The higher oil goes, the more I save. I get all of my wood for free. Owning my store I easily have several connections with loggers and tree guys. I have access to far more wood than I could use.
But like so many of you have pointed out, the rewards go way beyond the hard numbers. I make all the heat I want, and stay comfy all winter. No listening to the oil burner running while sitting in a chilly house because the thermostat is set low in an effort to save oil. My brother, who does not burn wood made the following comment last winter: "You spend virtually nothing and your house is always warm, and I'm spending a fortune and my house is always cold. Somethings wrong with this picture."
Also being saw geek, I consider what I spend on the saw hobby to be it's own separate category. I have fun with it, and that's how I choose to spend some of what I save by heating with wood. It could even simply be the cost of going to a GTG. So, in this way, the saw hobby and burning wood are separate, yet mutually supporting activities. Even if I spend half of what I save on saws that I don't need, I'm still coming out way ahead. Plus the process of cutting the wood, which I also truly enjoy, provides an opportunity to play with the saws. It's all a pretty good fit for me.
I figure that my savings is in the $2500-$3000 range anually. The higher oil goes, the more I save. I get all of my wood for free. Owning my store I easily have several connections with loggers and tree guys. I have access to far more wood than I could use.
But like so many of you have pointed out, the rewards go way beyond the hard numbers. I make all the heat I want, and stay comfy all winter. No listening to the oil burner running while sitting in a chilly house because the thermostat is set low in an effort to save oil. My brother, who does not burn wood made the following comment last winter: "You spend virtually nothing and your house is always warm, and I'm spending a fortune and my house is always cold. Somethings wrong with this picture."
Also being saw geek, I consider what I spend on the saw hobby to be it's own separate category. I have fun with it, and that's how I choose to spend some of what I save by heating with wood. It could even simply be the cost of going to a GTG. So, in this way, the saw hobby and burning wood are separate, yet mutually supporting activities. Even if I spend half of what I save on saws that I don't need, I'm still coming out way ahead. Plus the process of cutting the wood, which I also truly enjoy, provides an opportunity to play with the saws. It's all a pretty good fit for me.