How many cords to heat a house?

[DeanBrown3D]

Hello all,

I'm in the process of installing a Charmaster wood furnace, which is a forced air whole house heater. I was wondering how much wood to expect to burn to keep my house warm. I live in NJ, USA, in a 3300 sq ft house that's reasonably well insulated. If you're doing such a thing could you throw a few numbers in here. Company estimates 6 cords or wood a year.

I have mostly oak and maple, hickory and sweetgum.

Thanks,

Dean

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

I've been told 5-6 for my 1300 foot, poorly insulated house, and judging by my use so fatr this winter, that's going to be about right. But then, I'm using a woodstove.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

I'd guess a cord or two a month.

Just take what ever your gas bill was and double it, that'll be about the wood cost you can expect.

 

[timberwolf]

Just take what ever your gas bill was and double it, that'll be about the wood cost you can expect.

It might even be worse than that, I would hate to add it up, why did I think I could save money cutting fire wood.

Bought one saw, sold it bought another, then a bigger one, then a milling rig, files, bars, chains, tachomiter, high quality mix oil at 40$ a jug, sheet steel and gas for the welder to make pipes, welders, race fuel, gas to get to GTGs.

Where will it end, square grinder, porting tools, nitro, more saws.....

Should just pay the propane truck to come and put the rest in the bank.

I just don't know what the 10-12 face cords I burn costs me to heat ~2500 ft

 

[DeanBrown3D]

No-one around here needs to buy wood - there's so much construction going on the wood is free. Anyway its a grand work out and you save money from going to the gym

 

[rmihalek]

I think 6 cords may be on the low end for a 3300 sq ft house. Of course, it depends on how warm you keep the house. We burn around 6-7 cords for an 1800 sq ft house using a wood stove in the basement. House is usually around 70 degrees. I don't think MA is that much colder than NJ, and you have almost double the sq ft.

 

[DeanBrown3D]

This is a furnace, not a stove. Its a large firebox with brick lower portion, completely surrounded by an insulated jacket with a fan blowing over it and into the hot air ducts. There is a heat exchanger too.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Yeah, Dean, I expect that setup would be more efficient than a stove. I'd expect the company that makes it would have the best estimate.

 

[logbutcher]

BTU's Equal BTU's

Dean
Here's an equivalent way to figure out your cords. The available wood is high value Btu species. Wish we had that here-some red oak, red maple, plenty of paper birch, and too much spruces and fir. Average out the gas usage over the past 3 years. Find the Btu figure per cord and match that to the Btu use per year for gas. Plug in the % efficiency of your old gas furnace, high, to the efficiency of your new Charmaster, somewhat lower than gas. Add in a fudge factor for degree days in N.J. (lower than Massachusetts which is lower than here in Maine) for a buffer in case of a colder than normal winter.
We assume that in Princeton, you will buy your cords. Ivy league et. al.
Congradulations on the wood furnace. Good choice, but fill us in on its efficacy and use. Not many in use out there.
Cape Rosier, Maine

 

[WoodTick007]

I have a 1500sqft house and heat with wood 24/7. I have a newer EPA woodburner with a cat and burn between 6-8 cords annually. My stove usually burns from October thru end of April.

 

[DeanBrown3D]

Yep I'll let you all know. Thanks for the responses.

BTW: buy wood? I do find it a little amusing though (here on a chainsaw site) that you assume that Its $200 a cord! No, I have about 20-40 cords stacked up in my yard, most of it oak and hickory and gum. I understand though, since it is Ponsy Princeton! But I cant pay $600 / month electric!

 

[turnkey4099]

It might even be worse than that, I would hate to add it up, why did I think I could save money cutting fire wood.

Bought one saw, sold it bought another, then a bigger one, then a milling rig, files, bars, chains, tachomiter, high quality mix oil at 40$ a jug, sheet steel and gas for the welder to make pipes, welders, race fuel, gas to get to GTGs.

Where will it end, square grinder, porting tools, nitro, more saws.....

Should just pay the propane truck to come and put the rest in the bank.

I just don't know what the 10-12 face cords I burn costs me to heat ~2500 ft

You're looking at it through the wrong end. You have acquired all those neat tools, the wood is free

Harry K

 

[ArtB]

Dean: First item to consider, how old are you, and 2nd, what about sources after the 40 cords are gone?

We heated our 5300 sq ft house 100% with wood from 1975 till 2003.
Waterwall fireplace and whole house hot water and forced air distribution, and hot water heater preheat.
We used anywhere between 7 and 11 cords a year depending on weather and quality of wood (mostly alder, but lots of oak pallets too-talk about nails in the ashes, we have > cubic yard of burnt/rusted nails out back)

Bigger house, but milder climate (Seattle area), so you may be looking at the same quantities. Have a 32 acre wood source.

Reason I asked about age was the Wife deceided when she hit 60 she was 'too old' to cut and split firewood and load the FP when I was gone.

So , for comparison, Installed a 4T heat pump in 2003, elec. bill (at 8 cents kW-hr) is about $150 month for heat in Dec/Jan, worst months.

HP usage is thus about 17million BTUs for worst month, accounting for outdoor temp and HP COP, etc. . Est. went thru 2 cords a month in Dec and Jan. Avg LHV of mostly alder/some oak palet mix is maybe 18 MBTUs/cord. So, we used 36 MBTU of wood to heat compared with HP output of about 17 MBTU, so fireplace system at about 50% efficient, but the wood was free and the effort considered exercise vs. jogging<G>.
So, 28 years times about $700 year savings and 'free' exercise, >$20K not a bad piece of change - $4k for the Heat Pump (yep, still got the extra $$ + capital gains).

Yep, already had all the tools, truck, etc.

 

[DeanBrown3D]

Well, I got this lot of wood since last summer from doing jobs for people and from construction sites - which have generally let me on with a trailer to cut up and load the rounds onto the trailer, about 2 cords worth at a time.

My electric last year was around $400-500 per month, but it was very cold here last year in NJ. (Right now its 60 and sunny!)

Have to account for no gym fees too! Anyway, chainsaws were invented for leisure and pleasure, their utility is just an added bonus.

What brand of furnace do you have?

Dean

 

[logbutcher]

60 Years Old !!

Reason I asked about age was the Wife deceided when she hit 60 she was 'too old' to cut and split firewood and load the FP when I was gone.

We're over that. And it is not time to wander around WalMart just for sdomething to do. Give us a break! Our neighbors are 78 and 81 and still cut, burn, cook, and do pulp for their taxes. Maybe it's the Maine way. Is 60 time to shoot yourself ???:bang:
Sorry about the crack on Princeton, poor assumption ( "when you ASSUME, you make an ASS out of U and ME", my first DI screamed at us hot shot ROTC greenheads).
Those 40 cords will not stay whole forever. They will rot in time. Send that orange ( Princeton official color) tinged wood downeast please.

 

[ArtB]

Well, DW was still working full time and I'd just torn my rotator cuff clear thru(pretty much no wood cutting or climbing action or anything two armed for 10 months) so she would have had to do it all, plus she looked at our bank account and said 'install the heat pump next summer, you're never going to spend it anyway' - good DIY story there in itself getting the EPA license for freon, etc.

Dean, as to what 'brand' , it was homebuilt, surplus stainless steel pipe water walls, hot water thru old car air conditioner condensors in the ducting, Bell and Gosset circulating pumps, etc. (all surplus, under $100 for the whole thing -except labor- in the '70s). Still burn when it gets under 25F.

 

[newb]

The difference between an outdoor furance and a woodburner is like a bike and a car. I have been heating an old farm house (1886) for the last 12 years. I can't tell you how much I use because I don't stack my wood. It's more work than you need to do. Make your operation as efficent as possible. My set up is on a hill. I dump my wood at the top with the splitter between it and the burner. Everything moves downhill. You are on the right track. You will always have a wood supply. I would suggest moving away from pallets though. The nails aren't worth it.

 

[Breezio]

I burn parts of pallets to start my fires, definatly wouldn't use them as a main source. They burn up way fast most of the time.

 

[tchambeau]

Dean,

I am located around 30 miles east of you in Whiting. My friends house has a wood boiler like yours and they burned on average around 10 cords a year. The boiler was in their basement. The house is a one story ranch, 4 bedrooms, large living room, probably 2000sq ft.
Hope that helps
Todd

 

[DeanBrown3D]

Hmm, quite a lot of wood - 10 cords! Was it specifically a Charmaster? I've had mine apart and back together again so it would fit in the basement, and it seems quite advance (and cost $$$) so I hope its gonna be efficient! I'll let all know, its nearly finished now.

Dean