Investment vs Payback

[wkpoor]

Anyone ever add up the cost in all your equipment to harvest and process wood and then talk about how we like the warm even free (NOT!) fuel.
A friend of mine constantly reminds me of the real cost of burning wood.
My list as follows:
Tractor 17K
Grapple to pick logs 3.5K
Splitter 2K about
chainsaws 3-4K might have went overboard there
Dump Trailer 6.5K
stove 500.00 could be up to 2K depending
Chimney 500-2K depending
Misc equipment in support of 500.00
Time investment ??????
Wow and I'm supposed to be saving money????
Then add in an OWB if you have one and add another 6-10K
WOW!!! Even if I burn the rest of my life there will never be a payback.

 

[gtu160]

It still feels better then paying the oil man and i hope in a few years I can be off the grid..

 

[barnumb]

I hope your wife dont find out about this. I think cutting wood just exceded the cost of hunting and fishing. By the time you buy all the latest gear the fish is about $200lb, venison at least $125 a pound and by my calculations your firewood is about $500 a face cord. Dont feel bad though last weekend we hauled about 40 face of white oak home and I think we had about $100,000 worth of equipment involved. I am proud of you man real proud.

 

[iowa]

See... You have done it the really expensive way. You don't need a 17k tractor or dump trailer etc... That's the big money right there that you will never get back.

My setup
$1800 for 94 ford f150
$1500 in saws
$600 in furnace
$1200 log splitter
$400 flue piping
Dads 16' trailer = free
Add that up and that's about 2 yrs worth of proPAIN
So after this yr. I will be seeing major money savings! That's if I don't burn the house down. LOL!:greenchainsaw::greenchainsaw:

 

[Mntn Man]

Chimney $1000
Daka furnace and ductwork $1000
Splitter $1000
Chainsaws $800
P/U box trailer $60
trailer upgrades $140
Misc equip $300

Total $4300

Yearly savings= $1800 Less than 2.5 years payback

Not sitting in the house getting even fatter in the winter= priceless:greenchainsaw:

 

[wkpoor]

Oh I realize the investment level will vary greatly individual to individual.I justify some things by saying well the tractor get used for alot more than firewood and the trailer hauls more than just FW and even the grapple has found other things to do also. But hey, I don't have a 75K boat that I only use 4 months out of the year. At least my toys are used year around.

 

[wood4heat]

The only things I probably wouldn't have if not for getting firewood:

Trailer= $250.00 (father in laws, I put tires on it for letting me use it)
Saw & misc related stuff= $650.00
axes= $60.00
Safety gear= $175.00
Wood stove, chimney, hearth= $4000.00

total= $5135.00 Figure another $1200.00 if I ever build another woodshed + maybe $45.00 in fuel for each 2-3 cord I'm able to haul out of the woods.

From a purely economic standpoint it will take years to pay for itself. So what, if you asked me it payed for itself the first trip into the woods. The first book in front of a cozy fire with my little girl. The first hot cocoa after playing in the snow. You get the idea, the joy and memories created in front of that fire every winter are like in the mastercard commercials, priceless.

 

[J.Gordon]

Anyone ever add up the cost in all your equipment to harvest and process wood and then talk about how we like the warm even free (NOT!) fuel.
A friend of mine constantly reminds me of the real cost of burning wood.
My list as follows:
Tractor 17K
Grapple to pick logs 3.5K
Splitter 2K about
chainsaws 3-4K might have went overboard there
Dump Trailer 6.5K
stove 500.00 could be up to 2K depending
Chimney 500-2K depending
Misc equipment in support of 500.00
Time investment ??????
Wow and I'm supposed to be saving money????
Then add in an OWB if you have one and add another 6-10K
WOW!!! Even if I burn the rest of my life there will never be a payback.

I bought a Kubota 4x4 tractor around 15 years ago for $3500 and sold it 13 years later for the same amount. Now I have a 444 D International that my Father gave me, it hauls the wood now. Even if I didn’t burn wood I would still need my saws for removing dead limbs and trees.
Worst case it will be 4 year payback on my OWB. If I run out of propane it could be a couple of days before I get more, in 2 hours I can cut enough wood to last me a week.

 

[Stihl here]

I have invested.
$300 chainsaw
$200 woodstove
$600 chimney
$35 axe

All my wood comes from either job sites at work "excavation sites" or from my own property. Sometimes whenever I get a good score!!!

When I can get wood for free it makes it worth heating my house!!!

I have saved my self money over the years burning wood but my time is another subject!!!

I enjoy the outdoors,the workout I get from doing cordwood and the satisfaction of the work I have done when the cold weather comes!!!

It pays off IMO!!! But you almost have to enjoy it!!!

 

[wkpoor]

But you almost have to enjoy it!!!

I've said that many times or even went further as to say if firewood ain't your hobby then heating your house with wood may not be for you.

 

[mschoff]

I will start saving from everything stove, saw, trailer, etc in four 1/2 years. and I have it all 1 1/2 already. but then again all my wood is free. I just called the propane man to see what the minimum gall delivery was and it is 200 gall $ 1.59 = 349.19 and they wonder why we burn wood.

 

[Guarddog1]

But at the end of the season I still have all my equipment if I payed the oil guy all I would have left is a bunch of oil heat lost out of my windows. Also I never kept it 73-75 in the house when I payed for oil.

 

[carvinmark]

I had most all my equipment for my business so when I started heating my house with wood last year I spent less than 1200.00 for everything, including a used log splitter and a wood cutting permit. Probably 250.00 on fuel and oil, bringing my total to less than 1/2 a years worth of propane. My labor was over and above but was enjoyable.
This season I changed the chimney to used 8" insulated(50.00 craigslist find) and reworked some of the duct work for 75.00. I couldn't go myself to get wood this year so I paid 90.00 a cord for 7 nice full cord Of Oak delivered, I split it and stacked.
I love my wood heat, for me it's the difference between being comfortable and eating steak or overdressing trying to stay warm while eating beans.
Mine has paid me back already only because I got a lot of used stuff really cheap. I have several friends still paying for their 10,000 OWB and feel for them, but they are warm and not buying propane.

 

[gwiley]

You might need to exercise some creative accounting to avoid feeling silly:

- 20yr old Bobcat 743DS - $6,000 - used it to put in an $8,000 driveway so that's paid for itself (but the driveway was needed so I could deliver wood closer to the OWB)

- Chainsaws, $2,000 - I needed 1 to keep a few miles of private road clear anyway

- PPE & misc. saw gear - $500

- OWB, $10,000

- Various splitting tools - $300

- F350 - $3,000 - but I had to replace the Ranger than got crushed by a grader anyway

When I factor in the $5,000/year propane bill I have enjoyed a better ROI than any other hobby I can think of.

The really nifty part is that I get a pile of intangible benefits that take this to a whole new level:

- I have some skills/tools that I can use to supplement my income
- I can help friends out with a skill that may save their lives and definitely saves them money by felling/removing trees for free as a favor (paying forward, etc.)
- I am far more physically fit than I would have been
- I am going to burn time on some hobby, this seems as good a choice as any
- my house is much warmer than most of the folks I know

Add the pure joy of the work and this ends up being a great investment in equipment!

 

[harrybeaver]

My wood processing equipment paid for itself by not having to hire a "professional" tree service to do the tree removals I needed done. In fact after paying for the saws, log splitter, wood chipper (sold once done clearing for same price as it was bought) etc I still came out ahead of the game a couple grand. The equipment still has intrinsic value, should I decide to sell I would expect to sell for at least 50% of what I paid.

The wood burning equipment doesn't fair as well when looking at return on investment. Wood stove and liner cost about $2,650 and saves about $500/yr on heating costs. I bought a EKO 40 Gasser, total cost about $4,000 and it saves about $2,000/yr since it heats everything and does a nicer job of it than the wood stove could ever hope to while requiring less of my time to do it. They both help me clean up the yard from all the logs and branches that I would have lying around if I weren't burning it and provide nutrient rich ash for the garden.

Final factor is the feeling you get standing on your own little piece of the world working the land, bonding with nature on wood chip at a time. Wife doesn't get the use of a chainsaw to bond with nature and it is hard to explain, some people just don't get it.

 

[Mike Van]

WK - 3 to 4 thou for chainsaws? That might be a little over, just a little though. When you add like that, no, you never will see a return. Knowing the power could be out for weeks & my house wouldn't freeze, that's priceless.

 

[AIM]

Tractor 17K
Grapple to pick logs 3.5K
Splitter 2K about
chainsaws 3-4K might have went overboard there
Dump Trailer 6.5K
stove 500.00 could be up to 2K depending
Chimney 500-2K depending
Misc equipment in support of 500.00
Time investment ??????
Wow and I'm supposed to be saving money????
Then add in an OWB if you have one and add another 6-10K

I'm seeing about 40K worth of "fluff". If all that is JUST for cutting wood then you do indeed have a LONGGGG payback.

My setup
Homemade OWB $2600 ( 3 seasons ago)
major mods this year $500
2 used saws $350 (husky 45 and 55)
Misc extra chains, straps, axes, etc $300
chain grinder $100
The truck is my work truck $0

One other thing to not forget is the actual cost of cutting a load of wood. Last year I sat down and figured out the cost of cutting just one load of wood. I came up with about $7.00 per load.
Truck gas / saw gas and oil / wear and tear on saw and chain /
Had to do some guessing on the whole (saw and chain) thing

Last year I burned about 30 loads of wood which is $210 off my savings. The last year that I heated with propane it cost me $1600. Equals a savings of about $1400 per year. At the end of this season I'll be just past the break even point.

As for your time. If you take time off of work to cut, your losin money and simply not thinking. If your cuttin on your time off then your time is worth $0 and your doin it right. I look at it like this. Sittin in front of the TV watchin football and drinkin beer.= $0 value / Being in the woods, cuttin wood and drinkin beer.= $1400 savings.

 

[Butch(OH)]

I guess the real cost depends on one's point of view about certain things. Like anything else in life if one chooses to go crazy stupid with the VISA card he is going to find himself in a financial hole. The stove installation is obviously a true cost. We have 15 chainsaws now. Are all of them a cost of heating? I don't think so, they are a hobby but charging a couple hun for a saw for heating each year isnt unreasonable IMO. Things like the chain grinder, safety gear and various axes and mauls and fuel for the saws and truck do add up. As for trailers we have exactly zippo in our two trailers outside of a few bucks for welding rods and electric to run the welder. Believe it or not my wife does keep track of what I have spent including all the toys and I am ahead of the game including paying for the OWB four years ago. Additions beside fuel savings are there too. I don't need to belong to a health club to keep my joints loose and the weekends in the woods with my two grown up sons are just plain priceless.

 

[Mac B.]

My setup is as follows:
Homemade OWB $600
Homemade logsplitter $175
Stihl 028 WB give to me in return for load of wood
Stihl 029 Super trded a cheap pistol for it

I think mine will pay for itself this year. I do have a Kubota B2710 but I use it for so much other stuff I am not even going to include it. Oh and i almost forgot the time cutting wood with friends and family, Priceless!!!

Mac

 

[headleyj]

Put a value on the following, then calculate;

-Knowing how to be less dependent on propane guy/ fuel oil guy
-Showing your kids whay hard work is and why it's rewarding
-Knowing how to work with your hands/ back
-Being able to plan/ think ahead based on weather and level of wood you're using

I know what you're saying, but you can't measure everything in dollars.