The Psychology of Heating with Firewood

[Wood Doctor]

I thought about this topic this morning and thought we might like to kick it around. Heating with firewood is unique in this respect. You watch the supply drop at all times and so does everyone else who sees your wood pile, which is usually conspicuous.

That's not the case with all other heating fuels: natural gas, propane, fuel oil, or electricity. Nobody sees the supply drop, and even with propane and fuel oil, you have to go check the tank gauge. On the other hand, every time you gather wood from the wood pile, you watch the pile shrink. And, this time of the year, the wood pile could be dropping rapidly and it's miserable to go outside in deep snow and/or subzero temperatures and gather more fuel for the pile.

Your neighbors, of course, can also see your wood pile diminishing, and they thus have a check on your fuel usage. Not true of all other fuels. Consumption of them is virtually a secret.

So there you have it. How do you handle heating with firewood within your brain? Please advise.

 

[CrappieKeith]

For me seeing my wood pile half gone tells me that winter is half over.
It also indicates that the late ice fishing bite is about to begin......and that mud season is almost here and then the skeeters...our state bird begins to show themselves.
Oh ya!

 

[ponyexpress976]

Current state of the pile keeps me in check. Very easy to tell if I was "lazy" last gathering season or if I actually busted my hump. this year I can watch the superbowl without any worries cause I know I have about 5 cords still stacked and ready to go. This time last year I only had about 2 and I was getting nervous. During the summer I often sit around in the evening surveying my stacks with a cold beer and a smile. That's because I know what one neighbor spends on oil, one on electricity, and one on propane.

 

[OhioGregg]

Funny, The UPS driver mentioned that just last week. Said your wood stacks are disappearing! I have sold most of what I had, to sell. So what I have left, is mainly for myself. But, from the outside, would be hard for someone to tell just how much I had left. I usually will have a cord or two down in the wood room in the basement.

Speaking of which, I will have to haul more in next week. I used to stack it in the wood room. Easier to tell just how much you have left. But, anymore I just toss it in, far to much handling as it is..LOL Maybe I'm just getting old.

 

[avalancher]

Thats why the early fall is the best time of year for me, and spring the most depressing.In the fall I get to look at a years worth of work, all stacked up and ready for its daily counting. By early spring, the piles have disappeared, either into my stove or delivered out into the county, and I am left with the realization that once again the work starts again. The only thing that gives me any comfort is two fold. The electric bill shows up and its still two hundred bucks smaller than the summer time bill, and I can always resort to counting the remaining pile because I try and stay one year ahead, especially for wood that is sold.

But, to me honest, I am so ready for spring this year.Its been a cold one so far this winter,and still several months to go..

 

[deerlakejens]

WoodDoctor, That is an interesting question. I have to say some of my feelings depend on the quality of the wood in question. I'm a scrounger and never turn down free wood so sometimes I end up with less desirable species like cedar, cottonwood, etc. and actually am happy when that stack disappears. However, when I see my perfect length fir, maple, madrone, or locust dwindling down, it's a little depressing. I like to think of it as making more room for the next load I'm bringing in!

I lived in Omaha from '79-'86 and really enjoyed it, great town. Is the Trackside grill still open? Bob there had the best hot beef sandwiches, man I could go for one right now!

 

[Hedgerow]

Thats why the early fall is the best time of year for me, and spring the most depressing.In the fall I get to look at a years worth of work, all stacked up and ready for its daily counting. By early spring, the piles have disappeared, either into my stove or delivered out into the county, and I am left with the realization that once again the work starts again. The only thing that gives me any comfort is two fold. The electric bill shows up and its still two hundred bucks smaller than the summer time bill, and I can always resort to counting the remaining pile because I try and stay one year ahead, especially for wood that is sold.

But, to me honest, I am so ready for spring this year.Its been a cold one so far this winter,and still several months to go..

Amen...:worship:

 

[johnha]

When I get my utility bill and see that I use less than 1/6 the natural gas that I did ten years ago before I started this nonsense, I get all warm inside.

 

[John R]

How do you handle heating with firewood within your brain? Please advise.

My brain sees$$$$$ savings.

 

[Locust Cutter]

My brain sees$$$$$ savings.

For me, knowing that I saved 1-1.5 tanks of propane or about the same cost as a new MS660 w/2 bars and a handful of chains,.... Makes me feel pretty good. Normally I'm never completely out, as I try to do my cutting/splitting between Sept-Apr. That way I can do the hard manual labor while it's it's not 1000*F outside,... Summer should be saved for playing with the kids, going to the lake, fixing equipment, cutting wheat and rifle/shotgun practice. Just my thoughts,...

 

[woodbooga]

Awesome thread, wooddoc!

I don't know if I'd call it a psychology of woodheat - but I've noticed that it seems to be a kind of brotherhood. There's a sense of community that unites us. I think of this everytime (well 9/10 of the time) when I take the dog out to pee beyond the neighbor's house; seems like I can almost always hear their oil furnace firing in their basement from a distance from mid-Dec through the end of March.

I do a lot of work in community relations and fundraising. This time of year, it's easy pickens when dealing with the media and potential donors.

E.g.

Me: Pretty darned cold.

Them: Tell me about it. Just had the oilman filler up again

Me: <changing subjects> Well, only three more weeks until Red Sox spring training.

HOWEVER

Me: Pretty darned cold.

Them: No biggie. Still have 3 cords seasoned.

Me: Well, same here - and we're into the deep winter red oak. Won't be long until I'll be out cutting again. YOU know - and the beat goes on. What kind of saw you run?

 

[loganj01]

For me, it's a mix of necessity and enjoyment. I live in N Georgia and don't experience weather that is anything like some of you do. When the economy began to tank, my wife lost her job in a "downsizing". After months of searching, she decided the only alternative was to go back to college which I thought was great. The downside of that move was that propane for heating was no longer in the budget. I knew we could heat the house enough to get by with our insert...I've always burned wood but never out of necessity. We have become so accustomed to it that we've decided to get a wood furnace and commit to it as our primary heat source. I love to cut wood too. My wife came into this marriage with two boys who are ages 6 and 9 now. I work a lot of hours and cutting wood is one of the few activities that the boys and I get to do together. I love it. They love it. I feel like it's teaching them a work ethic and that it's teaching them that a man (and I'm not patting my own back here so don't take it that way) does whatever is required to see that the family's needs are met...no matter what it takes...no matter what it takes. It's teaching them how to be safe around equipment. Maybe it'll give them memories of good times that they'll want with their own kids someday. Last...I just really enjoy sinking a good running sharp saw into a big log and letting the chips fly. It's hard manual labor and it'll cleanse your soul. Sorry for the long post...sometimes I think too much

 

[Whitespider]

I just got done wading through crotch deep snow to check the gauge on my LP tank... seriously, just 5 minutes ago.
I had it filled right about Halloween and I've only used 100 gallons, near all of that used for hot tap water.
Going on last year, when I heated 100% with LP, (and this year has been colder) I figure I would have used around 1800 more gallons by now.
1800 x $1.85 = $3330.oo - and the winter and cold ain't over yet.

I heat with an old steel stove piped into the furnace system... don't get watch no purdy flames.

Now I didn't have a stack, or stacks, to watch dwindle away, I have no idea how much I've burned... I've been spending most every Saturday cuttin', splittin' and haulin'. This years deep snow has made it tough, but all I need to do is "the math" and I'll be out there in it again tomorrow morning. I'm starting to run short of "easy-to-get-to" standing dead... but another couple weeks or so and the temperatures should start coming up, snow should start meltin', and wood consumption should lighten up. Heck, during March I usually move the beer back into the garage fridge and strip off the long-johns. Far as I'm concerned... March is the end of winter!

 

[Wood Doctor]

Nobody Thinks Too Much

Logan said, "... Sorry for the long post...sometimes I think too much..."
-------------------
To which I say, Baloney! Nobody thinks too much.

As I write, I'm enjoying the heat of this wood that I gathered last year. Three years ago I ran out of firewood but only after a "friend" sold the wood that I had collected for both of us and had hoped to share with him. I vowed never to let that happen again. I have since watched others trying not to run out of firewood. They get rather fidgety this time of the year. As grasshoppers, they never figured that they would ever run out and that somebody else would always show up to bail them out.

A few of my friends can no longer collect firewood themselves due to old age and health problems. I try to help them, but very few of their friends or offspring help me as I do so. That's the way it is. Our society has become complacent and fat. Firewood collecting can help get rid of that fat, but most people would rather eat and drink than say strong and healthy.

Forum, please carry on and allow me and others to read more of your words as the winter keeps on going.

 

[dave_dj1]

To me it's more of a sense of satisfaction of knowing that I did it! I worked, worked and worked some more to feel the warmth of a nice warm fire. Now I wish I could have the same feeling in my house:msp_w00t:

 

[Soonercutter]

For me it's a couple of reasons. It's great exercise getting the firewood cut, split, and stacked. And the enjoyment of sitting in front of the fire in the insert on cold winter night with my wife and an adult beverage. And it's never a bad thing when the utility bill is less because of using wood heat.

 

[TMFARM 2009]

for us its a necessity its our primary heat source... we had electric ceiling heat...what a joke.. roof leaked after a hard storm and wiped it out...only three rooms still work.so the insert runs 24-7 to keep it warm....this house has been in the family since it was built so i knew this before purchasing it...i have wanted to get a furnace installed but every winter i get the electric bill seeing it get higher and higher every year...no way i will put anything else in here unless its a corn furnace,that can be grown here for use as well.. we have also been looking at different wind turbines to cut cost's down on electric.my uncle lives 1/4 mile up the road uses a lot of solar on his place but it has a lot of drawbacks....that said,,, we keep our wood stacked inside after having four cords stolen from the back yard.it stays inside and under lock and key..it is stacked in from wall to wall 6 feet tall so seeing it diminish isn't an option until its down too far .. i have been cleaning out an area in the back barn to process and stack right there on pallets so i can pick one up and haul it to the house, for use as needed.but keeping track of three business's and working full time and cutting and splitting and the livestock leaves little time for some projects...for me its not all about the $$$$ its about heating the house or freezing.. for me selling wood only happens if some one is in a bind and hard up....we gave away five cords to a family the guy was dying from cancer and they didn't have the means of buying it,my brother in law told me to let them make payments...i told him no way its free no charge,also told him he would understand one day...but i dont know since he's a multi millionaire if he could ever see it.he's done forgotten where he came from.
sorry for the long post.

 

[ks_osage_orange]

Interesting question to ponder. I know my moral is definately higher when I have an excess of wood, and I have a bit of a nagging feeling when my supply dwindles too low. (Does this sound a bit dirty?) So I think there is something to this psychology question. Cut more wood= feel better/Cut less wood = Feel worse. Simple enough.

 

[Vangellis]

Try as I may, I never seem to have enough time to gather up a whole winters wood supply (about 5 cords), so I usually end up buying some. I enjoy all the aspects of firewood gathering but for me it's not just about saving money, its also about the type of heat I get from my stove. Much better than the electric baseboard we have.:msp_rolleyes:

With that being said, I'm supplementing with another heat source right now. Coal.
My stove burns both wood and coal and before we finished the basement off I used to burn both, about a 50/50 split over a season. About 7 years ago we went with just wood. In early January as I saw the woodpile dwindle, I thought I would give coal another shot and have been burning it since Jan. 10. I like it a lot.
Nice steady heat and long lasting between fill ups. The dust factor isn't as bad as we thought it might be.

I think I'll be back to the 50/50 ratio again, saving the wood for the shoulder months. This may sound like Blasphemy on AS, but being from the Scranton, Pa. area, coal is a legacy here.:msp_tongue:




Kevin

 

[046]

some folks have the mindset to heat with wood... some don't.

lots of wood left ... my friend sets me up with large Oak take downs. Cummins pulling a 20ft trailer with tandem 7k axles holds a LOT of wood.

still got a few cords of hundred year old Oak and a cord of hickory to split yet.

coldest season for Tulsa in 15 years. record low with record snow ever for Tulsa. still got 2-3ft snow drifts on the ground. just got another 4-6in snow today with more coming. the entire state got declared a disaster area. all major roads into Tulsa was shut down yesterday.

needless to say.... sure glad I heat with wood!!!!