Why i heat with wood.

[loadthestove]

Wood cutting,splitting,stacking is basically a hobby for me that pays for itself in reduced Utility bills.
On days like the last few we've had and winter time heating cost its nice to know that I wont be in for a surprise when I receive my electricity or gas bill the first of the month.
I know for some on the site this is about normal ,but for us in the southeast we are breaking low temp records

 

[Del_]

Independence.

Wood has been a waste product for my whole career in arboriculture. We are 100% wood heat.

Wood chips have been likewise. We've composted and used hundreds of tons of chips over the years.

We grow a lot of our own food and have done so for over 40 years.

In a word:

Frugal.

 

[Gabriel1982]

Wood cutting,splitting,stacking is basically a hobby for me that pays for itself in reduced Utility bills.
On days like the last few we've had and winter time heating cost its nice to know that I wont be in for a surprise when I receive my electricity or gas bill the first of the month.
I know for some on the site this is about normal ,but for us in the southeast we are breaking low temp records

Add some coal or petroleum coke to a dry wood load and you'll have 12 hour fire! P.s. forget about temperatures, show a picture with a fire!

 

[sawfarmer]

I have a firewood business and i heat with the 2nds that i would not sell my customers so for me its free heat.I also like making firewood .

 

[dave_dj1]

I like the idea of not supporting the Saudi's
I usually get my wood for just the price of some fuel, oil and energy on my part, very cheap compared to the cost of fuel oil. I also enjoy being comfy on the coldest of days. 4 above here the last two nights, 72 inside

 

[ElevatorGuy]

Yep, Stove has ran since Friday afternoon. It was 8° yesterday morning and 12° today. We have electric heat pump and electric backup, it sucks when it’s below 30°. If 30° is the low I don’t light the stove but it’s a must under that.

 

[dave ensign]

Been heating with wood for >50 years. Price for me is about the same as it was in '72. Why stop now.

 

[alanbaker]

Nothing beats wood heat! Too cold move closer, too hot move to another room, tea kettle is always hot, soup is cooked on the stove, clothes are dried in front of it. Firewood is my free gym membership

 

[Marley5]

Wood is an endless resource here in logging country.
I'm 62 and have heated with wood my entire life.
I'm open minded but the stuff is laying everywhere around here, why not.

 

[djg james]

Hobby and exercise for me too. With the added benefit of reducing my power bill. I only have an inefficient fire place, but I can lower my thermostat so the furnace doesn't kick on as much. Coupled with wool, I'm comfortable.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

I'd like to have a small wood burner for a back-up, in case my utilities take a crash. Wife doesn't want to be stuck with cutting wood at our age so if it goes cold in the house there's a Walmart a couple of miles away and a Burger King..

 

[samaritan]

I'd like to have a small wood burner for a back-up, in case my utilities take a crash. Wife doesn't want to be stuck with cutting wood at our age so if it goes cold in the house there's a Walmart a couple of miles away and a Burger King..

Get a stove, she'll be happy in the long run

 

[Gabriel1982]

Wood is an endless resource here in logging country.
I'm 62 and have heated with wood my entire life.
I'm open minded but the stuff is laying everywhere around here, why not.

Even better if you can store it and keep it dry for at least 6 months before burning in the stove! VA is vancouver? Am curios where is this "logging country"

 

[ETpilot]

It is always good to have a wood stove. I was a little short on wood when this deep freeze warning for our area was issued. I worked hard to process what I could to get by. Friday the lowest temperature day; 7*, my AC Heat Pump system failed. A call to my AC company and they would be out in the afternoon. I called a wood seller and arranged to pick up a pickup truck load. In the morning I picked up my wood. In the afternoon the AC company came out and replaced the blower motor. AC system good to go but I’ve been burning wood all this time.

In light of the blizzard conditions I’ve seen on TV, relying on a Walmart and Burger King may not be the best idea. A cold house may lead to burst water pipes. Not good. With all my preparations, my water line to the refrigerator froze. I shut the line down and fortunately it didn’t burst. Lots to think about in cold weather. My standby is a generator and some electric heaters and a few gasoline cans.

 

[samaritan]

It feels so good to be prepared for (almost) anything, I learned it in cub scouts, "be prepared" it has helped me many times in my life. I have my wood stove, generator, and chainsaw, as well as many tools. My son and I fix almost anything, and we enjoy it. My stove was my best investment ever.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Most people around here know to leave water running a bit in freezing weather to keep it from bursting the pipes. I had that happen one time when I first moved in and think I learned from that. By the way, you can thaw pipes using 100 proof clear vodka, melts ice pretty quick and doesn't kill you if you ingest some of it.

 

[woodfarmer]

I have a wood boiler with a couple 8’ rads and infloor heat. We had 20deg. Weather and severe wind for 4 days. Sucked the heat right out of my house, it was 55 in here in the mornings. Last Friday was wind and freezing rain from the east, guess which side of the house my heat pump is on. Twin condensers both fans froze. Wife said well if you left them on they wouldn’t have frozen, she likes convenience, I like wood.

 

[samaritan]

Most people around here know to leave water running a bit in freezing weather to keep it from bursting the pipes. I had that happen one time when I first moved in and think I learned from that. By the way, you can thaw pipes using 100 proof clear vodka, melts ice pretty quick and doesn't kill you if you ingest some of it.

Yeah, it happened to us once too. I keep some copper tubing and solder, fittings just in case.

 

[Gabriel1982]

It is always good to have a wood stove. I was a little short on wood when this deep freeze warning for our area was issued. I worked hard to process what I could to get by. Friday the lowest temperature day; 7*, my AC Heat Pump system failed. A call to my AC company and they would be out in the afternoon. I called a wood seller and arranged to pick up a pickup truck load. In the morning I picked up my wood. In the afternoon the AC company came out and replaced the blower motor. AC system good to go but I’ve been burning wood all this time.

In light of the blizzard conditions I’ve seen on TV, relying on a Walmart and Burger King may not be the best idea. A cold house may lead to burst water pipes. Not good. With all my preparations, my water line to the refrigerator froze. I shut the line down and fortunately it didn’t burst. Lots to think about in cold weather. My standby is a generator and some electric heaters and a few gasoline cans.

Dry wood cut,split and dried over the spring-summer period at least 6 months along with at least 2 tons of petroleum coke or just good high grade coal stored in a dry safe place would make you laugh in the face of worse freeze/blizzard you could imagine! This is what romanians do imediately after winter is gone and warm weather comes! It's a habit we inherited from our old parents and grandparents who had to deal with far worse winters then what we get now/last 4-5 years; only REAL winter was in 2012 when snow was as tall as houses here!
Having enough dry wood and high quality coal/petroleum coke and a highly insulated house is the only way out of a hard winter ,if it were to actually happen!
Oh ,and forget about LPG/propane if you can only keep/store it OUTSIDE! it won't work that good in minus 25-30 Celcius! Wood and coal are KING in very low temperatures! Wood burns well/fast and easy ,while coal maintains the high temperature and a nice hot bed of red glowing cinder!
Of course a good reliable generator is a must too but kept in a semi-heated room not outside... You won't make that generator a "favour" starting it at minus 30 Celcius... Gasoline in metal canisters is good too along with a pressurized gasoline burner like Coleman 533 or 442! Good for cooking and melting snow for water if you lose all other energy sources!
A good chainsaw is esential to get all these done,starting with spring time

 

[Gabriel1982]

I have a wood boiler with a couple 8’ rads and infloor heat. We had 20deg. Weather and severe wind for 4 days. Sucked the heat right out of my house, it was 55 in here in the mornings. Last Friday was wind and freezing rain from the east, guess which side of the house my heat pump is on. Twin condensers both fans froze. Wife said well if you left them on they wouldn’t have frozen, she likes convenience, I like wood.

Just like in gasoline generators kept outside ,protect them from snow and that "nice" freezing rain... I'd make them a permanent "little house" with a labirint big enough to get air just to keep them working in the worst of weather! But people are lazy and don"t always think of the worse when is sunny and hot outside...