Just Got My 2022/2023 Budgeted Home Heating Oil Plan

[Bowmanmike]

I would guess it's a bit of both, high rates slowed building and that lowered demand.

I'll be curious what propane is this year, it's about that time they send out the pricing letter

I think you guys blinked...lumber is going back up now...

 

[Bowmanmike]

It’s been $650 a long time, $850 will be closer to reality this winter, I just spent $3102 to have a skidder trucked 336 miles to my house, next week I have to change all the oils on that machine and I’m expecting $800-$1000 just for filters and oil, loggers are dropping out by me, I said screw it and bought a skidder to cut my own land this winter, I’m about an hour or so north of you.

I tried skidding logs with my Ford 3000 tractor and boy,is it not worth it. it took me well over a week to get as much as a tightly stacked logging truck. I suppose the skidded is faster,but I will keep on buying loads. My neighbor is a logger,amongst other things,and I like giving him money vs the big oil companies.

 

[Topdog]

I tried skidding logs with my Ford 3000 tractor and boy,is it not worth it. it took me well over a week to get as much as a tightly stacked logging truck. I suppose the skidded is faster,but I will keep on buying loads. My neighbor is a logger,amongst other things,and I like giving him money vs the big oil companies.
[/QUOTE I couldn’t agree more, have it delivered and unloaded right where you want it, the work it takes to fill that truck for what they charge is unbelievable, I don’t cut much firewood on my land, I’m chasing good saw logs and hopefully some veneer, whatever firewood I get is just scraps from the good stuff I’m selling, I’m not a logger, just a person with a bunch of land that needs to be cut and I refuse to let anybody else do it.

 

[Iron_llama]

I bought a trailer of split oak last year to augment my stash of FOGwood (found on ground, mix of popple, ash, and softwood). Barely made a dent in it over the winter so it will be nice and dry for this winter. We're on off-peak electric, wood fireplace in the basement for off-peak hours. Ideally, I'd have propane, off-peak, and wood backup, but a propane setup is out of budget at the moment. I've been at the mercy of propane prices, and electricity prices, and just knowing that I have the ability to offset price spikes with a bit of sweat equity give me a very comfortable (if illusory) feeling of control over our winter heating bills.

 

[Bowmanmike]

I like doing stuff myself but I can't do it all. you gotta pick and choose,because I also don't enjoy working every waking minute. That makes for a grumpy Mike,haha. By the way, I have been doing the truck undercoating and it still looks pretty good. Your suggestion helped me make that call.

 

[Wirrex]

This is timely. I am sitting on a log next to the cord of oak I just split by hand. I ordered a pacific energy summit wood stove last year and got it last spring. I didn’t get a chance to use it last season but I’m glad I got it when I did.

I have been working on and off cutting and splitting hardwood in my spare time it looks like I’ll have about 5 cords when I’m all done I have no idea how much I am going to need but I’m glad I won’t be paying the propane company as much as I have been. We go through about 1000 gal a year and I’m hoping this stove will save me a good chunk of that.

I just have to finish the hearth and connect some pipes and we will have wood heat! It’s been a long time coming.

 

[Topdog]

I have a Central Outdoor wood boiler, it runs all year, to heat the domestic water in the summer obviously, and I heat my house and garage with it too, it goes through wood like you can’t imagine but I also have zero dependency on oil/propane for heat and hot water, we also have a wood stove in the house for those super cold nights or if and when the power goes out, Christmas parties stuff like that, you can’t beat wood heat. I also have a traditional oil boiler that’s plumbed in so if I ever decide to quit burning wood full time someday down the road, loading that boiler outside every night before bed sure gets old when it’s -10*, but for now I will keep doing it..

 

[Bowmanmike]

I have a Central Outdoor wood boiler, it runs all year, to heat the domestic water in the summer obviously, and I heat my house and garage with it too, it goes through wood like you can’t imagine but I also have zero dependency on oil/propane for heat and hot water, we also have a wood stove in the house for those super cold nights or if and when the power goes out, Christmas parties stuff like that, you can’t beat wood heat. I also have a traditional oil boiler that’s plumbed in so if I ever decide to quit burning wood full time someday down the road, loading that boiler outside every night before bed sure gets old when it’s -10*, but for now I will keep doing it..

Everything has good and bad sides. My furnace is in the basement and it is a project getting all the wood stacked down there in the fall but then i don't have to go outside to stoke the fire.
I just wish it was radiant heat and not hot air but I couldn't afford making the switch when I got this furnace 19 years ago.

 

[Buckeye]

We use three infrared electric heaters in leau of or to supplement our propane furnace. Our electric bill goes up around $100 per month, but our propane usage goes down to almost zero. It only comes on for the coldest of days.This is for a 2000 square foot ranch style house in NE Ohio.

 

[CooterBrown]

Anyone use a masonry heater?

 

[Bowmanmike]

Anyone use a masonry heater?

yup,I built one in my house,I am a Mason. Love that thing,but it is only part of the heating plan. You can't keep loading those up like a woodstove and burn them all day they have a limit.

 

[CooterBrown]

yup,I built one in my house,I am a Mason. Love that thing,but it is only part of the heating plan. You can't keep loading those up like a woodstove and burn them all day they have a limit.

you live in the north?

 

[Bowmanmike]

you live in the north?

NY and own and old farmhouse. The masonry heater does nothing for the basement or the upstairs as it is radiant heat. If my house was well insulated the masonry heater could do more of the heating. I think a heat pump and masonry heater would be a great combo. I am looking into those as I wouldn't mind getting a little cooling in the summer as well.

 

[CooterBrown]

What about for a new home in Alabama?

 

[BTaylor]

What about for a new home in Alabama?

If it's anything like here, really good A/C is way more important than heating. Some years we dont run the A/C in Dec and Jan.

 

[Bowmanmike]

What about for a new home in Alabama?

How cold does.it get in Bama? I think it would be just fine,plus you can cook in it. The pizza we make is amazing...

 

[CooterBrown]

How cold does.it get in Bama? I think it would be just fine,plus you can cook in it. The pizza we make is amazing...

in the teens 3 or 4 times a year.

 

[Bowmanmike]

in the teens 3 or 4 times a year.

It should do well,but it is like a giant radiator,it heats what it can see. So an open floor plan helps. You can't move the heat around as easily as you could convection heat(hot air). Some backup heat is always recommended. Nice thing is there are no moving parts so a masonry heater works without power and burns super clean.

 

[CooterBrown]

It should do well,but it is like a giant radiator,it heats what it can see. So an open floor plan helps. You can't move the heat around as easily as you could convection heat(hot air). Some backup heat is always recommended. Nice thing is there are no moving parts so a masonry heater works without power and burns super clean.

For sure have a heat pump backup. we cant live down here without a/c

 

[Bowmanmike]

For sure have a heat pump backup. we cant live down here without a/c

Look up the masonry heater association. They should have a ton of links on there. I work with Maine wood heat if I build one,they supply the core and other fancy parts and they made theirs repairable,which is nice for a $15,000.00 item.