Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
Wood has always been free around here for those willing to put in the muscle, which is why I ask.
No problem clearing snow around a heat pump with a shovel. Now if it dumps 2 ft overnight that might create problems, but here in the Oregon valley snow's no problem.
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Unless a good friend who doesn't have a wood burning stove is clearing trees off of his property, here you have to both pay for a wood permit and put in the muscle to get the wood. Every summer my dad goes and pays for his permit, then takes his little pickup, trailer and chain saw out to the forest and cuts up all the wood he needs, comes back and chops it all by hand, and stacks it up, then goes and gets another load, and he does this until he has enough wood for the winter which can take him several weeks even though that's all he does since he's retired.
I'm not sure how wood compares to propane or electricity in price, especially if you factor in all the work involved as well as tools and fuel. But wood can't be left on if you leave your house, especially for several days. And although it would be best to heat tape and insulate every inch of pipe including sewer pipes, the benefit of a central forced air system is it gets heat under the house where it keeps things from freezing, which is something wood stoves just can't do usually. Plus my parents aren't getting any younger and one day Dad will have to stop cutting down trees out in the forest with no cell signal by himself.