Is it me or are more people returning to wood?

Most of my snobby neighbors think I'm a caveman with my coal burning endeavours... My family and I get the last laugh with the thermostat set at 74, unlimited DHW, and an in-ground pool which serves as the biggest hot tub in New England!

I've also noticed several large wood piles appearing at houses this year... I'm doing my best to keep anthracite coal a secret.

OUTSTANDING A lot of people still do wood around here--they're a lot younger then me & God knows the availability is here.

Same here a lot of wood and a lot more going for pellets. A guy I work with just purchased a pellet stove and paid 1000 for 3 tons delivered I laughed. Not to mention the stove is useless if u lose power.

And i dont think they are getting the btu's with the pellets that you would get from coal,,,,COAL, more bang for your buck,,, I saw a pellet stove the otherday in trader horn, it looked like a window air cond. I'am not sure but it looked like you would put it in your window just like a window air cond. I was in a hurry to get my coal stove pipe and i wanted to check the pellet stove out,, but i was in such a rush i forget to take look at it! No loss,,,,we got coal! The little pellet stove was only $1500.00 bucks

MURDOC1 wrote:I totally agree, I've noticed much the same around here, lots of people with piles of firewood in the drive... And I also agree that it does seem like more than usual!!! Whats up with all that nonsense? I've been trying to convert a few close friends to coal over the past year or more and I haven't been able to convince even a single person to "make the switch" even after showing my receipts for coal purchased over the last 2 years and explained how it costs twice as much to heat my place 10 degrees less with oil!!! Some people just won't give coal a chance I suppose!!! Oh well, their loss...

That's OK! More for us! Higher demand means higher prices so SSHHHHHH! (it's our little secret!)

watkinsdr wrote:I've also noticed several large wood piles appearing at houses this year...

Same here. My neighbor cuts and sells hundreds of cords of firewood per year, and his dump truck has been going by the house non-stop. I am noticing stacks of firewood behind some homes for the first time, and some new stainless steel chimneys.

freetown fred wrote:I'm with ya on that one. If someone asks, I'm real willing to share my coal knowledge with them. If they don't ask, I know nothing.---SUPPLY & DEMAND = PRICING

I look at it the same way, but word about anthracite heating is slowly spreading, especially these new age things called "stokers". In just the last week I have gotten emails/messages from three different people in NY looking for advice on how to hook up an EFM stoker boiler. Some found me on this site, others found the videos of my boiler on youtube. A few others have called me at home looking for a coal source. I try and keep a low profile, but they keep finding me.

I do enjoy meeting others that burn coal...but they are few and far between in these parts. Maybe I should get a 2-3 ton piece of anthracite to put out by the mailbox, I could put a sign on it that says "If you know what this is stop in for a beer".

[quote][/quote]on it that says "If you know what this is stop in for a beer".

Funny you say that....over the summer I took a trip down to deleware for some free coal, the locals had no idea what it was...little kid walked by "mommy look at the black rocks" My neighbor across the street thought I was hauling driveway stone!!!

^^^ That's pretty much how most people in MA react to coal. Pellet stoves are all the rage here. I did the math one day after seeing pellets for $240 a ton ... and if I remember right coal would have to be $340 a ton to equal that price, btu for btu.

Pellets.

pellets @240. per ton is more like coal@410.

Markviii wrote "Maybe I should get a 2-3 ton piece of anthracite to put out by the mailbox, I could put a sign on it that says "If you know what this is stop in for a beer". What is your address? Just put a piece of rice coal on the mailbox flag and I will find you

I put in a Yukon-Eagle Klondike IV in my house in Michigan's Upper Peninsula last year. That place will become my retirement home in a year or so, and while I'm only 56, I wasn't about to be wed to a propane tank and propane @ $2.20 gal. I burn both wood and coal in the Klondike. My wife and daughter are more the wood burners when I'm not there, and I'm the coal burner when I am. Either way it's a great addition, and it throws out a lot of heat. The only time we use propane is in those transition periods where it's chilly at night but warms up into the 50s & 60s during the day. Once the daytime highs stay in the 40s, then we make the switch to exclusive wood & coal. I'll get a better feel for how much wood & coal we'll use this winter, since the installation wasn't complete until Feb of last winter, and half the heating season was over.

DennisH wrote:I wasn't about to be wed to a propane tank and propane @ $2.20 gal.

.

2.20 I wish, I was getting gauged last year at 3.80. I don't think you can even get ng here for less than 2.5

I was at Home Depot today and looked at what they were passing off as stoves. People were all around there looking and asking questions. I just took a quick glance and kept my mouth shut. A big victory for me at least.

Around here coal is very expensive. Last time I checked, which was a few years ago anthracite was around 250 a ton. There are wood stoves that can easily achieve the burns of a coal stove. Blaze king is one of them. The modern wood stoves and furnaces have a much better burn time and burn very clean. I tried burning coal in my old woodfurnace with no luck, but the furnace wasn't a proper design for it. My furnace now is EPA certified and will only burn wood.

My neighbor always has a lot of wood. One year I ran out of wood so, I asked if i could buy some off of him until my wood guy could get to my boundary my delivery. His reply, "No, its my wood."

The other day, he was outside, log splitter going, surrounded by 24" logs and a huge pile of split wood. I asked if head tired. He said yes, but it was worth it to keep his family warm this season. I pointed to his pile and commented on how much wood he had and how long it'd last him. He said he had enough on his property to last 3 years. I laughed and said no, it looked like it'd get through through the season. I then told him that I was ready for the season in July and that I have to only put the coal in, light a match and walk away from my stove.