"George" wrote in message
...
Working on the basic Mother Earth News estimate that a cord of average
hardwood is equal to 150 gallons of fuel oil, wood seems cheap at the
$60/cord delivered price. Folks on propane backup _really_ prefer to
tend
their stove.

Wood really does warm you several times, but I'll forgo the first two -
felling and limbing - in favor of delivery.

Our references differ (Formulas, methods, tips, and data for home and
workshop) as does the cost of local wood.
Oil is 136,000 Btu per gallon or 13,600,000 per hundred.
Wood is listed a 12,500,000 per cord. Of course that will vary with type
and even how well it is stacked.

Most wood stoves in the past were less efficient that oil burners. That may
have changed but both are probably far ahead of figures from 10 years ago.

In my area, I can buy 100 gallons of oil for $110 to $130. Wood, delivered,
is about $90 to $125. As you get closer to the cities, like Boston, wood is
$150 to $200. For me, at these prices, it is just too costly to burn wood
considering all the labor involved When I bought my stove, oil was $130,
wood was $50. I used to add some wood first thing in the morning. Now the
programmable thermostat turns the heat up 15 minutes before I get out of
bed.
Ed

http://pages.cthome.net/edhome