The fact of the matter is having a wood burning stove is a lot like having a starving teenager with a very poor work ethic. The stove demands constant feeding and provides you with warmth...and endless work. The amount of wood a single stove can consume is astonishing. Fuel consumption in this magnitude requires what seems at times to be a lumber operation to rival that of 84 lumber. The costs behind the savings are something that need to be considered before you decide to jump head long into owning a wood stove. Our setup cost us about $1200-$1400 to purchase (We did the install, so labor was free). Splitting wood is another inconvenience to owning a wood stove. When it comes to splitting you have two basic choices; do it by hand the old fashioned way, use a power splitter of some sort, or pay for wood. Splitting wood by hand is quite the task and not very time effective and paying for someone else to do what you can do is not what I'm into. However, a mechanical advantage for a physical job is quite welcome!
A log splitter is quite possibly the urban homesteader's best friend. The price of a splitter can vary from about $100 for a simple hand jacked model to thousands of dollars for one that attaches to your bobcat (because we all have one of those!). We found quite the deal on our splitter (used for $500). The original purchase price is not the only price that comes with a splitter. Just like a vehicle, a splitter needs fuel and maintenance. Fuel for us is not a huge setback simply because we have a pretty efficient model. However, we have a small hydraulic leak. The piston needs new seals. That is a bit of an expense so for now we resort to topping off the oil as needed.
I hope this doesn't scare you off from owning a wood stove! Now get outside and split some wood!
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