WS: Dealers of wood-burning heating appliances busy

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Dealers of wood-burning heating appliances busy By Robert Imrie Associated Press

The rising cost of heating oil and natural gas has Wisconsin homeowners turning again to wood, some dealers of wood-burning products said Monday.

Jim Knoeck, owner of Knoeck Inc. in Wausau, said sales of central wood-heating furnaces have tripled from a year ago. His crews have more work than they can get done and furnace deliveries to his company are taking three to four weeks compared to one week a year ago.

``In Y2K, there was a big push for freestanding wood stoves. It is kind of the same thing now,'' he said, referring to fears of the year 2000.

Each furnace runs about $3,000, he said.

A cord of cut and split hardwood that sold for $65 to $75 a year ago is fetching as much as $90 now because of increased demand, he said.

For months, Wisconsin Public Service Corp., a natural gas supplier in central and northeastern Wisconsin, has warned customers of rising prices.

Homeowners should expect heating costs to rise 30 to 50 percent this winter because of higher natural gas prices, said Pat Fox, the utility's superintendent of gas supply and transportation.

Wisconsin residents who paid $330 for natural gas heating from October to April last year will pay $460 this year, according to the Wisconsin Energy Bureau.

Costs of heating oil have risen 42 percent from this time last year and liquid propane prices are up nearly 44 percent, according to the Energy Bureau's most recent fuel price survey.

Sales of wood-related products at Antigo Fireplace and Landscape in Antigo have increased 15 percent compared to a year ago, thanks mostly to rising fuel prices, manager Mark Nahrath said.

``That is everybody's main concern,'' he said.

At the Energy Store in Eau Claire, sales of wood-burning products have doubled for this time of year, sapping inventory, owner Ken Fulgione said.

``I wasn't prepared,'' Fulgione said. ``I can tell you, we didn't expect these kind of sales. We are struggling to get product in. The thing that scares me is some of my manufacturers didn't expect this.''

Fulgione said he normally sells 10 to 15 wood-burning furnaces a season. When he called to order more from a Minneapolis-area manufacturer, there were none to buy.

``He didn't have any,'' Fulgione said. ``He sold his whole year's supply.''

http://www.duluthnews.com/today/dnt/local/wood.htm

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), October 03, 2000


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