Its firewood time again, whos got wood?

Ok winter is coming upon us, Hows everyone doing with their firewood?

For me the time for this years wood was a year or two back

Wood I am messing with now will be for 2013-2014


Better than money in the bank!

I get wood everytime I fire up the 85cc Husqvarna saw, I usually end up with quite a load. 3 cord to a load. Nothing like having a couple of years of wood.

Hi:
The wood I am burning now was cut and split two years ago. The wood for 2012-3013 is already cut, split and stacked. The wood for 2013-2014 has been cut to log length. I will cut this to stove length over the fall and winter and begin splitting it. I like to stay ahead.

Sounds like you fellas are nicely ahead of the curve on storing firewood.

We're pretty here too with at least 10 cords on hand. That supply should pretty much get us through the 2012-2013 heating season. I do plan on having another tri-axle load of logs delivered this winter so I can stay ahead on things and get a little exercise over the winter.

Between Hurricane Irene and TS Lee, still PLENTY of wood down for the taking around here.

I've got a few big red oaks down, still waiting for me, but already had a year or two worth split and stacked.
Now, I'm picking at it a few hours here and there, getting another couple years worth.

Yes, you are a pretty princess.

I have around ten tons of wood cut, split and stacked right now. With temps in the 70s and 80s here, there is not much need for firewood, yet.

TRG

Sitting on 10 cord.

Sorry to hear of your troubles.

After this winter you may not want anything to do with wood for primary heat. It's something you either enjoy, put up with, or detest.

If you're planning to haul 3 cords in one load, make sure you're rig can handle it. Three seasoned cords is gonna be around 10,000 pounds depending on species.

Where in NV are you?

I'm short for the year. I'll be heading over to the neighbors' in January to tackle a couple of big, dead, red oaks.

[quote]Originally Posted By nvgeologist:



What type of wood are you planning to get?

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/weigt-wood-d_821.html

TRG

look up chimneysweeps firewood btu chart if you like that.

I don't burn wood, but I help Dad, little bro and a couple of buddies. I have a full day of splitting on Saturday. Hand split everything that was easy, now just have the BFP's left to go. One tree is close to 4' dia.... come Saturday night I'm gonna be one wore out lumberjack.

I only got about 1 cord split and stacked. We moved in to our new place in July and I have been busy doing projects and just split some small trees that were either standing dead or dead and fallen over.

We have about 5 acres of woods and there is plenty of wood for me to split and stack. Now that winter is here most of the other projects are on hold and I can get out there with the chainsaw and maul.

I'm between these two areas. I bought a house with a wood stove and used it for the first year but it being in the basement and being an old Federal Airtight it just seems difficult to get it to light (it's hard to get a good draft) when it's not really windy and I have issues getting it to maintain any kind of regular temperature without babysitting it. That coupled with the fact that I don't trust flames going in the house while I sleep and that I wasn't home a lot at night made it to where I didn't like to use it. I then got married and my wife is allergic to wood(any) smoke so that finished it off.

I had the chimney cleaned and maybe had a fire going twice after that for a few hours and then said screw it and am just using my heat pump (I average $142/mo and am all electric) but have 3 cords of wood should the need arise that is tarped.

I bought a Stihl MS361 that doesn't really get used now which is sad but my Dad has a tree he needs cuts down and I just saw that my 25ft tall pear tree has a 1/2" crack in the trunk that goes up 6+ feet so it will probably have to get cut down this winter too before it puts leaves on again so I guess I will get to use it. I'm not looking forward to dropping it since it's in between two houses and I don't like heights so I may have someone else do it for me.

I got 4 cords split and stacked for 2013.

It is nice to get it done before the wood freezes to the ground.

Next year I am going to a load of tree length delivered. My house is on a hill and getting the logs up the hill would be a real chore without a skidder or a tractor if I decide to do more logging.

I don't burn a lot every year (3.5 cords). It has been essential, though, when we lose power to have that source of wood heat.

I did get a neat "Jetsled" last year (heavy duty plastic sled) that I used to haul wood into the house once the snow pack made things difficult.

We had so much snow last year that I just gave up and used the sled and snowshoes.

I use a wood cart inside. It makes transport easy and keeps the bark and debris to a minimum.

What methods do you use to transport your wood from the pile to the stove?

Heck yeah!

Egad, Feral.

That looks like (ick) work.

You need a plastic sled. Bonus points if you can train one of your pigs to pull it.

http://www.shappell.com/sleds.html

Dude. If Mrs. Feral wants to haul wood on her back, who am I to stop her?

When I haul would it's either in the tractor bucket or in a dump cart pulled behind the 4-wheeler.

LOL
I would stay out of the way and hold the door for the lady!

How do you guys handle the dreaded kindling problem?

I use a hatchet but there never seems to be enough kindling in the house. My wife refuses to make any for some reason. I think she really detests using a hatchet or perhaps she is frightened of injuring herself with it.

I traded for a cord last year. It will get me through this year, and probably next. One cord.

How many BTUs do you get out of cactus, anyhow?

if we ever meet in person, the beers on me.

I'll buy the next round.

Couple of thoughts....

I've cut our need for kindling dramatically by sucking it up and buying these fire starters. You can get pretty big pieces of wood going with just one of these. Purists may cringe but when you get up at 0430 and the stove is out, these are a welcome luxury.

The second thought is that you ought to consider ditching that hatchet. Hatchets suck when there's an option. Since I don't have to split kindling nearly as small because of the fire starter squares, I just use my small splitting axe. Back when I was cutting a lot of small kindling, I got more mileage from a "small forest axe" (NOT the same as the small splitting axe.) Beats a hatchet by a wide margin, IMO.

I love my gransfor small forest axe lol. it's one of my favorite pieces of kit and I pack it into the bush a lot. I also don't mind the fire starters lol. I got tired of making fuzz sticks for my wife and all the wasted wood for kindling. just not worth it imo. I also get a good amount of small fat wood sticks that will burn for a couple 3 minute.

I wish winter would start late up here

I've cut and burned 8 cord so far this winter alone (starting oct 15 or so) average burn for the house is 12-16 cord a year. Thankfully, I have plenty of property to cut on, not to mention state areas, etc.

Still, I spent $1200 on top of that, and nearly burned completely through that too. $300 a cord really hurts, but if your wood isnt ready to burn, you gotta buy.

I cant wait for my furnace to be up and running in a few weeks.

Thank you for the solution to my kindling problem.

A larger (mid-size) axe would be less of an intimidation for my wife to use.

We have used the fire starters in the past as well. I should stock a "private reserve" for her to get the stove running.

As to hatchets the truth is the things are generally a menace. The old advice that the "shorter the ax" the more dangerous it is is in my opinion true.

Thanks again,
Stay warm in your season.

Except y'all in Arizona. You could use some cathartic cold.

holy shit brother. 12-16 cord a year is freaking crazy lol. If that were the case here I would be the same as using propane. I'm glad you got lots of wood to cut and stack but 300 a cord is nuts lol. for a true cord of wood 4x4x8 is around 160-180 dollars delivered and stacked most days :) damn sir I'm sure your winters are hella brutal but I'm just not sure I could handle that lol. good luck sir and hopefully you have a lot of time outside in your woods with the saw to save some bucks.

Thankfully I have an appointment with some folks coming to poke at the house and boiler tomorrow am. With a little luck, within a few weeks the boiler will be up and running. None too soo as we are down to a cord and a half max lol

If you pay 300 for a cord of wood, what's fuel oil or propane to run that boiler set you back?

good luck with that man. I hope you can find a way to heat for less money. I was paying 3600 a year for propane just to heat with and couldn't do it anymore. I put a wood burning stove in and haven't ran the propane yet this year. I have stacked 2 cords of wood that I cut for free and have spent so far 140 dollars for cord and half. I will be buying another 2 cords shortly but still I won't have but about 500 dollars for the year heating my house which is a amazing improvement over the 3k plus lol. next year with new windows I'm hoping for even less.

again good luck man and do what you can to drop your spending. I know it's hella colder where your at and your in a different boat.

Heating oil is $4+ a gallon currently. That said, I am going to be getting a top of the like Ecotech EK-1 Boiler system apparently, along with some insulation work. A non-profit locally is chipping in and helping pay for the work from EPA grants, so at least I don't have to pay for that. (For the record, I would, but on 12k a year, a lot of things are impossible. Once we are on our feet, I intend to do a donation to those guys for helping us when we are down, not to mention having coffee and snacks for the work crew)

If our electric bill drops in half, we'll be able to front fuel from that alone. We should use less then the difference there.

I have a sawmill so wood is plentiful, although I haven't cut near the amount I have in years past. I just cleaned up my slab wood for the year and sold 2 dump truck loads this last week. I have probably 5 cord in the wood bay well seasoned. I burn 3 cord a year.

Fire starter is a combination of Cedar and Fir pitchwood off the mill. I run into an old Fir full of pitch, it is not great for the mill or building, but it sure makes lighting a fire easy.

I would stay out of the way and hold the door for the lady!





What I do is find a good chunk of seasoned, straight grained Cedar. Wait for one of those cool, sunny fall days, sit in a chair and chop kindling. Amazing how much you can cut at one sitting and it burns easy and long enough to get anything started.

This summer.

Home made log splitters are the best log splitters.

Nice setup. Wonderful to see everyones splitter
Can we get more pic's posted,

Sure, here's a few.

Burning wood now for my second week. I have already learned how to maintain a long burn, humidity control and the kids can help too. I have a bunch to learn about stacking logs, splitting more consistent sized logs and how to get the kids to help more.

Yeah good luck with getting the kids to help. If you figure that one out PLEASE, let us know !

Why the distance between the rows? To dry the wood better?

Grove

More or less. Also because the truck tarp defined the size of the stack.

This is my first year using a woodstove. I laid in a cord and a half ~3 ricks. As of last night, I burned my last stick. I have set aside today to cut more wood. This has been a learning curve, both in using the stove properly and gauging the amount of wood I needed.

With a (so-far) mild winter, it looks like 3 cords is the magic number. Just to be safe, I think I can plan on stocking 4 cords per year and get through anything.

Some things I have learned:

1. Buy a good saw
I bought a Stihl 390 2-3 years ago. I debated the size & cost for a little while, and settled on the larger of the two. I quickly learned this year that it is difficult to over buy when it comes to chainsaws. I have enjoyed cutting wood, but it's no hobby. I want to set aside the time to do it, get it done, and move on to something more enjoyable.

2. Buy extra chains
Absolutely nothing is more important than having a sharp chain. When I set aside a day for cutting, I don't want to spend my time sharpening a chain. Once I dull a chain, I take a smoke break and simply swap chains. Personally, I bought 3 extra chains. At the end of the season, whatever I have dulled, I can get sharpened and start the cycle over.

3. Nothing beats a hydraulic splitter
I don't have one, but I have a good friend that does. The purists might shy away and elect to use a maul, but I prefer to work smart, not hard. With a little help, we can split, carry, and stack a cord of wood in no time.

It takes a little work to give the bottle gas guys the finger, but there is some self-satisfaction in it. When the burn season finally comes to a close, I will have 4 days of work invested. Two days of cutting and two days of splitting and stacking.

I let it get down to 49 one day and before the stove was put in. I told them that without the stove getting its supply of wood, 49 degrees would be a warm day. Of course the younger one was a smart ass and said, "we dont have to put wood in the furnace..... duh." Funny, but they do pitch in when asked and sometimes without asking.

Tell them the option is a sad version of Hansel and Gretel.

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