4 cords hauled and stacked, ready for winter.
Printable View
4 cords hauled and stacked, ready for winter.
3+ cords split and stacked under tarps or the woodshed. phew...
don't forget the kindling...
Attachment 143546
although I can't say I use a ton - now that the stove's been going for a few days it will probably have hot coals in it for the next few months
I like to use Fat wood for starting fires, 3 or 4 pieces does the trick.
We use a fair bit was the place is pretty well insulated so unless really cold we let the fire die in afternoon so its not a hot box at night. So starting a fire at least once a day. I just chop up the branches of the trees on property and throw them in garbage cans.Quote:
Originally Posted by telemike
that's how I do it for the firepit, but Krystal Kartwright likes her fancy recycled-pallet woodbox on the deck and nice, clean sticks of Tamarack inside - I indulge
a little stove maintenance today - sort of a pain in the ass - especially when you try to put the big heavy iron plates back into the stove the wrong way...sigh...
replacing the 6" single-wall stove pipe in the house was a bit of a learning experience for me, too - mine had two 24" sections and a 16" section between the stove and ceiling - all of the them were corroded as fuck after 25 years - none of the stove shops in town had what I needed (WTF is up with that?) so I went to Lowe's and bought pieces that you have to snap the seam together since I thought I could save some cash - that is a major fucking pain in the ass, don't try it - ended up at the local plumbing and heating and sheet metal supply and walked out with a DuraVent 2 piece adjustable stove pipe - more expensive, but easy as fuck and a better value when you consider time running around and trying to put the other shit together
the guy who is buying my house! I just gave him my chainsaw. Hell yes hope to never cut wood again.
Shit, I burned 20 cord already. Man its been cold.
I burned two cord, but only burn at night and on weekends.
I am down to my last few sticks and need to scavenge in the woods for dry standing wood to cut and split for this winter
20 cords - that is too much work - wow - must be an old large house with a wood furnace and fire places and or wood stoves
i find, gather, cut, haul, and split all of our wood to heat our house in maine. we have kerosene backup for the other half of the house, but have only used about a 100 gallons total in the past 2 winters combined.
couldn't even imagine having to pay another man for his wood to heat my home. just doesn't seem right.
it's a good workout and i enjoy it. no splitter for me. just a 6lb splitting maul. simple:)
rog
find some ash. you can burn that shit green. not much moisture in it. i keep a bunch of it around as back up.Quote:
Originally Posted by DBdude
once this fucking snow melts i can get after what the power company left behind up and down rte 1 when they cleared all the lines back this fall.
rog
Down to my last stove full of wood, dam it was cold this winter and still another round of snow and cold coming again. Burnt 4 cords starting back in early Nov. Gonna get by the rest with propane.
shit nov 1st to jan 1st this year was colder than all last winter. want me to send some down?:)Quote:
Originally Posted by scottyb
rog
Appreciate it but I can manage, brought up my vent free propane heater from basement storage and it heats the main living area nicely. I keep it on low setting and run it only when I'm home. Not a bad little backup, runs quite a while on a 20lbs tank.Quote:
Originally Posted by icelanticskier
Up in Davis there has been many days of below 0 temps with some crazy winds. Got down to -60F at one point. Fack!
we have electric baseboard in all rooms of the house, but only use it in our bedroom at night on low. our electric bills are about 50 a month in the summer and 80-100 in the cold winter months, so not too bad. we have electric hot water as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by scottyb
i live one mile on a dirt road from the ocean and we've had way too many nights at or below zero with some days in the singles. way too cold to be this close to the beach. tonight's gonna be down to 4 degrees and windy, about the same tomorrow night:eek:Quote:
Up in Davis there has been many days of below 0 temps with some crazy winds. Got down to -60F at one point. Fack!
you live in gods country, scottyb. love it down there for everything outside. the skiing is goddam enchanting and about as exotic as skiing can get. the mtb, oh the mtb. that ride from the top of spruce knob, your states highest peak down the huckleberry to the creek and out is just the coolest ride.
i got an old gf that lives in davis. hot skier. you prolly know her. initials=LS
be well
rog
Just bought propane, effing $4.88/gallon here (VT). Usually take a full tank, but only bought 1/2 hoping it will go down.Quote:
Originally Posted by scottyb
just paid 3.19 - and I burn about 700 gallons a yearQuote:
Originally Posted by milton
yeah I know, I hate burning wet ashQuote:
Originally Posted by icelanticskier
Any tips for a city dweller who's been asked to go help a buddy?
He had a tree come down in a recent storm; he had this sliced into rounds and left where it fell (nothing further to save money).
There are some good sized diameter rounds that are too awkward to lift. What's the best strategy for splitting these large diameter rounds down to more liftable and axe-splittable sizes? I believe it is a white oak
I only own a conventional axe, but since I recently moved to a more suburban house next to a forested area, I could be convinced to buy a chainsaw, if that werea helpful tool for this first more immediate task.
Thanks up front!
use a maul for splitting
I know a Leslie Soups, she is a neighbor.Quote:
Originally Posted by icelanticskier
You are gona hurt after splitting all that wood if you are not in shape and you probably will even if you are ... I would rent/borrow/buy a tree splitterQuote:
Originally Posted by acinpdx
That be her. Tell her dodge sez hello:)Quote:
Originally Posted by scottyb
rog
And use a big ole tractor trailer tire to put the rounds in. Then take yer maul and shuffle around the tire as you split the rounds. The tire keeps the wood in place. Split wood in below freezing weather and the shit just pops apart. So much easier than in warm temps.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hugh Conway
rog
don't you have to lift the rounds into the splitter? not sure this is the right tool? entirely possible i'm not understanding... [not worried about the muscles aches as much as the lifting injuries]Quote:
Originally Posted by XXX-er
i'm going to start here first and make my buddy rent the hydraulics, if necessaryQuote:
Originally Posted by Hugh Conway
thanks!
thanks, sounds like a good jig -- cold temps aren't going to happen for us here :)Quote:
Originally Posted by icelanticskier
If you can get a chainsaw, score across the top of the round 1-2" deep. Then get a couple of wedges and drive them into the gap with the blunt side of a maul.
This is what I had to do with some 4 ft diameter yellow birch this winter. I even tried splitting it when it was -20 with no luck. I had to resort to the chainsaw and pound method.
If you do rent a hydraulic splitter, get one that can be tipped vertically so you don't have to lift the rounds up onto the splitter.
gotcha, thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by From_the_NEK
If the rounds are so big you can't get them onto the splitter solo you are ALSO gona have major problems splitting them with a maul BUT 2 of you could lift the rounds onto a splitterQuote:
Originally Posted by acinpdx
Folks will wax poetic about going back to their roots splitting by hand personaly I find it to just be drudgery, if you are close to electric power an electric splitter is the way to go IME
eesh man, advertise splitting with a maul to the crossfit assholes and charge them $10 a head for a class of 20 to split your wood.
Splitting wood by hand is fun for a while when it's cold out, the wood is dry and it's reasonable-sized pieces. Mess with that equation at all and it quickly becomes drudgery.
You are burning a cord a week?Quote:
Originally Posted by bushman
My neighbor and I cut and split ten cords by hand every summer. If you do ten rounds in the morning before your daily fun time and ten when you get back it goes quick. It sucks if you have to do it in week pr two though.Quote:
Originally Posted by XXX-er
I was just out today getting next year's pile together... Got 3 nice beetle kill that I could burn today if I had to. Still have about 1.5 cords and a half cord of oak left. Should be in good shape. Into the last stack though, which is always a little unsettling. Saw ran great today. Did have to fish the end of one tree out of some thigh deep sugar... Have had enough of that for one day.
I don't use wood anymore but when I did the 24" rounds were killer I actulay broke the manual log splitter on big rounds, so roomey brought home a trailer mounted gas powered which was great, if you are close to a plug-in electric is the way to goQuote:
Originally Posted by 45hill
gotta gather/split 6 cords for a ski lodge next month with an electric splitter, the faster we do it the sooner we go skiing
I kinda want this kindling splitter. I could put the kid to work and not have to worry so much about him losing a finger.
Attachment 155217
That kindling splitter looks like it could be the shit!
I'm about to get on a 150 year old oak that split in three and went thru the roof of the house during a ice storm in Feb. Gonna save the big clear pieces for lumber and turn the rest into firewood.
That kindling splitter looks like an incredible pain in the ass, but you're right that you probably won't lose a finger. Luckily, some people don't make those kinds of mistakes and don't require any extra safety equipment.
Heh, I can see Owen doing chin-ups on that splitter thing trying to get a knotty piece of oak or orchard wood done. Get some video.