iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Ready to heat

Started by uplander, September 19, 2022, 10:45:34 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

uplander

 Was looking at the stack today for the umpteenth time.
Fussing about it a little bit. I guess there is no need to. I am on the 3 year plan and should I need to get into next seasons production so be it.

It is just a thing for me to be able to worry about. If it wasn't concern about the heating fuel this winter I am sure I would find something else
To fret about.

 How do you feel about your supply for the coming Season?
Woodmizer lt40G28.  A kubota L4600 with loader and forks.
Various Stihl saws and not enough time to use them!
Finished my house finally. Completely sawn out on by band mill. It took me 7 years but was worth it. Hardest thing I have ever done.

taylorsmissbeehaven

 I was just puttering about the wood yard last night. I have a good bit of seasoned wood from last year but not enough to get me through this year. Luckily winter is not too bad in these parts. With the amount of dead Ash I have on the property I should be ok. But I do fret about it cause Mary likes it WARM!  Ill likely start out with Ashe, save the good stuff for the coldest times and go into spring with the Ash again.  I need to get on the three year plan myself. Brian
Opportunity is missed by most because it shows up wearing bib overalls and looks like work.

Don P

There's a bit up here and a heap at the barn being worked up. I had commented to my wife that it is going to be the winter of ash. There is enough locust to do the heavy lifting. Happily ash will burn anytime. The inner baffles of the 20 year old Jotul cracked and crumbled last winter and with the first cool in the air it occured to me again to do something. I figured I'd be welding up something but lo and behold the castings are still available, mine had '02 on the castings, the new ones had '19, quite a run. I had to cut out one of the old plates it was so distorted but the new ones dropped right in and bolted up.

peakbagger

My 40 year old Burnham wood boiler needed a new grate so I made one up this weekend. Its an old coal/ash bottom grate design and when I got the boiler (free) the rotary coal grate was beyond saving. A friend welded one up and it lasted close to 20 years. It was in bad shape last winter but I broke an ankle so was not mobile enough to build a new one. I figure I will get another 10 years out of it. 

SwampDonkey

I've got all kinds of wood here as long as it's not a 12 month winter. :D  10 cords. Going to cut 10 more next month for 2023. I burn wood species the snobs turn down. ;) Fir, aspen, spruce, grey birch, red maple (just the junk ones in my path), once in awhile a crooked stemmed ash tree gets cut.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Spike60

Does "3 year plan" mean you have 3 years of wood ready to go? I'm set for this year, and have about 1/2 of next year's done, and will finish that this Fall. Always like to stay a year ahead.

I'm not fussy on species either with wood on my property. Seems like those conversations really come into play for folks that sell wood though. The stories I hear about requests/demands for all of this or none of that will forever keep me from venturing into the wood business. LOL

Husqvarna-Jonsered
Ashokan Turf and Timber
845-657-6395

brianJ

Quote from: Spike60 on September 23, 2022, 06:42:39 AM
Does "3 year plan" mean you have 3 years of wood ready to go? I'm set for this year, and have about 1/2 of next year's done, and will finish that this Fall. Always like to stay a year ahead.

I'm not fussy on species either with wood on my property. Seems like those conversations really come into play for folks that sell wood though. The stories I hear about requests/demands for all of this or none of that will forever keep me from venturing into the wood business. LOL
Fussy on species or odd shaped or slightly too long or a little punky I keep to the side.    Often a buddy wants some will invite me for a BBQ and a bonfire after.   I bring the wood and score free beer and food.   Good trade IMO

Al_Smith

I'm doing okay this year, maybe 7-8 or more cords .I'll get the stacks tarped in a few weeks .I did burn some cotton wood in the fire pit .The top limbs actually burned pretty good much better than I would have thought .I also need to run the flue brush which only takes about half an hour .It's a 7" stainless 22 gauge single wall welded seam  inside a 9" clay liner .Only the last 6" to a foot creosote and it's the hard creosote not the road tar stuff that will burn .I only do it once a year .
I avoid pine but anything else that fits through the stove door I'll burn .
Last season I got myself behind the eight ball recovering from a hernia operation .Forgetting I was 73 years old not 30 .Still my mind thinks I'm 30 but my bod tells me I'm not .Thing still get done but the methods have changed . :)

uplander

Yes Spike three years ahead. We burn mostly oak and it needs three years to dry down to below 20 percent moisture content.
Woodmizer lt40G28.  A kubota L4600 with loader and forks.
Various Stihl saws and not enough time to use them!
Finished my house finally. Completely sawn out on by band mill. It took me 7 years but was worth it. Hardest thing I have ever done.

Greenie

I have a 12 x 12 woodshed which I'm filling with wood I cut, split, and stacked to air dry in March. I don't think I've cut enough to fill the shed - but that means I'll probably burn the entire contents this winter and will not have to rotate leftover wood in the shed next year - which isn't a bad thing but it's nice to have a buffer.

brianJ

Quote from: Greenie on September 24, 2022, 05:18:01 PM
I have a 12 x 12 woodshed which I'm filling with wood I cut, split, and stacked to air dry in March. I don't think I've cut enough to fill the shed - but that means I'll probably burn the entire contents this winter and will not have to rotate leftover wood in the shed next year - which isn't a bad thing but it's nice to have a buffer.
Seems it would be easy to burn the left half one year then the right half the following year and thus the need to shuffle around leftover wood.

Hilltop366

This years is cut and dried.....






 and the next two got dropped off this week (long length) not sure when I will cut and split it but no hurry so usually in the spring. I will probably cut some dead spruce here and there, I could stretch it out for another year or two if I do.


 



Usually I only get one bunk but decided to try getting two, he was out of wood for two months so I thought I'll get two while the getting is good.

uplander

 Wow Hilltop thats some impressive work. Your fuel for this season looks good and that delivery is impressive!
Woodmizer lt40G28.  A kubota L4600 with loader and forks.
Various Stihl saws and not enough time to use them!
Finished my house finally. Completely sawn out on by band mill. It took me 7 years but was worth it. Hardest thing I have ever done.

Hilltop366

Thanks, it wasn't always this good, for years I would cut dead trees on the week ends throughout the winter sometimes down to the last furnace load before I could get some more but when my daughter started playing hockey I would be away on the weekend often so I started buying a truck load a year.

Hoping to get out and collect some dead wood more often this winter now that my daughter no longer plays hockey.

SwampDonkey

I imagine that cottonwood burns like aspen, makes nice hot fast fire for me that lasts 6 hrs, then coals for another 2 hrs. No trouble to heat a 2 story house over 80 degrees. :D Never need kindling wood, two split halves of aspen on newsprint, tent style and rounds on top, give'r some draft, and a roaring fire soon after. ;D

I'll be cutting firewood here after Thanksgiving (Oct 10) for 2023. I have an acre of fir that needs a second thinning, a few aspen in it to. The fir is 50 feet tall, aspen 70. Not old trees, but some trees with less desirable traits. Plus I am seeing lots of new fir seedlings that are starting, so they need light. The canopy needs thinned out. ;)

Couple more weeks of bush whack'n for this year before I take at the firewood.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Spike60

@uplander , I hear ya on the oak. Especially the red oak. That plus the fact that I look forward to, and enjoy cutting firewood in the Fall and early Winter, ensures that I'm always cutting for the following year. 2 seasons does it for me. For both the seasoning of the wood and the size of the wood shed.
Husqvarna-Jonsered
Ashokan Turf and Timber
845-657-6395

Al_Smith

Yep it will take about 2 years on green cut oak to dry out .White oak even dead standing will hold moisture for a long time .On the other hand is EAB killed ash which is hard as a rock you can cut right off the ground and throw it in the stove .What you don't want to do is leave hickory or sugar maple very long on the ground because it will degrade fast so does cherry .Cherry for some reason gets wind snapped easier than most .
Hickory is an odd one .Used since the beginning of time for tool handles ,tough stuff . Some large trees develop rot when a big limb breaks off and the ants attack it .Sooner or later a big wind comes through and blows the entire top out .I've got about 50 feet of  spar left from a 100 footer that was 2 feet thick where the wind did it in  .At breast height that thing is about 3- 3.5 feet .I've cut about 1.5 - 2 cords just out of the top which was a chore to even get it on the ground .Took some fancy rigging .

ButchC

I use an OWB and also have a insert inside that we use when it gets real cold and windy.  I have the opposite problem of most, we are so far ahead that some is rotting so I have slacked off and plan to cut nothing this fall and winter. I have inside storage for 2 years worth and winter 22-23 and 23-24 are inside the woodshed. 24-25 is cut, split and piled outside. There is about 15 cord of  log length hickery sitting here plus 5-6 cord of various hardwood slab. This may take me until I am done with wood? just turned 66, LOL 
Peterson JP swing mill
Morbark chipper
Shop built firewood processor
Case W11B
Many chainsaws, axes, hatchets,mauls,
Antique tractors and engines, machine shop,wife, dog,,,,,that's about it.

Don P

There was a stack from hurricane Hugo I never burned, it slowly made a compost "wall" along the edge of the road. I went along and pulled out the good locust several years later when the rest was about gone. I guess it was about 3 years later when we had big rains followed by heavy ice and were covered up in downed trees again.  That's when I decided we could heat just fine off the tops and slabs and bought the mill.  

Ventryjr

Just load, hauled and stacked a 16x7 dump trailer today.  The wife helped with the stacking.  2 more trips and we are good for the winter. 
-2x belsaw m14s and a Lane circle mill.

SwampDonkey

Cutting my 2023 firewood starting today. I buck up and split each tree as I drop it. Work furthest from trails back toward trails, least brush to walk through. I have zero undergrowth in my woods. There are a zillion little 1" tall fir seedlings waiting to take off growing next spring. :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Al_Smith

I got the tarps out yesterday because it's getting time .I don't have a wood shed .As long as the tops of the stacks are covered the sides don't seem to make that much difference .

SwampDonkey

My uncle tarped his furnace wood every year, on top. The kitchen stove stuff was in a  woodshed/garage.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Al_Smith

I got behind the 8 ball last year and really had to scrounge to find any dry stuff  .A result of recovering from a hernia operation because in my mind I was still 25 years old which soon will be 50 years ago. I made up my mind as long as I'm able that will never happen again .I've got one more stack to tarp .I've got enough to last two years as it is .Might doddle around  a bit just to check my large saws out  carving away on a big cottonwood when the weather is fit .It's a rare event to justify 100 plus cc saws to buck up fire wood in Ohio .

petefrom bearswamp

My son and I have all this years wood in proximity to our boilr and stove.
WE used to stay a full years worth ahead, but have been lax for about 5 yrs now.
The last of the small ash sawtimber went down the road today and we have lots of end pieces and stuff too small for the buyer to take.
Between this and the tops of nearly 160 trees will keep us in wood for at least 2 more years.
WE dont worry about ash getting dry enough use, as the old poem says ash wood green or ash wood dry the king can warm his slippers by.
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

Thank You Sponsors!