Bringin' up da Wood

[moodnacreek]

This is the first year since my 50 years old son was a teen we have sold no firewood. Most of our treasured customers have passed away or moved away. The new people buy on line from whoever. They won't order until December! We where always done by then. I still do some hardwood slab for my neighbors on my terms. The wood delivery truck is all mine now and I am buying much less gas for the picker that loaded the processor. We really couldn't get good firewood sticks anyhow with the diesel price. Sometimes you have to quit to see what it wasn't.

[Al_Smith]

I'll burn anything that fits through the door .Some obviously are better than others but they all  have BTU's .I scoop the ashes out about once a week no matter what I burn .Just a tad over a coal bucket full which might be close to a face cord of wood .Takes all of ten minutes but not while the fire is burning away hot enough to forge a horse shoe .

[barbender]

Al, I'm getting to the point where I think I actually feel warmer when I burn the junk and underdog firewood species😁 

 This winter, I wanted to see how far I could make it just burning debris from the firewood processor and sawmill slab waste. The last snowstorm put an end to finding a lot of my offcut and debris piles from the processor, but I think I have enough sawmill slabs for all of this winter...and maybe next😬😊

[Magicman]

I can be sorta choosy because my only competition is the termites.  I get all of the firewood that I need by clearing the roads and trails.   LINK   Even then much more goes to waste than I will ever use.  I have not brought the above out yet.  :

[Al_Smith]

I've got nearly the same situation on a smaller scale .Wind falls ,downed stuff everywhere .Lots of small stuff and some 3 feet in diameter and a 100 feet long .I had some giant ash at one time .Fact a couple of grave yard dead standing shag barks nearly 100 feet .I just can't get to them all in a timely fashion and eventually the wind gets them .The hickory cracks and pops but it does put out the heat .Sounds like 22 rifle shots at times .

[barbender]

That sounds like our Eastern Larch, more commonly known as Tamarack. It burns very hot, and the resin pops like a .22. Old timers warned that it would burn out your stove I'm short order.

[SwampDonkey]

The popple and fir are doing fine here, when ya gotta open up the windows to make an air adjustment. :D I clean out the ashes in stove once a week with my ash shovel and a 3 gallon galv. pale, 1/2 to 3/4 full. That's with 7 wheel barrel loads of wood through it. No matter what one burns there is ash unless it's sucked up the flu or something. Never heard tell of ashless wood, must be different fire chemistry in different parts of the continent. ;D

I get very little wood from windfalls. I might find one tree a year. The woods aren't old growth, so I get mine from thinning out the junk trees that are in bad form. Lots of those up in the north country. Winter and wildlife up here are hard on a lot of different species of trees. Not hardly a pine, red maple or red oak that will escape a moose, bear or rabbit making damage to it. Yep, a tree has a hard life up here.  :D

The only trouble I've had with tamarack is splitting it. It's like splitting elm, knarly twisted stuff with all the spiral grain. One look at the leaders of it up here will remind one of a cork screw. :D Neighbor had been cutting some before Christmas. Not sure what he's going to do with it. Not worth much to sell, I'd rather burn it than give it away. Doesn't burn any different than spruce when dry. I planted lots of it here in the wet runs down through the woods, better than willow and alder groves, and grows like a rocket. ;D

These are now 10" dbh and 50' + on wet ground. There is a narrow wet run down through here.





We've had a lot of rain and these runs are full of water. That's balsam to the left, he's on a high spot. Those things grow fast to around here, as long as they are on good ground, not in the wet.

[SwampDonkey]

Well, just added some popple into the furnace, good until early tomorrow morning. Nothing beats dry wood.

https://youtu.be/QRBc6eVpFJw

[woodroe]

Junk wood burners unite ! I've heard tell that burning Pine will plug up
your chimney. From experience I can say that is nothing but an old wives tale.
What plugs up a chimney is burning wood that isn't dry. 
Checked my chimney clean out yesterday after burning White Pine, Spruce and Balsam Fir for the last 2 1/2 - 3 mos. There might have been a pint of dust in there. Ran a brush through it before the season started. 

[woodroe]

That 20" snowfall a couple weeks back had me thinking woodyard cutting was done for the winter.
But thats mostly melted and there is probably 5 cord of logs and tree length
wood laying there needing to be cut so broke out my big 359 Husky and started bucking
up some big Oak i cut last fall. That stuff is heaaaavy ugh.
Something other than "junkwood" for a change.
The good part is the wood isn't frozen to the ground so rolling them for the final cut
is a breeze.
I was needing something to do .....

[Al_Smith]

Wood by weight produces the same BTU's it's just some produce more by volume but it all burns .If it's half rotten it just goes in the patio fire ring otherwise it goes in the insert stove .

[thecfarm]

You mentioned half rotten wood.
That's what I am burning now in my OWB.
My FIL came up once at about 10° and told me I could not burn wood like that. I told him lets go inside where it is warm and talk about it.  :D

[doc henderson]

even dry bark makes the same BTUs per unit of wt.

[Al_Smith]

I guess back in the days of axes and cross cut saws they used the bark to fire those steam donkey engines .I'd say just to keep the fire going would be a full time job .

[woodroe]

Pulled the woodsplitter out of storage today and towed it down to the woodyard
with the snowmobile.
Never would have guessed I'd be splitting wood in January 
but with temps in the 30s for the next week just couldn't resist
tearing into the Oak that just got bucked up. 
Its a little messy with some snow stuck to it but once the gloves soak through grab another pair and keep on splittin. 

[GRANITEstateMP]

We've been shorthanded at work, had guys sick, trucks breaking down, and weird weather events.  That has all added to more stress and less time at home. I got home at 11:50pm Fri night from plowing, took a better part of Sat being lazy and recovering from the week. Today I got some tractor time in, helped with laundry and chores, did doughnuts on the hardpack ice with my boy, and got the woodrack loaded up again

 
I do the same as OGH and get the latest cart of wood dry somewhere close to the stove

the pieces of tin in the foreground and background are used to.keep the heat off the reg furnace and small a woodrack. Tomorrow starts the grind all over again

[Magicman]

I may have to bring up another 6-8 sticks. 


 
The forecast is for record cold (29°) this weekend.   Yikes !!!   

[thecfarm]

Today should get up into the mid 40's.
Tomorrow, Sunday, not much above freezing.

[Old Greenhorn]

OH! The Humanity! :D :D :D

I jsut got a cord delivered this week and I figure it will be gone before May.

[SwampDonkey]

I used about twice Magic's bundle early this morning, but no fire now and all day. Sun is breaking through. The room here will be in the 80's from the sun this afternoon. Probably will open the window before long. ;D

[Magicman]

A cord??


 
I have burned this much but I will admit that it has been an unusually rough Winter.


 
This is what I had left over last Winter, and this year I am having to bring up more.  

[Magicman]

Without bringing up more firewood, I just put the last 4 sticks in the insert for tomorrow morning's flicker.  29° forecast for tomorrow morning and then steadily rising to 56°, so I will light it and let it burn until it's gone. 

I don't see anything below 51° for the next entire week, so this could be it for fires this year.  I am seeing a high of 84° this Thursday so the blanket may have to go and the AC may come on.  

[doc henderson]

Acord?  Yes a Chord!  in the key of G and on a tiny violin playing, my heart bleeds for you!  

[Old Greenhorn]

Nicely put Doc. I had another thought but was having a hard time framing it in civil words. :D :D ;D

[Southside]

Yup, hardly burnt any wood in February, actually had the doors open many nights, but March is another story.  Will be in the teens tonight, of course the mild February means my fruit trees have all flowered so we will see what happens to the fruits.