Your personal wood stash

[haveawoody]

I thought this might make an interesting thread on what we collect and how much we keep.
All about what you keep for your personal woodstove, how much you have stored, how much you burn each year and your favorite wood species.

My personal wood supply, 50% rock elm, 20% black locust, 20% sugar Maple, 10% silver maple and other.
I burn around 3 cord on a normal year in a very well insulated mid/small sized home.
I have 27 cord stacked and cured or 9 years worth.
Fav wood Rock elm.

Cooking fires outdoors.
Apple and pear wood, about 3 cords.
I burn it only indoors a few days before Xmas to smell out the area.
People living in my semi rural neighborhood ask when i will start in mid december

 

[zogger]

I only have somewhere's between 12-14 cord up by the house now, not all split yet, half of it is though. My species is ANYTHING that grows in north georgia. Hardwood, "medium" wood (Bwa!), softwood, deciduous, coniferous, I do not care. Gotta touch it, goes in the stacks. Wanna touch it, good stuff, like nice oak and ash and hackberry, and tulip poplar for "medium" wood, in the stacks. I even save some privet hedge bottom chunks and someplace in those stacks are some big fat multiflora rose bottoms, just for the added thrill factor in handling...

Our usage is 3-5 cords depending in the winter and how much oak I wanna burn compared to all the thinning random assortment wood I have to use up. I slopped over from last winter with 2.5 cords of oak/hickory and ash leftover. There are a lot of heating days we just plain don't need to burn big oak chunks, can get by with lesser species quite adequately. We get winter, a heating "season", here and it lasts for months, but it ain't the arctic circle, either.


I'm working on more though, I will keep going until..hmm..I have no outside limit anymore. Wanted to be five years ahead, getting closer, after that, who knows. Might try to sell some or swap some or I do not know, can't hurt to have more though if it is stacked cool.

Eventually I'll have 20-30-40-50 cord, don't know. I like doing it, but I don't work it like a job either. I try out my new-to-me saws and fixes/repairs on real world wood cutting, that's how I get more, that and trees that need to be cut, dead in the pasture like the one I did last week, pasture edges to keep the woods pushed back, storm blowdowns across roads and ences, what-ever.. To me, in my situation, this makes more sense than cutting cookies testing saws out. I know I could do a lot more mass bulk wood, by sticking to larger saws and ignoring branches, but I milk out trees, the smaller branches, running the smaller saws I work on a lot.

 

[jrider]

I sell 60-75 cords a year and use all the uglies/shorts/longs/partial rotten for my own use. Mix in about 7 cords of pine from random jobs I've done and I have 12 cords sitting under a carport. About half of that wood will go into the OWB this year and I will burn about 1-2 cords of swamp (soft) maple in my fireplace.

I could burn all oak in the fireplace but I like the bright flames given off by the faster burning maple. And I don't mind getting up to put more wood on the fire because I do it as often as I get up to grab another beer.

 

[oppermancjo]

I tend to use whatever is easiest to get to. Right now, it's mostly Ash. I do sell some here and there so I will typically burn the oddball pieces myself. I did score a cord or so of Oak last year. We trimmed some large branches that hung over the back of one of the fields. Definitely burning that myself unless someone is willing to pay a premium for it. I tend to get into some Cherry every now and then as well. Isn't the best BTU wood but does burn nicely. I use it in my sausage smoker too. Best smoking wood in my opinion.

I'll toss some cottonwood in every now and again if I really want to heat things up. Just need to remember to check the stove before long because that stuff doesn't leave anything for coals.

 

[3fordasho]

For various reasons I've had to sort through almost every piece of firewood in my possession.

What stayed for personal use:
Red and white oak, black and honey locust, sugar maple, mulberry,hackberry, and some of my red elm, green ash and black cherry.

What I sold to firepit/fireplace customers:
american elm, siberian elm, box elder, silver maple, cottonwood, I did mix in a bit of red elm, green ash and black cherry so they got *some* decent wood

 

[howard270]

I have a pretty efficient fireplace insert that heats my very well well insulated 2000 square foot house. Last year I only burned 1.8 cords made up of 50% hedge, 25% black locust, 25% American elm. I also burned about a dozen pieces of pecan that I was trying to see if ready or not.

I usually burn mostly hedge and black locust, throw in an elm or pecan if we had to doze one over cause it was dying or in the way.

Last year was my first winter in the new to me house and the new insert installed by me. I cut because I enjoy it and we are going to burn the trees/limbs anyways, so I may as well burn them to heat my house. I should average about 2 cords per year burning in the house.

For the fire pit, I burn scrap or rotten pieces, or cookies cut off of whatever while tuning my saws. I also have 2 cords split and stacked from some black walnut we took down. I cut a few arm loads of mesquite each year to smoke/cook with.

 

[greendohn]

I cut a lot of ash.

I'm a scrounger with a couple honey holes I've used for years. I cut about anything blown down or storm damaged.
I have a good ten cord left over from last year and wish I had more. My stash has ash,cherry, walnut, hickory, hack berry and some hedge in rite now. The premium hard woods like the oaks and hickory is usually few and far between.
I built my wood shed last year to hold aprox. 20 chord. Between "charity" cuttin' and the soft ground of last years mild winter, I came up short of having the shed full before quittin' last spring....That dog-gone "fishin'-bug" got a hold of me and I put the saws away too early.
Yesterday is the 1st time I've had my saws out since early last spring,,except for the "charity" cuttin' I did 1 day last May.

 

[chucker]

good question??

i used to have a stash! but alass, it always seems to disappear every fall as hunting season comes along ... either hunting season or fishing season there is always something i need or replace with a better quality unit!! so far this year its not being seen so just maybe there is hope for a new stash to expand into a two year supply of jackpine and worthless popple.... to keep the fish house warm instead of rubbing two warm&young eskimo ladies together to do the job....!! "DANG "!! the new cabala's flyer just showed up??

 

[stihly dan]

I will use about 5 cord or less this winter. I have 30 cord stacked ready to go, half oak, the rest is a couple cords of everything. I like ash the best. Easiest to split, move, haul, season, and lights easy with good heat. I would like to get 10 cord a yr burning 5 untill I get 20 yrs ahead. Then I'll feel safe.

 

[haveawoody]

jrider,

Same for me, i always end up with a cord or two of iffy wood that ends up in my stove in fall and spring.
I'm about 50 cord a year sold, last year about 20 with the mild winter.

I help 2 different tree services when they are in need so i could haul 100's of cords if i wanted but 50 is about all i need for sales and maybe 25 i deliver to different friends for just gas cost.
I'm not beyond adding rock elm to another personal stack though.
As you would know 10 years of wood is about the useful life of it, then it gets crappier each year beyond so not much point for me to collect beyond about 3 cords a year for myself.

 

[Ironworker]

I have 2 chord of 2 year old stuff and 8 of 1 year old all mixed stuff mostly hickory and red oak, I get a 9 chord load per year, and this year I asked for hickory and the logger I get my wood from was able to give me 90% hickory, being that is my favorite.

 

[BrokenToys]

I try to stay 2 years ahead on firewood and burn about 4 cord a winter so still prob can't sell anything this winter ... all in all I have 14 cord on hand and after my 8 I keep 1 or 2 in stock for family or friends who may need some.
I have in order of most to least-Black Locust, Maple, Red Oak, White Oak, Cherry, Mockernut Hickory, Black Walnut, Mulberry, Holly, Apple, and 5% being some stuff I haven't id'ed.

 

[dmlefevre]

I have abut 15 cord stacked and split. 60% red oak, 10% white oak, 20% beech, the remaining 10% is birch, black birch, and ash. I burn a 3-5 cord a year. I've never sold a single stick -but I should. My favorite is the white oak.

 

[AndrewGeib]

I have about 6 cord of zelkova, walnut, red oak first year heating with a wood stove so we will see how much I burn

 

[danthe]

I usually burn between 5 to 6 cord per years. About 40% red maple, 30% aspen, 20% birtch and 10% of anything left in the wood.

I burn everything that is cheap....wood directly from my 18 acres woodlot in back of the house. Do not have the best wood species but like I say...it's free.

I usually harvest my wood in the fall for next years. Haul it out in winter and split in the spring, piled up by may and under tarp in august.

Do not sell any firewood. Small scale operation with ATV, two trailer, a Fiscars X27 (new and wow!), 2-6 lbs maul, 3.5 lbs for kindling and a husky 51. Napoleon 1500 wood stove in the basement.

 

[mountainmandan]

I am keeping all hedge for my personal use this year. Last year I tried to burn all the odd sized and irregular pieces that would not sell, and it was a pain. This year I left them in the woods and only take home measured firewood. I have tried to entice customers to buy some of the hedge I cut last year at a premium price, so far no takers.

I would always bring in the culls unless I was in a hurry, then I would bring in the "for sale" splits. She caught wind of it, and since she is really the one who keeps the home fires burning, she wants good wood this year. She calls it name brand firewood. She burned some hedge I brought in last year, and now she is asking for some of that "yellow wood."

It got around 50 degrees last night, and with the windows open it got a little chilly. The wife told me it was soon time to bring the wood stove out of the garage and hook it up again. I was very happy.

Dan

 

[H-Ranch]

The wood supply = 25% hickory, 25% red oak, 10% ash, 10% beech, <10% each of black locust, cherry, sassafras, elm, pine, birch, poplar, others, and mystery wood.
I burn around 8-9 cords with a home-built OWB heating a 2500 square foot house with 20' and 30' ceilings in much of it. Also burn a bit in the fireplace for ambiance.
Stash = 19 cords stacked.
Favorite wood to burn - hickory, favorite to split - red oak, overall favorite to handle from beginning to end - ash.

 

[turnkey4099]

Guestimate 50 plus cord all black locust in various piles (10 of them still to be split). Still have one tree left to harvest if this fire season ever ends. That is my retirement stash. Don't have any good stuff lined up anymore and not really looking as that 50 cord should see me to the end of my days.

Was just offered a strip of willows - dunno if I will take it. I don't want it but I need something to do next year and I can sell it. I may be taking one of the big willows down this weekend just to see if I am still up to tackling such a big job.

Harry K

 

[haveawoody]

I just love the mystery wood we all seem to have a bit of.

I had a pile of small stuff given to me about 4 years ago and didn't think much of it at the time.
It amounted to about 1 cord of wood that wasn't really sellable so it sat in a stack that way for a year.

When i burnt the first bunch of it on a coolish fall night just to slowly burn through it as shoulder wood the house got so hot on very little wood i was shocked.

So back to the pile to try and id this wood, after a hunt trough it i discovered a few thorns and the id was buckthorn.
Best thing i have ever burnt, coals, heat, burn time.
Even rock elm couldn't stack up against it.

I've collected more buckthorn in the last 3 years but it's like collecting a porcupine and the returns are always small, but the heat WOW like coal.

 

[3fordasho]

Buckthorn

I've started pulling the buckthorn out of the firepit/fireplace wood piles that I sell pretty cheap, it goes in my personal stash now:msp_smile:
That stuff gets bone dry quick! Too bad it's so much work to process for a small amount of firewood...

I just love the mystery wood we all seem to have a bit of.

I had a pile of small stuff given to me about 4 years ago and didn't think much of it at the time.
It amounted to about 1 cord of wood that wasn't really sellable so it sat in a stack that way for a year.

When i burnt the first bunch of it on a coolish fall night just to slowly burn through it as shoulder wood the house got so hot on very little wood i was shocked.

So back to the pile to try and id this wood, after a hunt trough it i discovered a few thorns and the id was buckthorn.
Best thing i have ever burnt, coals, heat, burn time.
Even rock elm couldn't stack up against it.

I've collected more buckthorn in the last 3 years but it's like collecting a porcupine and the returns are always small, but the heat WOW like coal.