Having fun getting ready to burn wood

[farmerboybill]

Hey all,

Well, it's been an adventure so far...

I've been working to get the outdoor wood gasification unit I asked about a couple weeks ago installed. I had NO plans to burn wood this year. The cost to start up burning was too great after recently purchasing my farm, but I spent 1800 bucks so far to heat with fuel oil and shiver. I found a heckuva deal on the this stove, so HERE WE GO! I needed to get some good firewood from the woods, a tree taken down in my yard, and the stove staged before I could get the guy here to help me install it.

Today, I finally broke down and had a local professional arborist come in and take down my mammoth Maple. I haven't counted the rings yet, but the tree musta been a sapling when the house was built in 1930. It was 5 feet across and over 80 feet tall. It had the house 50 feet to the northwest, a treeline 50 feet to the east, and a powerline 50 feet to the south. I had gone around in the skid steer bucket and cut everything I dared, but the tree just laughed at me. It was either shimmying up the tree myself, or hiring someone else to do it. When the guy came in and said 400 bucks to get it to the ground, I just couldn't say no. It'd be a lot more expensive to ask the electric company to come reconnect the line, or have a guy fix my house, or get my broken arm or neck set. They were impressive to watch - that tree was in pieces on the ground in two hours. Anyway, I should have plenty of wood when I get done lumping it up - for NEXT YEAR!

After that ordeal, I needed to get the stove staged. This thing weighs 4000 lbs, so there was NO WAY I was gonna lift it with my Deere 317 skid steer. Neighbor has one of those reversed Massey tractors with a forklift mast, so I called him up and asked him to come move it. Now, we just had that ice storm yesterday and they had no chains on the lift. He got stuck just coming in my driveway. No way was he gonna get that stove unloaded and staged with that pig. Hmm, wonder if the chains I have on my JD 60 would fit? Well, we could have about double wrapped the chains, but we got 'em on. THEN we had a forklift. After some trial and error we got the stove staged on the gravel/silo stave pad I made up temporarily until I can get a real pad poured.

Meanwhile, I've been trying to get some firewood from my woods for the past couple weeks. My farm is on top of the hill, and my woods are all on the hillsides around the farm. I didn't have a stick of wood to the farm after two weeks of poking around, getting the skid steer stuck, getting the Gator stuck, getting the 4430 stuck. We finally had a decent enough weather this past Saturday, and I got two large burr oak trunks up with the skid steer n grapple and two Gator loads of burr oak branches - about two cords once they were lumped up and split. These trees have been down for 2-5 years, so they should be pretty close to ready to burn. Of course, next year will go better because I'll be prepared, right? Right?

You fellows sure heating with wood is worth all this trouble?

 

[shelbythedog]

You fellows sure heating with wood is worth all this trouble?

No doubt in my mind that it is worth it. Once you go a few days with strictly wood heat the sense of pride and self-sufficiency will set in and it will all make sense. Top that off with increased comfort and saving a few $ and you will never have a regret about making the plunge.

 

[Cheese Whiz]

It'll take a bit, but once ya get used to it, you'll feel guilty if ya leave for the weekend and turn the freaking gas on.

Cut down on the spinnin and stickin trying to work butt deep in snow on a hillside by getting a winch, or a long heavy rope and a snatch block or two. Keep the machinery on good ground and bring the trees to you.

I have 120' of Amsteel Blue, pricey but worth it. If ya fish, think of it as Fireline on steroids. 3/8" rope has a break strength of 17,000+ lbs.

I generally enjoy winter cutting, but this year dealing with all the snow has kept me from working too hard at firewooding. I'll be catching up between now and planting season.

Enjoy telling the gas man ya don't need none of his stuff!

 

[GLOBOTREE]

Heating with wood is a very wise conversion bud and it sounds like you know a reasonable guy in the Tree business. My suggestion is to let him know you are interested in extra wood, even the scraps add up. Let him know you have space for dumping, alot of companys are always lookin for a place to dump. In exchange you will be surprised the goodies that come along with a load of unknown from a busy guy. Once your heap starts to get goodwood in it, you will find more wood trust me, it just starts to flow to you. Word from the wise... the idea with wood is once you have reached your dry point, you need to keep it dry thereafter. In other words dont allow it to get wet anymore, this will save headaches and overseasoning. Cheers!!

 

[farmerboybill]

Hey Fellas,

Thanks for the support. I know it's a good thing, sometimes I just need to hear it, you know?

I did mention to the cutter that I'm always willing to take lumped up stuff. I even told him he could dump a load of brush for every load of decent sized stuff. It doesn't really matter, though. I have 90 acres of my own wood and no one has cut on here since 1995. I have a PILE of burr oak down and fencelines full of cherry and shagbark hickory. There's also a lot of black locust that needs to be "culled"...anyway a lot of wood.

I also am gonna be able to borrow a 3 point log winch from my Mom's family once they unbury it in the shed. It'll be nice to sit at the top of the hill and drag the trees to me.

See ya in the woods!

 

[100 Watt]

Pictures or it never happend....

 

[Mike PA]

Down but not bucked wood may not be all that dry or ready to burn.

There is a huge learning curve for all of this and everything gets easier as you work through it more. Also, once you develop a good stash of wood, you will be out working for wood in better weather and better conditions, so you will get stuck less and everything will go more smoothly. You'll also develop better technique for getting the wood out, stacked, and split.

Heating with wood requres a lot of work for most of us. In the end, I think it is worth it, but that is a personal decision each of us must make.

 

[CrappieKeith]

Down but not bucked wood may not be all that dry or ready to burn.

There is a huge learning curve for all of this and everything gets easier as you work through it more. Also, once you develop a good stash of wood, you will be out working for wood in better weather and better conditions, so you will get stuck less and everything will go more smoothly. You'll also develop better technique for getting the wood out, stacked, and split.

Heating with wood requres a lot of work for most of us. In the end, I think it is worth it, but that is a personal decision each of us must make.

 

[Hedgerow]

Down but not bucked wood may not be all that dry or ready to burn.

There is a huge learning curve for all of this and everything gets easier as you work through it more. Also, once you develop a good stash of wood, you will be out working for wood in better weather and better conditions, so you will get stuck less and everything will go more smoothly. You'll also develop better technique for getting the wood out, stacked, and split.

Heating with wood requres a lot of work for most of us. In the end, I think it is worth it, but that is a personal decision each of us must make.

Yup... Gotta open it up to let it dry.:agree2: But I'm sure you'll figure it out...