Winter firewood processing

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

kodiak

ArboristSite Guru
AS Supporting Member.
Joined
Oct 8, 2010
Messages
595
Reaction score
598
Location
MN
When the conditions are just right, I believe this is the best time of the year for splitting. I do most of my cutting in the fall and just leave the pieces lay. Then late fall or early winter go around and collect the pieces, bring them up to the drying/storage area and split right there.

This was a few days ago... around 10°-15°, sunny and no wind.


IMG_6843.JPG IMG_6844.JPG
 
I do most of my splitting in the summer and early fall. I have to work around crops to get to the bush so I drop and haul logs whenever the crops are off and the rest of the time I cut to rounds and split. I just spent a few days cutting and hauling out of the bush, darn rain didn't help things much. It's raining again and then we'll likely get a dump of snow and I won't be able to get to the bush thru it. I have 200 logs sitting at home ready to be cut to rounds and split so this year it might get done in the cold.
 
it is the only time of the year it is not too hot.

was out today and thought a fairly light jacket wouldn't be too much.

I was wrong it was warm 32 and I was roasting but when I started taking my light jacket off it started raining 32 and rain cooled me down just a bit.

was dealing with a big down pine in a friends yard 25 feet above the stump it still had to be cut from both sides with a 24 inch bar.

25 sunny and light to no wind is perfect cutting weather
 
Years ago when I began cutting firewood I was advised that wood splits best when it's frozen. I've split wood in every kind of weather, but have always found frozen wood easier to split.

Take a chunk of wood with considerable moisture in it--freshly cut, green wood--and sink a splitting maul or wedge into it during warm weather. The steel edge will bury itself, pushing wood fibers to the side and squirting water out. (This is more easily seen in softer wood.) Take the same chunk of wood when temps are in single digits or below zero (or have been for several days), and when struck with a maul or wedge the wood will pop apart smartly.

It's the difference between wood having a partial content of water vs. ice. Ice will break, water won't.

In recent years when I've been using a hydraulic splitter, the weather is immaterial. But when you do it by hand, you'll find frozen wood splits much easier.
 
Nice setup Kodiak!

If you could factor out bugs, skeeters, and poison ivy I dunno if I would cut or split a stick in the cold. Have always been a warm weather worker where the heat doesn't bother me.
 
nice set up. :)

are you saying 10-15, sunny.... are most ideal for you to be splitting?

Thanks!
Yes, splitting in those conditions (temp, no wind, sun) it about perfect for me. The elm splits much easier (as someone else also pointed out), no mosquitoes and a lot less sweating.
 
Nice setup Kodiak!

If you could factor out bugs, skeeters, and poison ivy I dunno if I would cut or split a stick in the cold. Have always been a warm weather worker where the heat doesn't bother me.

Yeah thanks, it's taken me a few years to get the setup figured out to minimize the bending and lifting. Gotta protect the back, don't-cha-know.

The other reason I prefer winter splitting over summer is that I have A LOT more summer projects than winter projects so I push whatever tasks I can to this time of year.

I should also mention that I only use about 3-5 cords a season. I know some of you super users have to be processing year-round just to keep up.
 
I also like colder weather for splitting... But 0w20 in the little honda makes starting easier and in colder temps then ever! So wish they had it in the cheap store brands years ago!

I think u bring up a good point! cooler temps and oil. in cooler weather down here, I don't really consider the oil viscosity too much. I run clean 40-wt Pennzoil. engine heat soaked before higher rpm useage. actually, I change it almost after every useage for splitter when I run it WOT for 6-7 hours... more so for me, is the temp of the oil in the splitter. I notice a big dif in its speed to heat up to operating temps when warm out vs when cool, say 50 or below. I don't split if much below 45 unless I am particularly motivated. but at age 71... I don't find that to be too... exciting any more! lol ;) I prefer help to split a bunch a chunks, but I can rig up to comfortably split chunks into stix solo. anything too big, I just half or quarter down. but I always warm my splitter's oil up first thru cycling the ram, per my OM. I like it, I see the benefits, but I am the kinda a guy who does not start an engine and then buzz it, I always warm it up first. as in a total heat soak! even do it with my tractor's bucket, etc... but, everybody to their own needs and desires. :)
 
Yeah thanks, it's taken me a few years to get the setup figured out to minimize the bending and lifting. Gotta protect the back, don't-cha-know.

The other reason I prefer winter splitting over summer is that I have A LOT more summer projects than winter projects so I push whatever tasks I can to this time of year.

I should also mention that I only use about 3-5 cords a season. I know some of you super users have to be processing year-round just to keep up.

I try to do 2-4 cords a day. Did around 60 cords in November. Cut, split and delivered.
 
LOL I live in Michigan and we are in the middle of a major mud season, I wear bo0ts with lots of snow seal so my feet don't get wet.

You can take those 75F to 100F summer temps and shove them right where the sun never shines for doing any work. That is early morning and late evening into the night fishing weather. If you have to work and deal with bugs and heat at the same time I suggest you see a shrink. Is also a good time to sit under a sun shade at a antique auto show and drink plenty of cold water and every so ofter take a stroll and visit under other sun shades and drink more cold water and find a port a potty under shade some place.



I wait till Sept. late in the month to fall any trees that need falling. Once I have down what I figure I will need for the winter I block it up. this year in November it was cold enough the wood froze so much gosline was saved by useing a nice 6 pound splitting maul and a Husky splitting axe. Boy does frozen dry ash split nice with a nice axe and maul, I do have a 8 pound maul I use every so often and wedges and a sledge too.

:D Al
 
Put a high compression early lesabre 350 in one of those 80's lesabres. Really made it fun to drive.
 
I am lucky that I have a large concrete area to split now. We are smack dab in the middle of the biggest rain season on record. Muck boots have been on for months now !! I plug along this time of year but really get going in Feb when all the hunting is over.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top