Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[svk]

I can believe that, up in colder climates! especially, if one heats with wood. even humid climates such as down here in summer months wood such as oak can last a long time. I have an oak wood pile in my barn and its close to a 1/2 cord +/-... and it is dry and good wood. it is 22 years old! since cut and split. burns great, hot and as one would want. I have been using the 18 year old oak from outdoor woodshed in town of late, burns like been drying for one season. and while it is covered, its sides are open. definitely sees some humid air! I think I got a pix of the wood pile in barn, will post it if so... I may burn some junk now n then in mr Brutus... his appetite is never satiated fully... lol, but both wood piles burn just fine. I can buy into the fact, that due to time effect on the C in the wood, may be down on some BTU's... but from my point of view, and position sitting in front of the fireplace... well, let's just say... I often have to move back! lol ~

I guess I missed @MustangMike 's original post.

If you have wood off the ground and top covered, it will last almost indefinitely even up in the cold climates. We burned 30 year old wood from the back of the pile a few years back when I moved my wood pile from where my dad always stacked it. I know it was that old because we used to have a "bark buster" cone splitter and the wood was all split with that. The back ends of the wood were crumbly but the pieces themselves were solid and the wood on the inside rows weren't even grey.

 

[Philbert]

Here’s the grader, sans one wheel that’s getting repaired.

That's quite a rig!
Philbert

 

[svk]

That's quite a rig!
Philbert

It works awesome. I wish the blade had about 6" additional on either side, but it is not my tool to fix.

I solicit someone to drive my truck and I ride on the back of it to adjust the angles as you go. You can run it with nobody on the back but between the added weight and the lack of adjusting, it is much more efficient to man it.

When you catch a rock (like the one I pictured) you had better hold on because there is only one out, right over the top!

 

[hamish]

Any of you guys in Ontario being affected by the flooding ?

Close to half my county is under a state of emergency, I figure its a part of living near the water, water levels are expected to peak wednesday. Lol 2017s flood was supposed to be the 100 year flood, we are already past that. The northern dams still havent even opened up and Temiskaming is still getting snow. Should make for fun times. Got stocked up on beer......ya never know!

 

[Cowboy254]

Thought @Cowboy254 might like this. I collected a little wood from my usual tree guy, half of which was eucalyptus. I texted to thank him and he replied to say not many people want eucalyptus. I explained it's easy to split but odd/a shame how it is so much less dense here than in Australia (it has growth rings a good 1/2" wide!). His reply

' Oh yeah those things grow like a weed over here. I think it’s because our climate is much wetter than Australia they thrive on all the water. They also tend to be a species that blows over in high winds quite frequently.'

Still, it splits very easy, the fiskars was sending splits flying across my lawn. It also dries fine so I'm happy with a little of it in the pile.

Sounds like it was exploding out of the ground with growth rings that wide. I don't think though that you can generalise to say 'eucalyptus' does this or that, it all depends on the sub-species. We have some that have densities almost down to 600kg/m then others up to nearly double that. A grey box will take 30 years to grow to the height that a blue gum does in less than 10. Even taking a eucalypt out of its local range makes a huge difference (let alone out of the country). One of our local doctors planted a snowgum (normally found at 4000+ ft elevation and growing to about 8-10m tall) from the mountain 10km away and planted it in his back yard in the valley here and the silly thing grew to over 30m tall. Peppermints blow over with monotonous regularity (which I like ) while blue gums are firmly rooted to the spot, but both blue and red gums will drop branches on the heads of the unwary scrounger where others don't. Anything with growth rings like that will be lightweight though, no doubt.

Ahem...

Peppermint does sound . Does it smell better than locust.

I know if there is moisture in it I have a lot more coaling/ash than I do if it's dry.

Don't think the moisture factor affects ash content since the ash is just the incombustible minerals in the wood which will be the same green or dry. As you say, how it burns green/dry is another thing.

I think that having read about how good black locust is as firewood here for the last few years, I had developed a picture in my mind of wood that would cut down green, split itself, dry by the time you had carried it in to the house, heat the place for a month with two sticks, clean the glass, sweep out the flue, cook, clean and do the dishes. And now I'm disappointed that it didn't do the dishes . @LondonNeil may have had the same disappointment when he got hold of some random eucalypt after hearing me bang on about ours here and it didn't meet expectations. BUT, now that I'm accustomed to the ash factor, it's doing just fine. It certainly seems to be as heavy as what I already have. I have the opportunity to get some more and I think I will, but it'll have to wait until next week. You're right though, it doesn't smell great.

 

[Deleted member 149229]

Wife has a sense of humor.

 

[chucker]

Here’s the grader, sans one wheel that’s getting repaired.

Yes that’s snow LOL.

View attachment 732957

steve, that's at the lake cabin right?

 

[MustangMike]

Cowboy, you are likely not real impressed with Locust because you have so many other real good woods.

SVK, I was referring to outside, not covered (an in many cases I see it right on the ground)! I NEVER stack wood on the ground! It will rot if I do.

 

[MustangMike]

OK, I do have some 20 year old fire wood … but it was my emergency supply stored inside the old cabin … off the ground and dry! It is Ash, but it seems to have really yellowed over the years.

I'll have to burn some sometime and see what happens! It is about 1/2 a face cord.

 

[chipper1]

Don't think the moisture factor affects ash content since the ash is just the incombustible minerals in the wood which will be the same green or dry. As you say, how it burns green/dry is another thing.

Well...

Here's the ones in the woods, the ones out farther are just random trees that have come down through the yrs.

 

[dancan]

Hamish , stay dry and well stocked up !


Neil , repeat after me , "Thanks mr.woodsupplier , that euc is no good no good for firewood but ok for compost so I'll still take it ..."

 

[Cowboy254]

Neil , repeat after me , "Thanks mr.woodsupplier , that euc is no good no good for firewood but ok for compost so I'll still take it ..."

You've gotta have standards. Tell mr.woodsupplier to bring spruce or get nicked !

 

[Deleted member 150358]

Well...

Here's the ones in the woods, the ones out farther are just random trees that have come down through the yrs.
View attachment 733038 View attachment 733040 View attachment 733042 View attachment 733043 View attachment 733045

I like the mossy oak dead stuff like that. Seems like even if its soaking wet once split it dries fast and burns hot. Always some waste too rotted to bother with but WTF.

 

[svk]

steve, that's at the lake cabin right?

Yes. Same slab where you performed surgery on my trailer.

 

[chipper1]

I like the mossy oak dead stuff like that. Seems like even if its soaking wet once split it dries fast and burns hot. Always some waste too rotted to bother with but WTF.

This is locust, there won't be much rot, it's only 25yrs old . It's just getting good, I'm gonna have to use one of my chains set up for cutting frozen wood.

 

[Philbert]

I like the mossy oak dead stuff like that. Seems like even if its soaking wet once split it dries fast and burns hot.

The moss is just the included kindling . . . .

Philbert

 

[cantoo]

Philbert and Svk, here is a site you might be interested to take a look at. Goderich is 20 miles south of me. Most of my older neighbours used to work here over the years. http://www.championantiquegraderclub.ca/index.html
Goderich is also home to one of the largest salt mines in the world. Sadly it was bought by an American company and last year for the first time ever our local companies salted parking lots with salt from Egypt. Hard to believe something like that makes sense.

 

[chipper1]

Philbert and Svk, here is a site you might be interested to take a look at. Goderich is 20 miles south of me. Most of my older neighbours used to work here over the years. http://www.championantiquegraderclub.ca/index.html
Goderich is also home to one of the largest salt mines in the world. Sadly it was bought by an American company and last year for the first time ever our local companies salted parking lots with salt from Egypt. Hard to believe something like that makes sense.
View attachment 733069 View attachment 733070

That little one is cool. Funny you posted the other link, I was also thinking of Steve's post when I saw this today north of Ionia, it's at a fairly large excavating company.

 

[U&A]

I’ve mowed 4 times, already. Maybe, should not have fertilized.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I gave up on “nice yard” years ago. Screw fertilizer. The leaves help slow grass growth. As do the Toyo M/T’s[emoji1787]

Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[Philbert]

Goderich is also home to one of the largest salt mines in the world.

Salt on the Detroit side of the lake too: http://detroitsalt.com/history
1,500 acres of underground salt mines!

Philbert