A real Noob trying to keep the house warm!

[Darth Hawken]

Two years ago I was nestled snugly in a small ranch in the city with gas heat and no worries. The bills were all low and things were good. . .so I thought. We were then "blessed" with triplets, and add them to our single first child and we had WAY too many kids for that small house. (1050 sq/ft). We were able to sell just before things went downhill. We bought a large two story colonial (2800 sq.ft.) on a couple of acres miles and miles outside of town. Our neighbors are corn and soybean fields.

The long and the short of it is that our first winter brought the harsh truth to light. $500/month in propane just to keep that house at 65 degrees. The wind whips across those fields without any trees to slow it down. Every bit of that house's insulation is put to the test!

Last fall I manned up and made a few wise investments. An OWB, and a shiny new Stihl 290 FarmBoss. My in-laws have 20 acres of hardwoods that was just logged out, so I have had my fill of the pre-dried tops just laying around. I figure I have about another year and a half before I need to drop any trees. It has been a win-win. They get their woods cleaned up and I get the free heat. I load my spoils into a beat up old trailer and tow it out of the woods and down the country road to my house with a 1954 Ford Jubilee. I couldn't be any happier than when I see the stacks of wood that I have brought in to keep my family warm!!!!!! It is very hard work, but it is great to be outside and breathing in the fresh air. To think that I used to go jogging for exercise. . . what a laugh! It makes it so much easier to grudgingly get into the dress clothes for work knowing that the saw is waiting for me in the evening.

Any words of advice for a Noob? Any stupid mistakes that you can help me bypass? As it sits now, my small arsenal consists of the single 20" saw, which I keep well maintained, the borrowed tractor, and a splitting maul. I may add a lab or retriever to the mix this year. I could use a good splitting buddy! I refuse to buy anything on credit so I will not get any real toys (splitter, more saws, better tractor) until the cash is in hand!

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[pwl]

Sounds like you are doing fine. I hope you have the required safety equipment, glasses, hearing protection, etc. All those kids need you to stay healthy.

 

[Turkeyslayer]

It all sounds excellent. I would advise getting some PPE (personal protective equipment) such as chaps, a helmet with face shield and hearing protection, and steel toed boots. Also always be aware of the kick-back zone of your bar, it can be especially dangerous when working in tops.
Be safe and have fun

 

[Darth Hawken]

It all sounds excellent. I would advise getting some PPE (personal protective equipment) such as chaps, a helmet with face shield and hearing protection, and steel toed boots. Also always be aware of the kick-back zone of your bar, it can be especially dangerous when working in tops.
Be safe and have fun

I have the gloves, boots and eye protection. I am getting a pair of chaps this season. Is the helmet necessary, or is it overkill?

 

[woodbooga]

Do be aware that free heat can get very expensive if you hang around here often enough. Especially if you go downstairs to the chainsaw forum.

To keep equipment expenses in check, make Saturday morning yard saling a summer ritual. This advice pertains universally. Unless you're reading this from your home in eastern or central NH - or just acrosst the border in Maine. There are no saws or anything else of value within a 30-mile radius of Alton Bay, so set your sights elsewhere.

 

[Austin1]

Cut more wood than you think you will need! I ran short last year and I was away getting Married on the Mediterranean wile it was -40 yes -40 at home So I missed two weeks of heating and still came up short, But had fun cutting wood in the Snow up to my waste in March Also get a Back up Saw CAD rears it's ugly head! lol but you should always have two saw's just in case you pinch one or it breaks down.Even a good running old Home light for 50 bucks makes a great back up saw.

 

[Austin1]

Do be aware that free heat can get very expensive if you hang around here often enough. Especially if you go downstairs to the chainsaw forum.

To keep equipment expenses in check, make Saturday morning yard saling a summer ritual. This advice pertains universally. Unless you're reading this from your home in eastern or central NH - or just acrosst the border in Maine. There are no saws or anything else of value within a 30-mile radius of Alton Bay, so set your sights elsewhere.

You talking about CAD? he can get buy with a good old saw for a second saw. But I would suggest a fancy saw for special occasions and we can't forget a small limbing saw. And maybe a new 1 ton Dually 4x4 with 15000 lb winch and heck a trailer too? I have said too much.:hmm3grin2orange:Oh did someone say log splitter lol!

 

[Darth Hawken]

That all sounds great, but the pickup would never make it back into the woods. It is pretty thick. I crank the tractor to ramming speed just to break through!

I think a splitter will be the first new purchase, right behind a good used tractor with a loader.

 

[chucker]

with cash in hand! never spend more on equipment in one season then it would cost to heat your home with using propane...??????????????? sounds like your ahead of the gas man and staying in the right direction with the wood! your right .its not easy ! but its all yours when you are done for the winter......

 

[Austin1]

That all sounds great, but the pickup would never make it back into the woods. It is pretty thick. I crank the tractor to ramming speed just to break through!

I think a splitter will be the first new purchase, right behind a good used tractor with a loader.

Sounds like you have everything except a back up saw. To be honest my splitter was the best thing I ever bought sure saves the shoulders when you turn 40. Never thought I would buy one but I love it!

 

[outdoorlivin247]

I have the gloves, boots and eye protection. I am getting a pair of chaps this season. Is the helmet necessary, or is it overkill?

If you are going to do any felling, then yes I would say it is necessary...

 

[southpaw]

2 tools that always stay on my tractor are a long handle pruning shears and a bow saw .........cheap hand tools that are going to save you a lot of problems when working in the thick with small equipment.

 

[dingeryote]

It sounds like ya need to insulate the crap outta the house and plant some windbreaks. Even a little more insulation and some 4' pine trees properly placed will make a difference.

If ya gotta ram the Jubillee through tangles, you'll be replacing tractor parts soon.

Ya need to cut some trails through the woods so you can get wood out and do some thinning to reduce the scrubby new growth a bit.Possibly a good brush cutter or Chopper for the tractor ?

Wood cutting is best done in the cold. Once ya get ahead, you can cut all late fall through spring without skeeters, ticks, and deer flies chewing on ya.

Welcome to the fun and rewarding hobby/mental disorder we all share here.

Go easy on the Jubillee, they ain't making any more of 'em.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[dingeryote]

I have the gloves, boots and eye protection. I am getting a pair of chaps this season. Is the helmet necessary, or is it overkill?

Helmet?
Not really appreciated untill a small branch plays gong show on your grape, and ya start thinking about the branch having bigger brothers.

Get one, and wear it if you are felling. Don't be the next "That guy".

One of the benefits of a helmet is the mesh face shield.

Safety glasses stop most crud from hitting your eyeballs most of the time.
The shields stop 90% of it all the time, and you can more fully concentrate on cutting good hinges when you're not getting blasted in the chops.

The mesh shields are also GREAT for cutting in new growth tangles that comes after select cutting a woodlot. Just walking in and around in the whips and greenbriar is easier with the shield.Add Chaps and ya bleed less and don't get the gorilla zits on your legs from the thorns.

50 bucks will seem cheap after ya wear 'em a bit.
Cheaper than permanent brain damage or a funeral anyway.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[flewism]

You spend most of your time cutting on 20 acres alone, some distance from home, get the chaps now, $60 at TSC or better ones at Bailey's (they have a link on this site) and keep the cell close. Most chainsaw accidents are caused by being in a hurry and/or fatigue
Get a backup saw, a cheap used Poulan, craftman, Home-lite, whatever, $40-50 on Craiglist or as suggested, yard sales.

Get more insulation on that house.
Contact the county soil conservation, for their tree sale. In Dec. you order trees. then pick them up at the end of March. They are about $65 per 100, get about 300 hybrid populars to start, and make your wind break. Plant them about 2' apart and make two or three rows you will have a wind break as they grow 4' a year with minimum upkeep. I've got at least 1000 of them outlining my 7 acres and started in the same "house in a barren farmers field" beginning that you currently have.
Get to know the farmers in your area, they might let you cut standing dead out of their treelines after the harvest and prior to planting. That is how I get a large percentage of my wood now. With a OWB you will use a lot of wood and you need to develop other sources of free wood.
Learn to file your own chains, it is easy, but take practice, and files are cheap.
You are correct to get a splitter, but don't be afraid to go used on a splitter. Splitters are simple machines and you can easily educate yourself on how to made sure you get a good used one or repair a broken one on this site and on the net in general.
How much splitting are you actually doing cutting tops for a OWB?
Keep the Jubilee running, plenty of grease, oil changes, blow out the radiator, parts are still available, and pretty cheap. What's wrong with it? I have seen loaders on 8n's powered by a PTO pump but no power steering, a negative with a loaded bucket. A compact or utility size tractor with a loader is great thing to have around. Do you have or foresee other uses for this tractor other than firewood?
Can you borrow a 5' rotary cutter (brushhog) and cut some trails in the thickets?
Your goal is to be one full heating season ahead of this game.

 

[sdt7618]

Insulate, insulate, insulate.... the more of your hard earned heat you keep the less you will have to cut etc. ( I know we all love to run the saws! )

In the five years that I have been in our 150 year old home, I have halved our oil heating bill twice( and before the smart ass's come out to play, means I am now at a 25% usage ) by insulation and new boiler + increased wood burning. we now have 12" of insulation in our attic, and I can't do the walls as they are solid stone with lath and plaster. All the windows are good double glazed units.

Like has been said before stop the wind, I live on an exposed estuary and get full force, and man does it drop the temp in the house when we get hit...

 

[savageactor7]

Best of luck to Darth Hawken I still feel the same way about heating with wood and buying on credit.

Only advice I have is when working alone don't set any speed records...be deliberate and think things threw.

 

[AIM]

Another vote here for a back up saw. As has been said before even a poulan or similar will work. If ya watch you can snag up a decent NEW poulan for $100 or less that will last a LONG time as a back up. I bought my Husky 45 used for $100 also. It's my back up saw but I use it for a few loads a year just to keep the gas fresh in it.
I don't get snagged often but when I do that back up saw is priceless.

 

[HuskyMike]

Save the cash and get a splitter, you will be amazed at how fast your pile will grow when running a splitter. Watch craigs list like a hawk and jump on a nice one when one arrives. Get a good one and forget about it. Don't waste your time with little weak splitter. Get a good strong one and forget about it.

 

[svon89]

A backup saw is really nice to have when your main saw gets pinched. I only have a small limbing saw, but it saves headaches.

A splitter may be needed down the line when you are dealing with larger stuff that won't fit in the OWB, but it doesn't sound like it is a needed buy right now.

Take it easy on the old Ford. That is probably what I would look to buy first. If you break something on a borrowed machine, even after you fix it there can be hard feelings. Power steering is a really nice option, I had a Ford 2000 industrial with a loader and it steered easier than my garden tractor, and that was with a bucket full of gravel. Plus it tends to be a little easier on you when one front tire grabs a stump.

Insulate is the key word. Around here you can buy 20-25 bags of the recycled paper blown in insulation and get the blower for free. I did some last year and I think it cost around $250 to do a 1000 sqft attic to around 10 or 12". I am sure it has settled, but another 20 bags would make it extra toasty.