Wayne02
ArboristSite Lurker
I like using firewood for heat but as I get older it becomes harder and harder work to fall and process the trees. The prices around here for cut/split/dry wood are not that much less than some more traditional heating methods so to be economically feasible I need to process my own firewood, and fortunately we have the timbered property available for the supply.
This subject came home to roost this year when I accepted the fact that my recently turned 18 year old son will be leaving the nest over the next couple of years, and with it a strong back and endless energy that helped me harvest the firewood in years past.
As I look to the future where I'd like to continue to heat with wood as long as my health permits I wonder what labor saving devices/systems I can build to help with this task. I like to follow the path of the wood from tree to fireplace side and minimize handling as much as possible. Right now there is a lot of stacking, trailering, restacking, moving to the woodstoves involved in the process etc.
Trying to minimize the amount of bending, lifting, twisting involved in the process I wonder about a powered conveyance system that would transport the wood from the point where it falls on the ground after being split or when it comes off the splitter into the trailer. (My trailer has 4' tall sides)
Or what about a system that would process the firewood in batches. Maybe a system that used pallet crates which were positioned at the splitting site where split wood that came off the splitter was stacked into this pallet device. Then this "batch" of firewood was fork lifted onto the trailer for transport back to the house at which point the batch was fork lifted from the trailer to the wood shed. And finally a batch gets fork lifted from the wood shed into the garage where it is positioned against the wall that has the wood stove on the other side. A sliding door is present that allows one to open the door and grab pieces of firewood as needed.
With this type of system you are handling the piece of split wood only twice. Once when you stack it in the pallet device, and once when you pull it out of the device and put it into the wood stove.
Anybody else give thought to this subject? Anybody getting on in years and looking for labor/health saving ideas, equipment, and techniques??
Thanks
Wayne
This subject came home to roost this year when I accepted the fact that my recently turned 18 year old son will be leaving the nest over the next couple of years, and with it a strong back and endless energy that helped me harvest the firewood in years past.
As I look to the future where I'd like to continue to heat with wood as long as my health permits I wonder what labor saving devices/systems I can build to help with this task. I like to follow the path of the wood from tree to fireplace side and minimize handling as much as possible. Right now there is a lot of stacking, trailering, restacking, moving to the woodstoves involved in the process etc.
Trying to minimize the amount of bending, lifting, twisting involved in the process I wonder about a powered conveyance system that would transport the wood from the point where it falls on the ground after being split or when it comes off the splitter into the trailer. (My trailer has 4' tall sides)
Or what about a system that would process the firewood in batches. Maybe a system that used pallet crates which were positioned at the splitting site where split wood that came off the splitter was stacked into this pallet device. Then this "batch" of firewood was fork lifted onto the trailer for transport back to the house at which point the batch was fork lifted from the trailer to the wood shed. And finally a batch gets fork lifted from the wood shed into the garage where it is positioned against the wall that has the wood stove on the other side. A sliding door is present that allows one to open the door and grab pieces of firewood as needed.
With this type of system you are handling the piece of split wood only twice. Once when you stack it in the pallet device, and once when you pull it out of the device and put it into the wood stove.
Anybody else give thought to this subject? Anybody getting on in years and looking for labor/health saving ideas, equipment, and techniques??
Thanks
Wayne