Log length firewood in CT

[Haywire Haywood]

oak whiff

Perfume to my nose... LOL

I cut some red oak yesterday that has been down a good while and it was sopping wet. Will probably get burnt in winter '11-'12.

Ian

 

[matt9923]

Some great info here for CT folks... appreciate it!

:agree2:

 

[CTsplitter]

http://newhaven.craigslist.org/grd/1372280234.html

 

[BigPITA]

http://newhaven.craigslist.org/grd/1372280234.html

I saw this and called the guy... he says it's mostly maple, but didn't say what kind of maple. Being new, I don't think I've come across any maple yet... checked out the 'good info' sticky and it says that the various types of maple suck to split. I'm wondering if it's all stringy and a big PITA to split and whether or not it's worth the cost when there's 'free' stuff to get out there (though for me, not at this quantity at one time).

 

[woodbooga]

I saw this and called the guy... he says it's mostly maple, but didn't say what kind of maple. Being new, I don't think I've come across any maple yet... checked out the 'good info' sticky and it says that the various types of maple suck to split. I'm wondering if it's all stringy and a big PITA to split and whether or not it's worth the cost when there's 'free' stuff to get out there (though for me, not at this quantity at one time).

IMO, with maple, you get what you work for.

Silver maple is so-so to burn, but almost bucks itself if you look at it cross while holding a chainsaw at idle.

On the other end of the spectrum is sugar maple. They call it rock maple for a reason! This weekend, I ripped up all the rounds that defied the maul. More than a few sugar rounds in there. But it burns as good as oak, IMO.

(As an aside, the byproduct of making noodles is fun and a cussing by the wife - in that order. My 4.5 y.o. boy had the best time playing trucks in the noodle pile. He calls them doodles and piles them on his head and rolls in them like a freshly-raked mound of leaves. The cussing comes later, after being called in for supper. Doodles seem to have super magnetic powers outside - which wear off the moment you set foot indoors.)

 

[BigPITA]

IMO, with maple, you get what you work for.

Silver maple is so-so to burn, but almost bucks itself if you look at it cross while holding a chainsaw at idle.

On the other end of the spectrum is sugar maple. They call it rock maple for a reason! This weekend, I ripped up all the rounds that defied the maul. More than a few sugar rounds in there. But it burns as good as oak, IMO.

(As an aside, the byproduct of making noodles is fun and a cussing by the wife - in that order. My 4.5 y.o. boy had the best time playing trucks in the noodle pile. He calls them doodles and piles them on his head and rolls in them like a freshly-raked mound of leaves. The cussing comes later, after being called in for supper. Doodles seem to have super magnetic powers outside - which wear off the moment you set foot indoors.)

Thanks Woodbooga! I might give it a try with one load and see how it goes. While I've found 'free' wood, at times I'm driving an hour or so to get a load, drive back to unload, then head out to another location for a load that's usually 45-60 minutes away, and that's how it has been for me. To have 7-8 cords delivered to the house at ~$70/cord (presuming only 7 cords) starts tempting me. With the horrible mpg on the truck, I'm probably not spending $70/cord in gas to get to and fro the locations, but it's prolly a good chunk of that amount. Based on this, seems like it's worth rolling the dice once. Worst case scenario seems to be a lesson learned.

 

[woodbooga]

Thanks Woodbooga! I might give it a try with one load and see how it goes. While I've found 'free' wood, at times I'm driving an hour or so to get a load, drive back to unload, then head out to another location for a load that's usually 45-60 minutes away, and that's how it has been for me. To have 7-8 cords delivered to the house at ~$70/cord (presuming only 7 cords) starts tempting me. With the horrible mpg on the truck, I'm probably not spending $70/cord in gas to get to and fro the locations, but it's prolly a good chunk of that amount. Based on this, seems like it's worth rolling the dice once. Worst case scenario seems to be a lesson learned.

I've been lucky of late. All my firewood's from within maybe 5 miles of home.

LAst year I did a few "firewood excursions" traveling up to 40 mi. one way. But I bundled those schrounge trips with vists to friends and relatives in the general area I was headed. Folks I might not otherwise see or go out of my way for.

 

[BigPITA]

IMO, with maple, you get what you work for.

Silver maple is so-so to burn, but almost bucks itself if you look at it cross while holding a chainsaw at idle.

On the other end of the spectrum is sugar maple. They call it rock maple for a reason! This weekend, I ripped up all the rounds that defied the maul. More than a few sugar rounds in there. But it burns as good as oak, IMO.

(As an aside, the byproduct of making noodles is fun and a cussing by the wife - in that order. My 4.5 y.o. boy had the best time playing trucks in the noodle pile. He calls them doodles and piles them on his head and rolls in them like a freshly-raked mound of leaves. The cussing comes later, after being called in for supper. Doodles seem to have super magnetic powers outside - which wear off the moment you set foot indoors.)

Forgot to ask... why the noodling vs. using a splitter? Saw you mentioned a maul... but seem to recall from other threads that you have a splitter.

 

[woodbooga]

Forgot to ask... why the noodling vs. using a splitter? Saw you mentioned a maul... but seem to recall from other threads that you have a splitter.

I don't think I'm too powerful on the brute force side of things, but there's not much I can't bust up with a 6 or 8lb maul with a few well-placed whacks. That, and I really enjoy swinging a maul. (I'm not a boxer, but I used to enjoy working with a speedbag for probably the same reason. Some people meditate or do yoga. Swinging a maul is my yoga ).

Owning a splitter would be neat, but for the odd round that won't split, halving or quartering with a $100 chainsaw is just more economical.