Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[zogger]

Started burning on my "this year's" wood stack yesterday. finally. So far all season been burning leftovers from last year, uglies, odds and ends and whatnots. Amazing how many whatnots you accumulate....got months out of them!

Anyway, this was put up as four cords even, stacked absolutely as high as I could reach, now two years later it has dried and shrunk so much it is only around 3 cords and change. The wood though..freeking excellent! I had forgotten how much hickory and oak I had stashed in there, but there's a wide variety of species, all superdry. Love that gray clanky wood.

 

[farmer steve]

Started burning on my "this year's" wood stack yesterday. finally. So far all season been burning leftovers from last year, uglies, odds and ends and whatnots. Amazing how many whatnots you accumulate....got months out of them!

Anyway, this was put up as four cords even, stacked absolutely as high as I could reach, now two years later it has dried and shrunk so much it is only around 3 cords and change. The wood though..freeking excellent! I had forgotten how much hickory and oak I had stashed in there, but there's a wide variety of species, all superdry. Love that gray clanky wood.

ZOGGER WOOD!!!!

 

[chipper1]

Started burning on my "this year's" wood stack yesterday. finally. So far all season been burning leftovers from last year, uglies, odds and ends and whatnots. Amazing how many whatnots you accumulate....got months out of them!

Anyway, this was put up as four cords even, stacked absolutely as high as I could reach, now two years later it has dried and shrunk so much it is only around 3 cords and change. The wood though..freeking excellent! I had forgotten how much hickory and oak I had stashed in there, but there's a wide variety of species, all superdry. Love that gray clanky wood.

Beautiful scenery there. Nice stack of wood there too.
I would have thought you were taller.

 

[abner]

Abner's position is interesting and I would have to side with SVK on this.

I would be more than happy to bring him a load of red oak but that's it.

The only variable I can think of that would change my mind would be how common are red oaks there? If the area is flush with oak then it may not be an issue to take him along.

If it's like here where good hardwood is a premium and not too common.....yeah I'd keep my lips closed. I've seen some real dandies here when it comes to "free" accessible wood. Free is in quotes because 2x I have seen pickups and car hauler trailers cutting out of a loggers landing pile right off of the road. This is in the last week and a half on Sundays. Ain't that some sh!t.

And I also agree with SVK's fishing analogy....my goto response is "An area lake." lol

Thanks for the welcome and all of the reply's.
Red Oak is very plentiful around here although you don't find one that large of a diameter often.
I think I will drop him off a load to keep his pine scrounge site and also just to be neighborly.
I have had an OWB for 24 years but got behind in cutting due to having to take care of parents.
So I have been trying to play catch up which is why his request caused the "it's ALL mine" knee jerk reaction.
Thanks for helping me think a little more clearly.
I have enjoyed finding other people with like interests.

 

[MountainHigh]

Hi, been enjoying reading from like minded scroungers. Has this ever happened to any of you? I was cutting some dead standing pine from a neighbor's land this weekend. This was the first time cutting since I got permission a few weeks back. As I was pulling off he pulled in from work. Being neighborly and appreciative of the free wood, I stopped to thank him and exchange small talk. He told me of a lady that had lots of pine cut up and only wanted $40 for it. (I have refused to ever pay for wood) So I politely said that I was working on several (scrounge) sites and I didn't need to buy right now. I volunteered too much info in telling him about a 36" blow down red oak I have been cutting on for several weekends and have probably 10 more trailer loads to go. That's when he said to let him know next time I go there in that he wants to get some red oak also. At first I thought oh no! That's MY wood. But then thought I ought to repay the favor in maybe dropping off some oak to him since I could cut probably 5-7 loads of pine off his land. (he doesn't burn pine). What do y'all think?

Absolutely - He's already giving some nice few loads of albeit lesser wood. I always like to share the wealth whenever I can. Sometimes generosity doesn't get reciprocated by the same person you give to, but generosity often makes friends and keeps the wheels of good things turning your way. Doesn't hurt to maintain control of your red oak stash at least until you know him better and/or have some defined ground rules, so I would drop some wood off rather than taking him along initially.

Anytime I find a nice stash of wood, I'll grab a load or 3 on my own, then I try to find the guy who needs it most and drag him along - more fun working with others anyway.

 

[chipper1]

Ok guys here's a few more pictures. Not sure how well they will look on here as they are hard to see on my phone.
1st 3:12 cooling down 375 degrees.
2nd 4:35 same temp 375 with large coals it would have remained here or dropped to 350 and stayed that way for hrs. I can't wait, need to get more heat
the house will start cooling down soon. I pulled the large coals to the front.
3rd 4:36 nice piece of seasoned red oak on the top loaded East-West draft open to burn down the larger coals and get as much heat out of them as possible.
4th 4:39 the stove was right back up to 450 for another hr after putting that small piece on top and opening the draft. Then another nice loose load and
it will be ready for a load at 12:30am.

 

[MountainHigh]

Nice stove Chipper1 !

PE stainless steel secondary burn baffle works great eh! Similar design inside as my Summit, I'm heating 2500 sq ft. - Pacific Energy HQ is on Vancouver Island.

 

[svk]

Haven't run a saw in 12 days and it's going to be Super Bowl weekend at the earliest before I'll be running one again. Withdrawals man!!!!!

 

[zogger]

Beautiful scenery there. Nice stack of wood there too.
I would have thought you were taller.

HAHAHAHAHA! Nope, AFAIK, I am the shortest and lightest adult on this forum. That stack is still over my head though.

Of course I can palm a basketball..made some beers back in the day doing that....

..and I won the bets by getting the ball, carefully placing one hand on it..then the other..and picking it up while saying "of course it takes me two palms..but I can do it, see"?

 

[zogger]

ZOGGER WOOD!!!!

*snort* hehehehe Oh there's some nice splits in there, it isn't all branch wood. Piece I just put in the stove just now cleared the door by 1/4 inch.

 

[chipper1]

HAHAHAHAHA! Nope, AFAIK, I am the shortest and lightest adult on this forum. That stack is still over my head though.

Of course I can palm a basketball..made some beers back in the day doing that....

..and I won the bets by getting the ball, carefully placing one hand on it..then the other..and picking it up while saying "of course it takes me two palms..but I can do it, see"?

*snort* hehehehe Oh there's some nice splits in there, it isn't all branch wood. Piece I just put in the stove just now cleared the door by 1/4 inch.

After reading the 1st post my question/statement in regards to the second one would be, how big is the door, or next time open the door farther LOL.

 

[zogger]

After reading the 1st post my question/statement in regards to the second one would be, how big is the door, or next time open the door farther LOL.

Front and top loader. Front is 9 inch wide, by 7 inch tall. Not measuring the top right now, got a hot burning morning fire going.

 

[Ambull01]

About an inch or two fell last night and schools are closed for the whole day. Secondary roads are pretty jacked up. Massive storm is supposed to be stopping by tomorrow. Holy ****!!! Why can't they send some guys up north to learn how to clear roads properly? The storm is supposed to dump around 1-2 feet of snow or more. I can't wait to see how much it cripples the state for a few days. My unit just alerted us to a possible call up from the Governor. Oh well, on a positive note there should be lots of trees falling so more firewood for my yard. Strong wind gusts are on the forecast as well.

 

[benp]

About an inch or two fell last night and schools are closed for the whole day. Secondary roads are pretty jacked up. Massive storm is supposed to be stopping by tomorrow. Holy ****!!! Why can't they send some guys up north to learn how to clear roads properly? The storm is supposed to dump around 1-2 feet of snow or more. I can't wait to see how much it cripples the state for a few days. My unit just alerted us to a possible call up from the Governor. Oh well, on a positive note there should be lots of trees falling so more firewood for my yard. Strong wind gusts are on the forecast as well.

Hang in there.

I have fond memories of the state of Delaware being shut down due to snow.

Riding 4 wheelers down 896 and route 40 was fun. A friend of mine's uncle had pictures of them riding their sleds from Delaware City to Bethany Beach.

 

[chipper1]

Front and top loader. Front is 9 inch wide, by 7 inch tall. Not measuring the top right now, got a hot burning morning fire going.

You did get what I was saying though right

 

[chipper1]

Hang in there.

I have fond memories of the state of Delaware being shut down due to snow.

Riding 4 wheelers down 896 and route 40 was fun. A friend of mine's uncle had pictures of them riding their sleds from Delaware City to Bethany Beach.

That sounds like a lot of fun.

 

[hardpan]

Hang in there.

I have fond memories of the state of Delaware being shut down due to snow.

Riding 4 wheelers down 896 and route 40 was fun. A friend of mine's uncle had pictures of them riding their sleds from Delaware City to Bethany Beach.

Yeh, and the hospital birthing rooms are over loaded 9 months later. LOL

 

[benp]

Yeh, and the hospital birthing rooms are over loaded 9 months later. LOL

It's funny you say that.

At work when a baby is born "Lullabye" is played over the over head system.

Late summer/early fall there are times when it seems that it is played non stop. Do the math real quick and it usually points to some winter event. Lol

The last couple years, the non stop Polar Vortices have been quite the population producer.

 

[chipper1]

Nice stove Chipper1 !

PE stainless steel secondary burn baffle works great eh! Similar design inside as my Summit, I'm heating 2500 sq ft. - Pacific Energy HQ is on Vancouver Island.

Thanks, I like it a lot.
Yes very similar, as far as I know yours has the same firebox as the t-6 with the extended burn technology. Last time I checked into it all PE only had three firebox designs they used small, medium, and large which means they only have to pass testing on three stoves per say.
Ours has served us well as our primary heat source for our 1850sf home for 6 seasons including this one.
We also have a pellet stove we use to help when it gets down below 10f for longer periods and also when we leave town to keep the heat going while we are gone. It also helps when we get back from vacation to get the house up to temp quicker.
When the temps are between 10 and 40f it's the perfect size for our home.
I post these longer post like this hoping to help others in their search with real world results not just spec sheets(sorry sawtroll) and opinions.
I looked long and hard and AS and FF were two sites that helped me much with stove choice and much learning about harvesting/processing wood.
Thanks guys

 

[Ambull01]

Hang in there.

I have fond memories of the state of Delaware being shut down due to snow.

Riding 4 wheelers down 896 and route 40 was fun. A friend of mine's uncle had pictures of them riding their sleds from Delaware City to Bethany Beach.

Oh I have no worries about the snow. Just still amazed how they shut school downs because of an inch of snow. I have the wood stove and propane stove so losing power is no big deal. My heart is skipping a beat thinking about all the downed trees I can cut. I'll stack firewood in every single in-law's yard lol.