The RPF Firewood Thread

[phill4paul]

I have a friend that is clearing some land. Spent the last weekend camping and cutting and splitting. I just take my time and enjoy myself. Smoke up some ribs and shoot the guns some. The bonus is I can get away from everyone and everything electronic that connects us.

[Origanalist]

I have a friend that is clearing some land. Spent the last weekend camping and cutting and splitting. I just take my time and enjoy myself. Smoke up some ribs and shoot the guns some. The bonus is I can get away from everyone and everything electronic that connects us.

That actually sounds really nice right now.

[presence]

I pay a substantial trash bill to have my sawdust hauled to the landfill,

http://www.appropedia.org/Sawdust_stove


Set a 55 drum up on some cinder blocks and cut a 4" hole in the bottom. Pack it solid w/ sawdust with a piece of 3" pvc down the center, when its packed tight, pull the pipe out and light from below w/ mapp torch.

No more sawdust.

[tod evans]

http://www.appropedia.org/Sawdust_stove


Set a 55 drum up on some cinder blocks and cut a 4" hole in the bottom. Pack it solid w/ sawdust with a piece of 3" pvc down the center, when its packed tight, pull the pipe out and light from below w/ mapp torch.

No more sawdust.

Wood burning stove = no insurance....

[presence]

That actually sounds really nice right now.

Stop by I'll keep ya busy.

[Origanalist]

Stop by I'll keep ya busy.

As long as it's not drywall......

[presence]

Except they don't work if you lose power.

Pellet stoves have low power usage; about 3 amps when the auger spins depending upon brand.

Instead of plugging your stove into the wall, plug it into a cheap 500w inverter; Amazon ~$25

Plug the inverter into a 2 battery deep cycle bank. ~200

Plug the batter bank into a trickle charger ~$25



$250 = pellet stove stays on for a week after the power goes out.

As long as it's not drywall......

I'll pull up another triaxle w/ your name on it

[phill4paul]

That actually sounds really nice right now.

It's great and I love this time of year. It'll take another 3 weekends to get all the firewood in. And that's milking it. Nothing better than an excuse to get away from it all. I'd be there this weekend if it weren't raining. I don't like setting up a tent just for a weekend. Just a tarp and ground cloth. And the woman is happy, happy, happy to see me bringing home a load of split wood on Sunday.

[presence]

[presence]

[presence]

[Origanalist]

It's great and I love this time of year. It'll take another 3 weekends to get all the firewood in. And that's milking it. Nothing better than an excuse to get away from it all. I'd be there this weekend if it weren't raining. I don't like setting up a tent just for a weekend. Just a tarp and ground cloth. And the woman is happy, happy, happy to see me bringing home a load of split wood on Sunday.

Win, win!

[presence]

[Anti Federalist]

I approve of this thread.

[Origanalist]

I approve of this thread.

Is there a official AF seal of approval?

[pcosmar]

Holy Spam Post Batman.

Edit,, removed.

[pcosmar]

A lot of good info,, but I use a Poulan,,18". And I don't mess with much "little" wood. Perhaps not the best,,but they are cheap and I am poor.









I heat with wood all winter,, for the last 6 years. And I would guess,, I burn about 20 cord,, but that is just a guess.
I never made a big pile. But I go through that cart full, about every day.

[Barrex]

Obvious: Chop wood while it is wet. When it is dry it is much harder to chop/split it.
Also: Wet wood burns longer (our village scientists still dont 100% agree why) so if you already heated your home use wet ones to maintain fire.
Smart planing: If you have your own forest cut down part of it and plant chestnuts, cherries, nuts, pears and other fruit trees that can grow without any special care there. Also Birch for juice and maple for pancake syrup. You will get your firewood and also source of free food. Dont plant only one chestnut (they need more than one to pollinate and bear fruit). If you do this in time you can replace your entire forest with fruit bearing trees. You will have healthy source of food, firewood and some income (if you sell fruits or lease someone else to collect fruits). If you plant cherry and nut trees (it works for others too) cut all lower branches so you get straight trunk. This will ensure that when you cut it years later you have straight trunk that you can sell. Cherry and walnut wood is expensive. If you want you can go for some exotic wood species that are really really expensive. Consider it inexpensive investment. It will give you joy to eat its fruits and watch it grow. It costs less than 5 dollars (here) to buy young walnut tree and plant it. After 20 years you can have trunk that is worth (I really dont know prices in US so this time I will not lie... you are welcome). Can someone tell me price of it over there?
When I was born my father planted a nut tree. Trunk is useless now because of tree house and swings that broke more than few branches and distorted it... It survived all that mayhem and now it is higher than 4 story building.

Do you have or use these? Hitting axe when it doesnt split a log.

Ok so people typically have a back-up heating system other than firewood?

Back-up is for something that fails. If you have wood and a stove I dont see how your going to fail heating your home? But yea we too have portable electric heater that we didnt use in the city so we moved it on our farm.

Wood burning stove = no insurance....

??? That is just stupid. Over here it is not like that. Most people use wood stoves and insurance companise would have to give up on large portion of their business if they did that. Could you explain that little more? Yes you could. Will you?

Nah. It looks nice at first view (how it is splitting wood) but then you realize that must make sure to cut all branches, move all stumps(blocks???) in same area, adjust every single time for size of the block, move it to the machine, bring it up and...bla bla bla... If it is for personal use it is not worth it. If it is professional it is not good enough.
I am old fashioned: Stihl chainsaw, axe and wooden mallet is all you need to provide fire wood for your home.
Discriminatory corner: I never saw lumberjack in a gym (fitness club)...I am not a lumberjack (gave up on that career path after watching Monty Pythons promotional video)but I also think it is stupid to pay someone to lift things and run in one place. How twisted things are.

Does that Nordic "thing" in you 4th video works as well as axe or is it just for soft wood without knots (place where branch is going out from a log)?

P.s.
I see pcosmar got him self a rabbit guard to protect his wood.

[presence]

I burn about 20 cord,, but that is just a guess.

wow.

20 cord? or 20 face cord?


cord = 4' x 4' x 8'

face = 4' x 16inches x 8'

[presence]

Obvious: Chop wood while it is wet. When it is dry it is much harder to chop/split it.
Also: Wet wood burns longer (our village scientists still dont 100% agree why) so if you already heated your home use wet ones to maintain fire.

wet wood will increase creosote production in your chimney... be careful w/ that and inspect 2x month

Do you have or use these? Hitting axe when it doesnt split a log.

I've never used anything but a 6lb maul. Axes tend to get stuck in the wood rather than ploughing through

??? That is just stupid. Over here it is not like that. Most people use wood stoves and insurance companise would have to give up on large portion of their business if they did that. Could you explain that little more? Yes you could. Will you?

In the US, big insurance and big power have common interests. So big insurance says 2x or 3x home fire insurance cost for wood stoves in some areas forcing use of "safe" electric/gas/fuel oil heat. You can get around this by using an "outdoor wood boiler" and hydronic system.

Whether or not you'll pay additional premiums due to your alternative heating depends on your insurer. Erie doesn't charge more, nor does the nation's largest property/casualty insurer, State Farm. Allstate charges extra. (This additional premium does not apply to built-in fireplaces.)

http://www.insure.com/home-insurance...e-heating.html

Does that Nordic "thing" in you 4th video works as well as axe or is it just for soft wood without knots (place where branch is going out from a log)?

never used one... just thought it was a neat tube

P.s.
I see pcosmar got him self a rabbit guard to protect his wood.

Gotta do what you gotta do when the state takes your gun rights away.

[oyarde]

A lot of good info,, but I use a Poulan,,18". And I don't mess with much "little" wood. Perhaps not the best,,but they are cheap and I am poor.









I heat with wood all winter,, for the last 6 years. And I would guess,, I burn about 20 cord,, but that is just a guess.
I never made a big pile. But I go through that cart full, about every day.

That last pic with the bunny kind of makes my morning Pete.For some reason , makes me smile.What is the propnane tank for ?

[tod evans]

??? That is just stupid. Over here it is not like that. Most people use wood stoves and insurance companise would have to give up on large portion of their business if they did that. Could you explain that little more? Yes you could. Will you?

I have a woodworking business on my property and one of the requirements of the insurance company is no open flames, even burning scrap (if caught) is grounds for them to invalidate the policy.

I can change companies but the difference in premiums is ridiculous, $6k year!

I inquired about outdoor boilers, in ground boilers and the carriers response was the same, no open flames..

[pcosmar]

wow.

20 cord? or 20 face cord?


cord = 4' x 4' x 8'

face = 4' x 16inches x 8'

Guessing 20 full cord.. give or take a bit,, depending.

I cut and split all winter,, continuously. I start with some in the fall,, and put it in the basement,, then cycle it,,
(some thawing/drying and some burning)





I burn about a cart full everyday.. the cart gets skis after the snow flies.

[presence]

Guessing 20 full cord.. give or take a bit,, depending.

I cut and split all winter,, continuously. I start with some in the fall,, and put it in the basement,, then cycle it,,
(some thawing/drying and some burning)

damn boss... 2 and a half triaxles of logs?


You need to work on efficiency. I'm in USDA climate zone 4 and I only go through 6.5 cord or so in what I consider a fairly inefficient situation.

[pcosmar]

Wood burning stove = no insurance....

Had that problem looking for Insurance when I got here. Farmers Insurance covers me.

This house was build in 1921,, and was built around wood heat. I have 3 stoves,, but only us 2 right now.

The wife doesn't want to cook on a wood stove, so we use Gas for that.







I don't worry about fire,, I tend those,, and clean my chimney. My concern was some large trees near the house.. and I got rid of one that was threatening.

[pcosmar]

damn boss... 2 and a half triaxles of logs?


You need to work on efficiency. I'm in USDA climate zone 4 and I only go through 6.5 cord or so in what I consider a fairly inefficient situation.

How big is your house? How many days are subzero? I generally start a fire in October and it never goes out till April or May.

On really cold days,, I have 2 burning.

[phill4paul]

I've never seen a wood stove like the center one pictured pcosmar. What type/brand is it? Man it is beautiful in design.

Edit: Is it a Sterling Parlor stove?

[presence]

I inquired about outdoor boilers, in ground boilers and the carriers response was the same, no open flames..

"no open flames" does not mean "no UL listed wood stoves"

"Open Flames" refers to bbq grills, 55g drum fires, candles, oil lanterns, etc.



Free your mind and the rest will follow:

Facts on Open Burning Under Missouri Regulations



Open burning is the burning of any materials in which air contaminants are emitted directly

into the air without first passing through a stack or chimney


[]


Open Burning at Wood Processing Facilities
Open burning of untreated wood waste from wood processing facilities is allowed if production is
less than 8,000 board-feet per day and the facility was in existence as of Mar
. 25, 1976, but has
not relocated to a new site. The burning also must be done at least 200 yards from the nearest
occupied structure.
Open burning of untreated wood waste from wood processing facilities is allowed if production is
less than 8,000 board-feet per day and the facility has relocated or from new wood processing
facilities not in existence as of Sept. 18, 1970, and the facility and the burning are at least one
mile outside city limits. The burning also must be done at least 200 yards from the nearest
occupied structure

http://www.dnr.mo.gov/pubs/pub2047.pdf

[Origanalist]

damn boss... 2 and a half triaxles of logs?


You need to work on efficiency. I'm in USDA climate zone 4 and I only go through 6.5 cord or so in what I consider a fairly inefficient situation.

That is a lot for one season.

[klamath]

My uncle just converted his 3 car garage to a rocket mass heater, ditching his Vogelzang barrel situation:


After his first season on rocket mass he tells me he's heating on 1/4 of the firewood to heat the same space the barrel stove heated, although he does have to chop it smaller; an estwing Fireside Friend 4lb comes in handy:








I agree with that notion. For a while my only back up were some plug in 1500w electric heaters. Cold times, hot cords.



I have a two man, hardest steel of anything I've ever owned.


Check out a pellet stove... clean like electric... but (relatively) cheap and roaring like a wood fire. Lots of deals on craigslist. Homedepot carries pellets for $200/ton

As a teenager I used to forge knives and swords from the old crosscut blades. Good steel. Home depot is fifty miles away and the pellets would have to be hauled down a quad trail. Not cost effective.