Time to start looking for fire wood

37chief · Sep 22, 2018

This time of year I usually have more wood than I have now. My neighbor has a good pile of seasoned wood. Hope he remembers I cut his weeds for a load of wood. I don't use a lot being in CA, but I heat with mostly wood. At 76, I am getting very tired of hauling wood, cutting wood, and splitting wood. When I was 35 it was a good idea. When I built my house natural gas was not available. I installed ceiling heat. (what a joke, now days with the price of electricity) I have natural gas now, and considering putting a gas furnace. How you folks doing for wood? Stan

Bob Bancroft · Sep 22, 2018

The first house we lived in, after a couple of short apartment rentals, I was allowed to put in a wood stove, and hauled firewood from the home farm. Then in 1978 we built our first house on a waste corner of the home farm. We had a dual fuel furnace installed. More firewood from the home place. In 1992 we built a second new house on our own farm, a mile down the road. Everything is propane. That ended the firewood!

Geo-TH,In · Sep 22, 2018

Stan,
I don't burn wood.
I have in the past put an ad on Craigslist, free firewood. First come first served, just bring your chainsaw and truck. If they catch me home, I'll load logs on their trailer. Some people are picky, if it isn't a hardwood I don't want it. Some are happy with anything as long as it's FREE!

I plan to have 5 trees cut down soon. I usually wait until people are burning wood before I post ad. No one is interested in wood when it's 90 and heat index 100. I will hire a tree trimmer to put them on the ground before I post ad. It's very easy for me to clean up the sticks and haul them to burn pile in gravel pit.

So, if you want to make the trip to Indiana, you will be welcome to my wood.

onefarmer · Sep 22, 2018

Not much cut here. But with all the dead ash, I'll be alright. As long as I can get to it this winter

rrc300 u · Sep 22, 2018

I have a hood bit of wood cut split and stacked. I needed some more for security sake and have hauled about 6-8 loads of slabs from a couple of Amish sawmills. Most of the wood is nice thick pieces of hard wood beech oak some hickory and cherry. Alot is lumber sized irregular end piece cuttoffs. I never thought much of slab wood but for 8-15$ a truckload how can I go wrong, it's cut to 16" length and won't need any preparation.

Billy NY · Sep 22, 2018

Stan, I can only imagine that age plays a role in reducing ones enthusiasm to process and handle firewood. Reason I say that is that when the weather and conditions are ideal, harvesting trees from deadfall, blowdown, or diseased, damaged or trees that need to come down, for my firewood needs is something I really enjoy doing. Sure its work, but its a good kind of work, and as long as I can keep things at comfortable work height, its no real bother to me so far.

I've got just enough under cover to last most of a winter, but have logs to gather all over this place and trees to fall etc.

To catch up, I'll use some of my vacation time, seeing I've accumulated and or earned 5 weeks worth and have kept it intact so far this year. I don't have the time otherwise, but I can take advantage of it because my place of work is 7.3 miles away and I can keep the stove going round the clock for just the cost of me processing wood of my land. I can only hope to be able to keep doing my own firewood until old age, whatever age that is LOL !

Russ from MN · Sep 22, 2018

Thank goodness it cooled off here, we had at least 5 big ash trees blow down recently. 3 of them were in a normally swampy area where you can't always use equipment, but being abnormally dry this year I thought I better get them out to higher ground. I already have about 5 years supply of dry wood so I will process this and sell it next year.

mmfan55 · Sep 22, 2018

A pallet building company about 125 miles from me sells the off fall material. Lots of different sizes but loaded with end loader. No falling, cutting to length or splitting. Hauling on my gooseneck. Side kit gives me a cargo box 26x8x2. Hauling 12,000lb to 15000lb per load. Price makes trip worthwhile. Easy wood if you can find one near you

jeffcat · Sep 22, 2018

Nothing like a 96% hi-efficient gas heater. Love mine.

Richard G. · Sep 22, 2018

I have a huge stack of logs that was given to me, but it has got to cool down before I crank the saw and start splitting. Won't be long though.
Richard in NW SC

Charlie M · Sep 22, 2018

I've got to get a couple more face cords before winter here in western NY. I've got some dead ash trees I'm going to cut. Ash doesn't need much drying to burn so should work OK. Like others have said I've enjoyed cutting wood over the years. It was something I did early in life with my father but as I get older it gets a little less exciting every year. Been thinking about swapping to a pellet stove but I don't know if I ever will. If I had natural gas available I don't think I would burn any wood. I'm on propane and its an expensive way to heat a house around here so wood is a big savings, even if I have to buy all of it.

Bob Harvey · Sep 22, 2018

I always put my wood up in May. Just lit a fire a few days ago (cold, rainy & damp day).The wood is completely dry, use about 5 or 6 - 6" x 5/8" pieces of cedar kindling, propane torch et voila ! Got about 5 cords in the woodshed all off the claim, paid for bucking and hauling. Life is good.

37chief · Sep 22, 2018

I would probably run out of gas before I got there. Thanks, Stan

Geo-TH,In · Sep 22, 2018

You would run out of gas many times.

Adirondack case guy · Sep 22, 2018

I made this load of "Bonus Wood" today. The power company had a tree crew cut a bunch of limbs off some maples across the road. They left the big limb wood for me to cut and split. There is a bit better than a cord of wood on the trailer.
I have 26 cord all stacked under cover in the wood shed.
Loren

JD Seller · Sep 22, 2018

I quit cutting firewood ten years ago or so. I installed and corn fired outside boiler to replace the wood fired one. Never regretted getting rid of the wood stove. About 500 bushels of corn heat two shops, old milk house and the farm house. At the house I live in now I just use propane here. $700-800 will heat this house in the hardest of winters. I summer filled and propane is only $1.19 a gallon. I can not cut wood for that.

Another reason for stop using wood is I do not have any full wooded land. About then I got the pastures and fence rows all cleaned out of dead stuff/junk trees. So other than storm damage I just do not have much wood to cut. I am not going to run around looking for wood to cut either.

I did buy a pellet stove last year. I am thinking about setting it up in the family room just for a HOT place to warm up. Also would be real easy to use as a backup heat too.

Traditional Farmer · Sep 22, 2018

I won't won't have any problem finding dried out wood this year had cut down a huge Hickory that was starting to die plus a couple big Oaks in one of the pastures.Then in June we had
a very strong wind storm that blew over several Oaks one was over 4ft in diameter that knocked over a couple more Hickories when it went down.

Eldon (WA) · Sep 22, 2018

Gas is the only way to go....I can ride around on my tractor for 2 days mowing people's fields and it pays my yearly gas bill. Much easier and cleaner than messing with wood.

JimS · Sep 22, 2018

I was in the Nuns Fire. Everyone who had a wood pile within 100 feet of their home lost their home. The radiant heat from those piles that night was crazy. I moved my propane tanks and new tires 40 feet away from the barn and they all burned when the barn went. Be safe and think ahead.

2x4 · Sep 23, 2018

out scouting today. Found a log job just finishing up right next to the road near home. About as good as it gets.

Geo-TH,In · Sep 23, 2018

I think INSULATION, GOOD WINDOWS, Brick, AND GOOD DOORS is the best way to
heat a home.

It took me 5 years, 1991-96, to build a new house around an old house
doubling the size, over 2000 sq ft. House is total electric baseboard heat.
Anderson casement windows, Insulated fiberglass door, insulated garage doors.
My annual electric bill averages $1700.

I used to heat with natural gas. I like electric because there is no furnace
maintenance with baseboard heat. No fear of explosions, no worry about CO.

I listed brick because 25,000 brick at about 4# each plus mortar adds a lot
of thermal mass. AC rarely comes on in summer. Takes a long time for brick to
warm up in day, long time to cool off at night.

Leroy · Sep 23, 2018

Got some I don't need or want and no saw to cut up as two tres came down over my drive friday, both dead out of the woods across the line fence. Luckely I could get around them by driving out in the field the beans had just been taken of 2 days before.

ss55 · Sep 23, 2018

Check into the price of your natural gas, in the Midwest you can't really cut firewood for as low as the price of natural gas.

Few people are willing to mess around with 100 percent wood heat, many will not look at buying a house with only wood heat. A natural gas furnace should increase the resale value of your home. You can always keep one of the wood heaters for backup heat, to use up your stock pile of wood, or for the ambience of a wood fire.

David G · Sep 23, 2018

The natural gas is probably cheaper than the cost of putting up wood and a whole lot more convenient.

TomA in CA · Sep 23, 2018

A lot of trees died here from the last drought. Both live oak and white oak. I prefer the live oak.I cut dry wood as needed. An hour or two a week will keep us warm. I don't split. Small stuff goes to the little stove at the ranch,at the house have a Hearth stone stove that will take the bigger 12" x24"chunks. One big chunk in the morning and one at night will keep it going 24 hrs. I will never catch up with all the dead trees here.

Dachshund · Sep 23, 2018

I guess I'm lucky! I live close to several Amish saw mills. I park my truck under a ramp, they fill it with wood chunks, I dump it next to my woodpile, then a couple of the neighborhood Amish kids stack it for me.... Ends up costing me less than $10 a cord....

Time to start looking for fire wood

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