At Home In The Woods

[RadarTech]

Obed, your solution is obvious. You should start hinting now for a man-lift under the Christmas tree. Just think of all the tree trimmin' and other high jobs around the house. No more worry about the gutter cleaning. Just a nice ride on the man-lift and it's done.

I would wager on the likelyhood of my winning the lottery may be better....

 

[MotorSeven]

I would like opinions on the so called "creosote logs" that are supposed to clean your flue by just burning one every so often where the build up flakes off and falls down to the fire pit. Do they work and worth buying?

I cal Horse Apples on those things. A brush is the only way to effectively clear creosote.

Obed, yes it is supposed to work from the basement up. I put in a "T" above the stove just for clean out purposes:

 

[dave1949]

Obed, your solution is obvious. You should start hinting now for a man-lift under the Christmas tree. Just think of all the tree trimmin' and other high jobs around the house. No more worry about the gutter cleaning. Just a nice ride on the man-lift and it's done.

Now see, that's my problem--I just don't think big enough. :laughing:

 

[clemsonfor]

you need to get all that wood split and not split a bit at the time.

Yes a "real" saw is worth its weight! I am cheap but a good stihl saw is worth it!!

I hope your brush is poly a steel brush is not good for SS.

 

[clemsonfor]

Obed, I don't burn wood for heat, but your photos scared the livin' poo out of me.:shocked: You've burned only one season and your chimney was an accident waiting to happen. I think you are lucky to have had some smoke back up into your house. I ran out and looked at my fireplace vent after seeing your pictures. I burn oak exclusively and most of it a very hot fire, but my chimney tiles are 13" x 18" and must take awhile to get really hot. All I ever see is thin black soot coating. Do you think you may have clogged that chimney due to your original problems with your insert? I'm thinking of an insert so I can get some benefit from all the available firewood on my place. Those photos of yours sure will make me take the installation seriously. I'm going to put an insulted stainless duct up my flue even if it is only 10 years old. Thanks for posting that sobering evidence that installation, dry wood, and burning technique are so important.

Go over to hearth.com and read the forums there. You will learn a lot and learn how to do an install yourself. I put an insert in 3 yrs ago and will never burn in a fireplace again!!

 

[clemsonfor]

Rick,
Let us know how well that thing works. Do you plan on using it from inside the house?
Obed

guys over at the hearth love those things who have them. The problem they say is that their kind of dusty and dirty as you cant have the stove door closed or you cant put a bag over the bottom of your pipe like you could if you have a free stander tape a bag to it and clean from the roof.

 

[Obed]

I'm going chainsaw shopping. I'll probably buy a Stihl.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Obed. Stihl or husqvarna is all I see the loggers in our area carry. I have 3 saws. A 32 which us way too big, an old 20 that isn't very safe and a small 14. I would consider a 30 cc unit with a 24 in bar to probably being the most ideal residential saw.

 

[dave1949]

Obed. Stihl or husqvarna is all I see the loggers in our area carry. I have 3 saws. A 32 which us way too big, an old 20 that isn't very safe and a small 14. I would consider a 30 cc unit with a 24 in bar to probably being the most ideal residential saw.

24" bar on 30cc seems like low power? My Husky 455 has a 55.5cc and 20" bar. In hard woods, that seems about right.

 

[clemsonfor]

Obed. Stihl or husqvarna is all I see the loggers in our area carry. I have 3 saws. A 32 which us way too big, an old 20 that isn't very safe and a small 14. I would consider a 30 cc unit with a 24 in bar to probably being the most ideal residential saw.

no way a 30cc saw will turn a 24 inch bar in wood!! I don't know if you could find a 24" bar for a 30cc saw?

24" bar on 30cc seems like low power? My Husky 455 has a 55.5cc and 20" bar. In hard woods, that seems about right.

I agree with you, a 60cc is about marginal size to run a 24" bar. I think my ms390 stihl is something like 63cc give or take?? I have a 20" bar on it and it can run totally sunk in oak but I think a 24" bar, which I want, will be about to big to run full chain on, If I do get a 24" bar I will run skip chain on it.


Obed when you run a stihl for the first time and start it with 3 pulls regardless of it sitting for 2 weeks or 2 months you will be happy. I have replace a fuel line in mine and the decomp valve is all that I have done on mine in 8 yrs, I waited to long on the decomp valve and it actually fell apart and got jammed in the cylinder and I had to disassemble the saw to remove it, but one I put it back togeather it ran fine afterward.