Logging with a BX25

Larry Caldwell · Jul 25, 2010

If it takes 10 cords to heat your house, you would do better to spend the money on insulation, windows and doors. After an efficiency retrofit, heating my house went from 5 cords to 2, with a great improvement in living comfort. Floors stay warm in the winter, no drafts, no cold rooms, and in the summer the interior stays cool and comfortable.

funwithahoe · Jul 25, 2010

Larry Caldwell said:
If it takes 10 cords to heat your house, you would do better to spend the money on insulation, windows and doors. After an efficiency retrofit, heating my house went from 5 cords to 2, with a great improvement in living comfort. Floors stay warm in the winter, no drafts, no cold rooms, and in the summer the interior stays cool and comfortable.

I competely agree! 3K is a lot of money and most certainly could be spent a ton of ways that are more efficient. How many years could you heat your house for 3K?

Chilly807 · Jul 25, 2010

While I agree that money spent on improving energy efficiency is never wasted, I also understand the OPs desire to have the winch. Even hauling out 5 cords a year, the winch would be a great help if it would work ok with the BX.

I would dearly love to have one myself, the 290 in fact is on my someday, nice-to-have wish list. If I win the lottery it'll get ordered tomorrow.

In the meantime, here in the real world, I have a barn to build, a tractor to pay off, and a woodlot that I won't have access to after another couple of years.

So a snatch block and a skidding cone it is, they work well for me. One downside is you drive the tractor along the hauling road for every stick you haul out of the woods. When it's frozen hard it makes no difference, but it isn't so good in the spring (ruts).

It might be worth shopping for a used one, if you can find one it should be about 1/2 the cost of new. If you're not going to be using it for 25 years, used is a good choice.

Sean

newbury · Jul 26, 2010

example from craigslist
wallenstein fx-65 skidding winch - $2000 (barre vt)

Briyon · Jul 27, 2010

Thanks everybody for the great advice and suggestions. The house is pretty well insulated (only 9 years old). Not that there isn't always room for improvement...last fall I added and extra layer of insulation in the attic. It is the wife that is not too well insulated. So much to my discomfort my wife insists on leaving the house at 72 degrees all winter long. I am using an outdoor furnace which is not the greatest in terms of efficiency but for me cheap and has already paid for itself. I probably burn 7 or 8 cords of wood a year but like to try and stay ahead of the curve for the next year. I figure the cheapest thing to do is to keep the wife happy...happy wife, happy life... So 72 degrees it is...I figure it is cheaper than a lawyer and a divorce!

I did find a Wallenstien FX65 on Craigslist and bought it last Friday. Not before checking with my dealer to make sure that the BX25 could handle it. It is basically the same as the Farmi JL290 with a few different features. It was about a $1000.00 less than a new one. The guy who owned it only used it once. I did some test skidding from the edge of my woods on Saturday. I am waiting for skid plates from BroTek before I go into the woods with it. It is amazing how well that thing pulls. Hardly noticeable while sitting on the tractor and you only have to have the tractor slightly above idle. I skidded about a half a cord of firewood out in about 2 hours (still getting use to the process and the technique). I only had one choker chain too. I am pretty glad I bought it and imagine that if my test run with it was any indication...gathering firewood is going to be a whole lot easier from here on out.

Thanks,

Brian

Chilly807 · Jul 27, 2010

It sounds like you're on the right track. I hear you about the wife part, although mine isn't as bad as some. We have a geo-thermal system with in-floor heat, so keeping the house affordably comfortable really isn't much of an issue. I like wood heat though, and the skinflint in me can't resist trying to save a little bit more by burning wood. Our wood is free at the moment, I just have to cut it.

Not to mention the romantic atmosphere of a crackling wood fire. I must remind her of that, we still have a cord or two to stack..

It's surprising how much you CAN haul out over a weekend. I spent three or four days cutting firewood this past winter, and got maybe 6 cords for my effort. I use everything down to about an inch in diameter, the small stuff is good for quick heat.

The 3400 will comfortably haul about a half cord at a time, just a guess on my part, I remember making 12-15 trips back and forth from woods to woodpile. The worst part is getting the lengths from the stump to the hauling road, as I'm sure you've noticed. I suspect your "worst part" is about to get noticeably easier..

Sean