Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[hunt4570]

I agree 100%. I bought wood for one year in my life, for the first place that I ever rented. The landowner across the road was having his lot cut so I bought a few cords tree length on the landing; cut it, split it, and brought it across the road. I then ended up moving, so my landlord bought the wood from me. :thumbsup:

And for those of you who are scoffing at burning pellets you can buy a hammer and pellet mill to make your own, for about the same as a high end wood splitter.

COMBO HAMMER MILL 7.5kw + PELLET MILL 7.5kw 10HP ELECTRIC ENGINE + FREE SHIPPING | eBay

There are many out there, including those which run off your tractor PTO.
How to Make Wood Pellets, what's the truth, how hard could it be?

But my "not so high end splitter" cost me a little over $900 almost 20 years ago and is still going strong!!

 

[Oldpath05]

Why does it need to be 5x5? Kinda an odd size to split firewood. There’s no doubt a commercial splitter is going to make significantly more tons of wood an hour. If I was going for the maximum tons an hour I’d be cutting 24” since that’s the biggest my stove will burn. Working with nice straight wood me and a helper can split and load this in 2 hours. With a higher output splitter than mine and not loading the truck 5 tons an hour isn’t far fetched.

View attachment 627335

If more lee-way is needed, we can go 4x4 to 6x6, but no longer then 19", I split lot of my 6" rounds especially if oak.

Working with nice straight wood is mostly at the sawmill, firewood is usually junk wood that is crooked, full of knots nails and barbwire requiring more time to work up, even a full size high-end firewood processor works better with straight wood.
That's why when I punch up a firewood processing video on youtube that is processing straight wood, I stop watching and go to another video, and still looking for a wood processing video that will process up the whole tree, not just the but cuts.

So is that 2 cord of wood that is to big on that truck? I forgot what that hauls, it's still pretty fast for two people to split and load in 2 hr.............

 

[4570Man]

I usually cut firewood at 16” and I spilt pretty fine. I’d never not spit a 6” diameter log. But if the idea was maximum wood put up in minimum time I’d cut it 24” since that’s 50 percent more wood put up in the same time. The biggest problem with that idea which is the main reason I don’t do it is a big round cut 50 percent longer is 50 percent heavier. In either case you’re going to put up way more wood per hour vs with homeowner affordable pellet mills.

 

[hunt4570]

I usually cut firewood at 16” and I spilt pretty fine. I’d never not spit a 6” diameter log. But if the idea was maximum wood put up in minimum time I’d cut it 24” since that’s 50 percent more wood put up in the same time. The biggest problem with that idea which is the main reason I don’t do it is a big round cut 50 percent longer is 50 percent heavier. In either case you’re going to put up way more wood per hour vs with homeowner affordable pellet mills.

I also cut my firewood at 16" , but if its even 3" dia I might split it in half at least.. some but not all. 6" dia and up always get split in half and sometimes even in quarters. Again I split for only me and my small stove and like my wood to vary in size for either quick fires or packing it in for full longer burning loads. Works for me that way anyway...

 

[goeduck]

I cut all my wood to 18 inches long, but I usually do not split unless the cross dimension exceeds the distance from the tip of my big finger to the tip of my thumb when fully stretched (about 9 inches). My hand is my handy measuring tool. I like the slower burn of the larger pieces, particularly overnight.

 

[fruitcakesa]

I usually cut 18"-21" chunks to fit my boiler and split everything to under 5" for max burn efficiency.

 

[4570Man]

I hate round firewood. It reduces the volume of wood I can fit in my stove and it doesn’t dry as good and it doesn’t stack good. I split almost everything at least once. I try to keep the pieces small enough to lift with one hand.

 

[aeblank]

My Tarm claims any dimension bigger than 4". I stretch that a bit, but not a lot. I'll crack almost any round in half to improve dry times.

 

[BrokenTrack]

There are many people who use them as a primary source of heat, finding it a lot more convenient to buy a ton of dry pellets rather than a cord of firewood which can vary in quantity and quality, depending on the integrity of the seller.

I do, and I have my own logging equipment and hundreds of acres of land. The biggest thing with wood pellets is that it is consistent...consistent heat, consistent product, and consistent feeding. That is the draw.

Pellet Stoves burn more than just pellets; corn works really well, but they will burn sunflower seeds and coal even. I like to mix my wood pellets with 1/3 corn, and 2/3 wood pellets. Corn is cheaper, and burns really hot, so I have to cut it back with wood pellets some, but it works well.

But the thing is, it would take me a few days to put up enough firewood to heat this house, but in less time I can cut a load of wood, ship it to the paper mill or sell it to someone who burns firewood tree length, and have a few tons of pellets delivered to my house. I am still out in the woods, still get nice heat, but without all the work, without all the steps, without all the mess.

I used to think the same thing about pellet stoves, but after running one last season, and this season; they just make a lot of sense.

 

[Jstpssng]

I do, and I have my own logging equipment and hundreds of acres of land. The biggest thing with wood pellets is that it is consistent...consistent heat, consistent product, and consistent feeding. That is the draw.

Pellet Stoves burn more than just pellets; corn works really well, but they will burn sunflower seeds and coal even. I like to mix my wood pellets with 1/3 corn, and 2/3 wood pellets. Corn is cheaper, and burns really hot, so I have to cut it back with wood pellets some, but it works well.

But the thing is, it would take me a few days to put up enough firewood to heat this house, but in less time I can cut a load of wood, ship it to the paper mill or sell it to someone who burns firewood tree length, and have a few tons of pellets delivered to my house. I am still out in the woods, still get nice heat, but without all the work, without all the steps, without all the mess.

I used to think the same thing about pellet stoves, but after running one last season, and this season; they just make a lot of sense.

I've been thinking along the same lines; in two weekends I can cut enough wood to buy pellets for two years. (Or even longer, if I want to start cutting hardwood logs.) For the past two years all that I've had for heat is my woodstove; with a couple of electric "oil filled radiators" for backup if I want to go see my mother for the day. A pellet stove would give me more even heat, and last longer so that I wouldn't come home to a cold house, or go to bed with the thermometer touching 100'. I also wouldn't burn wood if I had to buy it; especially considering the caliber of most people selling it.

I understand why a lot of people burn wood, I'm the same way, it's free fuel just outside my back door. I just get frustrated when posters act like their way is the only way.