Gathering fallen timber for firewood

[Carl_NH]

It would appear you have enough down wood even if only 30% is not rotted to yield enough decent wood for years, then maybe select cut those live trees that are crooked or not a timber quality to thin out the forest leaving the good trees.

Do you have a BH for your Max? That would make cutting and loading into your dump trailer easy - raise over the bed, cut and let the rounds drop in, or load the log lengths into the dump bed then take home to process.

Do you have an existing / spare chimney flue in the basement? If not - the expense of a insulated flue needs to be factored. Is it a walk out basement, do you have storage near the basement and as others have stated - think about how you will get wood in there - maybe thru bulkhead?

I would also do as DL Meisen says - get a used equipment, a wood stove - $3-500 range, and a used splitter and go for it. But if you need to put in a flue, and make a place to store wood its a lot of $ investment upfront, with not a great ROI, but enjoyment of being active and outside, as Moss Road points out.

 

[BackRoad]

Everyone will have an opinion. This is a popular topic with much experience represented on TBN.

Sounds like you might have 2 areas of interest and possibly a 3rd mission.

1. Interest in cleaning up downed wood. Some of it may be usable to burn, some may be too far rotted to fool with, but depending on your objectives, you may still want to selectively remove downed trees from your woods simply to clean them up.

2. Firewood - no greater pleasure than a crackling wood fire on a cold winter evening, which is much different than using wood as your primary source of heat for the winter. Many on TBN fall somewhere along that spectrum. I tend toward enjoying fires fairly often, but am not 100% dependant on it for heat in the winter, plus I find it rewarding to work outdoors in the woods and to process firewood.

Unless you have heavy demand, firewood may be collected simply from cutting live trees which may be in the way when clearing trails or when reclaiming land.

Another method is to target dead - yet still standing trees before they fall or get too rotted to use. It's easiest to spot the dead trees in the summer and fall, when leaves are still on the living trees.

It looks like there may be a few leaners in your photo. Those may be dead and potential candidates to start with...(get some tree cutting experience or assistance before tackling the leaners).

Suggest starting small with your firewood activity so you can determine your level of interest and enjoyment. From that, you can prioritize the level of your future investment.

You can do much with a chainsaw (everyone needs at least one) and by simply dragging trees with your tractor and renting a splitter for a day...all minimal investments.

Over time, further investing in a grapple, wood splitter, and wood storage becomes easier to manage if not all done at once and you can make educated purchases based on your level of interest as you gain experience.


3. If you're planning long-term, the third area to investigate might be gaining expertise on wood lot or tree management.

It appears you have a lot of small 8 to 10 inch trees. Sometimes working with mixed woods, it might be advantagous to identify the preferred species and thin out some of the softwood or junk trees so the desirables grow faster with less competition.

This is more of a strategic long term view with your children and grandchildren in mind.

... //TJ

 

[oosik]

Just a guess but any of the logs lying directly on the ground will not make good firewood. We burned wood for the first ten years we were here. We quit because - 1) firewood brought dirt, bark & bugs into the house - 2) my ancient pines were really big and a real chore to work into acceptable firewood - 3) wood pellets became very cheap and avoided all the negatives listed in #1 & #2.

Eventually pellets became expensive and we began using the electric heat that was initially installed in the house. Electricity is dirt cheap here.

 

[TnAndy]

Instead of a grapple, consider a PTO winch instead. LOT of times you simply can't get to good wood because it's just out of reach of where you can get the tractor, and the extra counter weight is handy. I've used a set of front end loader pallet forks for 25 years now, and I can do 90% of what a grapple will do unless it comes to moving piles of brush....maybe 50% as effective there. So unless you plan to move a LOT of brush, the expense of a grapple would be better spent on a winch IMHO. But grapples ARE the rage on YouTube.....ahahhaaaaa.....

Also, as many have noted, fallen logs are often rotten logs by the time they get around to falling. Dead trees can stand a LONG time before they fall. I have some white pine that died in the late 90's that are still standing....by the time they finally fall, they will be mulch.

And PLEASE don't rule out cutting live trees.....learn how to improve your woodlot by thinning, giving superior trees more room/food/water to grow. You can actually cut a cord a year off a decent wood lot FOREVER and improve the quality of the timber. You couldn't burn the amount of wood in your house alone that comes off 26ac of PA hardwoods. Do some reading up on TSI....timber stand improvement. You might check to see if your State has a local forester that will come out and advise you some, show you what needs to go and what you leave growing.

Good luck, and be a good steward of your land !

 

[ericm979]

Around here (avg 50" of rain a year) if wood is on the ground it does not dry out inside. More than once I have cut into a log that's been on the ground less than a year and had water pour out. Depending on the species it can rot and get bugs pretty quick. Wood here needs at least a year to dry after being split and stacked. Maybe 9 months if that's over summer and it was stacked so air and sun can get to it. Two years is better.

You'll want a way to stack your split wood so it's off the ground, and keep it covered but open to the air so it can dry. I'm using a combination of IBC tote cages and pallets.

Grapples are fine for logs but not so good at picking up rounds. They are great for brush though.

 

[Thomas]

As other said if the wood rotten burn pile.
If your planning on purchasing woodstove anyways I would purchase the grapple try remove log to trailer than cut log length you desire for woodstove to fall in trailer if you don't have to split...one less step needed.

 

[KennyG]

I do what you are thinking about - use a basement wood stove to add some heat. Some observations from my experience:

If you are putting the stove in a place that you will be in, get a stove with a good glass window. I have an Osburne with a bay window front so it's like a fireplace.

Don't try to burn rotted wood but most down wood may not be rotted. I've burned a lot of oak that has been down for several years with no appreciable rot.

20 acres should keep you in wood. I only have a few wooded acres and I get about half of my wood from it The rest is from friends. I burn about 3 cords a year.

Not sure why you would need a grapple or winch. I cut everything to length in place and then haul it in the bucket or on a 3 point carryall. If I can't quite get to it, I carry the rounds out. Good exercise.

Doing downed wood, you need a good peavey to rotate the logs. You will think you can just cut through it and BAM, you hit dirt and dulled the chain.

Buy chainsaw chaps at the same time you buy the saw. Best investment you can make.

 

[i7win7]

Would installing a wood fired stove affect insurance rates? An outdoor wood furnace may hold more wood, take larger logs, be easier to clean/maintain. Firewood could be stored in metal carport structure. These are water/antifreeze units and a forced air radiator(s) inside house, or in floor heat, thermostat heat control - depends on how fancy you go. Make sure you have lifetime supply of wood.

Thinking about this for garage since gas and flammables are stored inside.

 

[dodge man]

I will give you some cheaper ideas. Use forks instead of a grapple. Find a splitter that goes both horizontal and vertical. You can find both chainsaws and splitters cheap sometimes that need some work.

If I’m lucky, I might pay off the cost of chainsaws, the splitter and tractor by the time I’m 150 years old. The economics as already stated don’t work. On the other hand, I would need chainsaw any way, just to cut up trees that fall in my yard or across the driveway, I would still own a tractor, so maybe the only extra cost is the splitter. You also get some exercise and satisfaction from burning wood. In our house it’s also backup heat

 

[MossRoad]

Would installing a wood fired stove affect insurance rates? An outdoor wood furnace may hold more wood, take larger logs, be easier to clean/maintain. Firewood could be stored in metal carport structure. These are water/antifreeze units and a forced air radiator(s) inside house, or in floor heat, thermostat heat control - depends on how fancy you go. Make sure you have lifetime supply of wood.

Thinking about this for garage since gas and flammables are stored inside.

I asked my insurance agent about that before we installed our wood stove. All I had to do was have a licensed installer install the stove and provide proof of installation by that installer to the insurance agent. I don't recall an increase in my insurance cost.