Firewood Questions

[rkeith]

I cut mine about 18" and stack it under a shed to allow it to dry out. It's stacked in rows with enough space between the rows for good air circulation. :thumbsup:

 

[tcreeley]

We just got our wood in for the winter. We found a stand of standing dead fir up about 600' from the house. I cut and bucked and the girls pitched and rolled the rounds down to the splitter. We need 4 cords each winter.
This is as soon as we have ever got the wood in. Last year there was snow on the ground as we were cutting. We dropped a few trees for next winter up the mountain side north of the house, be nice if we have time to buck, split and stack early.
We have mostly Fir, some Pine.

I figure in your area hardwood is not so common. I have real creosote problems if I burn pine, spruce, softwood and it burns faster than hardwood because of the pitch in it. Do you use it along with another source of heat? Here people using outdoor wood boilers have no problem with burning softwood- hot and short chimney stack.

 

[wolc123]

There is lots of good stuff on this thread. Personally, I season wood for 24 months on average, in an old dairy barn that has a good roof, but gaps around an inch wide between the siding boards. This does a good job keeping out the moisture but lets air circulate real well for good drying. I burn about 12 face-cord a winter, which heats my well-insulated, 2000 sq ft house real well, way up north on the Canadian border. I would love to be able to burn just oak, maple, and cherry but the threat of the emerald ash borer has made ash my primary source the last couple winters. (I hear it has made it to our county finally). I find ash burns well, even unseasoned, but it does live up to its name and makes lots of ash, compared to my preferred species, and it dont seem to throw out quite as much heat either. As for splitting, I have been doing it in the woodshed (barn) the last few seasons using a 22 ton, gas-powered horizontlal/vertical splitter. For me, there are several big advantages to splitting indoors. First, it rains a lot where I am and it is much more productive to have some indoor work available when it does. Second, I find that it is much easier indoors, to gather up all the scraps that are produced while splitting, and I always end up with enough to provide all the kindling wood that I need. It was a pain, in prior years, to have to cut and split kindling from pine boards and such. I almost always leave the splitter in the vertical mode, and sit in a chair as I work. That makes it easier on my back and saves me from having to lift them big pieces up. Fumes are not a problem as I usually open a few of the big barn doors and run an electric fan to blow them away. I do love heating with wood but it wouldn be nearly as fun if I didnt have good equipment (chainsaws, tractors, splitter), a woodlot on my farm, and a great woodshed so I dont have to store that bug-infested stuff in or near the house until it is needed. I also like haveing the stove on the first floor of the house, and the ability to store a half-cord of wood on a covered, outside porch that has a door right next to the stove.

 

[EE_Bota]

First, it rains a lot where I am and it is much more productive to have some indoor work available when it does. Second, I find that it is much easier indoors, to gather up all the scraps that are produced while splitting, and I always end up with enough to provide all the kindling wood that I need.

I like that...rainy day work, and kindling just magically gets made along the way. Slick...