Thinking About Log Length Firewood

[HillStreet]

I have been thinking about buying log length firewood. I could get easy delivery and off-load at the bottom of my hill, but after cutting would have to haul up the hill to split and stack in the shed. Also, I would need to rent a splitter once a year for about 3 cords at a time.

What is your experience? I have cut a bunch of logs that I skidded out of the woods but ran out of that supply. I only have the tractor bucket and chains to move the logs around. What is the best way to manage cutting a stack of 6 to 10 cords of log length?

 

[dmccarty]

Usually, I cut the tree into longs about 6-8 feet long and use my pallet forks to move the logs to where I split and stock the wood. This season, I am splitting wood from trees we had pushed down by a bulldozer and I am just cutting and splitting where the trees ended up. It would be more work to move the logs and make a mess so I am splitting and stacking in place for a change.

Pallet forks were one of the best things I bought for the tractor...

Later,
Dan

 

[HillStreet]

Dan,

That's good advice, I think the forks would be handy. I have cut from a small pile of log length that I gathered from my property a few years ago. Seems that I was always wrestling with the logs being crossed over each other, always putting down the saw to clear work area, etc. just was looking for a way to be more organized and systematic.

Thanks again.

 

[Tollster]

Always best to have the logs as close to the wood pile as you can before cutting them up, think of it as the same: Would you rather cut the tree up where it fell and load each piece, making multiple trips, then stacking in bucket, dumping it, bending over again for the same piece of wood and stacking again on the wood pile, or skid the log to the pile, and bend over and pick up splits, then placing on pile.

There will be certain instances such as DM's above where he cannot just cleanly remove the log in it entirety, but he does get as much as he can to put near the splitting and stacking operation.

If you cannot get them to the pile, at the minimum, try to get the larger ones uphill and as close to it as possible.

 

[oosik]

Tollster,
That is good advice - except - in my situation. My ponderosa pine run 26" to 42" on the butt and a chunk 10 feet long, when green, is a mighty heavy chunk of wood. I fell, limb, cut to length, split and stack in my firewood trailer right at the tree. I know it means I have to stack again in the firewood shed but that's the breaks. Besides in my area - dragging a tree just packs the bark full of volcanic ash and believe me - ash does not sharpen the blade. Going thru this complete process I can get two full chord a day. Any more than that and I become dangerous - too tired.

 

[Katahdin]

I think if you split that much of your own firewood you should seriously consider buying your own splitter.

My weekend routine is to use up a tank of gas in the chainsaw on Saturday, then roll the rounds into the bucket and take them over to the splitter on Sunday.

It doesn't get a lot of firewood done quickly, but the pile adds up and gives you time to spend on other things and it doesn't kill you physically.

 

[motownbrowne]

I split where the tree falls, or where the log is delivered. Then I stack it on pallet racks. I can move it with the forks to wherever I want it to cure, then move it to where I'm gonna burn it. If I split wood on the ground, I may only handle it twice, once to stack on the rack, once to put in the evaporator (syrup production is most of my wood consumption). That works most of the time, but each tree is different. Love my forks. Love moving wood on pallets too, I can get between a third and a half a cord on a load.

 

[peterc38]

These days tree length firewood is the way to go if you don't mind the sweat equity. I typically cut it all first in my processing area then as I split, I toss it in the trailer (course I have a dump trailer so that helps)and bring it up closer to the house where I stack it.

 

[haveissues]

Tollster,
That is good advice - except - in my situation. My ponderosa pine run 26" to 42" on the butt and a chunk 10 feet long, when green, is a mighty heavy chunk of wood. I fell, limb, cut to length, split and stack in my firewood trailer right at the tree. I know it means I have to stack again in the firewood shed but that's the breaks. Besides in my area - dragging a tree just packs the bark full of volcanic ash and believe me - ash does not sharpen the blade. Going thru this complete process I can get two full chord a day. Any more than that and I become dangerous - too tired.

I'm with you. What does it cost to rent a splitter each time?

 

[TnAndy]

Pallet forks were one of the best things I bought for the tractor...

Amen to that !

My forks are in use about 90% of the time compared to the bucket. Once you have a set, you'll wonder how you ever got along without them. Moving things with hydraulics is where it is at.

Even when I had a little 22hp Yanmar and no front end loader, I used a set of hay forks with the center spear/rod removed on the back most of the time. Cut them back from 48" to 40" because is was a more workable length.

 

[PapaPerk]

Amen to that !

My forks are in use about 90% of the time compared to the bucket. Once you have a set, you'll wonder how you ever got along without them. Moving things with hydraulics is where it is at.

Even when I had a little 22hp Yanmar and no front end loader, I used a set of hay forks on the back most of the time.

Me too! Forks are the best loader attachment in my opinion!

 

[HillStreet]

My main issue is that I don't think I can get a log truck to deliver to the top of my hill. Actually, I just had the driveway paved at great expense and don't want to wreck it. The top of the hill is flat where I have a real good area to cut and split and move it to my sheds.

Now, I have a good area at the bottom where a truck could deliver without damaging the property. I am retired, so I can cut and split anytime. If I cut and split at the bottom I can haul and stack in the shed one pickup load at a time, so I should think about getting a splitter.

My two sheds hold 3 cords each, one for each years wood supply. I buy green and alternate years so each shed seasons for a year or more.

Of course, I am thinking about this to save money. I am paying $240 a cord now split and delivered but not seasoned enough to burn. Lately it has been hard to find cheaper wood but my supplier is reliable and has good hardwood. Log length could get me a 3 year supply at about half the cord price.

My wife thinks I'm nuts for thinking about log length but I'm, well...nuts. I was going to switch to pellets but I like firewood. Wood heats my new small house easily from the basement with round duct and fan.

Thanks to all for your advice, I do appreciate it.

 

[Will_C]

I saw up about 5-6 loads of logs with my brother every year-he is a contractor and trades hauling a logger's skidder for logs. We use his Bobcat with forks to put 2 logs perpendicular to the pile, and lay 10-12 logs on those. We then saw 3/4 of the way through the logs, roll them over with a peavey, and then finish the cut. When we are done, we push the rounds out of the way and lay out more logs. We can cut up a 22 ton load in a morning this way.

Will

 

[JPRambo]

why not have them delivered to the bottom of the hill. Cut them into 2 or 3 lengths and use a log arch to hall a couple at a time to the area for cutting and splitting.

 

[dstig1]

Deliver to bottom, cut down as needed, and use your GRAPPLE to lift them and bring them up the hill. Until you have used a grapple, you think forks are useful....Whole world of difference. You could cut up those log lengths and have them up your hill in half a day, easy. Forks are great for their obvious uses, and work OK for other stuff like lifting logs. And then if you get a grapple, you realize that you were using the wrong tool for lifting logs...

 

[GregbkH]

I second the grapple. I cut my logs to 9 feet (gets 6 - 18" fire logs) and carry them back to where I make firewood.

 

[Ken45101]

Wood sitting on the ground (log length or cut) will deteriorate so you do need to get it split and under cover within a reasonable time.

Last spring, they cleared a new powerline along our road and I got a major boatload of big logs. I just stacked them in piles and didn't get to them until now. It's amazing how much deterioration has set it.

 

[dmccarty]

I can carry more wood on my pallet forks than you can carry in your grapples. Nanny Nanny Boo Boo! :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Seriously, I can carry a bunch more wood than shown in the photo of the grapples. This depends on the tractor and FEL but I can carry at least twice as much as what is in the photo. Its really not that hard to load multiple logs on the forks. I can load a log, go to another log and load it, etc until the forks are full. My forks are around 48 inches long giver or take which is a big space for a bunch of logs. Sometimes I have to load the wood by hand but I don't mind since the time consuming part is driving the logs from the downed trees to the FPA(Firewood Processing Area)

I have a 4n1 bucket that can move logs but it is not as efficient as the pallet forks. If the dang ground would dry out, I have some work where the grapple would be better than the 4n1... Kinda wish I had the grapple for this chore but I will make do.

I try to minimize touching the wood. The more you touch it, the more work. Moving the logs by the tractor whether that is with a grapple, pallet forks, or pulling minimizes the work. I never cut the wood into rounds and THEN move the wood to split. That is too much work since the pieces have to be handled. I only touch the rounds to split them.

Later,
Dan

 

[radioman]

really how I do it depends on the where is wood/timing/weather/wetness/and equipment available at the time. Most of the time I just cut the logs in rounds where it was felled and load up into the bucket/trailer/3pt carry all. I either truck it home and split later or take it to splitting pile and split. Once its split I load up a trailer/bucket and pile it again. Seems to work for me for the two families worth (my family and my folks)

 

[i579rbd]

On the splitting side of the house, we burn 33 centimeter logs. We cut our logs at one meter, split the wood and then cut the splits into thirds. saves a lot of splitting.