Thinking About Log Length Firewood

[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.