# Wives....



## wooduser (Nov 14, 2018)

Personally,  I'm single and never been married.  I live alone, so I do as I please,  by and large.


But I hear there are these folks called WIVES out there.  What do they have to say about burning wood,  stacking wood,  drying wood and so on?


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## Rearscreen (Nov 14, 2018)

All I know is I see so many posts "The wife doesn't like this or the wife doesn't want that..."


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## Microduck17 (Nov 14, 2018)

I'm married with one daughter (1.5yrs old).
The wife always claims to be too busy  to do much with firewood.  But she will help some. She moves wood from the pallets along the basement wall to the wood box near the stove.  Sometimes, if I get a cart (5''x4' trailer) load of wood split before I leave for work she will stack if for me if I park the cart near the pile. shes good about feeding the stove. Our daughter sees us stacking wood in the basement and likes to "help" by dragging or carrying a small split around wile we work. Over all the family is helpful. Having the little one keeps me motivated to keep the place warmer than if it was just me 

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk


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## Microduck17 (Nov 14, 2018)

Also she she does complain a lot when I spend money on saws, the splitter, tarps, etc.

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## barnaclebob (Nov 14, 2018)

My wife loves the stove, knows how to operate it, helps stack wood, and helps bring it into the staging area on our back porch.


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## Dug8498 (Nov 14, 2018)

My wife initially thought something was wrong with me when I found this site and started stock piling years of wood. She sees the difference dry wood makes and is now a fan! She still thinks I'm a bit overboard with all this stuff, but she is mostly supportive of all the stuff I do. She even listens to me talk about this stuff sometimes and seems remotely interested 

She is thrifty so she loves how cheap it is to heat our house with wood, and she likes being warm. She doesn't help too much with any of this, but she does a lot of other things around the house, so no worries there. 

Also, if I didn't have her around, I would probably be broke from buying things (multiple chainsaws, tractor, etc...) that I dont need. She likes to ask me "do you really need this, or do you just want it?" It's a good check for me as I can sometimes be a tad bit impulsive when I'm excited about something.


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## Bad LP (Nov 14, 2018)

My wife loves the fireplace insert. She knows how to run it, start it and go get wood for it. She will also fill the wood hoop in the LR but it takes her twice the trips to do so. She will keep the insert going if I'm out snowmobiling.

When we are processing wood she also takes the splits out of the wheel barrow that fall off the spliter table and stacks them.

She doesn't groan about the dust or debris and will grab the vac to clean it up or dust the furniture. We keep a very anally clean house.

She does not know how to run the wood boiler....... Yet.

We have no kids.


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## newbie1kenobi (Nov 14, 2018)

wooduser said:


> Personally,  I'm single and never been married.  I live alone, so I do as I please,  by and large.
> 
> 
> But I hear there are these folks called WIVES out there.  What do they have to say about burning wood,  stacking wood,  drying wood and so on?



My wife bought me my Stihl chainsaw for Christmas a few years ago when we first started talking about installing our insert. Since then, she understands my all day adventures bucking trees. Hauling them back to the house and helping me unload them. She helps me stack while I'm splitting. She knows how to get the stove goin and reload on those cold night's early in the morning. It truly is another way of life and it certainly helps having a wife that understands that there isn't a "wood fairy" out there and this takes a lot of work ALL year long. Going down to 25f tonight here in SE PA. I love burnin...so happy the season is here....stay warm all.


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## begreen (Nov 14, 2018)

We have several women as members of this site that handle the stove themselves or manage it mostly. Some are wives and some are single. A lot of women log on here for guidance with installation and operation questions. Gals like to burn too, they just may not hang around the shop as much and jaw about their stoves.


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## wooduser (Nov 14, 2018)

Heh, heh!  I was pretty sure this would be a popular and interesting topic....


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## Rhodie (Nov 14, 2018)

It's not a wife thing, it's a spouse thing. I'm slowly getting my spouse on board with the insert, which is going in tomorrow! Thankfully I have done my homework and have clearly thought of everything he's thrown at me to date. Haven't got the mantle shield on yet because I have to get it trimmed down and it arrived yesterday. At least spouse is very interested in properly storing wood he's split.


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## edyit (Nov 14, 2018)

my wife loves wood heat, she helps when she can with stacking, she's not big on chainsaws and splitters, but i'm not big on baking cakes or cookies so thats fair


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## BIGChrisNH (Nov 14, 2018)

My wife loves the heat, and enjoys the stove. Like me, she gets tired of processing wood in the fall, but throws on her boots and spends some time with me splitting and stacking. We actually used her Jeep Wrangler to pull the seasoned wood this year from one side of the yard to another, got it done in about 3 hours, instead of 3 days spent with a wheelbarrow.


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## Dataman (Nov 14, 2018)

Mine helped a lot.    Would go out in the Forest and drag the trees to where I cold buck them up.   Push up the Rounds into pile for me.    Help move the split wood, and help stack.  Move it in Winter.    

She hated the ash and bitched too much.  After 7 years I gave away all the wood (10cords), Sold the Splitter and Invested in Pellet stove (HarmonXXV).   She now has the chore of moving pellets on the porch.    She can't handle more than 8-9 bags at a time. 

Have to fight her for the Job of Mowing the Grass.     ha ha.  

She's a Keeper.


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## molly1414 (Nov 14, 2018)

I am the wife and it's my stove.   I split and stack the wood and bring the wood into the house.     My dear  husband would have no idea how it works.  

My dad loved wood stoves and I was brought up with a buck stove in the living room that I could operate when I was a kid.  My daughter now loves our stove and runs it.  She helps me gather wood, split it and stack it.  She will never be dependent on a man to keep her warm. Lol


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## Jan Pijpelink (Nov 14, 2018)

My lady for 37 years loves our stoves and runs them when I am traveling. She does not do the splitting, stacking etc. I don't mind doing that by myself.


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## buc74 (Nov 14, 2018)

Tammy loves wood heat, we have it at both our homes. She helps with tree dropping of our trees, and stacking of our wood. I do the sawing and splitting. Now after 6 years of wood burning she can run the stove as good as possible. I feel I'm very lucky to have her.


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## Jason721 (Nov 14, 2018)

I got one of those! 27 years and still counting. She helps when she can. She will run the splitter, help load, drive the tractor and stack in the wood shed. 
Right now my grandsons think it's fun to process wood..so I get some help from them. Until they discover girls that is.


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## pjohnson (Nov 14, 2018)

I've been burning wood off and on for 40 years, now its just at the cabin. The wife doesn't help with the wood but that gives me some peace and quiet time so no big deal. She doesn't say much about the 3 chain saws or tractor with loader, that tractor is so useful I'm not sure how people get by with out one. After she spent a couple weeks at the cabin alone keeping the little stove stoked every three hours all night long she's starting to get excited about a new Blaze King stove.


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## Jan Pijpelink (Nov 14, 2018)

pjohnson said:


> I've been burning wood off and on for 40 years, now its just at the cabin. The wife doesn't help with the wood but that gives me some peace and quiet time so no big deal. She doesn't say much about the 3 chain saws or tractor with loader, that tractor is so useful I'm not sure how *people get by with out one*. After she spent a couple weeks at the cabin alone keeping the little stove stoked every three hours all night long she's starting to get excited about a new Blaze King stove.


We are on only 1/3 acre, so not enough space for a tractor.


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## Prof (Nov 14, 2018)

My wife doesn't cut or split and rarely stacks, BUT she likes to burn wood--mostly she likes the house too hot, and I'm cheap, so wood is the way to go.


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## wooduser (Nov 14, 2018)

molly1414 said:


> I am the wife and it's my stove.   I split and stack the wood and bring the wood into the house.     My dear  husband would have no idea how it works.
> 
> My dad loved wood stoves and I was brought up with a buck stove in the living room that I could operate when I was a kid.  My daughter now loves our stove and runs it.  She helps me gather wood, split it and stack it.  She will never be dependent on a man to keep her warm. Lol





How do I give Molly a trophy?

What a lady!


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## bholler (Nov 14, 2018)

My wife helps quite a bit with processing.  I bring most of the wood in and load the stove most of the time but she will do it as well.

I am a little different though because woodstoves and chimneys pay our bills.  Its almost a requirement that i burn.


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## old greybeard (Nov 14, 2018)

Without a wife my life would suck. Best and toughest hunting buddy ever. 
She doesn’t laugh when I drop trees badly. Carries in the cut wood, stacks the splits. Tends the fire, though she hates the new epa stove. And at 55 with 2 kids still looks 35!


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## firefighterjake (Nov 14, 2018)

She doesn't say much about the woodstove other than it does tend to be more messy than running central heat. . . but she does run the stove when I'm not around since she is just as, if not, more frugal than I am.


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## heavy hammer (Nov 14, 2018)

As a lot of others on here have stated my wife has no problem operating the two stoves, getting wood, even running the tractor if needed.  I work a lot especially when the weather is bad, on those long cold days she keeps those stoves running and the house very warm for me when I get home.  My  five year old daughter even helps stack wood and likes to start the fire with the matches.  It's not a bad thing for anyone to learn how to operate a wood stove or how to keep themselves warm when they have nothing but some wood and matches.  Never know when it may come into play.


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## Woodsplitter67 (Nov 14, 2018)

My wife loves the wood heat. She runs the stove in the morning when i leave for work. She complains about nothing. She does not help with any of the wood and to be honest i wouldn't want her to. She has enough to do between cooking laundry shoping and bill paying and keeping track of her expenses,  planning family vacations, Hollidays, ect. She dosent care how much i spend on what i want to buy. One day I came home with a brand new 30ft grady white cc. she didnt care, she took up fishing. The only thing she asks of me is not to go the nude bar, so i dont, and really have no desire to, so no biggie. 
Shes a total keeper
So as far as the wood goes its me and my boy. He is 10 he helps me with all the wood and has been doing so for 5 years now. At 5 years of age i bought him a brand new T590 trac machine with pilot control and he runs it well. Its good man bonding time. And when were done and go in the house, the girls are there with lunch or dinner and brownies..


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## Dakotas Dad (Nov 14, 2018)

My wife likes to be warm. End of discussion.


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## jetsam (Nov 14, 2018)

Dakotas Dad said:


> My wife likes to be warm. End of discussion.



That's my wife too.

Notice that when the discussion ends there, there is not any debate about who has to drop all that wood, process it, store it, haul it, and feed it into the stove...


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## begreen (Nov 14, 2018)

old greybeard said:


> Without a wife my life would suck. Best and toughest hunting buddy ever.
> She doesn’t laugh when I drop trees badly. Carries in the cut wood, stacks the splits. Tends the fire, though she hates the new epa stove. And at 55 with 2 kids still looks 35!


Put her on here and we will see if we can help her with the stove.


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## vwmike (Nov 14, 2018)

My wife loves the wood stove. It’s the only way she’s warm enough at home, cause if I’m paying I don’t set the thremostat past 68
I do all the cutting and stacking, but she is a proud Girl Scout in her younger years and often will start a fire or tend to it as long as I leave her wood inside.


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## moresnow (Nov 15, 2018)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> One day I came home with a brand new 30ft grady white cc





Woodsplitter67 said:


> brand new T590 trac machine



And the winner of the toy collecting war is..... Listed above


My wife is a trouper. She helps with everything but the saw operating. Its one of the few things we do together. Must be getting old and boring!


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## Ludlow (Nov 15, 2018)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> She complains about nothing. The only thing she asks of me is not to go the nude bar.
> Shes a total keeper



Maybe cause she works there? (Its just a joke.....dont get butthurt)

Really, sounds like a good deal you got there.


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## 7acres (Nov 15, 2018)

All my wife does is take it from the leather wood carrier and load it into the stove. That's when I'm not home doing it. I do all the tree falling, limbing, bucking, hauling, splitting, stacking and staging to the front porch.


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## Woodsplitter67 (Nov 15, 2018)

moresnow said:


> And the winner of the toy collecting war is..... Listed above
> 
> 
> My wife is a trouper. She helps with everything but the saw operating. Its one of the few things we do together. Must be getting old and boring!



I got rid of the boat after 6 years. Got to busy at work to justify it sitting there. Im going to get another one in like 5 yrs when my son is old enough to go tuna/ marlin fishing.


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## Woodsplitter67 (Nov 15, 2018)

Ludlow said:


> Maybe cause she works there? (Its just a joke.....dont get butthurt)
> 
> Really, sounds like a good deal you got there.



I dont get sore.. my girl never worked at a strip club.. but she was a Hooters girl when were dating way back in her early twenties. Were not the jealous type.. she has verry little to complain about, theres no need to argue about money, i spend as much time with the kids as i can. I help with the kids school work and sports. Im a super hard worker, i dont hit the bars and god is in our lives. This is not to say that we dont have disagreements and things to work through every so often, but pretty much every day is a happy day at my house.


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## Dobish (Nov 15, 2018)

I have the greatest wife in the world. She used to say we have too much wood, but she now knows that we have just enough to keep us warm for the next couple of years. She runs the stove, brings in the wood, splits on occassion, and only complains about the wood processing when I am using the chainsaw early enough to bug the neighbors.  She misses me when I go away on work trips, appreciates me when I am home, and loves that I let her sleep in on weekends while I make the kids pancakes.

She very rarely questions my purchases, like saws or spitters, and even now I have an opportunity to buy a bigger loader tractor with a backhoe, with a trailer, and it is more than we really want to pay. She comes up with smart ideas like, maybe we buy it then sell it when we are done? Still not sure on that one.


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## ispinwool (Nov 15, 2018)

Hubby and I have been together 34 years...I'm the one that begged for a wood stove!  
 I'm the one that lights it/keeps it going/does general maintenance....
I'm terrified of the chain saw but I bought the log splitter.  We share wood duties 
as much as we can.


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## wooduser (Nov 15, 2018)

What a great collection of comments!

Sounds like it might be wise for those considering marriage to pick someone with an inclination towards being a woodburner!  Screen out those who dote on fuels other than wood...

I'm rather surprised that I didn't see comments from men or women about how woodburning caused divorce.


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## PaulOinMA (Nov 15, 2018)

jetsam said:


> … That's my wife too …



Mine, too.  I don't set the thermostat too high.  She's never said "no" to my asking, "should I light a fire?"


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## pjohnson (Nov 15, 2018)

Maybe we need a wood burners dating site


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## moresnow (Nov 15, 2018)

pjohnson said:


> Maybe we need a wood burners dating site




Oh my This is getting good!


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## blades (Nov 15, 2018)

that has merit


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## pjohnson (Nov 15, 2018)

Cold chick loves hot stoves and big wood piles send pics of stove and wood pile


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## jetsam (Nov 15, 2018)

pjohnson said:


> Maybe we need a wood burners dating site



This isn't a wood burners' dating site??? 

Boy, am I lost.


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## Jan Pijpelink (Nov 15, 2018)

pjohnson said:


> Maybe we need a wood burners dating site


Let's not go there. Life is complicated enough as it is.


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## Ludlow (Nov 15, 2018)

Mine never says no, or maybe I just cant hear her.


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## Jan Pijpelink (Nov 15, 2018)

Ludlow said:


> Mine never says no, or maybe I just cant hear her.


Sometimes, I also have selective hearing.


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## Woodsplitter67 (Nov 15, 2018)

Guess who's getting chocolate chip cookies


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## Jan Pijpelink (Nov 15, 2018)

I could not be happier! She was 53 in that picture.


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## Ludlow (Nov 15, 2018)

Awwwee. Aint love grand?!


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## Wood1Dennis (Nov 20, 2018)

My sweet wife loves a warm house. I'm cheap and I love making firewood. 
Its a match made in heaven.


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## Match Girl (Nov 26, 2018)

To add another woman’s perspective… I am a single mom with four young kids. A year ago we moved into an old 1920 fixer-upper house. My furnace broke down four times last winter… And so I decided to put an insert into my fireplace this fall. Most of my friends urged me towards a gas fireplace insert, Because they didn’t want me to add anymore stress or unnecessary work to my life… But I Ended up going with what I knew would bring me the most joy… And installed a wood Stove insert. Aside from any help I get from my children, I have sole responsibility for tending to this new venture.… And I am thrilled! For me, it goes a little deeper… A woodstove represents the real thing! And I am done with any facades … So a gas fireplace just wouldn’t do!  

 I live in a small city, although I’m blessed with 3/4 of an acre. So this year, being completely new to life with a woodstove, I purchased Split wood that was delivered to my driveway. I built a little lean to off my shed, and my kids and I stacked it. However, now that I am All in, I already have friends telling me that I can have the fallen trees in their backyard from last summers storm, etc. So I am quite certain that I will end up with a chainsaw, and maybe end up bringing back my still packaged electric 5 ton splitter for something more robust. (would love advice on that....  i’ll look for the appropriate forum).

Anyway,  my kids and I love the heat from this woodstove! And I look at it as another opportunity to teach them that hard work gives back something good… To see a real process in something from start to finish… Something that is harder to come by in the real world as much these days.


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## Wood1Dennis (Nov 26, 2018)

Match Girl said:


> Anyway, my kids and I love the heat from this woodstove! And I look at it as another opportunity to teach them that hard work gives back something good… To see a real process in something from start to finish… Something that is harder to come by in the real world as much these days.



This is one of the best things I have read on here for a while. Good for you and your kids!


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## begreen (Nov 26, 2018)

Yes, so glad that you are enjoying the stove and process MatchGirl. Those small electric splitters are pretty capable for rounds up to 12" or so.


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## nunyabinis (Nov 26, 2018)

Married four decades.  High school sweethearts.  I run my Stihl Farm Boss and she does the limbing with her Stihl 192T.  I run the splitter and she stacks the splits.  She runs our VC Encore like a conductor.

She's my Best Friend.


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## Match Girl (Nov 27, 2018)

begreen said:


> Yes, so glad that you are enjoying the stove and process MatchGirl. Those small electric splitters are pretty capable for rounds up to 12" or so.


This is The one I haven’t taken out of the package yet… Do you know if this one is good? Should I spend a little more for something better? I think it said up to 10 inches diameter… Is that about the size of an average tree?


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## Jan Pijpelink (Nov 27, 2018)

Match Girl said:


> View attachment 234201
> 
> This is The one I haven’t taken out of the package yet… Do you know if this one is good? Should I spend a little more for something better? I think it said up to 10 inches diameter… Is that about the size of an average tree?


That will do just fine.


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## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Nov 27, 2018)

No wife here, but long time companion.  She does like it warm, and she likes it when I tend to the fire, but is more than capable of taking care of it herself.

She's mastered the bottom-up lighting technique, as well as the top-down.

She is proficient with the infrared thermometer, and knows exactly where to point the laser to see when to close the air down.  She knows how to avoid an overfire.

She's getting better at stacking wood. Straight up and down. The stacks fall sometimes, but she helps get them stacked right back up.

She greatly prefers the north--south loading technique, complains a little when I cut the wood too long and it has to go in east-west.

She doesn't love the mess it makes, but doesn't complain about it, just cleans it up.


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## blades (Nov 27, 2018)

You all are very fortunate to have partners that put up with you - best wishes to all.


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## Montanalocal (Nov 27, 2018)

I have owned two electric splitters.  My first was one like you are showing, with the cylinder enclosed under the beam.  This type does not last very long, they start to leak internally and they really can not be fixed.  I would highly recommend an electric that has a traditional hydraulic ram above the beam that can be fixed if it starts to leak.  This looks to be the best from my research.

https://www.swisherinc.com/catalog/...-electric-full-frame-log-splitter/category/8/


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## CaptSpiff (Nov 28, 2018)

Match Girl:
"This is the one I haven’t taken out of the package yet… Do you know if this one is good? Should I spend a little more for something better? I think it said up to 10 inches diameter… Is that about the size of an average tree?"

A 10" diameter log piece is pretty big, and heavy. If it won't split down the middle, roll the log left or right to take a smaller slice.

The secret to running electric motor devices is to give them good voltage. Motors hate low voltage.
That means keeping your extension cords short and/or proper sized. Use a 12ga extension cord of no more than 50 ft.
This electric splitter will serve you well for "face cord" size jobs.

Go slow and always watch your fingers!


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## Dix (Dec 3, 2018)

How in the hell, did I miss this thread ?????  (I hear you saying "She's here   )

As a kid, we had a fireplace.w/ a heatalator system, which I learned to run early on.

In 1977 the price of oil went up to 12 cents a gallon, and my Mom went ballistic. Soon, there were 3 coal stoves in this house. A cookstove in the kitchen (gorgeous, with a hot water system !!), and 2 pot bellies at each end of the house. Check, know how to run those !

Coal stoves come out .... turns out the Dixette & I are  allergic to the dust. Back to running FP w/ heatalator. Oil is 69 cents a gallon.

2007, oil hits close to $3 a gallon. Begin wood burning quest. Quest completed 2008. Hook up w/ Hearth.com. Rick Boothe AKA Fossil  (  ) answers my first post. The rest is a friendly blur 

2009 oil going to $4 a gallon, Hello Tomber Ridge *kisses*

And, I'm still here, still splitting, stacking, toting, hauling, carrying, emptying ash can, and, with the help of a roof top friendly buddy, cleaned the PE chimney yesterday.

For 5 of those years, I had no working O/B .... ran on wood heat & an electric HWH. O/B fixed 3 years ago/

What's a wife?


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## Medic21 (Dec 6, 2018)

My wife has her own saws, comes out with me on weekends.  She is learning the stove, I grew up burning wood and she has never been around it before we bought this house three years ago.  

Best part is when I get the house to 77-78 degrees...


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## Jan Pijpelink (Dec 6, 2018)

Medic21 said:


> My wife has her own saws, comes out with me on weekends.  She is learning the stove, I grew up burning wood and she has never been around it before we bought this house three years ago.
> 
> Best part is when I get the house to 77-78 degrees...


78 is my lady's favorite temp.


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## Prof (Dec 6, 2018)

Jan Pijpelink said:


> 78 is my lady's favorite temp.


I threaten divorce when the house gets to 74---I find that anything above this with wood heat is darn uncomfortable.


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## Jan Pijpelink (Dec 6, 2018)

Prof said:


> I threaten divorce when the house gets to 74---I find that anything above this with wood heat is darn uncomfortable.


Open a window or get professional help.


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## Prof (Dec 6, 2018)

Jan Pijpelink said:


> Open a window or get professional help.


I do both--I am am an ardent believer in the value of both cold air and therapy


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## sportbikerider78 (Dec 10, 2018)

barnaclebob said:


> My wife loves the stove, knows how to operate it, helps stack wood, and helps bring it into the staging area on our back porch.


Same here.

My wife knows I'm not an idiot and I make good decisions, so she supports my decisions.  She loves the heat..but isn't crazy about the mess.


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## sportbikerider78 (Dec 10, 2018)

Prof said:


> and therapy



Me too. It is called happy hour.


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## Match Girl (Dec 20, 2018)

Montanalocal said:


> I have owned two electric splitters.  My first was one like you are showing, with the cylinder enclosed under the beam.  This type does not last very long, they start to leak internally and they really can not be fixed.  I would highly recommend an electric that has a traditional hydraulic ram above the beam that can be fixed if it starts to leak.  This looks to be the best from my research.
> 
> https://www.swisherinc.com/catalog/...-electric-full-frame-log-splitter/category/8/
> 
> View attachment 234235


Thank you! I will look at that.


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