# Neighbor feeling the chill



## Backwoods Savage (Sep 17, 2011)

A couple nights ago I am moving some wood into the barn and the neighbor came over asking questions about cleaning the chimney. Well, they've had a bit of bad luck lately and I told him there was no sense in buying a brush and rods so just told him to take ours. I told him what to do and away he went. I could have helped but he has a really short chimney that is a straight run so figured it would take him 10 minutes at most. It took him about 5 and he was very happy in the end. Good to help a neighbor but......

He started burning wood out of necessity last winter. Picked up a stove for a song and a dance and installed it. It is really a sad thing but helped them out a lot on the cost of heating. He has 10 acres of mostly red and white oaks. He figured there was enough down and ready to burn that he'd be okay but I quickly offered him some good dry wood. He burned his oak. 

He got a lot of creosote from the chimney and is good to go now except.....he has no wood ready to burn except a little he has for the outdoor fires they have quite often. So, I suspected he would be out cutting wood yesterday (don't work on Friday) and today. Maybe tomorrow. However, I have not heard a saw running yet.

Isn't this typical of most folks? He'll cut only when he absolutely has to. He was cutting just a little bit on weekends last year and suspect he'll do the same this year. Cut enough for a week....

This really makes me sad and is awful to watch especially knowing he has 3 young children in the house along with a wife. I was amazed they made it through last winter and am hoping they do the same this winter. I have told him where I keep the brush and rods and suggested he clean monthly this year. Time will tell...


Just another case where it should be done ahead of time. He doesn't have much sunshine where he could stack the wood but there is plenty of wind. But sometimes you just can't teach people the right way of doing things. 


How about your neighbors? Do they cut before it is needed?


----------



## ohio woodburner (Sep 17, 2011)

Dennis with 10 acres I'm surprised he doesn't have some standing dead or some dead limbs. I know my Dad always cut in the fall for that year and most of that was cottonwood. Good thing i never followed him in that aspect. lol


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Sep 17, 2011)

Yes, he has a little downed stuff but not much and I don't think any of it is ready to burn. He will still blindly do it though.

Sometimes Daddy's advise is not so good.


----------



## PapaDave (Sep 17, 2011)

Dennis, it really is a shame that lots of people seem to not be able to think very far ahead.
The normal practice around here is still to get the wood put up in Aug-Sept, then use that the same winter. Well, not HERE, but around here. 
Can't fix stupid, and lazy isn't far behind.
 :lol:


----------



## BrotherBart (Sep 17, 2011)

The temps have dipped into the forties for a couple nights. I expect to hear the saws fire up all around here soon. Happens every year. And on the first night in the thirties the song of the domestic fire engine will be heard just after dark. Always happens too.


----------



## PA. Woodsman (Sep 17, 2011)

I'm ALWAYS amazed at the lack of foresight that people show regarding firewood. Lots of people get their wood cut late Summer-early Fall and they think that they are "early" with it! Tractor Supply and similiar places run "specials" on logsplitters and saws NOW like it's "wood cutting time"; I go by a local dealer every week and he has the log lengths just laying around, bucking and splitting some of them NOW and selling it to some poor sap that will try to use it in a couple months, have an awful experience and declare "wood heat sucks-I don't see what's so great about it"...

If people would only plan ahead they would enjoy heating with wood so much more...sigh....


----------



## chvymn99 (Sep 17, 2011)

I too, have a neighbor like that.  The old man neighbor, use to have a tree service drop off big trees.  But the last year 1/2 they stopped doing this.  Well this was the other neighbors source of wood too.  So when he ran low last winter, we went down and processed some old wood stack of log lengths.  Well he had a hard time keeping a fire going for the rest of the burn season, and couldn't understand it.  I mean the logs had been sitting around for 3 years they should be ready.  Whelp you guessed it.  Who hasn't processed any wood, except when I went over to help one day and we did a little over a cord in 90 plus temp.  Plus, I've tried to get him to go scrounging with me, but its too hard of work & the labors not worth the quality of wood.  But if it had not been for the knowledge that I have learned here, I too would not be with this much wood on my property.


----------



## loon (Sep 17, 2011)

PapaDave said:
			
		

> Can't fix stupid, and lazy isn't far behind.
> :lol:



yup  :coolgrin: 

loon


----------



## wood-fan-atic (Sep 17, 2011)

Everybody that knows me  - knows I burn wood. Two different people I know at work both recently bought stoves (they dont know what brand - OR even if they are catalytic or not) - and asked me where they can buy some seasoned wood. When I told then "no where" - thatt is why I have 5 cords c/s/s in the woodshed , and another 5 (almost) drying for next year - they looked at me like I was crazy.


----------



## amateur cutter (Sep 17, 2011)

I hear you guys. People look at me like I'm cracked too, the other day as a guy was picking up a little campfire wood, his words were " you're too ambitious". My reply was "nope, just don't like to be cold, & I like chimney fires even less". Needless to say, the conversation ended there. Oh well. A C


----------



## lukem (Sep 17, 2011)

My neighbor often cuts and burns the same day.  My BIL did the same when he was heating with wood...out of wood....better go cut some more.  They both think I'm the crazy one for having 4 or 5 years worth c/s/s.  I just nod my head....yup...I have no sense.

One year my BIL had a chimney fire and blamed it on the "crappy" class A chimney...because a chimney fire in a masonry setup would have been "safer".  *sigh*


----------



## Woody Stover (Sep 17, 2011)

I've been preaching "dry wood" to a couple of my neighbors. I was a bit concerned with one's wood supply...I saw a lot of rounds in his stack. I recently went over when I heard him running the saw. What he was cutting wasn't ready to go, but we tested some rounds out of his stack for moisture. Even though they were not split, they've been there for a couple or three years and aren't too big, so they are ready to go. He only burns when it gets really cold, so he should have enough for this season.
The other neighbor was cutting and splitting some Sugar Maple that had been sitting in log form. 30% moisture in that stuff. He was also talking about getting some slab wood. I told him it might be OK if it was Ash, but he said it's hard to dig through the stack, so some of it might be Oak. So I walked around his property with him and pointed out some dead standing stuff with the bark off that is probably close to being ready. He's got a combustor insert, just installed a liner all the way up in his masonry chimney, and replaced the combustor. I told him about flame impingement on the combustor, but I need to scare him with a lecture about the thermal shock that's possible if he burns wet wood.  :smirk:


----------



## red oak (Sep 17, 2011)

Dennis you are unfortunately correct.  I have two older neighbors who have been cutting this year's supply for the last month or so.  I have a very good friend who is only halfway to having what he needs for this winter.  My friend commented to me last year that he was having problems with creosote in his chimney and stovepipe.  I recommended he cut sooner and let the wood season for at least a spring and summer.  He told me he'd rather fish during those months.  I just nodded but I do worry about him so every couple of weeks I would drop off some of those chemical chimney cleaning sticks to his house - saying that I had a few extra.  In reality I don't use them!  

I wouldn't call any of these people lazy or stupid, but I don't think they realize the value of planning ahead.  I also think if they grew up doing things a certain way it is hard for them to wrap their head around changing it.  

I do have another friend who cut a live tree and was splitting it and putting it in his stove THAT DAY!  I did give him a rather strong lecture beginning with "S@$T You're going to burn your house down!"  After that I tried not to be too offensive!  I really worry about some of these people but all I can do is deliver the wisdom - I can't make them act on it.


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Sep 18, 2011)

As we can tell by the posts, there are a whole lot of wood burners out there who do not know what they are doing and most don't really want to learn a new way. No doubt this does turn a lot of folks away from burning wood and that is really sad.

I recall back in the mid-70's when the oil embargo happened and then the price of gas shot up. Cripes, it got over $.50 per gallon. Unheard of! Then lots of folks, mostly farmers, were installing wood stoves and then going out and cutting wood. I recall one particular area, not too far from where PapaDave lives when lots and lots of farmers did this. Most of them burned wood just one winter and out went the stoves. It was a case of the stoves did not burn and give off enough heat to amount to much. Stinking creosote in the house. Too dirty for the wives and too much hard work for the men. None cut more than they needed that first year. After all, that is how their fathers and grandfathers did it and they done it all their lives so they knew what was best. Then too, even the farmers almanac said to cut the wood in October and November for their winter supply and if it is in print, it can't be wrong.....can it?

The more things change the more they stay the same.


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Sep 18, 2011)

BrotherBart said:
			
		

> The temps have dipped into the forties for a couple nights. I expect to hear the saws fire up all around here soon. Happens every year. And on the first night in the thirties the song of the domestic fire engine will be heard just after dark. Always happens too.



 :lol:  :lol:  :lol:


----------



## albertj03 (Sep 18, 2011)

My neighbor has tree length wood delivered in the late summer or early fall, cuts and splits it in October then burns it all winter long. Always has a nice smoke plume coming out of the chimney. Works good for him with his old wood furnace. When I first got my stove I didn't have much wood so he gave me some, it didn't burn very well in my EPA stove but it's the thought that counts.


----------



## Wood Duck (Sep 18, 2011)

I have neighbors that run the gamut of wood collectors. One guy around the corner has probably 10 or 12 cord in the stacks and always keeps it that way. the guy next door has had a load of logs laying next to the driveway for a year. He sawed some of it up this week for burnig this winter.  Plenty of people around here are still waiting to gather wood for the upcoming winter. Another guy at the end of the street has at least 3 cords of wood split and stacked, and seems to have his wood on hand way before average, but he has a constant stream of smoke from the chimney that most of the winter smokes up a good portion of the very small valley below us. I can't figure that one out - at least partially seasoned wood but constant smoke. I guess he has an airtight stove and chokes it down most of the time.


----------



## weatherguy (Sep 18, 2011)

My neighbor, whos a woodburner, commented to me a month or so ago when I was out splitting wood "you think you got enough wood??", I told him not yet, I was splitting for 2013-14 winter so it could season properly, he said "really?". I told him the wood burns cleaner and hotter when properly seasoned. He's an attorney and has green wood delivered in October for the winter. Hell, if I didnt stumble onto this forum I would probably be doing the same thing.


----------



## Shadow&Flame (Sep 18, 2011)

The only time people seem to worry about wood is when it turns cold. I hear the chainsaws running about the time deer season opens and that is for this years burning season. Some people you can educate...others you cant. I have never been one to try and tell anyone how to live or run their lives...but I will advise people once if they are doing something wrong or dangerous. I know a guy who has a Buck Model 80 and cuts green wood every year to put in it. I asked if he had any problems burning the cat with wet wood and he didn't know it had one... :shut: Oh well...


----------



## Woody Stover (Sep 18, 2011)

weatherguy said:
			
		

> Hell, if I didnt stumble onto this forum I would probably be doing the same thing.


+1. Last year I cut my wood in May, and that was the earliest I had ever done it. The Ash burned OK. Then I started reading here and found out why my Oak had _never_ burned worth a hoot. I guess I always knew in the back of my mind that I should have been cutting earlier. Now I know why, thanks to this forum. Hence, all my wood's going to be transported to the future. Today I started on my 2012 wood, Pignut and Sugar (or for 2013, depending on weather some Black Oak stacked in May is ready.) Then I've got a couple of Pin Oaks for 2014, to which I'll be adding some higher-powered wood species. I'll have three years on ice by the end of the year.                                                                                          
                          :coolsmile:

Now I'm trying to spread the word. With more clean burners, wood burning will be looked upon more favorably by those that live near them but don't burn. Those folks might even consider burning wood themselves. That starts right here in the 'hood. Hey, wait, that would mean less scrounging opportunities for me! Oh, well...


----------



## Swedishchef (Sep 18, 2011)

Dennis,

I currently live in a part of the province where wood is a primary source of heating for a lot of people. Yet many (the majority) people don't seem to understand the importance of seasoning wood. Guys I know (lots of them) just went to cut their wood in the past few weeks for this upcoming winter. We're talking about maple, yellow birch and white birch.

They try to convince me that letting wood dry for 2-3 years is BAD. One guy (good friend of mine) who has a wood furnace said that if he puts dry wood in his furnace it heats the house too fast. So he puts green wood in it and lets  it go slowly. However, this same guy had a chimney fire 3 years ago in the middle of a winter snowstorm with a gale  of wind. He was clmbing onto the roof of his house while his wife kept bringing him buckets of water (he poured it down). This is an INTERIOR chimney that goes up through the middle of his old 2 story house.

So no, it's not just your neighbors.

Before finding this forum I knew that wood had to be seasoned but not to the extent that it really should. I always told myself that one year was plenty....pffft, was I wrong (for hardwoods).

Andrew

Andrew


----------



## onetracker (Sep 18, 2011)

amateur cutter said:
			
		

> I hear you guys. People look at me like I'm cracked too, the other day as a guy was picking up a little campfire wood, his words were " you're too ambitious". My reply was "nope, just don't like to be cold, & I like chimney fires even less". Needless to say, the conversation ended there. Oh well. A C



indeed.....and:
its nice to know that for an entire winter in the northen latitudes, we'll be warm and won't have to scrounge for firewood or burn green wood. power failure? who cares, we've got 3 stoves. no water? no problem, we'll melt snow on the big free-standing.


----------



## Thistle (Sep 18, 2011)

20-25 yrs ago when I was younger & didnt know any better I did the same thing. Would cut at random,always run out then go cut more when was out of wood no matter the weather conditions at the time.Rain,ice storms,blizzard...didnt matter  :-S 

Now I'm older & wiser  I cut a little every week almost year round,when weather & my regular work schedule allows it. Did take a break for almost 2 months in Jan- March 2011 when the snow was too deep to get around easily.Then again for  2 weeks in July when the heat index was 105-117.But except for that have been spending 5-8 hrs in the woods every week in my spare time since August 2010. Am about 4 yrs ahead now - 13-14 cords roughly.Should finally be done with all the cleanup sometime later in November or early December.Depending on when the first big snowfall hits.

It's great to go out there,see the shed full,all those stacks & the pile (about 2 p/u loads as of last Thursday) that still needs split/stacked.  I just smile.  :coolsmirk:


----------



## Bspring (Sep 18, 2011)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> A couple nights ago I am moving some wood into the barn and the neighbor came over asking questions about cleaning the chimney. Well, they've had a bit of bad luck lately and I told him there was no sense in buying a brush and rods so just told him to take ours. I told him what to do and away he went. I could have helped but he has a really short chimney that is a straight run so figured it would take him 10 minutes at most. It took him about 5 and he was very happy in the end. Good to help a neighbor but......
> 
> He started burning wood out of necessity last winter. Picked up a stove for a song and a dance and installed it. It is really a sad thing but helped them out a lot on the cost of heating. He has 10 acres of mostly red and white oaks. He figured there was enough down and ready to burn that he'd be okay but I quickly offered him some good dry wood. He burned his oak.
> 
> ...




In a field one summer's day a grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content.  A group of ants walked by, grunting as they struggled to carry plump kernels of corn.

"Where are you going with those heavy things?" asked the grasshopper.

Without stopping, the first ant replied, "To our ant hill.  This is the third kernel I've delivered today."

"Why not come and sing with me," teased the grasshopper, "instead of working so hard?"

"We are helping to store food for the winter," said the ant, "and think you should do the same." 

"Winter is far away and it is a glorious day to play," sang the grasshopper.

But the ants went on their way and continued their hard work.

The weather soon turned cold.  All the food lying in the field was covered with a thick white blanket of snow that even the grasshopper could not dig through.  Soon the grasshopper found itself dying of hunger.

He staggered to the ants' hill and saw them handing out corn from the stores they had collected in the summer.  He begged them for something to eat.

"What!" cried the ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter?  What in the world were you doing all last summer?"

"I didn't have time to store any food," complained the grasshopper; "I was so busy playing music that before I knew it the summer was gone."

The ants shook their heads in disgust, turned their backs on the grasshopper and went on with their work.


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Sep 18, 2011)

Good story with a good moral Bspring. Sort of like the virgins when some were wise and some were foolish. When the time come they needed the oil, not all had it. 

Also sort of like the pig. One day the pig was rooting around the oaks getting to the acorns. The squirrel told the pig that if he kept doing all the rooting around the oaks would all die. The pig said, "Who cares as long as we have all these acorns?"


----------



## rottiman (Sep 18, 2011)

amateur cutter said:
			
		

> I hear you guys. People look at me like I'm cracked too, the other day as a guy was picking up a little campfire wood, his words were " you're too ambitious". My reply was "nope, just don't like to be cold, & I like chimney fires even less". Needless to say, the conversation ended there. Oh well. A C



In general, thats the problem with our society here in North America and that goes well beyond cutting firewood.  The times are tough and are probably gonna get tougher, but alot of the problem lies with a withering work ethic and a "whats the goverment gonna due for me or give to me" attitude.  I am glad I lived in the era I did and wouldn't wanna be a 20 year old facing what is about to come if they soon don't wake up and smarten up.  There. the rant is over and I feel soooo much better. Think I'll head on down to the shed and check on my cords.


----------



## MeLikeUmFire (Sep 18, 2011)

I'm waiting to hear the firetrucks pull into my neighbors...i cant see their house thru all the smoke. On another note I called a wood supplier...seasoned to them was 3 weeks after cutting down a live tree


----------



## MeLikeUmFire (Sep 18, 2011)

I'm waiting to hear the firetrucks pull into my neighbors...i cant see their house thru all the smoke.  They burn unseasoned wood. They just cut down some live trees...have a feeling they are going into the heatalator this winter. No liner. On another note I called a wood supplier...seasoned to them was 3 weeks after cutting down a live tree


----------



## MeLikeUmFire (Sep 18, 2011)

I'm waiting to hear the firetrucks pull into my neighbors...i cant see their house thru all the smoke.  They burn unseasoned wood. They just cut down some live trees...have a feeling they are going into the heatalator this winter. No liner. On another note I called a wood supplier...seasoned to them was 3 weeks after cutting down a live tree


----------



## jatoxico (Sep 18, 2011)

I find peoples luck (mine included) is generally proprtional to their effort.

Very often there's a good reason the "why does this always happen to me" crowd is in the shape they're in.


----------



## MeLikeUmFire (Sep 18, 2011)

Sorry bout triple posting...i guess now quadruple posting...didnt realize there was a page two


----------



## weatherguy (Sep 18, 2011)

RegencyR14 said:
			
		

> I'm waiting to hear the firetrucks pull into my neighbors...i cant see their house thru all the smoke.  They burn unseasoned wood. They just cut down some live trees...have a feeling they are going into the heatalator this winter. No liner. On another note I called a wood supplier...seasoned to them was 3 weeks after cutting down a live tree



I called a wood supplier in my area in the spring because he had a good price on seasoned wood, his idea of seasoned was cutting the tree down last year and leaving in log length and not splitting it  until the week I called him. I guess its a vague definition.


----------



## laynes69 (Sep 18, 2011)

I was approached three other day by a co-worker that also burns wood. They have a old smoke dragon stove and are having problems getting wood. I have expressed many times firewood that is split and stacked needs to season a year or more. She asked if my BIL had any more wood, which I replied if he did it would be green. She replied that's okay, we have a large dead maple that hasn't been removed yet we can burn. Our burns are longer and cleaner, and we use less wood to heat our home than they do considering our home is much bigger. The homes that I see with large stacks of firewood and chimney liners produce no smoke. T
It's very easy to tell who is burning clean and safe. Year after year I see there same repeat offenders judging from the creosote running of their chimneys and the billowing smoke. Since I have went to a EPA certified furnace, my habits have changed and my eyes have opened.


----------



## bigdaddybry (Sep 18, 2011)

One of my neighbors thinks I'm nuts burning "that dry wood". He likes it as wet as possible 'cause it burns nice and slow. I just kinda shrug, I know there's no way to change his mind.


----------



## red oak (Sep 18, 2011)

bigdaddybry said:
			
		

> One of my neighbors thinks I'm nuts burning "that dry wood". He likes it as wet as possible 'cause it burns nice and slow. I just kinda shrug, I know there's no way to change his mind.



I have a friend who likes to "hear the sizzle" when he throws wood in the stove.


----------



## Thistle (Sep 18, 2011)

red oak said:
			
		

> bigdaddybry said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I wonder if he likes to also hear his smoke alarm going off & the fire engine speeding down his street.


----------



## Woody Stover (Sep 18, 2011)

I used to burn wet Oak and had a ton of creosote. I had pipe all the way to the top of the masonry chimney. I knew it was time to brush the liner when the draft would drop so low that I had a hard time keeping smoke from pouring into the room when I opened the stove door. I would clean the chimney once a season, twice in the last few years (had to pull the stove to do it, which I don't with my new setup.) The elbow would be a third to half way closed off. Usually got 2-3 gallons of flakes out of there. The only upside of operating like this is that you become very good at avoiding chimney fires in poor operating conditions. :lol:


----------



## red oak (Sep 18, 2011)

I happened to be there when my friend who likes to hear the sizzle was cleaning his stovepipe.  It was PACKED full of creosote.  He said he cleans it once a year (like I do).  So in one season he produced more creosote than I have in 11!  Far more!  Honestly reading this thread makes me wonder why I don't hear about more chimney fires.  I encouraged my friend to check his pipe and chimney at least once a month.  He started to do that last year so that's at least something!


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Sep 19, 2011)

Some folks just seem to think chimney fires are normal. Just think about all the talk about burning a really hot fire every day to "clean out the chimney."


----------



## jimbom (Sep 19, 2011)

Thanks to the forum and those willing to share their knowledge.  It has been a great help to us.  What began as a search for information to keep us warm during winter power outages has become an obsession.  A good obsession for clean safe local source heat for our home.  It is wonderful how people come together to help each other using the internet.  Thanks again to those more knowledgeable.


----------



## Stump_Branch (Sep 19, 2011)

As the wife and i are busy moving our wood supply over from the seasoning area, full of sun and wind, to pallets near the door closest to the stove. A few houses up i hear a saw running. I figure wood preptime for them...and joke with the wife about cutting firewood now. After 3 plus hours i hear/see the tree fall. All that time, they were felling the thing...not only is bad enough to burn wet wood but these folks shouldnt have been around a standing tree. A wonder no one got hurt. You could hear them getting the  saw pinched and full throttle to bog down..

"i remember my first chainsaw"


----------



## certified106 (Sep 19, 2011)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> Some folks just seem to think chimney fires are normal. Just think about all the talk about burning a really hot fire every day to "clean out the chimney."



LOL I have a guy at work that has an induced chimney fire every Saturday morning. When he gets up he stuffs the stove full of cardboard lights it up and leaves the door open so the flames shoot up the chimney and as much as I have argued with him he sees nothing wrong with it. Some people just don't get it or get it and just don't give a rip!


----------



## firefighterjake (Sep 19, 2011)

I've given up on trying to "preach the word" about burning seasoned wood and burning hot enough . . . I cannot tell you how many posts I was reading on Facebook this past weekend about folks splitting up and hauling in their firewood for this coming Fall and Winter . . . I suspect at some point I may be reading some future post about a chimney fire. When you try to tell them how to prevent the creosote build up by burning at the proper temps and with seasoned wood they just roll their eyes and think you're some wood burning nut case who simply has an obsession with cutting wood and stacking it around your property for years at a time.


----------



## Stump_Branch (Sep 19, 2011)

The outdoor firecomplex. Throw wet wood in a bonfire, it burns, the smoke i suspect is expected and ignored. Ill assume because folks seeing it burn in that arrangment, large fire, can feel the heat etc. They figure its gionh to work well as a smaller fire inside a stove.


----------



## MasterMech (Sep 20, 2011)

Nothing wrong with waiting for colder weather to process wood.  So long as you're cutting next year's or further out.


----------



## maplewood (Sep 20, 2011)

Thistle said:
			
		

> Am about 4 yrs ahead now - 13-14 cords roughly.:coolsmirk:



...I'm not tooting my own horn, but I burn more than that in a year.  ;-)

But to the theme of this thread:  For decades I cut in the spring and summer, and burned in the fall.  At least I stored my wood
inside, where it could continue to dry out a bit more before I tossed it into the stove.  Funny, but I had to clean my chimney at
least twice a season.  Never had a chimney fire, for which I'm thankful, but I did have two blockages which cuased smoke to come into the house!
Now I cut a year earlier, giving me two summers for the wood to dry.  My moisture content is usually 20% when I put it in the house.
Haven't had any amount of creosote for years.  Only clean the chimney yearly just to make myself feel good about it.

From this site I've become confident in the how and why of cutting and seasoning wood, and am still saddened to see some of my 
neighbours cutting in August to burn in, well, now.  I try to gently educate them when possible, as a friend-to-friend.  I know we feel
it is so obvious and beneficial, and that we have improved our own state as far as wood processing goes.

But in other parts of my lifestyle I haven't fine tuned things to such harmony.  I still weigh over 240, struggle with chewing my nails,
and feel the grief of procrastination all too often.  But it is very encouraging to me to take a break up in the 2012 wood pile, just to 
sit there and feel the seasoning taking place amoungst the 15 cord, and know that there is still hope


----------



## willworkforwood (Sep 20, 2011)

firefighterjake said:
			
		

> ...  they just roll their eyes and think you're some wood burning nut case who simply has an obsession with cutting wood and stacking it around your property for years at a time.


My favorite is when someone who I don't know well comes into the driveway, sees all of the rows of wood, and says "do you sell wood?"  One of the nice things about getting older is that I've arrived at the point of not giving a s&@t about what others think about me filling up my yard with firewood.


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Sep 21, 2011)

And I never tire of driving into my yard or taking the atv in back and looking at the wood that is stacked up. I admire it almost daily and it gives me a good feeling every time; more so as the weather turns cold.


----------



## Ash_403 (Sep 21, 2011)

MasterMech said:
			
		

> Nothing wrong with waiting for colder weather to process wood.  So long as you're cutting next year's or further out.


Exactly.  I'm sure some neighbors heard me running a saw last weekend.  But, it was the case you stated.


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Sep 21, 2011)

Neighbor did get out to cut wood last weekend. Not dead wood either as I saw lots of green leaf on the stuff he cut. Makes me cringe just thinking about it.


----------



## PA. Woodsman (Sep 22, 2011)

Just got a Tractor Supply sale flyer today and it showed a logsplitter and chain saws and the headline was something akin to "the tools you need to GET READY for the cold weather and keep the wood piled high"....

I wonder if I could sue them for "false advertising" lol....WOW!


----------



## fahmahbob (Sep 22, 2011)

I've been passing a lot of driveways with fresh dumped loads of wood on 'em. And the wood is clearly green, and no sign of dry stacks in the yard. 
I have, however, noticed more yards with stacks of wood that have been there since at least spring. It's getting more common every year.
I think the word about dry wood may be spreading...


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Sep 22, 2011)

Believe it or not, I passed a place today where they had the typical face cord stacked and a sign $45. What really surprised me was that wood was dry! Not sure what the rest would be like though. He probably had a pile out back or was in the woods cutting at the time.


----------



## Woody Stover (Sep 23, 2011)

PA. Woodsman said:
			
		

> "the tools you need to GET READY for the cold weather and keep the wood piled high"....


Hey, that's what _I'm_ doing...getting ready for the cold weather a year from now and keeping the wood piled high.  :coolsmirk:


----------



## maple1 (Sep 23, 2011)

certified106 said:
			
		

> Backwoods Savage said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Actually, I can't imagine there being that much creosote build up in a week that it would lead to much of a chimney fire. I would think that method might get rid of some minor spot build up (which leads to more build up), and would burn out in a minute or two - way less damaging than a real chimney fire, which can be VERY hot and last quite a while, depending on amount of creosote. I think I'd rather see someone do that than go all winter (or even half of it) without thinking about their chimney. That is, as long as they've got a good chimney, of course.

Still remember the time a few years ago, when I stepped outside the office where I was working at lunch time, and looked up to see flames coming out of the chimney (office was in rear section of bosses house). He wasn't home at the time, so I naturally called the fire department. (Older looking brick chimney). When he got back and after they left, he says 'What did you call them for? That was just the chimney cleaning itself out.'. Umm, OK, I'll remember that next time....


----------



## Black Jaque Janaviac (Sep 23, 2011)

Well hopefully they'll make it through without freezing out.  

I can simpathize to some extent though.  I've been cutting out on some land that the owner has been gracious enough to let me cut in.  However, the land is low and the logging roads are sloppy.  He has asked that I not tear it up too bad.  So I would cut and make small stacks along the logging road throughout spring and summer.  Hoping that it would dry out this summer.  That didn't happen.  So only recently went to haul it out and to my yard.

It was nerve-wracking not seeing my wood pile grow this spring/summer.  Now I've finally got a pile but I've still got to split and stack.  

My point is things beyond your control are tough to plan for.

Some day I hope to be cutting one or two years ahead so I won't have to worry about a few months here and there.


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Sep 23, 2011)

Jaque, it sounds like you need to be hauling that wood out during the winter months.


----------



## roxys dad (Sep 23, 2011)

The first cold snap brings out the saws and splitters then the street is full of smoke the rest of the winter


----------



## Cluttermagnet (Sep 24, 2011)

I'm sure glad I found this forum a few years ago. I've learned a lot. Without doubt, the most important lesson was the need for well seasoned wood. My fires mostly burn 'invisibly', with little or no smoke other than a little sometimes right after reloading. Another important lesson learned was that different wood types need different amounts of seasoning time and have different cutting/ splitting/ burning characteristics.

We have a neighbor who is still burning in their fireplace. He knows he needs a stove. I hope he will get around to putting one in eventually. Times are hard, financially. He also knows the importance of seasoning because I have talked that over with him in depth, on several occasions. I think he does 'get it' and that his wood burning will further improve over time. There has been visible progress. That being said, an awful lot of smoke still pours out of that chimney due to underseasoned Oak being used.

There seem to be some conflicting priorities in that household, with some 'home beautification' work having taken priority over the stove purchase, it appears. I'm not going to criticize- they are good folks and he has helped me in other ways and has been a very good neighbor. I think he knows where he needs to get to, with the wood burning, but it's just taking some time. In better times, I think he would have done the wood stove install long since. Also, this stinko economy may have increased his workload in his 'day job', so there isn't enough spare time to really do the wood processing right.

So- not everyone is hard- headed. I think there are also plenty of folks who are able to learn and willing to be open to change.


----------



## kbrown (Sep 24, 2011)

Call it lazy or ignorant or whatever, but the neighbor really needs to appreciate that he has 10 acres of oak to pull from. The wife and I can only dream of living on land like that and with the state of the housing market, doesn't look like we ever will. He needs to get a wake up call and see the wood gold he has right in front of his face. Otherwise, let me move there and gladly take that "burden" away from him!


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Sep 24, 2011)

heatit, you just need to move north. Ya, the job situation is worse and that is the bad part.


----------



## wendell (Sep 24, 2011)

Yep, I'm in the same boat. I'm just starting to cut wood for the winter.






Of 2015/16.




 :cheese:


----------



## karl (Sep 24, 2011)

Around here I don't think people even know what an EPA stove is.  The firewood guys say, "You don't want it too dry."  

My neighbor has a Mama Bear stove and when he saw my Summit he commented on how tiny it was. lol  I still don't think he believes me when I tell him it heats the whole house and burns 8-10 hours with enough coals to restart.  He saw the slab wood I was burning and bought 2 loads.  Something happened last year and he didn't use the stove much and has a lot of that wood left over.  I'm going to go over there this winter when he's burning it and ask him how he likes seasoned wood.  Maybe I'll convert one person.


----------



## Slow1 (Sep 24, 2011)

Two thoughts...

First - to Dennis; I hope this neighbor of yours isn't counting on your supplying him again this winter with your premium wood.  I can understand (and would be willing to) helping out someone in their first year and/or someone who is down due to factors beyond their control, but just being plain lazy or planning that poorly is their own problem!

Second - I had a conversation with an older gentleman at church the other day who mentioned how he doesn't like burning read oak because "it is so hard to light."  Of course I mentioned that it does take a long time to dry out to which he assured me he seasons it for three years before bringing it into the garage.  Long story short - he leaves it in log length for 3 years, then gets it cut and stacked in garage where he splits on demand...  Hmmm...  well, he almost has the idea.  I told him how I do it (cut, split, THEN dry for 3 years) and that I don't have any problem with my oak.  I don't expect to change him, but at least I tried...  

Had I not found this forum I likely wouldn't know dry wood either though - my "expert" friend thinks I'm a bit nuts to stack 3 years ahead (I finally got there this year) as he barely gets one year ahead.  The wood he bought (and recommended to me) was far from seasoned my first year so I had to scrounge like mad and burn biobricks.  Such is life.


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Sep 25, 2011)

Slow, we will help them out if need be but he will have to replace what he takes. Actually, last year all he got from us was for about 2 days worth and he burned his own wood. At least he did have some that had been down for a while. Still lots of creosote. The wood he cut so far this year (cut last weekend) really is green. I expect something will have to give if he is going to heat with wood. 

It is amazing there are lots of folks who consider that once the tree is down, it dries. No need to cut it up; just leave it a year or so and it will be dry. Well, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

Good for you too Slow for getting 3 years ahead on the wood. That will pay great dividends.


----------



## Shadow&Flame (Sep 25, 2011)

I have an older widow who lives close to me. She has a fireplace that she uses when it gets really cold or for power outages. I cannot convince her to put in a stove, doesn't like 
anything to change. She normally tries to get a face cord of green wood every year in the 
fall to burn. I go over there every winter and swap the wood out for seasoned...and make 
sure if it runs a little low I add to it here and there so she doesn't notice it. She has said 
the wood burns too fast but it is easy to light. She always buys red oak...so that is what 
I am forced to replace it with.


----------



## ecocavalier02 (Sep 25, 2011)

i dropped off a cord of wood to my dad a couple days ago and my sister was there and she said do you have any wood for us. Her husband has a a pile of oak sitting next to the house all summer and he never even split it. of course it woulnt be ready to burn anyway, but he will burn it. Mind you hes a teacher and has summers off. I said well i dont know what to tell ya. i think some people are better off just heating with oil.


----------



## Woody Stover (Sep 25, 2011)

karl said:
			
		

> Around here I don't think people even know what an EPA stove is.  The firewood guys say, "You don't want it too dry."


Yep. One neighbor has an old smoke dragon insert. He doesn't burn all that much, just when it gets very cold. I mentioned to him that he could probably heat his entire home with wood all Winter with a modern stove, even though he doesn't have an ideal layout. Remains to be seen how interested he is in doing that. Maybe if times get a little tougher, he'll want to save more money.

BIL is in a new (to him) house. His wife bought a VC Resolute III, which is a cool little stove but a smoker nonetheless. I gave him my old Englander plate steel stove to use in the basement, but that probably won't be burned a lot. I'm going to work on him to get a modern stove so he's not smoking out the 'hood. Maybe I can find him a deal on a used stove.

A guy that I bought some semi-dry wood from last year called me to see if we wanted another load. I told him I had enough this year, but took the opportunity to tell him that a little of the stuff he sold me (not all, just some of the Oak) bubbled water out of the ends of the splits. I also told him that modern stoves need dry wood, and that Oak takes two years to dry. You shouldn't have to tell a wood dealer this stuff, but...
I've been observing his stacks for years. He's a "cut in the Spring, sell in the Fall" guy. That probably works OK for everything but his Oak, but I doubt that he (or many other sellers) would ever separate out the Oak to get it right...

My other neighbor just got a new combustor. Unfortunately, the wood he was splitting recently is at 30%. He'll be good for next year, at least. I guess I'll help him scrape up some dead dry stuff.


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Sep 25, 2011)

Shadow&Flame; said:
			
		

> I have an older widower who lives close to me. She has a fireplace that she uses when it gets really cold or for power outages. I cannot convince her to put in a stove, doesn't like
> anything to change. She normally tries to get a face cord of green wood every year in the
> fall to burn. I go over there every winter and swap the wood out for seasoned...and make
> sure if it runs a little low I add to it here and there so she doesn't notice it. She has said
> ...



Shadow&Flame;, wouldn't she be a widow?  Sorry, just had to pick at you a little for a slip of the fingers on the keyboard.


----------



## Woody Stover (Sep 25, 2011)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> Shadow&Flame; said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


_Now_ she is, but S&F knew him before the sex change.  :cheese:


----------



## Black Jaque Janaviac (Sep 25, 2011)

Backwoods,

Yes, some winters I'll haul out when things are frozen.  But last winter I learned some hard lessons.  Don't go on the unplowed logging roads in the depth of winter without tire chains.  I got around fine until we had a thaw followed by a re-freeze.  The water formed puddles beneath the snow which then froze like ice-rinks.  When my tires found those puddles (commonly occurring in old tire ruts) my truck stopped dead.  Without chains or winch it was a lot of work getting the wood out.  

So after that episode I decided to cut-n-stack along the logging road during the rest of the winter and haul out during the dryer part of the summer.  

In short . . . I've only been cutting on this property for a year now so I have yet to learn all its idiosyncracies.  Plan A didn't work, on to Plan B.  Plan B didn't work, scramble and make up a Plan C. . .


----------



## woodchip (Sep 25, 2011)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> How about your neighbors? Do they cut before it is needed?



Our neighbour who has a woodstove actually walks the dog in the morning, picks up stuff laying around, and chucks it in the stove in the evening. 

I'm sure firewood consumption could be halved here if people seasoned and burned their wood properly....... ;-)


----------



## Shadow&Flame (Sep 25, 2011)

Shadow&Flame;, wouldn't she be a widow?  Sorry, just had to pick at you a little for a slip of the fingers on the keyboard.[/quote]

Yep...my bad.  I was tired when I typed it...pick away man, I got big shoulders...ha


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Sep 26, 2011)

Hey, I do it all the time....but then, I also seem to be tired all the time lately. My shoulders are sore.


----------



## Hass (Sep 26, 2011)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> Some folks just seem to think chimney fires are normal. Just think about all the talk about burning a really hot fire every day to "clean out the chimney."



In the BK Chinook manual, it actually says you can do this.
But it says to not do this, if you have more than one day of creosote buildup.

Eh, I can't copy it.
But it's on page 27 of 40 of the Chinook manual near the middle  (make sure you click on manual not brochure)
https://www.blazeking.com/EN/wood-chinook.html


I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying what the manufacturer says.


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Sep 26, 2011)

Of course anyone can do it....but shouldn't.  There is still lots of media printed that is wrong. Those who print manuals get their information from old media. Just think about all the bad information about burning pine. Heck, we even had a well-known newspaper reporting on the amount of fall colors in various parts of the state. They listed, among others, maple, oak and pine. Right, the leaves on the pine are turning fast!


----------



## woodchip (Sep 26, 2011)

It does specifically say you can remove one day of creosote buildup with a hot fire, and says never do this with more than one day of buildup. 

I'm sure plenty of people used to have a regular chimney fire to keep the chimney clear, but then I can remember my Grandad sticking his shotgun up the chimney of the old farmhouse and letting it have both barrels. 

Grandma was not impressed by the soot.........  ;-)


----------



## Hass (Sep 26, 2011)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> Of course anyone can do it....but shouldn't.  There is still lots of media printed that is wrong. Those who print manuals get their information from old media. Just think about all the bad information about burning pine. Heck, we even had a well-known newspaper reporting on the amount of fall colors in various parts of the state. They listed, among others, maple, oak and pine. Right, the leaves on the pine are turning fast!


The leaves (needles) on all my pine are turning brown and falling off!
So they do turn colors 
Just like normal trees 



			
				woodchip said:
			
		

> It does specifically say you can remove one day of creosote buildup with a hot fire, and says never do this with more than one day of buildup.
> 
> I'm sure plenty of people used to have a regular chimney fire to keep the chimney clear, but then I can remember my Grandad sticking his shotgun up the chimney of the old farmhouse and letting it have both barrels.
> 
> Grandma was not impressed by the soot.........  ;-)



LOL! :D


----------

