Enough Wood???

[NordicSplitter]

This will be my 1st year with my wood stove (Jotul F600). Sure to make some mistakes. Have roughly 12 face cords composed of the folowing:
Ash.....3.5
Apple....3/4
Cottonwood....1/3
Elm.... 1
Cherry...1
Oak....3
Silver Maple....3
Black Locust....1/2

Looking to supliment my heating bills. Want to shave about 65% off my natural gas usage.

My thought is....Do I have enough & should I start on the following years stock????

 

[SolarAndWood]

Keep it coming and welcome to the forum.

 

[Wood Duck]

So that is about 4 cords, and I'll assume at least one of them (the oak) will be sort of wet this winter. I am not sure you have enough. It seems that average burners use around 4 cords, but many use more. Of course there is always next year too. Get more wood!

 

[HardWoodW]

sounds like you got a good start. 3 seasoned cord would probably be enough for me as a part time burner- I tend to burn 24/7 Friday night- Sunday then 1-2 overnight fires during the week.

 

[jimosufan]

As many would say on this site, you can never have enough wood or to much for that matter.

 

[Beardog]

As many would say on this site, you can never have enough wood or to much for that matter.

+1!!

 

[gzecc]

This will be my 1st year with my wood stove (Jotul F600). Sure to make some mistakes. Have roughly 12 face cords composed of the folowing:
Ash.....3.5
Apple....3/4
Cottonwood....1/3
Elm.... 1
Cherry...1
Oak....3
Silver Maple....3
Back Locust....1/2

Looking to supliment my heating bills. Want to shave about 65% off my natural gas usage.

My thought is....Do I have enough & should I start on the following years stock????

You should save the oak for the following year and look for ash and locust. Get as much as you can.
Stay away from oak if possible for the first few yrs. It takes too long to season (at least 2 yrs). Ash and locust take 6-12 mos max.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Welcome to the forum NordicSplitter.

That is a good mix of wood you have and I'll second what gzecc wrote.

Most wood should have about a year after being cut to length and split. Wood doesn't dry much at all until it has been split and then it is best to stack it out in the open air where Mother Nature can help you. Wind is your friend. This being your first year I would also recommend stacking the wood in single rows. We usually stack about 4 1/2' high and that should decrease to around 4' high by fall. The reason for the decrease is a good deal of the moisture has evaporated. But oak gives up its moisture very slowly. Don't cover the wood this summer. The evaporation of moisture will be better with it uncovered. Don't worry about rain unless you get rain every day like in the Pacific NW. We leave ours uncovered until just before the snow flies and then it is important to cover only the top of the stacks.

I would burn the silver maple and cottonwood in the fall. As the weather gets colder then move to the cherry and elm. Then as it gets cold move to the ash. The apple and black locust would be saved for night burning during the coldest part of the winter.


Should you start on next year's wood? YES!! When you get next year's then start on the following year's wood. 2-3 year ahead is ideal and also remember that oak needs 2-3 years before it is burned.

Do you have enough? More information would be needed to answer that question. You might also consider editing your signature line and put in there some information, like what stove you have, maybe your saw or saws and how you split wood, etc.

Again, do you have enough? What size is your house? What stove can also mean a lot. For example, we used to burn 6 full cord of wood per winter with more used in hard winters. When we installed the Woodstock Fireview our needs decreased by 50%. We've had that stove 4 winters now and used 3 cord each winter until last winter when we went a bit over 3 cord. This gives you an idea on how stoves can make a difference. Of course insulation and cutting down on drafts make a huge difference too.

Good luck and we hope you keep posting.

 

[DexterDay]

Welcome to the forum NordicSplitter.

That is a good mix of wood you have and I'll second what gzecc wrote.

Most wood should have about a year after being cut to length and split. Wood doesn't dry much at all until it has been split and then it is best to stack it out in the open air where Mother Nature can help you. Wind is your friend. This being your first year I would also recommend stacking the wood in single rows. We usually stack about 4 1/2' high and that should decrease to around 4' high by fall. The reason for the decrease is a good deal of the moisture has evaporated. But oak gives up its moisture very slowly. Don't cover the wood this summer. The evaporation of moisture will be better with it uncovered. Don't worry about rain unless you get rain every day like in the Pacific NW. We leave ours uncovered until just before the snow flies and then it is important to cover only the top of the stacks.

I would burn the silver maple and cottonwood in the fall. As the weather gets colder then move to the cherry and elm. Then as it gets cold move to the ash. The apple and black locust would be saved for night burning during the coldest part of the winter.


Should you start on next year's wood? YES!! When you get next year's then start on the following year's wood. 2-3 year ahead is ideal and also remember that oak needs 2-3 years before it is burned.

Do you have enough? More information would be needed to answer that question. You might also consider editing your signature line and put in there some information, like what stove you have, maybe your saw or saws and how you split wood, etc.

Again, do you have enough? What size is your house? What stove can also mean a lot. For example, we used to burn 6 full cord of wood per winter with more used in hard winters. When we installed the Woodstock Fireview our needs decreased by 50%. We've had that stove 4 winters now and used 3 cord each winter until last winter when we went a bit over 3 cord. This gives you an idea on how stoves can make a difference. Of course insulation and cutting down on drafts make a huge difference too.

Good luck and we hope you keep posting.

Congrats... and welcome to the Forum.... Backwoods Savage is a wise man.. Any advice, is good advice from him. Get as much as you can. Some are limited by where they live (city, lot size, etc). But if you have any property, its best to get ahead and stay ahead. This is my 1st year burning wood. Been doing the pellet thing for a few years now. It cut our Propane usage to 0% (For heating). Used to spend around $3,600-$4,000 a year on Propane (3-4 tanks a year). one tank will get us a little more than 3 years now...The Propane is only for cooking needs. Furnace does not run at all.. We generally spend around $1,000 on pellets per year. So by the #'s. We are saving about 65-75%. With the addition of Wood. We will make that number even lower. Congrats on the "Obsession" (Woodburning) and keep your eye out for wood. I know its sad to say... But I am looking forward to this Winter. I cant wait to see the savings that will come. Not only are you saving money and getting a good work out, but you are also doing something good for the environment (Not using Oil/or Lower usage). Our way of stickin it to "The Man"....

 

[firefighterjake]

This will be my 1st year with my wood stove (Jotul F600). Sure to make some mistakes. Have roughly 12 face cords composed of the folowing:
Ash.....3.5
Apple....3/4
Cottonwood....1/3
Elm.... 1
Cherry...1
Oak....3
Silver Maple....3
Black Locust....1/2

Looking to supliment my heating bills. Want to shave about 65% off my natural gas usage.

My thought is....Do I have enough & should I start on the following years stock????

I never have used face cords and don't know your local heating conditions (i.e. size of the home, insulation, local climate, etc.) so I cannot tell you if you have enough wood . . . but I can tell you that it's always a good thing to have more wood on hand than you think you need . . . we often hear people bemoaning the fact that they are running out of wood some time in March and I have yet to hear anyone complaining that they have too much wood left over.

So get as much as you can . . . whatever you don't use this coming winter will be that much better for the following year . . . and yes . . . you should get ahead by cutting next year's wood now.