A little help please...

[TedyOH]

[QUOTE)

An easy demo - take two ice cubes, put one in an open container on your counter, place the other on a shelf in your freezer. Which one disappears faster?[/QUOTE]

Actually we'd have to throw an equal piece of wood on the counter and an equal piece of wood in the freezer, deep freezer, I'm talking 0 to -10, not just below 32 or lower.

 

[Jags]

Actually we'd have to throw an equal piece of wood on the counter and an equal piece of wood in the freezer, deep freezer, I'm talking 0 to -10, not just below 32 or lower.

You must have a very accommodating spouse.

 

[TedyOH]

You must have a very accommodating spouse.

There's venison and vacuum packed whole trout waiting for the brine and smoker in the deep freeze - the wood would be no shock!

 

[jatoxico]

Hmm.....I'd like to test this

Would never discourage any kind of experimentation but this had been done by people with the right equipment to measure all climate and wood moisture parameters in nearly all commercially useful wood species. The conclusion was temperature is the main driving force followed by relative humidity etc.

In the end they stated that very little wood drying occurres in the northeast during winter due to colder temps, not just freezing temps, colder. I approached this the from the same point of view, but when I went looking for information this is what I found.

 

[Rebelduckman]

A big YES to that!


I got a cant hook/timber jack from Northern Tool a couple of years ago when they were on sale. Fiberglass with a steel core. Made me kick myself for not doing it sooner! I have used it both with and without the stand. VERY helpful.

If I were wrestling 30" logs I'd get the 5 footer.

Don't have a pickaroon yet, but I have sure wished for one!

I've got one too, love it

 

[jatoxico]

Another vote for a pickaroon and I like the Husky log tongs. Don't buy log length as I am a degenerate scrounger but when I have had to haul/move long logs around the tongs are great.

 

[TedyOH]

Would never discourage any kind of experimentation but this had been done by people with the right equipment to measure all climate and wood moisture parameters in nearly all commercially useful wood species. The conclusion was temperature is the main driving force followed by relative humidity etc.

I'm still going to do it, curious as to how my specific staging / seasoning location, weather variables, ect. dries the wood throughout the winter and summer.

Just not sure how to "store" my other piece of wood until the summer, to stop it from any drying...maybe I will cut both pieces the same day in January and vacuum pack one piece.

 

[jatoxico]

I'm still going to do it, curious as to how my specific staging / seasoning location, weather variables, ect. dries the wood throughout the winter and summer.

Just not sure how to "store" my other piece of wood until the summer, to stop it from any drying...maybe I will cut both pieces the same day in January and vacuum pack one piece.

I will try to find the paper I have for you if you're interested. There's a lot to try to control for. In fact they found that quarter sawn dried slower than slabs so even individual splits have variation.

The thing is that in the North it was found that the time to dryness was longer if you started (stacked) in Sept than January. The reason being that wood stacked in Sept did not see good drying conditions for the longest time. The wood stacked in January (being closer to spring) took less time. The month that took the least...May.

There are so many variables it's hard to keep track never mind control and record but getting back to the OP, if it took him until March or April to finish splitting it would not make a big difference to him.

 

[smee]

Ok...
Dude says they might come as early as tomorrow!
I think if i have the cant-hook i dont need the 4x4s..
So definitely going to get the cant-hook.. will a 4 footer be enough?

I'll see how much of the logs are large size before i go in for the large chain saw.

As for the slpitter, i'm that close to going for a 22 ton from northern equipment .

I am 99% all in with firewood, the 1% being that i'm not getting rid of my boiler

As for the cold slowing drying, it could make a diff where you are, over here there's maybe 2-3 weeks total of deep freeze..(just a guess)
If there is 32+ degree air passing over the wood for a large enough time period, the wood might not even freeze when it goes bellow freezing during the night. I can only imagine there are parts where some members are from that its bellow freezing for a majority of the winter

Thanks again,
Smee

 

[TedyOH]

Interesting - you'd think the sooner the better, just for the longer exposure to the suns UV rays.

 

[TreePointer]

I got a cant hook/timber jack from Northern Tool a couple of years ago when they were on sale. Fiberglass with a steel core. Made me kick myself for not doing it sooner! I have used it both with and without the stand. VERY helpful....

I have the same NT fiberglass model. Maroon handle, 48" long. It will turn some big ones!

 

[jatoxico]

Interesting - you'd think the sooner the better, just for the longer exposure to the suns UV rays.

Well the sooner the better is true but you don't save much.

From the article; it took 7 months to get to 20% for wood stacked in Sept (so beginning Sept to end of March) and only 2 months for wood stacked in May (May and June) so it does dry a little (remember this is lumber). But any wood stacked in spring will "catch up" to wood stacked in fall pretty quick.

Here's an example; as mentioned, wood stacked in Sept was 20% at the end of March. Wood stacked in January was 20% by about 3rd week of April. So even though the Sept wood was stacked 4 months earlier the wood stacked in January was the same moisture content 3 weeks after the Sept wood.

 

[TreePointer]

Cant hook length? 48" is perfect, IMO. It's long enough to turn big logs, but not too long so as to be awkward to maneuver or transport.

I really like DHT splitters (at Lowes, Home Depot, etc.) for entry level units. 22-ton would be fine, but if you will be getting lots of larger wood or a good number of twisted logs/crotches, strongly consider the 28-ton model. They have a faster cycle time than others in their class and a few standard parts on them are upgrades on other brands.

 

[maple1]

Ok...
Dude says they might come as early as tomorrow!
I think if i have the cant-hook i dont need the 4x4s..
So definitely going to get the cant-hook.. will a 4 footer be enough?

I'll see how much of the logs are large size before i go in for the large chain saw.

As for the slpitter, i'm that close to going for a 22 ton from northern equipment .

I am 99% all in with firewood, the 1% being that i'm not getting rid of my boiler

As for the cold slowing drying, it could make a diff where you are, over here there's maybe 2-3 weeks total of deep freeze..(just a guess)
If there is 32+ degree air passing over the wood for a large enough time period, the wood might not even freeze when it goes bellow freezing during the night. I can only imagine there are parts where some members are from that its bellow freezing for a majority of the winter

Thanks again,
Smee

I would get it done up ASAP regardless of difference in drying speeds between winter & summer. It will have 5 or 6 months of being split & stacked, during which time it will dry some & be that much head come spring. And it won't spend the winter laying on the ground under snow & ice - which can take a bit longer in the spring to thaw out from, depending on your layout.

The truck driver should be able to put the first couple of sticks cross ways on the ground, then the rest the other way on top the same way you were going to use your 4x4s. But having said that, I never do it - I find it makes for a bit more stable pile for cutting from and I'll get it done up before it sinks into the ground or soaks wet up anyway. I also don't use any other tools - stuff on the bottom of the pile I can cut almost all the way through, and find a place or two I can cut all the way through from uneven gound & logs, and just roll over to complete the cut by hand on what's left.

 

[smee]

Is it worth going for t

Cant hook length? 48" is perfect, IMO. It's long enough to turn big logs, but not too long so as to be awkward to maneuver or transport.

I really like DHT splitters (at Lowes, Home Depot, etc.) for entry level units. 22-ton would be fine, but if you will be getting lots of larger wood or a good number of twisted logs/crotches, strongly consider the 28-ton model. They have a faster cycle time than others in their class and a few standard parts on them are upgrades on other brands.

Thanks... and the piece that picks them off the ground?

 

[zig]

This topic gets debated quite often but the studies I have seen published for forestry pros and by USFS (I think) show that very little drying occurs as temps drop since relative humidity is not really the primary factor.

Tell that to the 3 cord of maple I split and stacked last November. Burning some now; dry as can be.

 

[jatoxico]

Tell that to the 3 cord of maple I split and stacked last November. Burning some now; dry as can be.

I'll send the US Dept of Agriculture over so you can explain how your results overturns all the data their studies.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

I have never lived in a place where it didn't turn deep freeze for at least2-3 months. I am used to -50 temps for weeks on end. No biggie, just give the pigs a big pile of straw and keep the stove going. The vehicles need plenty of time to warm up in the morning, but they always start. It gets real quiet and peaceful when it gets cold here.

Wood dries in -30 or colder temps just fine around here. Not as fast as it does in summer, but it does dry. Put it by the stove and it dries in a few days.

Get yourself a splitter with a table, a good saw, and some tools, and get to work.

 

[TedyOH]

Im going to start another thread on my test, as not to highjack this one, took all my "before" pics this evening.

 

[paul bunion]

Im going to start another thread on my test, as not to highjack this one, took all my "before" pics this evening.

Use a scale. It'll give you an overall picture of what is going on that will be much clearer than a moisture meter probe.

 

[TedyOH]

Use a scale. It'll give you an overall picture of what is going on that will be much clearer than a moisture meter probe.

I thought about that but didn't feel like running to the post office to get an accurate 4 or 5 lb weight measurement, bathroom scales are not considered "accurate" at all. Plus the split that was split I'm sure was not exactly equal in weight, although they both had exactly 53.5% MC.

 

[TreePointer]

Is it worth going for t

Thanks... and the piece that picks them off the ground?

If you mean the pickaroon, the one in the link I provided earlier is perfect for me. Its 36" length and curvy handle make picking logs off the ground a breeze. I don't bend over. Some make a longer one for pulling logs off a pickup truck. There are other models with differently shaped heads, straight aluminum handles (see Logrite), longer handles--you name it.

And it's not limited to picking up splits. I move larger rounds and even long poles with it.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

The conclusion was temperature is the main driving force followed by relative humidity etc.

I haven't read those reports, but it sure makes sense when you consider the solar drying thread. I'll bet the relative humidity in those greenhouses is considerably above the outside air. It's probably pretty sweaty in there.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

As for the slpitter, i'm that close to going for a 22 ton from northern equipment .

I've heard good things about the NT splitters, but if you have a Tractor Supply in your area, take a look at theirs. If they are still being made by Speeco, it's a good unit. I have the 35 ton. I did manage to bend the toe plate on a very old, cantankerous oak crotch from a 54" log, but it was replaced under warranty with no hassle. TSC will typically have a nearby small equipment dealer as their warranty shop, and any work will be done by them. No shipping needed. That would be something to ask about. Find out who does warranty work for that particular store, and check up on their reputation.

Here's what that splitter-bending oak looked like before it was split. Had to noodle it down to size just to be able to move it around! That stuff was haaaaarrrrrrd! Burned a loonng time, too.




Here is something else that is a huge help. From Tractor Supply (and Northern Tool has them, too), a 1000 lb capacity hand truck. This thing is a beast!

 

[TreePointer]

I've heard good things about the NT splitters, but if you have a Tractor Supply in your area, take a look at theirs. If they are still being made by Speeco, it's a good unit. I have the 35 ton. I did manage to bend the toe plate on a very old, cantankerous oak crotch from a 54" log, but it was replaced under warranty with no hassle....

TSC splitters are no loneger Huskee brand. They are now called CountyLine, but they are the essentially the same splitters made by SpeeCo. On the bent toe plate, years ago SpeeCo had switched to a design that used less material in that plate, but they soon found out that it wasn't strong enough. They have since gone back to having a beefy reinforced toe plate that doesn't seem to have any issues. I bought my Huskee 35-ton model in 2009 after they switched back.