NEWJACK said:
hi guys i'm back.just to catch up gunners way of loading the stove is working like a charm.i'm getting more time with consisitant results.im gonna try to reach that switch on the fan today with some contraption.as far as the wood processing goes i'm little but i'm pretty strong and i like the challenge of hard work plus it helps keep me in shape. i do almost everything else around the house so if some 80 yr old can do it . then come----- or high water i'm doing it too. i not gonna cut the tree down but i'll hook up my trailer and collect,buying a wood splitter and if i have to roll it up ramps to get it there i will ,if all else fails i can hire a day laborer to help. how do you know how long to season wood and what kind of wood you have? again thanks for all your help. :kiss: p.s do you cover the wood all the time? is it better to leave it in log form till your ready to use it?
Glad you are getting a handle on the stove end, sounds like you are making progress there.
I wasn't intending to say you can't do what you want, and I agree that processing wood is cheaper than a health club membership (Though it doesn't come with a hot tub to soak in afterwards... :coolsmile: ) I just know too many women that aren't in the shape to do it, which is a pity. I go with getting log length delivered, but I don't have a good vehicle for scrounging, or a trailer, so it works out being cheaper for me to have it dropped in my backyard and I take it from there, though any of my own or my neighbors trees that I can drop SAFELY (i.e. not leaning towards house, powerlines or other such obstacles) I will fell myself.
Normally the preferred woods are hardwoods - you can find endless charts of "BTU values of wood" that rank them pretty much in order of preference - start at the top and work down... Note that Elm is the wood everyone loves to hate, as it can be very difficult to split, probably the most popular around here (New England) are the Oaks and the harder Maples. Softwoods such as Fir and Pine are all there is in some areas, and they are perfectly burnable if properly cured, but tend to give more sparks and hotter fires that don't last as long. Generally you should mostly go with whatever the prevailing woods are in your area - whatever the tree guys are selling...
You should season your wood for AT LEAST one year, starting the "timer" from when you cut it into stove length rounds and get it split and stacked - Well seasoned wood should be MUCH lighter than it was when green, and if you bank two splits together they should "ring" like a baseball bat, as opposed to going "thud" - often the bark will tend to fall off, and you will see radial cracking in the ends of the splits - it will probably be MUCH drier than anything you get from the wood guy.
It should be stacked on some sort of platform to get it off the ground, some folks use pressure treated 2x boards under their stacks, others use pallets, etc. The important thing is to get the wood up and off the ground so it doesn't pick up moisture and so air can circulate through it. Covering is a topic of some debate, certainly it is best to cover it once it's seasoned, but until then some say cover it so it doesn't get wet, others say don't so the moisture can dry faster. I think the best way to store it is in an open sided wood shed, and I start the burn season about 7.5 cords in my two sheds. Each season I start with the left over from the previous year, and then refill with my seasoned surplus and whatever I split first, which I'll burn on a "first in / first out" basis. My extra I will stack outside, and leave uncovered during the summer, and cover it in the fall. Either way, if you cover, you should only "top cover" - put a tarp over the top and maybe a few inches down the sides of the pile, but leave most of it exposed so that air can circulate through it.
Lastly, wood mostly seasons via evaporation from the ends and exposed surfaces - wood in log length basically never seasons, some varieties (birches) will literally rot before they season if not cut to log length, and large rounds split. (especially if left on the ground and exposed to the weather) That is why I said that you should only count your "seasoning time" as starting when you get it processed and stacked. I also think it's much easier to handle in stove sizes.
Hope this helps...
Gooserider
