Guess I am Anal about my wood stacks

[muncybob]

95 - 100/yr YIKES That's a full time job!
I am starting to mark my stacks by using the tops of dog/cat food cans and nail them into the ends of the stacks. Simply when split and what the wood is. We have plenty of room so our stacks are all over the place. Hoping this helps me to decide each autumn which stacks go into the yet to be built woodshed.

 

[Wooddust]

Am I the only one who names his piles?

 

[Got Wood]

Am I the only one who names his piles?

I have not named my piles but I have thought about putting up "road" signs naming the paths between the stacks ... like Locust Lane, Maple Ave, etc...

 

[Danno77]

Am I the only one who names his piles?

I have not named my piles but I have thought about putting up "road" signs naming the paths between the stacks ... like Locust Lane, Maple Ave, etc...

That would be like the first time we realized that it wasn't a good idea to name our beef cattle. It makes the hamburger taste a little different when you know it's "Steve" between the buns.

 

[PapaDave]

Ha! Just a couple nights ago, my wife was commenting on how we should keep track of the number of splits we burn.... I was against it, mostly because I'm too lazy for that. I'd love to have the data, I just don't want to do the work. Ideally I'd like to record mass of wood burned, average moisture content of said wood, and average temperature for the day. But I just don't think I am dedicated enough to keep up with it.

I kept track of the wood last year, ...........for a minute. OK, OK, for the last 4 years, but who's counting. ;-P
Actually, for a couple days, I brought in what I thought would last for 24 hrs., and no more. Mid 20 pieces/24 hr. period, average. That was kind of difficult, since my normal routine was to use a couple/3 splits/reload, then next trip outside with the dogs, bring in the same amount as used. The wood came from the stacks with some ice, so I kept extra all the time to keep it drying.
From the start (winter of '06), I've kept track of how much wood we use. I split 5-6 cord, we use about 4 2/3 cord. Just about the same for the past 4 years. Nothing on a spreadsheet, except the one in my head. :cheese:
I also know I've got approximately 6.5- 7 cord in the shed. Nice margin of safety in case of a freak winter of super cold. Also, I know how much is used per month, on average (2/3rd cord).
Knowing all that allows me to put up the needed amount for the next winter and beyond, if I choose to. I hate not being prepared, simply because I don't like being cold.
That's a good motivator. YMMV

 

[PapaDave]

HEHE,
I'll GLADLY pay you Tuesday, for a "steveburger", today!
Showing my age.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

You are all oddballs, just like me.

I do believe in the KISS principle so I simply burn the oldest wood first. I do keep each year's wood in a different place though. This year, as soon as the six year old wood is done we'll be finally catching up and starting on wood that was cut in 2008-2009. Split and stacked in April 2009.

 

[Danno77]

HEHE,
I'll GLADLY pay you Tuesday, for a "steveburger", today!
Showing my age.

LoL, my family uses the "Wimpy" quote quite a bit for just about anything you can imagine.

 

[nate379]

Lot of sq footage to heat. My brother goes to help a few weekends here and there. They normally will go out 2-3 guys and cut 10-15 cords on a Saturday, so it's not that much work. Use a bulldozer to skid it out and buck into 4ft logs, then toss into dumptruck.

When I was growing up I got a few odd jobs pulling in wood for people and most of them were 8-10 cords for the winter.

I think the issue is boiler heat vs forced air (or free standing) is not nearly as efficient. Put too much wood in a boiler and the water temps just go up. Put too much wood in force air setup and it's 90* in the house.

95 - 100/yr YIKES That's a full time job!
I am starting to mark my stacks by using the tops of dog/cat food cans and nail them into the ends of the stacks. Simply when split and what the wood is. We have plenty of room so our stacks are all over the place. Hoping this helps me to decide each autumn which stacks go into the yet to be built woodshed.

 

[quads]

I subscribe to the KISS principle.
Guess I'm fortunate to have a big field to stack the firewood.
Two 96' rows, and the woodshed in the front yard. When the woodshed gets empty, I'll refiil it with the oldest wood in the field, then refill that row. Alternate every year.
If it gets more complicated than that, I'm calling Got Wood, or Shari.
I know zap has stacks all over the place, and I have no idea how he keeps THAT straight. Quads too.
Then there's Dennis, who can probably pull from almost any of his stacks for dry wood.

Here is a map of my woodstacks that I drew just for this thread (hee hee):

quads, knock it off!
I damn near gave my monitor a coffee shower.
That was freakin' hilarious.

:lol:

 

[firefighterjake]

Am I the only one who names his piles?

I have not named my piles but I have thought about putting up "road" signs naming the paths between the stacks ... like Locust Lane, Maple Ave, etc...

That would be like the first time we realized that it wasn't a good idea to name our beef cattle. It makes the hamburger taste a little different when you know it's "Steve" between the buns.

That's why you name them with names like "T-Bone Pickens", "Chuck" and "Barbara Q" . . .

Growing up my parents raised pigs . . . I remember one of them . . . "Bacon" was his name.

 

[Slow1]

Ahh .. I like group therapy sessions...

Yes I keep mine in a spreadsheet too... Along with my burn data and the daily temperature (inside and outside the house) and degree days etc etc... Electricity burn rates and water consumption. Total data junkie eh? Back to the wood though - I like to keep track of the cost as well since I get wood from so many sources - craigs list scores that run from free to whatever. My goal is to keep bringing the average cost/cord down every year of course. My wife was happy when I stopped tracking where every split going into the stove came from and went to a single average cost/split for the year . I do keep a daily tally of how many splits we feed the stove - this of course allows calculation of cost/HDD.

All good stuff if you like this sort of stuff...

 

[nate379]

I take it many of you guys are retired?

There's no way I could find time in the day (or want to for that matter) to log firewood onto a computer!

 

[Slow1]

I take it many of you guys are retired?

There's no way I could find time in the day (or want to for that matter) to log firewood onto a computer!

Not retired here. Wish I could

It doesn't take much time at all - I simply keep a tally sheet (actually an old calendar) next to the stove. Whenever anyone feeds the stove they add marks for how many splits were added. End of day I enter the number into the spreadsheet.. simple. If I get behind by a day or two no problem - data is there on the calendar. I generally do it during the time right after kids are (finally) in bed and I get to sit down and go "ahhhh" and am in the detox mode... time to think of something low stress and mechanical - like counting sticks of wood and seeing what affect it has on the silly spreadsheet models.

Being able to project/predict burn rates is nice too - the whole "how much have I burned/ how much more do I need" question is interesting and even more so when I put precise numbers on the answers. To me this is rest and relaxation for a few minutes before attacking evening chores.

 

[SolarAndWood]

If you can model that, more power to ya. Between scrounged fuel, home efficiency improvement, solar gain, wind speed, and indoor heat preference variations, I wouldn't know where to start. I'll stick to the big pile and not worry about it strategy.

 

[Danno77]

If you can model that, more power to ya. Between scrounged fuel, home efficiency improvement, solar gain, wind speed, and indoor heat preference variations, I wouldn't know where to start. I'll stick to the big pile and not worry about it strategy.

that's the biggest problem as I see it. I like data, the more data the better, but i need to have a cutoff with variables, otherwise I'll make myself crazy. everyone has to decide how deep they want to get into it, everyone has a different method that helps them maintain SOME sanity. I just want to prove that this work and time (saws and time spent in the timber and hauling wood from the timber and buying a nicer stove, etc etc.) all pays for itself in ways other than a nice hobby (although I'd probably do it anyway)

I was just looking at my spreadsheet and according to its data and basic formulas I saved myself 122 therms of furnace use last year with the stove. I don't know what gas runs everywhere else in the country, but for me that was a whopping 80 bucks or so. That's right, I processed just under 3 cords of wood and saved myself 80 bucks. But there is something my spreadsheets didn't show...Last winter I set the thermostat at 70-72 and left it there. The previous winter that was NOT EVEN POSSIBLE. It's like comparing apples to oranges, really. My goal now, is to be able to maintain this new temp and continue to knock off a little more every year. eventually I'll feel comfortable with my attacks at the direct gas bill and focus on being an efficient wood harvester/processor.

Point being, it's so much easier for me to justify a new saw or a new stove, or any other handful of tools if I know that they help me save money in the end.

 

[Gator eye]

Ok, some of you guys need counseling. :roll:


I know I burn around 8 cord a year and the wood shed holds just under 12. the pile by the clothes line was cut last year, the pile by the well two years ago.
At the end of the year add wood to shed out of the oldest pile, once the shed is full move left overs to the other pile and start new pile. easy

 

[PapaDave]

I take it many of you guys are retired?

There's no way I could find time in the day (or want to for that matter) to log firewood onto a computer!

Don't know 'bout the rest of 'em, but yep, I am.
None of my splits would fit in my computer either. :roll:

 

[KB007]

Uhm...........


Yikes!

 

[nate379]

I look forward to when I can retire... when I can do things at my own leisure... when I feel like doing it and at a nice slow pace!

Many days I don't get time to eat until I come into work (where I am right now). Don't do a whole lot at my full time job other than monitor a phone and radio, so have a bit of down time. Some nights I just turn the radio all the way up and the phone ringer and take an hr or so power nap even.

I have one other steady part time job and another that is off and on. Many days I end up working 11PM one night until noon-1PM the next day. By the time I drive to work, then to the other job and back home it gives me 4-5hrs of sleep time.

I take it many of you guys are retired?

There's no way I could find time in the day (or want to for that matter) to log firewood onto a computer!

Not retired here. Wish I could

It doesn't take much time at all - I simply keep a tally sheet (actually an old calendar) next to the stove. Whenever anyone feeds the stove they add marks for how many splits were added. End of day I enter the number into the spreadsheet.. simple. If I get behind by a day or two no problem - data is there on the calendar. I generally do it during the time right after kids are (finally) in bed and I get to sit down and go "ahhhh" and am in the detox mode... time to think of something low stress and mechanical - like counting sticks of wood and seeing what affect it has on the silly spreadsheet models.

Being able to project/predict burn rates is nice too - the whole "how much have I burned/ how much more do I need" question is interesting and even more so when I put precise numbers on the answers. To me this is rest and relaxation for a few minutes before attacking evening chores.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

When I "retire"- I will still be too busy cutting/stacking and running my "retirement business" to do full solidworks/autocad representations of my woodstacks- you sick, sick people

 

[Battenkiller]

I generally do it during the time right after kids are (finally) in bed and I get to sit down and go "ahhhh" and am in the detox mode...

Well, I can think of nicer things to do at that time, but after tallying up all your kids at the Woodstock event, I can see you've "been there, done that". :lol:

 

[formula_pilot]

Why not just put bar codes on every split? The reloads could go much quicker using a handheld bar code scanner that would be kept next to the stove with the rest of the stove tools. Just pull the trigger, hear "bleep" then throw the split in the stove. The system would automatically update the wood inventory and usage. It would be much easier than having to manually record every split that gets put into the stove? Now if we could automate weighing the splits, and pull data from thermocouples on the stove surfaces, along with the ambient room temperatures, a real time BTU and efficiency calculation to be displayed on a big LCD in the Hearth Room, along with running usage totals and inventories. Lets MBA-ize wood heat. %-P

 

[Danno77]

Why not just put bar codes on every split? The reloads could go much quicker using a handheld bar code scanner that would be kept next to the stove with the rest of the stove tools. Just pull the trigger, hear "bleep" then throw the split in the stove. The system would automatically update the wood inventory and usage. It would be much easier than having to manually record every split that gets put into the stove? Now if we could automate weighing the splits, and pull data from thermocouples on the stove surfaces, along with the ambient room temperatures, a real time BTU and efficiency calculation to be displayed on a big LCD in the Hearth Room, along with running usage totals and inventories. Lets MBA-ize wood heat. %-P

I just bought a package of blank return address labels, thatnks for the excellent idea, lol. How many splits do you think are in a cord?

 

[Slow1]

Why not just put bar codes on every split? The reloads could go much quicker using a handheld bar code scanner that would be kept next to the stove with the rest of the stove tools. Just pull the trigger, hear "bleep" then throw the split in the stove. The system would automatically update the wood inventory and usage. It would be much easier than having to manually record every split that gets put into the stove? Now if we could automate weighing the splits, and pull data from thermocouples on the stove surfaces, along with the ambient room temperatures, a real time BTU and efficiency calculation to be displayed on a big LCD in the Hearth Room, along with running usage totals and inventories. Lets MBA-ize wood heat. %-P

I just bought a package of blank return address labels, thatnks for the excellent idea, lol. How many splits do you think are in a cord?

We just had this discussion in another thread...

According to my records last year I averaged 786 per cord which seems to imply my splits are slightly less than 4" in ave diameter assuming 16" average length.
[Edit to correct number - oops]