How far ahead are you on the wood pile
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Looking good Dennis. I currently have about 9 cords or 3 years worth. 6 cord in the shed and the rest piled up outside in a heap houszen. I might have a little more in waiting since I have 2 Bur Oak's in my front yard looking like they might not leaf out this year. If I had the room I'd try and keep up with you Dennis but 10-12 cords is about all my small lot can handle.
rdust said:
rdust is right. I've never used a moisture meter and therefore never concerned myself with how much moisture is in the wood. I also think he is right that it is doubtful anyone could get less than 15% here just drying it outdoors. But I would not want the wood any less than that either.
rdust if you need any more dry stuff, here is my offer. Come and get what you want or need; no charge.
Backwoods Savage said:
Thanks for the offer Dennis, that if very kind of you! I should be good moving forward though. Following all the advice from the wood burning veterans(including you) on this site I shouldn't run into issues with seasoned wood again. At least not for the next three years. :lol:
rdust said:
What! you're not even going to haggle with him and see if you can get a better deal. Tsk Tsk
Funny I just noticed this thread today as last night I decided to measure what I have stacked here and there to see how much I actually have on hand. It all comes to about 6.5 cords and I was feeling good about myself until I read what some of you have. My goal is to be 2+ years ahead...I'll see how close I come by October.
At least one year . . . possibly two . . . depends on how bad next winter is . . . right now I figure I have enough left over wood in my woodshed for all of next winter . . . and at least another woodshed's worth of wood sitting outside seasoning. Always better to have too much, than too little. . . .
Wood shed full for 2010-2011 season. 2011-2012 seassoning as I speak. Will scrounge some thru out the summer months and stock pile to process in cooler months. So all in all approx 20 - 25 Cords on hand and stacked.
The good news is that I've got nearly 7 cords c/s/s. The bad news is only 1.5 cords will be well-seasoned for next year. That means..... more scrounging to be done. In fact. I'll be sawing today after work.
Dennis,
As of right now, a little over 11 cord c/s/s for at least the next 2 years. That MIGHT take me into the first couple months of year 3 (2012-13).
Started on 2012-13 wood, but I've only got about a cord of that (log load) done, with maybe another cord of scrounged stuff from the woods here.
My sis-in-law is coming up in May, and we're going to get some put up for her from her 10 acres of oak and maple, and I plan to take from there, maybe a cord or so for me.
Still have about 9 cord from the log load to work up too.
As of right now, a little over 11 cord c/s/s for at least the next 2 years. That MIGHT take me into the first couple months of year 3 (2012-13).
Started on 2012-13 wood, but I've only got about a cord of that (log load) done, with maybe another cord of scrounged stuff from the woods here.
My sis-in-law is coming up in May, and we're going to get some put up for her from her 10 acres of oak and maple, and I plan to take from there, maybe a cord or so for me.
Still have about 9 cord from the log load to work up too.
Right now ,I'm 2 years up , maybe a bit more hopefully . In the next week ,or so , I'll be getting a load of logs delivered .
Hopefully It'll put Me up by 3-4 years .
Hopefully It'll put Me up by 3-4 years .
Here's the obligatory picture of my 10/11 pile. Its about 4.25 cords. I burned about 3.75 cords 09/10. About one half is Ash Cut from October thru December and all split and stacked by mid January. The rest is Maple and Cherry cut in August and stacked by October or so. The little pile in front is the "emergency", cold night 5 year old Red Oak.
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Because of Dennis.....I'm about 5 to 6 years ahead :coolsmile:
I plan to burn between 2 to 3 cords per year in the BK.
With all my home improvements and 18 or so cords of wood.
The insulation,new windows,dry wood,and new doors makes a world of difference.
The vast majority has close to 2 years cut/split stacked!
I plan to burn between 2 to 3 cords per year in the BK.
With all my home improvements and 18 or so cords of wood.
The insulation,new windows,dry wood,and new doors makes a world of difference.
The vast majority has close to 2 years cut/split stacked!
I probably have about 2 cords left over from last year. So far this week, I've brought home around 1.7 cords, and it's all deadwood. I'm already OK for the coming winter, for sure. I also picked up about 1/2 cord of Cherry splits from a neighbor last month, so the running total is 2.5+ cords so far this spring. I've been inspired by Dennis and I'm serious about getting ahead, starting this year. I have access to some acreage a friend owns, and I'm going to make a bunch of trips this month.
My neighbor told me he will be borrowing his friend's 20 ton splitter again soon, so I'll get to go through all my rounds pretty quick using that. Heck, about 1-1/2 cords of what I picked up was fully seasoned hardwood splits. All I need to do is dry out a little moisture from earth contact and it'll be ready.
That's a very impressive sight, Dennis- those three shots of all your wood. I'm going to try to get close to that. Mine probably won't stack that neat because I harvest such a variety of things, but I like to have various smaller stacks scattered about the back yard and keep 'em all low profile, 3-4ft, to avoid annoying any neighbors. Fortunately, I'm on nearly an acre, wooded, with a big back yard.
We really enjoy the wood stove. It has been a big hit in my household. I also enjoy the wood gathering and processing. No doubt I need the exercise. I like to work at it a little, spring through fall. It's been fun to try out quite a variety of woods, too- Red and White Oak, Cherry, Locust, Mimosa, Dogwood, Mulberry, Hickory, Yellow Poplar, Sassafrass, and various other stuff- also even a little bit of Pine and non-PT pallet wood.
My neighbor told me he will be borrowing his friend's 20 ton splitter again soon, so I'll get to go through all my rounds pretty quick using that. Heck, about 1-1/2 cords of what I picked up was fully seasoned hardwood splits. All I need to do is dry out a little moisture from earth contact and it'll be ready.
That's a very impressive sight, Dennis- those three shots of all your wood. I'm going to try to get close to that. Mine probably won't stack that neat because I harvest such a variety of things, but I like to have various smaller stacks scattered about the back yard and keep 'em all low profile, 3-4ft, to avoid annoying any neighbors. Fortunately, I'm on nearly an acre, wooded, with a big back yard.
We really enjoy the wood stove. It has been a big hit in my household. I also enjoy the wood gathering and processing. No doubt I need the exercise. I like to work at it a little, spring through fall. It's been fun to try out quite a variety of woods, too- Red and White Oak, Cherry, Locust, Mimosa, Dogwood, Mulberry, Hickory, Yellow Poplar, Sassafrass, and various other stuff- also even a little bit of Pine and non-PT pallet wood.
Hiram Maxim said:
Hey Hiram, I'm not to blame for all that wood you have on hand! It was your work and you will reap the benefits! With all your improvements you are probably looking forward to next winter. lol
I have 2 cord left over in the East half of the shed and 6 cord in the other half. There is another 5 cord stacked outside waiting to be moved into the shed.
Just got my first stock of wood dropped off last night at 11:30 p.m., he was running late to say the least. 4 cords of birch and 2 cords of spruce. Was looking forward to cuttting it this weekend but 10cm of snow over night and freezing rain today have me rethinking my plans.
I don't have the pictures to post (yet) but I have 1.5 cords (red oak) that is 2+ years old in one 8x14 area (for 2010/2011), about 1 cord of nasty unstackable elm in a pile on a few pallets (for 2010/2011/2012) and 4-5 cords (red oak) that is 1+ year old in a 7x16 area (for 2011/2012/2013).
I *do* have a question for the proletariat:
For the red oak I have in the 7x16 area, it's fairly well packed in. By the time I'll be burning it, it will be 2012/2013. Would there be *any* worry of it not being dry by then? I have it up on pallets with pallets horizontally braced on the ends to keep it stacked. No racking worries as I have very solid diagonal bracing for the pallets. But all the wood is in tight rows.
I *do* have a question for the proletariat:
For the red oak I have in the 7x16 area, it's fairly well packed in. By the time I'll be burning it, it will be 2012/2013. Would there be *any* worry of it not being dry by then? I have it up on pallets with pallets horizontally braced on the ends to keep it stacked. No racking worries as I have very solid diagonal bracing for the pallets. But all the wood is in tight rows.
Backwoods Savage said:
No Dennis, I lay the blame on you! ;-P
Without your knowledge and helpful posts I wouldn't be anywhere close to where I am now.....for sure!
You are the Yoda of firewood.
I'm not looking forward to next Winter but I will be much better prepared and equip to get through it.
This forum has improved my comfort of living by leaps and bounds.
Having years of firewood on hand ready to go is like money in the bank!
Cheers,Hiram
No pictures, and you don't mention whether it is split. If it's rounds, probably not. If it's splits, almost certainly.Spikem said:
I'm two years ahead at this point but haven't cut wood since late last summer. I've also been trading out wood
for services from a friend. My stove gets moved next week to the new house, and I owe him another trailer load
for promising to do the ceiling dry wall repair for me. That's on the agenda for today. I'm anxious to get cutting again
this summer and add another year to the stockpiles.
for services from a friend. My stove gets moved next week to the new house, and I owe him another trailer load
for promising to do the ceiling dry wall repair for me. That's on the agenda for today. I'm anxious to get cutting again
this summer and add another year to the stockpiles.
I haven't even started on this years supply.
It's been a long time since I've been able to process enough to cover even one year let alone
future years but seven cords/yr. is a lot of wood for an old crippled guy to deal with.
I'm actually considering an outside corn stove with a four hundred bu. bin tied into it.
Been too many summers of 90 hour weeks and with one day off every two months. I'm staying home from now on
and maybe I'll get more wood done, but I doubt it.
You men should be feeling very content with your future supplies.
Good work.
It's been a long time since I've been able to process enough to cover even one year let alone
future years but seven cords/yr. is a lot of wood for an old crippled guy to deal with.
I'm actually considering an outside corn stove with a four hundred bu. bin tied into it.
Been too many summers of 90 hour weeks and with one day off every two months. I'm staying home from now on
and maybe I'll get more wood done, but I doubt it.
You men should be feeling very content with your future supplies.
Good work.
Kenny, I know what those 90 hour work weeks are! I wish I didn't. Some call me an old cripple guy too and at times I guess I am, but I still get it done albeit very slowly.
You are right about feeling confident with the future wood supplies. I call it insurance. Do I have to have a 6-7 year supply on hand? Absolutely not. Actually I'd feel comfortable with a 3-4 year supply but the bigger supply is not all bad. Because of physical problems I know there are many times that I can not get out to do the wood. This past winter is a good example when I cut some wood in late January and then could not get out for all of February. It happens and that is a good reason to get ahead.
But needing 7 cord per year can certainly pose a bit of a problem. I can understand your want of a corn burner but if I were planning on burning corn I think perhaps I'd want my own supply of corn. It was pretty nice when corn was selling around $1.50 per bushel but I don't think we'll ever see those days again. It has came down for the peak but it very well could shoot back up, especially with the price of oil going high again. Those ethanol plants just may get started back again. We have lots of them around us that had big plans but most closed before they even got finished. This may be the spur to get them finished. So please bear that in mind when considering corn for fuel.
You are right about feeling confident with the future wood supplies. I call it insurance. Do I have to have a 6-7 year supply on hand? Absolutely not. Actually I'd feel comfortable with a 3-4 year supply but the bigger supply is not all bad. Because of physical problems I know there are many times that I can not get out to do the wood. This past winter is a good example when I cut some wood in late January and then could not get out for all of February. It happens and that is a good reason to get ahead.
But needing 7 cord per year can certainly pose a bit of a problem. I can understand your want of a corn burner but if I were planning on burning corn I think perhaps I'd want my own supply of corn. It was pretty nice when corn was selling around $1.50 per bushel but I don't think we'll ever see those days again. It has came down for the peak but it very well could shoot back up, especially with the price of oil going high again. Those ethanol plants just may get started back again. We have lots of them around us that had big plans but most closed before they even got finished. This may be the spur to get them finished. So please bear that in mind when considering corn for fuel.
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