How many years are you ahead in storing firewood?

[Wildflush]

3rd burning season with my Vista. Have 4 cords and 3 year rotation.

 

[Plink in NM]

The wood I buy has to be at least 1 year dry when I get it delivered, and then I figure on somewhere between 2 and 3 yrs. before I burn it. In the low humidity SW that translates to about 3-4% moisture content and extremely low creosote build-up.

 

[Warfox]

How many years are you ahead in storing firewood?

Just got my burner, but I’ve been stacking in anticipation for a while now, and have approx 2 years stacked, with a bunch on the ground that I have to prepare. Cherry, Maple, Ash, and 60 year white pine.

 

[stoveliker]

That promises to be a good start of your burning! Well done.

 

[GG Woody]

It's addictive, I've taken 5 trees this year, one was a bit bigger, 32" at the stump, I have 3 years stacked now, invented 4 new rows... one more tree tomorrow... one more...

 

[Itslay90]

It's addictive, I've taken 5 trees this year, one was a bit bigger, 32" at the stump, I have 3 years stacked now, invented 4 new rows... one more tree tomorrow... one more...

Yesss, it’s very addictive!

 

[thestoveshop]

Two years and change in storage equaling about 5 cords in a lean-to and another 1 cord in my wood rack. Being surrounded by seasoned wood makes me feels so safe and secure.

 

[mynx]

Ugh
When you go through 7-10 cord a year you don’t get too far ahead around here given that there is a stupid legal maximum of how much firewood you can have on your property at any one time.
At least if you cut out on stolen ‘govt land’ anyways.

I am in the same boat. I go through 8 to 10 cords.. Heating 3500 ft.² plus DHW. Also heating an 800 square-foot shop. Upper penninsula of Michigan. Zone 4B. I typically start heating mid October and run through April. It’s been very warm this year so haven’t fired up the boiler yet other than to check it out. I have 12 cords in the woodshed that has been drying for a year, mostly outside until two months ago. I have another five cords split in stocked for next year and I am still working on the pile. About six cords left to go. I don’t see any way I could ever get more than 12 to 18 months ahead. Between the Day job and running a small farm, they’re just aren’t enough hours in the day.

 

[GG Woody]

Last one for the year, I'm getting too far ahead.

 

[all night moe]

4 yrs in a drafty ole farmhouse, I'm just starting to get ahead again. Went for a whole year without wood intake setting me behind. Guessing I burn about 13-15 cord in a forced hot air wood furnace.
OWB is on the wish list. Proper setup should help with consumption. Along with tightening up the house.
Pretty sure what's ready now is enough fuel. The rest being processed is for next year..... I hope.
A HARD winter could change all of that.

 

[Woody Stover]

Maybe 4 years ahead for our stove, and 2 years for two other stoves I'm feeding. 1.5-2.5 cords needed for each of these households.
I have several Oaks that have uprooted or broken off in a couple of bad storms we had, but I'm trying to process faster-drying stuff before I go after the Oak.

 

[brenndatomu]

OWB is on the wish list. Proper setup should help with consumption. Along with tightening up the house

Tightening up the house pays you back 24/7/365 forevermore, saves on AC, heat, everything. Do that before buying a new heater so you don't oversize (the new gassers don't like being oversized...they like to stretch their legs)
13-15 cords for one house...

 

[Southwestpaburner]

Working on some rough cut 3 by 9s I get from work 95% oak 5% poplar these are cut off shoring timbers for the 2026-2027 season I’ll build a solar kiln over them in late May and let them sit in there for the summer then air dry till needed 6 of them packs my stove for a good solid 10 hr burn

 

[Wildflush]

Tightening up the house pays you back 24/7/365 forevermore, saves on AC, heat, everything. Do that before buying a new heater so you don't oversize (the new gassers don't like being oversized...they like to stretch their legs)
13-15 cords for one house...

100% agree. Updated many of our windows to Harvey classics including our slider which started being drafty a few years back before we got the stove. Got the smaller vista and so glad I did not go bigger. Heats both floors of our house. Small firebox so won’t get overnight burn but house retains heat well.

 

[Enzo's Dad]

2 working on year 3

 

[all night moe]

Tightening up the house pays you back 24/7/365 forevermore, saves on AC, heat, everything. Do that before buying a new heater so you don't oversize (the new gassers don't like being oversized...they like to stretch their legs)
13-15 cords for one house...

100% agree. Updated many of our windows to Harvey classics including our slider which started being drafty a few years back before we got the stove. Got the smaller vista and so glad I did not go bigger. Heats both floors of our house. Small firebox so won’t get overnight burn but house retains heat well.

Tightening up the house would be great. Problem is, I'm heating 4500sq ft of old farmhouse. 8 bdrms upstairs with 2 bthrms. One bath is only roughed in with plumbing along with it's original plaster walls. 4 bdrms also have their plaster walls still. On the other side of the hallway door, the remaining rooms have been insulated and have 5/8'' sheet rock. Downstairs, only the living room and adjacent bathroom are sporting plaster walls. Everything else is insulated with 5/8'' rock. Our kitchen has no heat source save a vent less LP convection heater. It used to be the migrant workers kitchen, heated by a wood cook stove. Upstairs counts 14 windows, downstairs is 23 with all being original. Except for the 5 in the kitchen, the rest would have to be custom ordered to fit the wall to ceiling holes. I figure that to be $500/ea.

2nd floor has no heat. Hasn't since the room heater coal stoves were removed. 1st floor, save the kitchen is forced hot air. I absolutely despise forced air. So do my lungs. Since I got this place, my asthma kicks in like clock work, every late fall....when I fire up the wood furnace. All the ductwork dates to the later '40s and is in despair. Impossible to have a filter in the cold air return for the butchery install of the wood furnace. Oil furnace has been bypassed and shut down 12yrs ago. We've been here 4yrs now. My driveway is a horseshoe, going around to the back of the house and back out to the road. I process wood where the field is on the one side of the house. After I'm done cutting and splitting, I put it back in the truck again, to drive it around to the other side, and throw it down the bilco doors to the basement. The furnace is at the other end. Carry it over and stack my supply. Wash, rinse, and repeat. Way to much work and time invested.

Solution, OWB and hydronics. I can run a air to water HE in the ductwork for now. Run a leg up the wall between the kitchen and livingroom up into the attic. Run a loop and drop down into the rooms to feed cast iron rads. At some point, I'll switch the ductwork for CI rads too, on the 1st floor. The kitchen I would do in radiant floor along with it's adjacent mudroom. The mudroom has never been finished on the interior. I would also set the boiler up where I process wood, saving me a metric ton of labor. Ihave a lot on my plate with not much help from the inhabitents,

One thing I've been working on is, I'm making interior storms from 1x2'' frames with ultra clear 4mil plastic on both sides. These are slightly undersized, leaving room for weather stripping. They seem to help a lot along with the original exterior storms. I pop em out in the spring, and in again for the winter.

Man I got a lot on my plate. Sorry for the derail ......

 

[Wildflush]

Tightening up the house would be great. Problem is, I'm heating 4500sq ft of old farmhouse. 8 bdrms upstairs with 2 bthrms. One bath is only roughed in with plumbing along with it's original plaster walls. 4 bdrms also have their plaster walls still. On the other side of the hallway door, the remaining rooms have been insulated and have 5/8'' sheet rock. Downstairs, only the living room and adjacent bathroom are sporting plaster walls. Everything else is insulated with 5/8'' rock. Our kitchen has no heat source save a vent less LP convection heater. It used to be the migrant workers kitchen, heated by a wood cook stove. Upstairs counts 14 windows, downstairs is 23 with all being original. Except for the 5 in the kitchen, the rest would have to be custom ordered to fit the wall to ceiling holes. I figure that to be $500/ea.

2nd floor has no heat. Hasn't since the room heater coal stoves were removed. 1st floor, save the kitchen is forced hot air. I absolutely despise forced air. So do my lungs. Since I got this place, my asthma kicks in like clock work, every late fall....when I fire up the wood furnace. All the ductwork dates to the later '40s and is in despair. Impossible to have a filter in the cold air return for the butchery install of the wood furnace. Oil furnace has been bypassed and shut down 12yrs ago. We've been here 4yrs now. My driveway is a horseshoe, going around to the back of the house and back out to the road. I process wood where the field is on the one side of the house. After I'm done cutting and splitting, I put it back in the truck again, to drive it around to the other side, and throw it down the bilco doors to the basement. The furnace is at the other end. Carry it over and stack my supply. Wash, rinse, and repeat. Way to much work and time invested.

Solution, OWB and hydronics. I can run a air to water HE in the ductwork for now. Run a leg up the wall between the kitchen and livingroom up into the attic. Run a loop and drop down into the rooms to feed cast iron rads. At some point, I'll switch the ductwork for CI rads too, on the 1st floor. The kitchen I would do in radiant floor along with it's adjacent mudroom. The mudroom has never been finished on the interior. I would also set the boiler up where I process wood, saving me a metric ton of labor. Ihave a lot on my plate with not much help from the inhabitents,

One thing I've been working on is, I'm making interior storms from 1x2'' frames with ultra clear 4mil plastic on both sides. These are slightly undersized, leaving room for weather stripping. They seem to help a lot along with the original exterior storms. I pop em out in the spring, and in again for the winter.

Man I got a lot on my plate. Sorry for the derail ......

Wow huge house 😳 I see why you need so many cords. I love the classic farm houses we have in New England.

 

[GG Woody]

Ihave a lot on my plate with not much help from the inhabitents,


Man I got a lot on my plate. Sorry for the derail ......

I clipped out the parts that I can relate to!
Sounds like a really cool property!

 

[Enzo's Dad]

2 working on year 3

I added to the pile this week

 

[Itslay90]

I added to the pile this week

What kinda wood is that ??

 

[Enzo's Dad]

White oak and red oak ...all left behind by the local utility company..I have about 12 to 20 more decent size rounds to get I left on the ground

 

[bigealta]

I added to the pile this week

That's a hand splitter's dream.

 

[Enzo's Dad]

That's a hand splitter's dream.

I still don't own a splitter
10 years of burning

 

[jcjohnston]

3 years, all red oak, no bark on it when I cut and stacked it

 

[GG Woody]

My youngest wanted to cut down his first tree, guess we got one more... I must be 4 years ahead now. Big wood year for me. Will need to take one more quad trip for the rest of it. Hopefully find a UTV for next year. 5 mins on the quad or 40 mins one way in the truck.