Caw
Minister of Fire
It's amazing how easily you can throw around the maple and cherry after handling oak or ironwood for a day. Makes you feel like Paul Bunyan.
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So went to do a reload and the first split I picked up felt damp. It was inside for 4 hours so I split it with the Kindling cracker. It read 27%. I'm like WTF, the previous splits were like 17?. Tested a few others, 3 came in between 25 and 32 and the other came in at 18? Again, WTF same tree same, same stack , CSS same time. Adding insult to injury, I just filled 10 CuFt of my bin with the stuff. Went to the next stack and pulled a bunch of wood from there. The few I tested are ok, but I do have some crotches that are bigger pieces, my guess is that they are not ready. Debating on what to do with what I pulled off of the pile (it was the bottom most rows). The few I tested, I ran through the cracker and split down to 1" X 1" and have it stacked by the stove, Will throw 1 or 2 in with lower MC on Reloads. Debating on if I should restack that 10CUFT or wait until the temp gets into the 50's and retest them all. All of this is Ash from a dead standing that was CSS last March/April.
I like cherry especially when I open the stove up. Resplit some large cherry splits today that were going to go in the outside fireplace this summer.
Caw
Minister of Fire
I've found that standing dead ash can turn into a sponge, especially after it starts to go even a touch punky. I'm burning 4 year old c/s/s from a long standing dead tree right now myself that's been on the bottom of the stack. It's 1 ft off the ground and gets great wind but every other piece is heavy. It's annoying but that's what ash does when it starts to go. Converting it to kindling isn't a bad idea or you just mix it with really good dry other woods. Same thing happens with box elder.
Caw
Minister of Fire
Nothing smells better than cherry smoke...just that perfect hint of sweetness. I open the stove and take a whiff sometimes. I'm sadly almost out of my good cherry firewood though. Haven't gotten a cherry log in a few years. It'll be oak and maple only the next 3 years.
Makes me want to bbq. I use cherry from my yard for all my meat smoking. I always keep a few splits handy. One good sized splits will last a while bbq season.
Today we put in two loads of yellow birch, soft maple and some cherry. Most of the first two loads from the stack we're taking from was yellow birch but we'll end up mixing this in with some beech once the colder weather comes back in.
With the warmer weather coming in with possible rain, I moved a bunch of snow piles off the driveway to some snow storage areas I made a few years back.
Picture 4352 is the second load, 4357 & 60 are moving snow that was in picture 4361, 15 loads came from under the pine in picture 4361. Not pictured is a longer section just off the southside of our driveway I cleaned out, hopefully the water stays on that side of the driveway and it doesn't come across once the warmer weather hits.
With the warmer weather coming in with possible rain, I moved a bunch of snow piles off the driveway to some snow storage areas I made a few years back.
Picture 4352 is the second load, 4357 & 60 are moving snow that was in picture 4361, 15 loads came from under the pine in picture 4361. Not pictured is a longer section just off the southside of our driveway I cleaned out, hopefully the water stays on that side of the driveway and it doesn't come across once the warmer weather hits.
Yah I only have about half of a 1/3 cord left. Got this from my parents house before they sold their house. I’d say 7 year old cherry. Burned a lot last year first year with the stove and needed seasoned wood.
Fired up the 290 and cut up an oak trunk. Too heavy to handle so I ripped em in half. Noodles galore.
Caw
Minister of Fire
How's that chain doing? Noodling can be rough on the chains if it's standing dead dry stuff.
Got some splitting and stacking done. White oak, hickory, ash. All X27, with 2 pieces tossed off to feed the splitter. 7 y/o is a good help rolling them off the truck and picking up the chips (kindling) and bark (firepit) to keep it all tidy. Once i get another cord of this year's stash burned up, I'll have a nice space to stack this all for the long-haul.
Gave the new splitter a test run yesterday. Only did maybe 10 rounds of the Maple. Sure beats swinging a maul. Only negative I see with the Huskee is with the Wedge Guard. There are only two small openings on the side to get the bark splinters etc that build up behind the wedge out. I'll need to come up with some sort of tool or brush to expedite that. process.
Smells like oak and sweat. Stack it up later before the rain and wood is done this week.
All done for this round. Just started raining.
All done for this round. Just started raining.
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Pic? Close up of problem area and of overall splitter....focusing on the beam and ram in retracted position.
I rent an Iron & oak. I had the same problem I think you were having. I came up with an easy solution.
Went to work today, contract climbing. Removed a huge white pine 3-4ft in dia at the base. I rode the ball of the crane for that one. Two main leaders, one side trunk, and 5 tops. After that I climbed a sugar maple to hang a rope for a pull over. My day was done. Stuck around waiting for some dead limb wood. Half a pickup load. That's my work done today. Brought home some dead sugar maple. It's still in the truck. Drove home in nasty weather and tarped it.
As you can see when the wedge is all of the way back, loose material can buildup behind the wedge. That little area above the H in Huskee is the only place to get that buildup out of.
The Iron & Oak is a bit different. The build up was in the same spot though. I took a tin split from splitter slag and placed it behind the extended wedge. Retract the wedge and it would push it all through easy peasy.
Caw
Minister of Fire
Bringing in some 4 year old oak. You ever bring in wood from years ago and say "wtf was I thinking" when you see some of the splits? Way too many toothpicks for my liking lol.
I ask myself that same question, but usually in the opposite sense when I have 5 or 6 big chunks in the stove and nothing to fill the gaps...
stoveliker
Minister of Fire
Yes. I will be getting to small oak splits soon (also 4 years old). Like having to put 20 of them in to gully load the firebox. Why....?!!
Youngsters are d*mb*sses. And yes, I was young 4 years ago ;-)
Caw
Minister of Fire
It's 55 degrees here today and that means mud. I needed to bring in wood but didn't want to tear up the area around my main stacks so I decided to uncover about 3/4 a cord of 3 year old oak I had stashed in a nook on the side of the house. Super muddy but I don't care about that area so I threw on some muckers. Pretty disappointing to find the tarp had failed in a bunch of places (Shocker. God damn tarps) so a good half of it was to wet. I brought the dry 1/4 cord inside and restacked the remaining 1/2 cord into a single stack. It's not "green wet" anymore but it's gotten enough rain it'll need the summer to recover. I could probably burn it in a pinch but I've got plenty of wood so I'll top cover it later today and next year it'll be perfect.
Mud soup for me today doing a little splitting.
stoveliker
Minister of Fire
See at caws leaking tarp; that is what I talked about in the other thread.
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