Photo's of next winters fuel supply..

[2011etec]

Theres no doubt at least in my mind that wood heat is the nicest.I may do a direct vent pellet stove someday for the house.I see you have a fan in your picture Alobar,do you have a heat reclaimer attached to the pipe?I put one on mine and what a diff in time to heat and the wood seems to last longer by virtue of more heat being used that otherwise would be wasted up the pipe.To my mind its the bomb and I wish I had done it years ago.

 

[mkane]

Some have oil containers, we have trees. Lot's of them.

 

[danrclem]

I've been splitting wood and here's what I have so far. Mostly ash, some oak, maple and cherry. The one pile is cottonwood and everybody says it isn't very good firewood but it was on my place and had to be cut down so I'm not going to waste it. I have another big pile that I have to saw up into smaller pieces and then split. I might go get a couple more loads so I can keep going for a few winters.

What saws do you guys have. I have a Husqvarna 372XP, Husqvarna 346XP, Husqvarna 359 and a small Makita (rebadged Dolmar) that I use for limbing.

 

[ZR9B]

I like my buddy s Makita...that thing runs!!!! I just bought a small echo cs 352....that is a great saw. I have 2 larger stihl saws that were given to me by my wife.

 

[FONSguy]

I like my pellet stove. As long as their is pellets in the hopper and we have Power I'm fine. About 300/ton delivered and stacked in my garage. I use 3-4 tons between Early December through Mach.

 

[Redikilowatt]

Dang @Alobar, that is a lot of wood
I'm a piker in comparison and use only 1-2 cord a year. It's tough to find free wood in my area. However, I'm a good scrounger, always on the lookout for downed trees, especially near power line right of ways, etc. Most of the wood I burned this year came from logged land near my FIL's house. The trees were down but I had to buck it, load it on my pick up, and split by hand (wood maul). Luckily we have a lot of hardwoods, so I can usually get oak, maple, etc.

This is one load of five on my small pickup:

 

[Alobar]

I've been splitting wood and here's what I have so far. Mostly ash, some oak, maple and cherry. The one pile is cottonwood and everybody says it isn't very good firewood but it was on my place and had to be cut down so I'm not going to waste it. I have another big pile that I have to saw up into smaller pieces and then split. I might go get a couple more loads so I can keep going for a few winters.

What saws do you guys have. I have a Husqvarna 372XP, Husqvarna 346XP, Husqvarna 359 and a small Makita (rebadged Dolmar) that I use for limbing.

That pile would be a good start, but I think I would need more. The reason I got 5 cords is that is how much fits on his truck and since the delivery (about 35 miles away) is a considerable portion of the cost it makes sense to fill his truck. He also sells by the cord too but split and seasoned and at double the cost of this per cord and since I planned ahead I still have enough dry and split wood to see me through till this stuff is ready to go.

I now have a 50cc Stihl. It is brand new and yet I have had it for a year I don't think I have ran a tank through it yet. I sold my old saw, a beast that I originally bought for milling beams for my timber frame house I built, it later became my firewood saw. Thing was it was a 95 cc, (the second biggest saw in Husky's lineup) and weighed around 19 lbs so was hard on my back to run very long. It would cut the bigger logs very fast however! The new Stihl MS 261C which is a pro saw, and thus able to be more easily worked on. Also about half again more expensive that a comparable household model.


Here is a picture taken back from 05 when I first started milling beams with the 395 Husky. This was a fantastic running saw, always started and flat out performed very well too. Just was too heavy for firewood duties and while it took me a while to find a buyer willing to pay what it was worth I finally did, and bought the Stihl I have now.

 

[Alobar]

Theres no doubt at least in my mind that wood heat is the nicest.I may do a direct vent pellet stove someday for the house.I see you have a fan in your picture Alobar,do you have a heat reclaimer attached to the pipe?I put one on mine and what a diff in time to heat and the wood seems to last longer by virtue of more heat being used that otherwise would be wasted up the pipe.To my mind its the bomb and I wish I had done it years ago.

No heat reclaim. The fan is just a stove top model that runs off electricity generated from the heat.. My setup has a lot of stack inside the house (about 18 feet to where it penetrates the roof) and it does pull quite a bit of heat simply from so much surface area..

 

[Alobar]

I like my pellet stove. As long as their is pellets in the hopper and we have Power I'm fine. About 300/ton delivered and stacked in my garage. I use 3-4 tons between Early December through Mach.

Pellet stoves are great, very efficient and pretty automated. Problem here is we are isolated and while there have been local efforts to produce pellets, these enterprises have gone out of business leaving p[ellet stove owners to look elsewhere. Lately they have been shipping them in from Canada.

 

[Yamaki]

 

[mkane]

That would be a great idea if we could find a planet that would take the waste.

 

[2011etec]

Me I just have a poulin pro with a 20 inch bar and a pro ripping chain .I have only had the saw for about 10 years but its never let me down ever.If I was out in the garage I could tell you the chain style for sure but lets just say it makes short work of cutting wood lengthwise . Use to have a jonserered 630 turbo that was a great saw and was tested in the sahara forest.The funny part is I got the chains from Ireland for cheaper than in North America and delivered in a week! I I was a real serious cutter id most likely get a dolmar or maybe a sthil.

 

[Redikilowatt]

My Sthil 025 finally bit the dust last year. I replaced with similar model 250 Wood Boss. The 18” bar limits felling but does fine for bucking. However my 72 year old body doesn’t handle my 12 lb maul like it used too

 

[mkane]

I'm 65 and this will be the last year I use a maul. Splitter from here on out.

 

[sKiZo]

"Recreational" burner here now. Used to heat the house with wood, but it's a lot easier to just spin the thermostat.

Here's the latest pile after trimming the back woods. Should keep me going for some time as I only really use the woodstove as a fireplace early spring and late fall when I can keep a door open for fresh air and still keep the chill away - best of both worlds.

 

[toxcrusadr]

Nice Ranger there Skizo, I have a '95 4WD that just keeps on going.

Y'all are working pretty hard. We have a stove in the basement, going on 20 years, never bought any wood. Plenty to cut hereabouts and now I own 16 ac of oak/hickory forest. More than I can possibly use falls down every year. Got a gas furnace that hardly runs, but if I don't get the stove lit, or we need a quick warmup in the morning, the thermostat is always there. Works out real well.

Poor MarZutra. I think he's jealous.

 

[danrclem]

I now have a 50cc Stihl. It is brand new and yet I have had it for a year I don't think I have ran a tank through it yet. I sold my old saw, a beast that I originally bought for milling beams for my timber frame house I built, it later became my firewood saw. Thing was it was a 95 cc, (the second biggest saw in Husky's lineup) and weighed around 19 lbs so was hard on my back to run very long. It would cut the bigger logs very fast however! The new Stihl MS 261C which is a pro saw, and thus able to be more easily worked on. Also about half again more expensive that a comparable household model.
View attachment 1164897

Here is a picture taken back from 05 when I first started milling beams with the 395 Husky. This was a fantastic running saw, always started and flat out performed very well too. Just was too heavy for firewood duties and while it took me a while to find a buyer willing to pay what it was worth I finally did, and bought the Stihl I have now.

I'd love to get that 395XP in some big wood. Not for very long though. I bet that Stihl is sweet too.

My 372XP (70.7 cc) and my 346XP (46 cc) are both pro saws. I use the 372XP for bucking and quartering big wood that I can't handle whole. A pro saw is expensive but they're worth it if you cut very much wood. My Husqvarna 359 is a good saw but I just use it as a backup in case one of the others go down and the Makita is very light and is good for cutting smaller limbs off of a downed tree.

 

[Alobar]

I'm 65 and this will be the last year I use a maul. Splitter from here on out.

I'm 62, and threw in the towel on the maul a few years ago. I started having wrist trouble after splitting for an hour or so and had to start wrapping them with ace. Once that began my wife gave the order to buy a log splitter, and now the maul just sits there getting rusty!

 

[sKiZo]

Nice Ranger there Skizo, I have a '95 4WD that just keeps on going.

<derail>

Love them lil toy trucks ... here's a better pic of the '93 ... currently has around 63k miles and not a spot of rust.

I do think my '89 is purtier though ...

</derail>

 

[Gnesen]

Wood heat is indeed very nice, but as already noted it involves lots of work. My dad started me early on the labor. Starting when I was 7 or so my job was to fill the woodbox in the house. This meant pulling lots of split wood from the woodpile to the house on an orange plastic sled that had baling twine for the rope. I seem to recall doing this on many very, very cold evenings. As I got older my job evolved into the actual cutting, chopping and stacking of wood. I have many good memories of beautiful fall Saturdays spent listening to Gopher football on the truck's AM radio while doing the work. Nowadays I mostly burn wood for ambiance or the occasional power outage.