Archive through August 28, 2009

[dross]

Heck you could do that with a gear drive it's called a loader.

 

[jbaker]

Heres 3 pics !st is my winter heating wood for the season its 16 x 20x 4 to 5 feet tall, the 2nd and 3rd ones show a load a local city dropped for free. Any suggestions on cutting the big ones down they are 4 foot across I wont need it till next year its hackberry excellent btu's

 

[aschumacher]

OK,I saw this in a catalog and had to show it to someone.
I,m so used to seeing truck loads of wood on the Forum that this gave me a big laugh.
It's not for the people that stuff a tree in their furnace, but for the hobbiest or duffer, ya know those who have a little house stove or metal patio warmer.
I guess it's a neat deal, only $150. You supply the mounting stump!
I'm not sure why the lady is smiling, impressing the neighbors with a new item?
Or maybe impressing the neighbors on her exercise regime sliding a weight up and down a shaft!
Anyway, I didn't design it...just showing it off.

 

[kide]

It'd work really great if that slide shaft was like .....150 feet tall (bring your own ladder). Of course there is an obvious Swedish ant-gravity invention also at work here to lift the slide weight up (since this apparently takes no effort to lift). She'll only use it once anyway - to load that basket next to the gas log with pretty birch logs...

Jeff - the one on the left you might hand split with a number of wedges - works for me on those big 'uns... The one on the right? - level the top off and set a table top on it .... that's gonna be a real buzzard...

 

[jbaker]

Started the boiler this weekend its been cold and raining in northern Ill

 

[rmclements]

First load of the season.

Looks like about 4 cord to start with.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Robert, I believe those would each be called a "face cord" which is typically 16"x4'x8'. A full cord is 4'x4'x8'

I had my firewood all cut, split and stacked back in June. In addition to this I have a tad under a cord squirreled away in the attached garage. Total of perhaps 9 cord give or take. The wood storage shelter is 16' long and 8' tall at the front and about 7' tall at the rear, figure it holds 2.5 to 3 cord maybe. The 3 stacks are ~16 feet long, slightly over 3 feet wide and vary from just over to just under 5 feet tall. I won't burn all of it this year, some will be left over for next winter.

I have more to cut, split and stack for next year as well.

 

[jbaker]

Kraig whats with the tarp under the skid??

 

[kmcconaughey]

Keeps the pocket gophers from pushing soil up into the wood pile. I hated it when that used to happen! The tarps under the pallets solved that, but every once in a while they will push up a mound next to one of the piles. When that happens moisture wicks into the wood if I don't notice it in time.

I hate pocket gophers

but they sure love the sandy loam soil I have here, easy digging for them.

 

[jbaker]

ok that makes sense I just never noticed them here now ill have to watch for it

 

[fcurrier]

Robert, and anyone else buying firewood:
Kraig is soooo right! An honest CORD of firewood is 128 cubic feet. The way I deal with it when IT'S CUT 16" is to figure a pile 4' high and 24' long. That's 96 square feet when you're looking at it.

 

[rmclements]

Kraig, I have also heard a face cord refered to as a "firewood cord" or is that something different yet?

My dad used to call 4' x 4' x 8' a "pulpwood cord". Maybe because he used to cut and haul jackpine for pulp, huh?

Frank, thanks for the tip!

 

[kmcconaughey]

Robert, never heard of "firewood cord" it's ALL firewood when you're talking about wood and make any reference to it in measures of a "cord". A "face cord" is sometimes called a "short cord" (see below). I have also heard of a "stove cord" and I believe that's a "face cord" as well. A "cord" is 4'x4'x8' anything less is a "short cord", for instance the 16"x4'x8', a "short cord" could also be 24"x4'x8'. Then we have a "long cord" which is more then a full cord, for example 5'x4'x8'. Confused yet?

If your logs are cut to 16" to get a full cord you'd need 3 piles, 4' high and 8' long. I buy semi loads of 8' logs. My wood furnace can take up to 28" long pieces of wood. Those guys with the outdoor boilers can take some real big pieces. I typically cut the logs to 18" give or take a few inches. So my wood piles are 36"x ~5'x 16' so roughly 2 cord per pile, I suppose.

 

[kharvey]

And Dad always said cord wood had to be ranked tight enough so the squirrel could run through but the cat that was chasing it couldn't.

 

[fcurrier]

Kendal: Thanks for passing that one on!

 

[mpatterson]

Nice wood pile Kraig, but those tarps underneath would be useless here in Canada - between the rain, then snow and melting, be one big iced up mess to try and bust appart in January! Did good so far myself this year have almost 30 cord of wood in the shed so far all split and ready to burn. Goal is to fill the shed over the winter and have just over 45 cord when I am done! Will make it nicer for next year, less stress to get it all cut and split in time.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Mike, that's why they get covered with two tarps sometime in August before it gets rainy. The first tarp is a year old one that is folded and laid over the top of the pile, the second tarp is a brand new one and is draped over the pile so that it hangs down and keeps wind driven snow and rain out. The old folded tarp protects the new tarp from the sharp edges of the firewood and is a backup in case water does get through the top tarp. I use planks, concrete pavers, wood posts and pallets to keep the wind from removing them. I hate wet firewood!

 

[fcurrier]

What a way to start a day! This Ash was becoming dangerous (dying from the top down and leaning away from where I wanted it to fall) so a friend came over this morning, we used Lucy to push against the lean, and I now have the Perfect Mess to deal with. Don T. called just as we got done, so today couldn't have started any better!

 

[jbaker]

A while a go I posted pics of some BIG trunks I needed to split, this guy came by with his cat cat attachment and it litterly split them to pieces!!!

 

[kmcconaughey]

WOW!