For the wood-burners, how's the season going?

[philoshop]

I've burned more than I expected this year, but most of it has been due to damp and chilly days rather than frigid temps. The sugar maple has taken a beating, but a lot of the honey locust will still be in the stacks next year, and I have more coming this spring. Just wondering how others are making out.

[52 farmer]

I sell wood locally,i have had more people this winter calling and stopping in for more wood.Some had what they thought was enough leftover from the last few easy winters, came Jan.and Feb. and found out it wasn't .

[WNYBuckHunter]

I have a pellet stove and a wood burner. I had no idea what to expect for usage. I think since we moved in in early January we have burned close to 2 tons of pellets and the wood supply the previous owners left, which they said should be more than enough to get us through, is down to maybe a face cord left. Ive burned close to 4 I believe. Based on what we have used this year so far, Im figuring on getting 5 tons of pellets and 10 face cords of wood next year. Still cheaper than electric heat, which is our backup.

[GreeneHunter]

We went through 3 cords so far , but we heat primarily with oil . A woodstove is in case of power loss but is a nice heat to have !

[chas0218]

Loonnngggggg, I have about 1 and 1/2 cords left of seasoned wood so I am hoping that I don't blow through that. We heat our 3000 sq.ft. house primarily with our wood stove and supplement with our oil hot water baseboard. We went through about 100 gallons of fuel oil since  and 3.5 cords since October. Our wood stove has been running non stop since october, and quite frankly I'm ready to be done. BTW this was all ash and very little red oak.

Edited March 8, 2018 by chas0218

[chas0218]

2 hours ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

I have a pellet stove and a wood burner. I had no idea what to expect for usage. I think since we moved in in early January we have burned close to 2 tons of pellets and the wood supply the previous owners left, which they said should be more than enough to get us through, is down to maybe a face cord left. Ive burned close to 4 I believe. Based on what we have used this year so far, Im figuring on getting 5 tons of pellets and 10 face cords of wood next year. Still cheaper than electric heat, which is our backup.

I hope your house is around 5000 sq.ft. and you like it about 80*. That is a lot of wood and pellets for an average sized house.

[WNYBuckHunter]

6 minutes ago, chas0218 said:

I hope your house is around 5000 sq.ft. and you like it about 80*. That is a lot of wood and pellets for an average sized house.

3000 plus the finished basement, so close to 4000, and its 70-75 degrees in most of the house, 80 plus in the living room when I get the wood stove cranking.

I realize that I will probably be overbuying a bit, but thats ok, it will all get used eventually.

[Buckskin Dave]

I heat my home and my camp completely with wood stoves.    A normal year I use maybe 6 to 7 cords. This year I have used about 6 already so Ill hit 7 for sure.   My home stove is an efficient Hitzer and puts out a lot of BTU's and easy on wood.   My camp stove is an ancient monstrosity some fiend made with his own 3 hands.  Burns lots of wood for the heat you get, is smokey, sulky and a pain to light.    Every year I say I'm going to replace it but I never do.   Just about the time Im fed up enough to get a new stove its spring and I forget all about it and hunt turkeys. 

[BigVal]

Burned about 4.5 so far

[Dinsdale]

Heating degree days are a bit more than last year at this point and my burning says the same.....about 5 cords firewood and a bunch of jobsite stuff (2x's, pallets, etc.) Primary heat with big ass woodstove.

[Doewhacker]

I’m only slightly above average (4-5 cord) and that’s because I have been home more. I buy log length to cut and split and try to stay two years ahead. It is sooooo nice to burn well seasoned wood. 

Ill tally it all up when the snow melts. 

[WNYBuckHunter]

27 minutes ago, Doewhacker said:

I’m only slightly above average (4-5 cord) and that’s because I have been home more. I buy log length to cut and split and try to stay two years ahead. It is sooooo nice to burn well seasoned wood. 

Ill tally it all up when the snow melts. 

Are you cutting and splitting with a chainsaw and splitter?

I was thinking of looking into buying green logs in the spring and renting a processor. I can get about 2 years (20 face cords) out of a load of logs. I just have to see what the cost of the processor rental would be to see if its worth it to do.

[Doewhacker]

4 minutes ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

Are you cutting and splitting with a chainsaw and splitter?

I was thinking of looking into buying green logs in the spring and renting a processor. I can get about 2 years (20 face cords) out of a load of logs. I just have to see what the cost of the processor rental would be to see if its worth it to do.

Yup, I get loads that are 5-6 cord of log and spend most of the spring and summer sawing and splitting with the splitter. Once in a blue moon the wife and kids will help even. I’m far enough ahead I’m going to skip this year. 

I get the wood for $500 a load, which is 100-150 cheaper per cord. 

The only thing I don’t like is dealing with giant logs, next time I will ask the guy not to give me anything over say 18 inches across. 

[philoshop]

7 minutes ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

Are you cutting and splitting with a chainsaw and splitter?

I was thinking of looking into buying green logs in the spring and renting a processor. I can get about 2 years (20 face cords) out of a load of logs. I just have to see what the cost of the processor rental would be to see if its worth it to do.

Buy a splitter. I have a small 20 ton Huskee from TSC that has never met a round it couldn't break apart, and I cut some nasty wood. Even if you have to hire a few neighbor kids to do the stacking you'll end up way ahead. JMO

[Doewhacker]

7 minutes ago, philoshop said:

Buy a splitter. I have a small 20 ton Huskee from TSC that has never met a round it couldn't break apart, and I cut some nasty wood. Even if you have to hire a few neighbor kids to do the stacking you'll end up way ahead. JMO

My first year I split the better part of 12 cord by hand and I had lots of Locust. And that’s why I own a splitter now. Lol. 

[philoshop]

I have an acre of black locust behind my house. The first year I was here without a splitter I probably could have heated my entire house for the winter with the energy I expended trying to split that stuff with malls and wedges. If I supply the beer and pizza, people will now show up for a 'splitting-n-stacking party'. It borders on fun. Kinda like a poker night during the day.

[wolc123]

I have used slightly less than average so far this winter, or about 7 face cords.  On colder winters, I have used as many as 10.   I try to stay 2 years ahead and keep the seasoned wood covered under a shelter or tarp.   Most of what we have been burning over the last 10 years has been ash, which makes up about half the trees on the 5 acre woodlot at the back of our farm, and most of the trees in the hedgerows.   The emerald ash borer is hitting them pretty hard, so it will be a long time before I can get back to burning oak or cherry.   Ash makes good heat but it also lives up to its name in making lots of ash to be cleaned out of the stove.  Oak and cherry make more heat and leave much less ash to be cleaned up.    It is too bad that the emerald ash borer did not get here 100 years earlier, so I could be burning those "cleaner" woods now.   The reason many folks like about ash, is that it will burn ok unseasoned, which can not be said for many other hardwoods.  That is no advantage for those of us who always make time to season their wood.   

[Buckmaster7600]

About usual 5 cord between me and mom. I’m alway 2 yrs ahead and and will be in good shape going into spring to start splitting again.

I split 95% of our wood by hand just because it’s way faster than using a splitter. I start my splitter about once every 3 yrs or when I get a big oil of gnarly stuff that I won’t do with a splitting axe.


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[Doewhacker]

8 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

I split 95% of our wood by hand just because it’s way faster than using a splitter. I start my splitter about once every 3 yrs or when I get a big oil of gnarly stuff that I won’t do with a splitting axe.

I like splitting by hand when it’s frozen solid. Makes it much more fun and I feel like a lumber jack instead of a pudgy fella. 

[genesee_mohican]

I heat almost exclusively with firewood and have used about 6 face so far. I managed to get 6 face chord of red oak cut split and stacked for next year and will do some more when I can get in the woods. I also like to keep 4 face chord in reserve just in case something comes up. I like having the living room at 80 F all winter. The warmth and no heating bills is worth all the hard work. I enjoy producing firewood too, especially now that I have a wood splitter.

 

[Bionic]

I run a pellet stove in my log home, I love having a campfire in the living room.  Camp has a woodstove, though.   I am really not adding much value to this thread.

I have not used as many pellets as I expected to, I am good shape.

[wolc123]

1 hour ago, genesee_mohican said:

I heat almost exclusively with firewood and have used about 6 face so far. I managed to get 6 face chord of red oak cut split and stacked for next year and will do some more when I can get in the woods. I also like to keep 4 face chord in reserve just in case something comes up. I like having the living room at 80 F all winter. The warmth and no heating bills is worth all the hard work. I enjoy producing firewood too, especially now that I have a wood splitter.

 

I only use the wood stove when the outside temperature is below the mid 30's for extended periods.   This winter has not had too much of that, which is why we have used a little below average.   It gets too hot in the house when it gets warmer outside.   It sure is nice having the living area up in the 80's and seeing the heating bills get lower when it is bone chilling cold outside, thanks to that wood. 

I also enjoy producing the firewood.  Having an almost limitless supply available on-site, and all the equipment to make it very easy, makes a big difference.  When I was younger and single, I did all the splitting by hand.  I do appreciate the hydraulic splitter now, and I am thankful that I let my wife talk me buying it right after we wed.   At 53, my arms and shoulders never feel sore.  All those impacts can not be good for the joints. 

Right now, I have about 10 face cords worth of trees down (all ash).  I always cut the trees in the winter.  If winter conditions are right (they were not this year, or the last two, when we never had more than 2" of frost in the ground), I will sometimes drag a few logs up front for processing.   With mud under snow like this winter, I just leave them lay where they fall, tops and all.   That way, the buds start to sprout, even though the roots are severed, speeding the drying process.  On our mucky, bottom-land farm, there are only two good times for dragging logs: mid-winter on cold years and mid to late-summer every year.   Mud on bark should always be avoided, because it quickly dulls chainsaws, and the ruts also damage the land.   

When it comes to dragging logs out of the woods on soft ground in the summer, it is hard to beat an old tricycle front tractor.  It is too bad that the overabundance of lawyers these days prevents their continued manufacture.   Getting your steering tires out of the same track as your drive tires makes for a softer footprint in the woods, and considerably less rutting.  Forward visibility around stumps is also a lot better on a trike.  When the ground is frozen, it is tough to beat a wide-front 4wd tractor with forks on the front loader and a log winch on the back.  With this kind of equipment, it does not take much time or effort to knock out a years supply of wood.             

[Rebel Darling]

This is my first year trying to heat the house with all property wood. I felled it, I logged and bucked it. I split it by hand. I'm short a cord, I think, after burning about three. Been through about 200 gallons of oil, too. I need to tighten up the house, but also need the money to do it.

I'll likely have to buy that next cord, which really irks me. Shop down the way is selling dried firewood for $345 a cord, delivered. I don't like that price.

My neighbor had delivered wood my first year burning (last year) for $245, but the wood wasn't as seasoned as made out to be.

I'll probably buy a few cords in the spring, and then try to get a year ahead.

Hard learning.


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[stubborn1VT]

We have oil baseboard, but I primarily heat the house with wood.  The oil mostly just heats our hot water.  I've burned 1.5 cords, which is pretty normal.  We'll see how much more I need to get through.  

I have also sold about 30 cord.  Face cords must be a NY thing.  You don't hear the term very often around here.  Last winter I had a hard time selling all my firewood.  This year I could have sold another 10 cord pretty easily.  

I split about 80% of my wood with an 8 lb maul.  I have a 25 ton splitter, but it's faster to split most stuff by hand.

I have about 12 cord split, stacked and covered for next year.

[genesee_mohican]

Most people use the term cord when talking about firewood. But a cord of wood or full cord of wood is actually 3  face cords and measures 4ft wide by 4ft tall by 8ft long.

A face cord would be a pile of 16 inch length logs, 4ft high and 8 ft long.