My wood pile..........

Robbie,

Been there, done that.
I have a special log from my first wood burning season which I refuse to burn. Last year I lost track of it during the burning season, so much traffic on the wood pile. Had a knot in my tummy for days until it was found.

Am I loosing it....Yes!

If I had 50 cents for every person my husband (we are in this together, altho' he hasn't named a log yet) has dragged around to look at our "WOOD!" I would be able to buy a new splitter.

They get that "How Sad" look in their eyes, feign interest and get the heck out of here.

But its SO lovely.

Donna

I burn pellets, I dont burn wood. I can appreciate your point of view though. Its nice to see that some folks can still be proud of their hard work and accomplishments...the fruits of their labors.

I've only burned since March, so I have no idea how much wood I'll need next year. I figure I would rather have too much than too little so I've got wood stacked in two long rows behind my house. It's in a rather conspicuous area so I don't have to show people, they see it right away. I actually had one guy ask me what I was going to use it for! I wasn't quite sure how to respond. As I was unloading my last load my wife came out to chat with me and looked around and said, "You might have a bit of an obsession with this." I was quite insulted. It's way more than a bit of an obsession.

hilly, your right. post your stove type, how big your house is, if you're going to burn 24/7, region and i bet people can give you a good estimate of what you'll need.

Robbie, Your not the only one. When I come home from work every day, instead of walking in the front door I will go around to the back door, so I can check out my 2 Holz Hausen's.

HarryBack said:

I burn pellets, I dont burn wood. I can appreciate your point of view though. Its nice to see that some folks can still be proud of their hard work and accomplishments...the fruits of their labors.

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Yeah, but Harry you have the mother of all pellet piles if memory serves me.

Have to admit, I'm darned proud of my pile as well.

jeesh! you guys are as crazy as .....

ME!

i thought i was the only one that did this stuff!

tom

I very fond of my woodpile. I like it to be broardside to the driveway so I can see it better. I think it is very good looking. I was thinking about doing it like a fence around the garden this but that might be a good idea. But I do have two wood areas now and may add a third.

I walk around my wood piles after the three girls have all gone to sleep. I can sneak in a quick smoke then too. Each pile has its own memories and I am always mentally tallying up my cord count and the burn order, and how many years of heat I have left based on current usage, etc. etc. etc. I pace up and down measuring steps and converting to feet and thence to volumes based on average stack height.

Then there are the never-ending tarp adjustments, especially if it was windy recently. They can remain uncovered if there is no chance of rain though, it just helps the seasoning process.

And even I'm not worried about losing it, so I don't think you should be!

DeanB

all i can see of my wood pile is the hole that i dig to expose a few splits

Hi - Heck I have Poplar for warmish weather when a fire is still nice, and Oak, Locust, and Hickory for serious burning. Lot's of Ash and Cherry in between!

ATB,
Mike P

Crazy?
Not until you buy that moisture meter from Harbor Freight and split splits from the piles to see if they are ready.

< crazy?

SCFA said:

hilly, your right. post your stove type, how big your house is, if you're going to burn 24/7, region and i bet people can give you a good estimate of what you'll need.

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Hey! I'm not the original poster, but can I take you guys up on that? I just got 2 cords delivered today to add to what we have(can't wait til next year when we're not paying thorugh the nose).

We have a Jotul Oslo, Cape Cod house about 1600 sq ft (but I think that includes the garage. 3 stories counting the basement - where the stove is. And we live in west central New Hampshire. It's been warm so far, but this can't last forever. Any guesses as to how much wood we would need to be 24/7 through about April 15 or so? Thanks!

The first thing I do in the morning is go outside with my coffee and look at the wood pile.
A well stacked wood pile is certainly a thing of beauty and as another poster said something to be proud of knowing you did all that work yourself and the benefits and enjoyment it will provide!

If looking at a wood pile means your crazy I guess I'm heading to the looney bin

Craig

i have 2 wood piles.

one is in the front yard, 4 cord dumped there in july, man he was LATE this year, I try to have it in by early to mid may. That pile sits there for a year then I move it to the back where it sits another 5-6 months before I start to use it. i can see that pile all the time from the house and every time i go up/down the driveway or work outside. It's just 15 or 20' from the garden where I spend an inordinate amount of time from late april to late october. I like to look at it.

the other pile is the wood i am burning now. that is 6' west of the house and 10 steps of the deck steps. Now this pile used to be chimney stacked on 8 4' X 4' skids so I could see it all the time too... and up close!

But in may I built a nice wood shed so I can only see the wood from the 1 open side. The plus side is I DON'T HAVE TO CHIMNEY STACK 2 16' SIDES! I just place it in the shed. This spring I cut my stacking time at least in half possibly by 75%. Remember I buy wood that's split and it is hard to build those outside walls with the junk wood you get knotted chunks, butt ends, you know...very time consuming.

I have pictures I used to take of my stacked wood when I lived at my other house. I'd also take closeups of checked gray/brown wood. I also photograph my garden in summer. My wife and I used to write on Christmas present tags from 'the woodstove' or from 'the woodpile'.

Yeh, I like my wood piles and wood stove. March is the saddest month of the year for me - winter's ending, mud season is starting and uconn basketball march madness. Good thing I don't have a gun around at that time of the year.

tom

KarynAnne

Without knowing, how well its insulated and how many South facing windows you have I would guess 4 cord minimum.

Here's mine, from this year for next. I've got a fresh cord piled under the blue tarp behind it to the right, and three plus cords behind it to the left, ready for this year.

JotulOslo

I had my parents in yesterday, and the first thing I did was drag them past the new pavers, stonework, fullview storm door, lattice enclosed carport, new vinyl fence, christmas decorations and other various improvements to show them a big heap of freshly split oak, and the neatly stacked wood under the overhang in the back of the house that is ready to go..

And, on the way to dinner, we took a "this is where I got " ride, pointing out the places I scrounged oak, cherry, etc... They couldn't believe the tilework on the hearth, chimney is plumb, and the stove was cooking, secondary combustion and all, dogs laid in front of it, and they both said almost simultanously that they could stay here forever!

Boy done good!

Dad even split a few rounds with the Ryobi..

I think I have converted them to the value of wood heat.

Bob

babalu87 said:

Crazy?
Not until you buy that moisture meter from Harbor Freight and split splits from the piles to see if they are ready.

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There is nothing crazy about that. I'd recommend one to any inexperienced wood user, especially if one is buying so-called "seasoned" wood. I got burned with that on my first purchase a few years go (new to wood burning, new to the area... ergo, always screw the new guy). It's worth twenty bucks to be able to say, before they show up, that delivered wood will be checked against a moisture meter.

Victor

babalu87 said:

KarynAnne

Without knowing, how well its insulated and how many South facing windows you have I would guess 4 cord minimum.

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Agree with babs on the low end for where you are and 6 at the most.