New member from SW Pennsylvania

Welcome to the forum StihlMike! I think you are headed in the right direction by 1) being willing to get ahead whether by purchasing or scrounging 2) willing to post pics (we like pics) and 3) joining this forum

Welcome to the forum Mike.

It is always sad to hear or read about someone just getting into wood burning then find out they don't have wood yet. We wish you good luck but also want to make you aware that you may not enjoy your first year of heating with wood. That is because wood needs time to dry....even if you buy it. Never expect to buy wood that is dry and ready to burn even if it is advertised that way or even if the seller says so. Of course you could always check it out before buying but most folks will buy....and then find out it either has been freshly split or even freshly cut. Don't depend upon dead trees either. Usually if the tree is standing, perhaps the top third or so of the tree might be dry enough but the butt of that tree will surely be full of moisture. If the dead tree is on the ground, most likely it has already begun or already has turned punky. So good luck and I sincerely hope you are able to find something that will burn this coming winter. You might even look for some kiln dried wood which won't be perfect but will allow you to still burn.

Another word of caution: Do plan on checking your chimney at least once per month all winter long. That is a must for all new wood burners. We've seen chimney's plug in a matter of a couple weeks because of the wood the people were trying to burn.

Good luck.

Welcome to the forums Mike. I think you will really enjoy it here and the woodstoves way of heating. One question, which wood burner did you get?

Mike, welcome to the Hearth.
We (meaning the guys who are smarter than me) can help with the whole thing to make sure you've got things where they need to be.
Lots of info here.
Post pics of the proposed stove site. Which stove? New, old? Size of home and layout will help.
How much space can you allocate to store wood?
That'll do for now.

Tip # 1 Plan on procuring a better wood hauler, unless you plan to have it delivered. Can get costly that way.

Welcome, StihlMike! You're right up the road a short ways from me......I'm north of Altoona! Welcome to the nuthouse, as we like to say!
Lots of advice to be given to a beginner, but Sav touched on some of that in his post already. Big thing is the sooner you get your wood cut, split and stacked (C/S/S, as we say), the better. Lots of us are over 3 or 4 years ahead on our wood supply.....it makes a HUGE difference when your burned seasoned wood...

Anyway, you'll learn a lot here, so enjoy your new addiction to woodburning!

Welcome Mike. One option you might want to look into is trading some of your green wood for some seasoned wood from a friend or a neighbor who has an excess supple of older wood.

Hey StihlMike, welcome to The Hearth. Lots of valuable info here to be had for the first time burner. I'm not one of the older members, but I can tell you to listen to what is said here. This was my first burn this past season, and I had tons of help from everyone here. I lurked for a couple months, then I just had to jump in.

Backwoods Savage has given you sage advice about getting ahead in the wood dept. I'm about 2 years ahead in quantity, but I have oak which ill take another 2 years before it is burnable. If haven't gotten one already, get a moisture meter. They aren't much more than about $30. It will serve you well to know how your wood is seasoning, and whether it will burn clean or make a lot of creosote.

Good luck to ya. And again, welcome to the nut hut.

Welcome to the Forum Stihlmike , nice saw . All you need now is a splitter a few axes and of course one milk crate.

JOHN BOY said:

Welcome to the Forum Stihlmike , nice saw . All you need now is a splitter a few axes and of course one milk crate.

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It's not official until the milk crate is purchased.

Welcome and good luck Stihlmike - it's tough sledding year one, but gets easier once you get the wood supply going. Keep that chain sharp and don't "rock it "-( let cut the ground or rocks!)

Welcome to the forum.

By the way . . . rookie mistake . . . chord is actually a cord . . . unless you're making flutes out of the wood you're cutting.

looks like you need some A/T tires for the neon

Maybe all new members should be receiving a Hearth.com logo milk crate autographed by "The Fixture".

I'll give the new guy the benefit of the doubt on the "chord"and blame it on auto-correct.

Welcome, and for the record I truly enjoyed my first season burning thanks to the abundance of dead ash here. Not perfect, but doable without much seasoning time. This year will only be better. Check your chimney often until you get the hang of everything.

Watch your wallet. This savings from wood heat has cost me a bunch. All the wood and equipment listed in my signature was all amassed since February this year. No need to get everything at once though, I just have a special problem. Has been a great diet plan however, about 40 lbs since the wood fetish began. Never felt better!

You came to the right place, these guys will do anything they can to help. You'll soon be a walking encyclopedia of wood burning knowledge.

My brazilian rosewood makes beautiful chords.

Welcome StihlMike!

Welcome Mike ! Be careful I believe wood burning is considered an addiction lol. The savings can be there if you can find a farm or some place to cut near your home. Us guys have lots of toys and money put into it by choice a lot of the time. I used an old beat up poulan pro 46cc for years and an old wooden maul handle with a chain for a log can't until I decided to upgrade to a true addict. The heat is like no other and even if it where the same cost I don't think I would stop.

Pete

After the stove, the first saw, and a maul, I suppose the rest was a choice for me. Definitely not buying wood, there is just too much available (free) when I have lived in the same farm town your whole life, as well as my parents. Not too many folks I don't know, plenty of farmers that want trees out of their way, and the EAB. Makes it easier to get permission if you agree only to take dead ash, of which there is still plenty.

My name is Pyroholic, and I'm a.... Pyroholic.

... and so it begins.

Focus on wood procurement. Worry about the stove later. You'd do well to spend this year collecting, splitting, and stacking wood. All but the oak will be ready to burn by fall 2014. By then, you can have your stove installed, and ready to roll.

Required purchases:

1. Spare chains and files for your saw. Figure on either sharpening or swapping chains at least once or twice, during a full day of cutting. Learn to sharpen. Youtube is your friend.

2. Splitting maul. Could be hardware store variety (my favorite is), or Fiskars 27. Splitting will seem like hellish work at first, but you'll get good quick. After a few days of it, you'll be splitting stuff with ease, that seemed impossible before.

Required reading:

Hearth.com.

Instead of a truck I found a logger. He sells wood to me for chip price about $300 for about 5 cord (dump truck full) and I don't have to leave the yard or make truck payments. I cut and split at my leisure. The wood is green or from standing dead, not the best for this year, but it's an option going forward.

Oregon aloha said:

Instead of a truck I found a logger. He sells wood to me for chip price about $300 for about 5 cord (dump truck full) and I don't have to leave the yard or make truck payments. I cut and split at my leisure. The wood is green or from standing dead, not the best for this year, but it's an option going forward.

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Yes, this is the ideal solution for many members, and what I'd be doing myself, if I didn't have an older friend who always needed help cleaning up trees on his property. Typical rate seems to be $75 - $150 per cord, delivered, in log form. I've seen many stories of a full log truck (7 - 8 cords) for $600.

Hi Mike,
Welcome to the forum. I'm over in Johnstown.

You might want to consider this ad in Ebensburg:

http://classifieds.pennswoods.net/classifieds/viewad.cgi?adindex=2447755
Firewood/tri-axle load (199 views)

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07:59 pm, 9 August, 2013
Asking Price: $650.00
Seller will ship item if needed.
For Sale: For sale tri-axle load/loads of hardwood firewood delivered. We deliver full truck length wood to your house and you cut and split it. Call Joe 814-242-5737/ or 814-421-1109.

Ebensburg, PA

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