The three year plan....

Thanks Ram. Good post.

What are some of the benefits of the 3 year plan?

1. You will be amazed at the difference in how wood burns after being split and stacked for 3 years. Say goodbye to poor fuel.
2. It is worth more than money in the bank and you won't even get taxed for it.
3. If the wood is stacked nice and neat, it will add some beauty to the property. However, it has to be neat and not sloppy.
4. What if, for some reason, you can't put up wood some year. Perhaps an injury or sickness or whatever. If you are 3 years ahead, you can skip a year and still be okay but if you are no years ahead, you have problems and will either buy wood or have neighbors or relatives come in an cut. I'd rather do this job myself.

To go along with #4, we have seen several folks on this forum who have found themselves in this situation. The 3 year plan saved them. As for myself, we cut wood in winter, split in spring and stack right after splitting. I suffered a bad injury in the fall of 2012 and again another in 2013. So last year we did manage to get some wood put up but nowhere the amount we needed. We were okay.

Fast forward to this winter and another injury in December (the month we normally start cutting wood). I've cut very little; not even a cord. Not only that, but last year's wood is still not completely stacked. In addition, a neighbor suffered a back injury last spring so no cutting for him this winter. We supplied all of his wood for this winter. But even with all this, we will still be ahead 3 or 4 years on the wood. It is a wonderful feeling to know that we do not have to depend upon others for our wood cutting nor will we have to buy any wood.


There are more benefits but I thought it would be nice to hear from others too. So please add as you see fit.

Worked hard at getting to the 3 year level, then got lucky mega scrounge so closer to a 5 year plan now. It is very nice to look out the window and see next years heat just waiting in line knowing that I have some breathing room.

First winter in this house, new stove, and then a hard winter to boot! I'm working at it to get as much CSS as possible. I'll get to 3 years eventually but need to know what 1 "typical" year will take!

Here is my two cents.
This is my first year burning full time. In the fall I heard about the three year plan and thought "three year plan? that’s crazy talk for nut jobs that like to split wood", now its "a three year plan is sensible and smart and I must cut more if I’m going to obtain that goal this year!"
Its funny how things change in a couple of months.

ClintonH said:

First winter in this house, new stove, and then a hard winter to boot! I'm working at it to get as much CSS as possible. I'll get to 3 years eventually but need to know what 1 "typical" year will take!

Click to expand...

Why worry about your typical year? If its do-able, I'd split for this year, then you know your good!

Good point.
Always put up more than your normal need for each of those 3 years and one like this year won't matter much.

I had/have a 10 yr plan. With no other means of heat, I want insurance . Physical ailment, family issues, equipment failures, and with no woodlot the ability to find wood. Around here more and more people are burning, and now after this winter that's bound to increase. Worst case scenario if I move or get divorced I can sell it off for cash.

I got ahead a few years back, then got lazy and didn't put much up for a year or two. Now I'm playng catchup and wondering if this year's wood will season as well as I need for next winter.

Don't be lazy like me! Keep scrounging!

For the folks that are not three years up, You can get a lot of your scrounging done in spring, summer and fall. Try not to panic in this weather to try and get wood stockpiled. I can get 5 times more done without two feet of snow on the ground. I actually got my initial 3 year stockpile in one season. Then you have a lean year or two waiting for your firewood to season. I'm rambling, but get as much as you can in nice weather. My neighbors always ask me why am I cutting and splitting in the Summer?... We all know that answer.

I will be entering my second full year burning in a couple of months (Australia) - the first year was very hard as i thought 1 year split and stacked over an Australian summer would be enough to dry my wood - unfortunately its not the case the only wood that dried in that first year was pine and the difference between burning the pine and the hard wood was unbelievable. I am hoping this year with my 2 year top covered seasoned hard wood will be much better.

I think I am at least 4 years ahead. The space that was left after last year's burning has been replaced with more hardwood - in fact for every row i used i have added another pallet so in effect increasing my stash by 20%. I will do this every year for the next 4 years to make me 5 years in front.

Besides the tangible benefits of better fuel, there's something to be said for the psychological benefit of knowing you're good, and you'll never have to beg, borrow, or scrape together sticks from the yard to keep warm

For what it's worth I don't burn, but I do have around 10 cords stacked out back and it's nice to look at and nice to know all the hard work that goes in to those stacks. Some people probably think I'm weird but I just like wood, and I like hanging out here you guys so I gotta keep some inventory on hand!

Im on board with it. Im working on it. But I have to admit the piles of wood everywhere is getting a little woodchucky looking. It is the metal roofing I use. Steel beams, cinderblocks, horse fencing, rusty galvanized roofing, plastic greenhouse roofing.
It all sat deep in the woods until I dragged it all out and brushed it off and covered my woodchucky piles of fresh split hardwood with it.
Curbside, for all my neighbors to admire. I even laugh thinking how it appears from google earth.
It mixes well with the goldenrod and dead junk tractors.
Dont get me wrong...if I could now find a way to make my own gasoline I'd be happier than a pig in chit. ;-)

Sinngetreu said:

Here is my two cents.
This is my first year burning full time. In the fall I heard about the three year plan and thought "three year plan? that’s crazy talk for nut jobs that like to split wood", now its "a three year plan is sensible and smart and I must cut more if I’m going to obtain that goal this year!"
Its funny how things change in a couple of months.

Click to expand...

yep-had the same reaction. Sometimes its good to drink the kool-aid

osagebow said:

yep-had the same reaction. Sometimes its good to drink the kool-aid

Click to expand...

Mmmmm, Kool-aid good!

The three-year plan will account for the wild cards that mother nature throws us from time to time, like this tough winter or a poor drying summer like we had here last year. It also gives you the luxury of not having to stack in single rows, trying to get the wood dry in time. I go double-row on pallets now, even Oak.
I'll have a solid two-year supply for the two stoves that I'm totally responsible for...our Keystone and my MIL's Buck 91. That is 6-7 cords a year, as near as I can figure. There are other in-laws that I'm supplying wood to, but they do most of the splitting and stacking themselves. Still, I'm having trouble getting everyone ahead and I'm still grabbing quick-drying soft Maple and Cherry when I can to stay ahead of them. Oak is the predominant specie here, but I need a two-year cushion at least on all those folks to be able to take advantage of that fine-burning wood. I do have some dead Tulip I could grab if worse came to worst.

bigbarf48 said:

I don't burn, but I do have around 10 cords stacked out back

Click to expand...

OK you Georgia folks, if you fall upon hard wood times, you know where to go begging for dry wood. Take a big wad of cash, and who knows?

Woody Stover said:

OK you Georgia folks, if you fall upon hard wood times, you know where to go begging for dry wood. Take a big wad of cash, and who knows?

Click to expand...

With all this wood I'm probably on a ten year plan for my fire pit out back and the GF's fireplace combined

The good man often regards me as the ultimate ball-buster (I'm good with that). But when he asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I replied that I wanted to split wood he graciously complied (how cool was that?). Bottom line: we have wood set aside for the coming seasons and he appreciates my attention to preparing long in advance for coming heating needs. The other thing he's learned to appreciate about me is "paying to principal" on any installment loan.

And they say Home Economics is no longer worthy of a place in a basic education?

As a first year epa stove burner here is my thought. This will be the last year I have subpar wood. There is no substitution for well dried wood. Burns better, produces more heat, less headache trying to get it going. Three years ahead is my 2014 goal

My wife and I were starting to split/stack the oak score back from Oct. A childhood neighbor stops by, a truly "thinks-he-knows-it-all blowhard", and takes a look around at all of the rounds and says, "You think you have enough wood?". Then says immediately, "Or do you have too much?". I simply looked at him and said, "You can never have too much. It takes three years to dry oak so that you benefit from all of the stored heat energy." Of course he looks at me like I'm nuts. I obviously said something he knows nothing about. I just smiled.

Once again I say you do not have to get 3 years worth of wood cut this year. If time and/or dollars is a problem, put up a year and perhaps 1/3 or 1/2 of another year. Next year do the same. It does not take that long and you will be 3 years ahead and then it is like priming a pump. You have to sometimes pump like crazy to get the water, but once it comes, all it takes is a little easy steady pressure to get all the water you want. Same with cutting firewood.

As for wood piles looking awful. I do not agree that they have to look awful but have seen some bad ones. It is not difficult to stack wood neatly. First pictures are wood stacked in the barn. We do this in October so we have it without snow. The other pictures I've posted before and I do not think they look ugly even though the pictures were taken before cleaning up the junk wood. Those were used once we covered the wood and they hold down galvanized roofing.

That last picture was taken last October. We still have left that whole stack on the right and will be used next winter. That wood was stacked in April, 2009.

Getting on the three year plan is the hard part. Staying there is pretty easy. A crazy October, 2011 snow storm that dropped trees everywhere, followed by the winter that wasn't helped a lot though.

Man, after this winter I discovered my 3-year plan is to be two years behind!!

Backwoods Savage said:

Once again I say you do not have to get 3 years worth of wood cut this year. If time and/or dollars is a problem, put up a year and perhaps 1/3 or 1/2 of another year.
That last picture was taken last October. We still have left that whole stack on the right and will be used next winter. That wood was stacked in April, 2009.

Click to expand...

I've got the wood now I just need the time . Actually I'm in decent shape just have to keep a supply coming in each year. On another note I cannot figure out why I like looking at pictures of stacks like the ones you posted so much. Must be something deep in my reptile brain.