three year plan is a joke

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ryjen

ryjen

Burning Hunk
Feb 2, 2014
155
north carolina
Weather patterns vary, temps are unpredictable, and as I get older I may want my house warmer than I do now. So I've decided that, while a good idea, the 3 year plan is just that....an idea.
My plan? Just get any and all wood that I can get my hands on. Nonstop. (I started in Feb.)
When I run out of room to stack it, that is when I will stop.....for a month or two. ;)
 
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"Just get any and all wood I can get my hands on" actually is my three year plan. I try not to turn down wood.
 
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Agreed.
Those who goal to get to 3 often don't. Set your goals higher and get ahead further. I recently got about 30 cord within 1/2 mile of my house loaded on my dump truck free. Little time, effort and $ investment right at my door step.
 
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I'm pretty much on the same page. Considering I burned about 8 cord this year, I think getting 24 in one year is going to be tough. I'm hoping to get 16 cord this spring, which should minimally be two harsh winters and hoping that mild weather may get me close to three.
 
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I'm hoping to get 30 cord this year. We had massive ice storm damage a few weeks ago and free wood is all over the place. My only obstacle is finding the time to get out and get it all.
 
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A 3 year plan is more than having just 3 years of wood cut and split. It is cut, split and seasoned. For me I need 9 cords seasoned to reach my 3 year plan. That means at all times I need 12 cords cut and split 9 seasoned and 3 green.
 
ryjen said:
I'm hoping to get 30 cord this year.
Click to expand...
30 cords is my 3-year plan.

Picked up another 2.5 cords in the last 10 days. Trying to process 1 cord per week, as time permits, while the weather remains cool.
 
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I have nearly 4 cord stacked and split from last spring/summer, and have c/s/s almost 3 cord this year. Picked up nearly two cord last weekend (still need to split and stack) of wood that was cut down last June. My goal is to have 12 - 14 cord c/s/s before burning season. If I can do that this year, then it is maintenance each year after. ==c

I burn about 4 cord per year (on a normal year).

Now, when all is full and stacked and put away, if good wood comes my way, I will find a place to put it.
 
Shoot for a four year plan - then if you can quite get to four, the three year plan is all set! Cheers!
 
I am trying to hold my 3 yr plan which is 10 cord css+rtb to that end I have 35 cord css at present. I need to replace what was used this year yet ( about 5 cord). But have had weather/ground related delays in repositioning this years over stock prior to obtaining replacement material. Having dealt with a very uncooperative Mother Nature in the past has led to the what some might call excess, depends on your point of view. ( still burning 24/7)
 
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Having a three year plan is no joke, a three year plan may mean something different to every burner, but it becomes the minimum goal that we all must reach if you don't want to get caught like the many people did on this forum currently due to this years weather conditions. Every year can be different, some people can automatically go from a 3 year plan to having five years ready. it is all relative. A three year plan gives you something to work towards. A three year plan could mean you have 10 years worth of firewood ready.....but most importantly, a three year plan means you are not running out of wood any time soon..........
 
This years weather has got me thinking about upgrades to my homes energy efficiency more than hoarding more firewood. As much as I like wood burning and c/s/s I could do less and still be just as happy.
 
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Just because we talk about the 3 year plan does not mean you have to stop! We've had from 3 years to 8 years on hand and it varies a lot from year to year. But the goal is to have a minimum of 3 years ahead at all times. The benefits are tremendous.

In addition, new people do not have to shoot for the 3 years all at once. That is a lot of work. It may take you 3 or 4 years to get that far ahead but then it is all easy from that point on.
 
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Always go overboard with your future firewood to be prepared for cold winters that we are experiencing.
I really never stop. Never heard anybody say oh I think I have too much firewood.
 
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Paulywalnut said:
Always go overboard with your future firewood to be prepared for cold winters that we are experiencing.
I really never stop. Never heard anybody say oh I think I have too much firewood.
Click to expand...
I have about 7 cords stacked right now and 3-4 that needs split & stacked piled up everywhere. My neighbor walked over Saturday while I was stacking and asked what I was gonna do with all this wood. Duh!- burn it. He just shook his head and said it will rot before you use all that. I guess non burners just don't understand how much wood you need to have on hand when you heat with nothing but wood. I didn't tell him about all I have to cut yet this year that's still at the farm>>.
 
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My 3 year plan is to have more wood than storage space

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First year in this house was '07, and that was the first time in my life I had ever had to burn wood that was not seasoned well enough. That in and of itself was motivation for the next year to get several years on hand. Since then I've been keeping between 2.5 and 3 years on hand as measured at the start of a burn season.

The only time this plan was a pain was the first year, after that, it's just maintenance. That first year in particular when I needed to do all the extra wood processing, I had almost exclusively beech. Great firewood, but not a round of it would split without the 10lb sledge and wedges. Didn't have the fiskars then so can't say how it would have done, but I'm pretty sure that stuff would have been a battle. In all, again, it's been easy ever since.

Make it happen this year, and replace whatever you burn subsequent years. As that Nike company would say, "just do it"

pen
 
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yooperdave said:
When you run out of room to stack it, just do the same thing they do in the cities...go higher!
Click to expand...
Those racks you see in my avatar have been getting taller and my stacks are now six feet tall. As they settle I have to take a 3 pound hammer and balance them often to keep them from falling! Lol my 3 year plan has 24 of those racks now, ten feet long. All scrounge hardwoods.
 
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Normally, I stack as high as I can reach comfortably. Ends up being about 7'. Now before any of you start blasting me, remember that when the snows come, I end up walking on top of packed snow and the piles end up being a bit over 6'. The bottom course of rounds get slugged with a maul to break them free from the ground (no pallets or base boards for this yooper).
And as far as how much snow do I have yet, I had to shovel out the sewer clean-out in the yard Sat. a.m. and measured 36" depth in an area that is untouched all winter! It drives me nuts when I see pics of peoples yards with just a patch or two of snow left, or other yards with flowers blooming!!! Lucky dogs! (sewer was frozen and then plugged due to being frozen..all good as of yesterday)
 
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yooperdave said:
Normally, I stack as high as I can reach comfortably. Ends up being about 7'. Now before any of you start blasting me, remember that when the snows come, I end up walking on top of packed snow and the piles end up being a bit over 6'. The bottom course of rounds get slugged with a maul to break them free from the ground (no pallets or base boards for this yooper).
And as far as how much snow do I have yet, I had to shovel out the sewer clean-out in the yard Sat. a.m. and measured 36" depth in an area that is untouched all winter! It drives me nuts when I see pics of peoples yards with just a patch or two of snow left, or other yards with flowers blooming!!! Lucky dogs! (sewer was frozen and then plugged due to being frozen..all good as of yesterday)
Click to expand...
Your not alone up there, we still have a lot of snow on the ground here and we got another 4" today. I've said it on another thread, the lake has a good 4' of ice on it. Fishing opener will be hard on the resorts a second year in a row from iced over lakes on opener. The U.P. Is only a few hours from here, and it has the nicest northern shores I've ever seen!
 
Wood Duck said:
"Just get any and all wood I can get my hands on" actually is my three year plan. I try not to turn down wood.
Click to expand...

My plan is when wife says "No! not more wood!"
(And then I just have to figure out new place to put it.)

yooperdave said:
It drives me nuts when I see pics of peoples yards with just a patch or two of snow left, or other yards with flowers blooming!!! Lucky dogs! (sewer was frozen and then plugged due to being frozen..all good as of yesterday)
Click to expand...

Walked by a couple of patches of snow tonight, I was kinda offended to see it still sticking around ... really wanted to forget about snow and all that winter ice crap already. No mas.
 
tsquini said:
This years weather has got me thinking about upgrades to my homes energy efficiency more than hoarding more firewood.
Click to expand...
Depending how leaky and how lacking on insulation your house is, weatherization can make a big difference. I took care of some big air leaks that were pretty easy to fix, and gained about four degrees in room temp. I'm not sure how much actual wood savings that results in, but I don't have to burn down the coals as fast to make room for another re-load....I can pretty much let the load run its course and the house will still stay warm enough. Some of those windy days in the single digits, all that goes out the window though. !!!
Anyway, I will get as far ahead as I can. Right now, I'm on a "three-summer plan," not quite three years, for us and mom-in-law. A couple of my SILs, I'm still cutting now for next season....taking them a lot of soft Maple. Need to bury them this spring in wood to split and stack. It'll be great when we're all burning Oak. ==c
 
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Would you feel better if we called it a dry wood plan? I am lucky to have hundreds of dead standing oak that will season in months not years. We used 5 cord this season and will have 15 cord c/s/s by summer. But if it was from green or blowdown trees it would take three years to be ready. I think showing everyone that it takes up to three years to get good seasoned wood is a good idea.
 
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