My wood for next winter!

I took delivery of this truckload on MLK Day this past January. $500



My goal was to get it done as quickly as possible as I usually drag my feet. So I started cutting immediately.





And with only a few more rounds to split, this is what I have for next year. The middle pile is mostly maple from my mom's house cut in October. The rest is from the truckload.



I cut my pieces about 20 inches for my Tarm wood boiler and hopefully, a new insert to be bought this spring/summer. I am actually going to buy another truckload as soon as my yard is dry enough for the truck to drive on again. I want to get a year ahead this year if I can.

It was all mixed hardwoods...some oak in there too. It is supposed to be between 6-8 cords of wood, not face cords. A truckload should last me the year, depending on the temps. This year I burned from Nov. 15th through now on about half of what is in the pictures. I plan on starting earlier next year and adding an insert to keep the house a little warmer in our most used rooms.

I will take some measurements of the piles this afternoon and let you know. As far as time spent, I have enjoyed it completely this year, so it is tough to estimate. I usually spend three hours every couple days out there. I probably spent three, 7 hour days mixed in there too. I am just proud of the fact that it took me less than two months to get it all ready this year, and that it is done before the end of March.

I probably go through a "face cord" a week in the middle of the winter!

ansehnlich1,
I saw your post...you got some nice stuff there. One thing I noticed about your pile....the tree guy just laid all the logs right on the grass, I think. My guy puts 2 or 3 logs down perpendicular and then lays all the rest of the logs on top, therefore keeping most of the stuff off the ground. It makes it a lot easier to cut without dulling the saw!!

The reason I hit it so hard this year really comes down to oil prices. Last year I dragged my feet and ended up having to order 2.5 cords of CSD wood in October to help me get through the winter(I had just paid $579 to fill my oil tank and it scared me into getting more wood). The 2.5 cords cost me nearly as much as the whole truckload! I swore I would never do that again. Oil is anywhere between $3.54 and $3.75 in my area right now. My oil tank hasn't moved off the 3/4 mark since I started burning Nov. 15th. I would like to finish 2008 without having to top that off, if it is possible.

It was advertised as $85 a cord, but he charged me $500 for the truckload which he has always said works out to 6-8 cords cut, split and stacked. I have never took a serious measurement as I usually just burn what I have and he always brings me a truckload. This is the third time he has brought me wood over the years. I will try to take some measurements this afternoon.

I doubt it. With fuel prices the way they are, no one wants to travel more than 10 miles anymore. I heard of a guy about 25 miles from me who needed to get rid of excess wood last fall(tree guy). He wouldn't travel more than 10 miles so I was out of luck....wouldn't even make the trip for extra$$.

My neighbor made that fire pit for me. He attached a small, hollow pipe on the inside rim at the top and also made me a grate with a solid bar attached at the corner. The bar slides into the pipe so that I have a grate to cook food on that pivots over the fire or off to the side. I don't know if I explained it very well, but it works very nicely.