Might have to quit burnin this year.

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skinnykid

New Member
May 6, 2008
655
Next to a lake in NH
Well people,

I might have to quit burnin for this year. It breaks my heart but it might be.

I am getting close to running out of split wood and all the stuff that is split is still under seasoned. Getting a fire going is a wicked chore and all the wood does is hiss and bubble. It is not heating well and I am just clogging my chimney.

I had no other choice, I bought this place last march and couldn't start getting and stacking wood till the summer with the last of it getting split in August.

I can't really buy some seasoned wood do to $$ and I have to pay toward the new Jotul.

I have a big pile of Hemlock rounds that got felled at the beginning of last summer, I split 2 up to see if they would burn, Not happening!

So I can either stop, cut down or risk it and burn under seasoned wood.

I am upset...
 
I know the feeling - I ran low, or out in the early days...or simply moved into a different house with no wood stove...That took some getting used to.

But really, if you're burning wet wood, you're wasting 1/2 the effort you put into getting it. It's flowing up the flue as moisture. Just keep telling yourself that you'll be miles ahead next year and have nice, dry wood, too.
 
check craigslist, alot of people move into a house, find a pile of firewood, and don't use the fireplace. Maybe a neighbor or friend has some he can spare?
 
I'd be happy to spot you 2-3 cords of nicely seasoned Pine & Juniper, but it's way too far away, and I know you Right Coasters eschew the softwoods anyway. Ah well, sorry, skinny. Good luck, I hope you might be able to find some wood! Rick
 
I know people who have more than enough seasoned wood, I hate to ask, to me thats like asking to borrow some ones wife. I mean all the blood sweat and tears going into getting the wood, ya know?
 
I empathize with you and will joining you in 3 to 5 weeks when the last of the good stacks is gone. I have another two+ cords that I really shouldn't be burn until next year. I had a good idea of how much wood I would need from having a free standing stove in my old house, but we only decided to install a insert in our new house in early October. I have a good head start for next year. I would love to find another cord or two of seasoned wood but it has been tough to find this time of year. Oh well... I will enjoy it while it lasts.
 
skinnykid said:
I know people who have more than enough seasoned wood, I hate to ask, to me thats like asking to borrow some ones wife. I mean all the blood sweat and tears going into getting the wood, ya know?
Click to expand...

No harm in asking whether or not they'd be willing to trade some of your green for some of their seasoned to get you through the winter, skinny. Offer them a 15% premium or something. If they're woodburning friends, they'll understand completely and (I suspect) be more than willing to help you out. Rick
 
My one friend did say " sounds like I will be selling you some wood" He has heated his house for like 15 years for free and is a really nice guy, I guess it will depend on what he charges me vs. what it will cost in just propane for the rest of the winter.

On a brighter note, as was said, I still have a huge pallet of split Ash, A huge pile of Hemlock in the round (big rounds) and a Huge pile of Maple. I got dibs on a monster Ash that was storm damaged in december, an uprooted tree in my yard that is real big (december storm) a couple of smaller Ash that got topped (december storm) another 2-3 F-150 truck loads of hemlock to be pulled after snow melt and a big pile of Oak and sugar maple in my parents yard waiting for me to get my butt in gear and go get. Plus I haven't even began to look for other storm damaged trees in my parents back woods. SO, I should be good for next year provided I can split and stack it sooner than later.

Time is not on my side with a 2 year old and a 1 year old and me and momma working opposite days. I plan on starting in on splitting what I got in the yard saturday for a couple of hours. I wanna design a simple but nice wood rack/ shed because I really don't care for the pallet stacking. I have a new saw, splitter and I just ordered a new stove. I should be styling!!!!
 
How long has that huge pile of Ash been split? Assuming its White Ash, it ought to burn nicely in no time at all. Try it, you might like it!
 
Stephen in SoKY said:
How long has that huge pile of Ash been split? Assuming its White Ash, it ought to burn nicely in no time at all. Try it, you might like it!
Click to expand...

that pile is the same Ash that I have been burning for a while now. It is the stuff that didn't get split till august. I call it Ash but don't really know what it is. Closest thing I can find like it on the web is pumpkin Ash but I don't know really. It was real hard to split, very straight grained and heavy. It was stringy when getting split but not as bad as Elm that I see some guys here talking about.

Maybe Locust but I don't know
 
Unfortunately that doesn't sound like Ash. White Ash splits from the wind off a maul if you miss the round entirely.
 
Stephen in SoKY said:
Unfortunately that doesn't sound like Ash. White Ash splits from the wind off a maul if you miss the round entirely.
Click to expand...

Now that right there is funny, I don't care who you are.
 
why not find some pallets to burn - sure it's a but of work to process but they are plentiful and free
 
Pallets got me through my first year. As a plus, the nice square shapes stack really nice.

Matt
 
Oh, the best place I found for them is a pool and spa dealer. They had hundreds they were looking to get rid of.

Matt
 
What about a ton or so of Envi Blocks or the like? I've been mixing up my loads between these and my fire wood. I've had nothing but good luck with them. Long burn times and lots of heat. In my Morso I load up 5 or 6 bricks and they throw good heat for about 6 hours and keep the stove warm for another 2, maybe 3 depending on conditions. I alternate between wood and bricks so I maintain a good amount of coals. The bricks burn so completely they hardly leave any coals by the end of their burn. I picked up two tons last fall. At that time they were pretty competitively priced compared to fuel oil and fire wood. I have to admit, sitting here today, it was money well spent.
 
the only issue with that is the cost - arn't they around $300.00 a ton still - SK says cash is tight
 
Find somebody to trade firewood with? That's what I'm doing. My dad has piles of stuff 2 years old that won't get burned by him this season. So rather than let it go bad I just trade him load for load with stuff I split last fall. Works out for both of us!
 
For what it's worth, I've been burning underseasoned and sizzling wood all through this season. It's hard to get it started, but once I have a decent coal bed, I can produce decent heat. You will go through a lot more wood, because you will need to turn your air up a lot to get good heat and clean burning. As long as you stay on top of keeping your flue clean, burn it hot, and are willing to do the extra work to get the fire started, I think you will be ok. You can always dry wood around the stove, too. I've gone through a lot more kindling than I'd like, but I'm keeping the house warm. Not sure about your situation, but with my leaky, 260 y/o, ~3000 SF house, using the oil really isn't an option at $400+/month($700/mo last year)


edit: IMO, Negligence, not green wood, is what causes chimney fires. You know you are in a less than desirable position with the wood you have, so more diligence is required.

edit2: Also, if you buy wood from a firewood supplier/tree service, they will say it's seasoned, but it won't be. If you have halfway seasoned wood and a decent amount of it, any wood you buy will probably be about the same if not worse moisture content.(unless, of course, you happen to know a really good supplier who you've gotten from before and you know truly sells 15-20% MC wood.)
 
Sorry to hear that skinny didn't know you had such a full plate...you know what you have to do this summer then. Good luck...maybe with a cratered economy log loads with once aging drop to a reasonable price.
 
You can heat with green wood if needed. Many of us have done it many times (you burn what you have), It will be less efficient and you will have to use a lot of air but once you get a good hot bed of coals you can keep a hot fire going. It's not fun and you must stay on top of your chimney maint. but it can be done safely if you are out of other options.
Joe
 
polaris just jarred my memory skinny ...
...in the wood shed there's a few posts on getting 'almost seasoned' wood to dry quicker. I tried with some dead apple I didn't think was ready that I just cut. Very unscientific since I don't have a moisture meter but the splits got noticeably lighter and they burned well. Check it out maybe you find a solution.

edit to add
half splits took 2 days around the stove to dry out. quarter splits less than 24hrs. Kind of messy so I'm done with it...just wanted to validate the results of the others. It works.
 
I can resplit wood to make it much smaller I guess. G/F is gonna call the ProPAIN company tomorrow and see what our usage has been so far. We budgeted for 500 gallons. I wonder how they will pork us if we go over our budgeted amount?
 
Where in New Hampshire are you located? I might be able to trade you some seasoned wood for some green. I don't have a lot but could probably get a cord together.

Forrest
 
fsr4538 said:
Where in New Hampshire are you located? I might be able to trade you some seasoned wood for some green. I don't have a lot but could probably get a cord together.

Forrest
Click to expand...
There's the post you've been waiting to see!
 
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