Almost done stacking wood for the year!

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Neighbor just stopped by the other day to tell me she need me to cut up a tree for her and haul it away...30" diameter white oak! The "branches" are around 20" or more diameter (the butt log will be sawn into lumber). Still have a 48" diameter red oak to cut up, and a 24" diameter hickory that fell across my creek. The Stihl 361 has been worth every penny...
 
Since December we took in 6 grapple loads of wood (all free, mostly oak, maple, some sycamore and pine) and have been bucking it every week between deliveries to make room for the next load. The rounds that were cut from log lengths (anywhere between 3' and 20' long) were stacked as they were cut so we have two columns of stacked wood 4' high, 80' long and each column consists of 4 rows of wood. The space between the two columns is wide enough for the truck to drive between and unload more wood, but the distance between them is getting more and more narrow with each delivery. I figure it's about 35 cords of wood back there. NONE of it has been split yet, so we have a lot of quality time to spend with the splitter the next few weeks. We burn about 5 cords a year so I'll be ahead a few years (one day after it's stacked.
 
Chardler,

Who is deliveing you grapple loads for free?? care to share info with a fellow islander?
 
You can try Raymond Bros 631-924-8451, they were looking to get rid of wood a couple of months ago. Mostly watch craigslist, some of these guys post there looking to get rid of large quantities of wood. Some of it will be 36+'' in diameter, so make sure you can handle it after it gets dropped off. Also expect to hit nails, brass house numbers, flag pole brackets and other embedded hardware, these trees come from neighborhoods. But free is free right? If you have a conveinient location and an area that is easy for them to unload, they will be back to drop off more, but if it's a hard drop off, don't expect to see them back again, they seem to take the path of least resistance, like electric.
 
We have about 4 cords of rounds cut and a little more than a cord split and stacked in the sun. We plan on rounding up another 4 cords from our 40acres. I take my ATV with a 4' x 5' off road pull behind trailer down our trails and mostly cut up fallen and leaning hardwoods which is slightly- seasoned wood. I tend to cut less than 40% new trees down. Is there a post with pictures of wood showing round cuts, bark, leaves, burn efficiency ect matched to their name so that I can use it as a reference? I know some of the basics-Maple, Birch, Ash, Pine but are unsure about the several others I have on my property. We burn it in our Kodiak 1700 insert with 30ft flex SS liner.
 
Friend and I finished two days ago. Each had 1 cord left from last winter, each added about 4 more cords to each house of standing red oak, cherry, red elm, and maple. Moisture readings in the standing stuff showed between 29-38% after we finished splitting the 8 cords. We'll see how dry it is by November 1st. (I know it'll be fine, but just curious how low it will be) Meanwhile, betweeen the loads, replaced the oil pan, rear transfer case seal and a rear u-joint. Those loads were quite a bit of strain on the '88 GMC with 334k miles.............BUT IT'S DONE !
 
Finisihed stacking 3rd holz today. I had 1 hh and 1 linier cord left over fromm 2008 winter. I figure I have 5 cords ready for 2008-09. I'll take a break for awhile unless I stumble across more free and ready to haul wood druing the summer.
 
The truth is, you're never really done. There's next year and the year after and.. AND, it's only likely to get more and more difficult to find and expensive as petroleum prices soar through the roof.
 
jpl1nh said:
The truth is, you're never really done. There's next year and the year after and.. AND, it's only likely to get more and more difficult to find and expensive as petroleum prices soar through the roof.

Very true , but...at least I can sit on the hammock for a spell and ponder as to when I jump on the next free load.
 
Almost done, and already thinking about getting more. Want to be 2 years ahead...
 
So far got 4 cords cedar mill ends under tarps, 7-1/2 cords of fir/maple mix in the sheds, 1 cord of maple outside stacked in rows, and 1 more cord of douglas fir coming tomorrow.. That`s a 2 year+ supply.

This is definately a sickness. I`m contemplating a 3 year supply :)
 
I use on average 5 cord/year and thats all I put in the shed . But this year I just keep going and going and going. Got 8.5 total and every time I go to camp I come back with 1/3 of a cord. Funny thing is even with processors I still cut my own wood with a chainsaw. Just seems to take all the problems of the world away when your out there bustin your azz.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.