getting ready for this season

[shoeboxlen]

Well I have been procrastinating for a while had to trucks of log lengths cut and split since last fall been sitting in a big pile. So we started doing the stacking yeasterday in the wood shed. not my idea of a good time but its a necisary evil I guess. Load of wood a day keeps the oil man away. Every one else ready for the cold to come?

 

[woodsmaster]

Just putting in foundation for boiler shed. still a long ways to go but hoping to be ready in november. I do have wood ready and a old wood stove in the house just in case....

 

[shoeboxlen]

I hear ya no matter what happens its good to have a woodstove in the house. I have a inssert and a vermont castings in the house unfortunatly they dont get much use any more but if the switch is turned off indeffinitly I will be warm lol.

 

[flyingcow]

Been stacking wood on the pallets as we split it. I like this setup. Will have some pics soon. Tractor w/forks will put pallets in garage, beside boiler room.

 

[Piker]

I am definitely ready... just about. Picked up two cords of cut split and seasoned locust today... got it all in the basement and stacked too... going down in a week or so to get two more and I should be good for the season. I was going to burn mostly biobricks but got a sweet deal on this stuff that I just couldn't pass up. Whatever I need over this 4 cords of locust will be biobricks for this year... I am guessing maybe somewhere between a ton or two.

I don't know... something about a nice pile of firewood that just makes me feel good.

Cheers.

 

[leaddog]

I am definitely ready... just about. Picked up two cords of cut split and seasoned locust today... got it all in the basement and stacked too... going down in a week or so to get two more and I should be good for the season. I was going to burn mostly biobricks but got a sweet deal on this stuff that I just couldn't pass up. Whatever I need over this 4 cords of locust will be biobricks for this year... I am guessing maybe somewhere between a ton or two.

I don't know... something about a nice pile of firewood that just makes me feel good.

Cheers.

I don't know but that wood sure looks quite bright for seasoned wood. Looks like it just got split. If it's not quite ready just mix the bio-bricks with it and it should do good. How do the biobricks burn seeing as they are low moisture. I thought you needed atleast 15% to get the best burn. At least most manufaturers recomend at least 15% with 20% best. seems alittle moisture helps???????????
leaddog

 

[Piker]

I am definitely ready... just about. Picked up two cords of cut split and seasoned locust today... got it all in the basement and stacked too... going down in a week or so to get two more and I should be good for the season. I was going to burn mostly biobricks but got a sweet deal on this stuff that I just couldn't pass up. Whatever I need over this 4 cords of locust will be biobricks for this year... I am guessing maybe somewhere between a ton or two.

I don't know... something about a nice pile of firewood that just makes me feel good.

Cheers.

I don't know but that wood sure looks quite bright for seasoned wood. Looks like it just got split. If it's not quite ready just mix the bio-bricks with it and it should do good. How do the biobricks burn seeing as they are low moisture. I thought you needed atleast 15% to get the best burn. At least most manufaturers recomend at least 15% with 20% best. seems alittle moisture helps???????????
leaddog

The wood is seasoned... but not weathered, so it keeps it's color. I has been split since march... and it's split fairly fine. We split a few pieces and stuck them with a moisture meter today and most of it was 20% or below. I found a few pieces that were up close to 25%, (a few pieces of oak mixed in here and there) but I still have some time to get it down to that 15% mark as it continues to dry in the basement. Once it gets cold outside and the air inside the house dries out, you can drop the moisture content by 5 points in a big hurry just by aiming a small fan at the wood pile.

Most of the time anything below 25% is 'acceptable.' 20% is strongly recommended by most manufacturers... 15% is about as dry as you can get wood in this part of the country using mother nature (wind and sun). You are correct that mixing biobricks (about 5 to 8% moisture content) to achieve a lower average moisture content in the firebox is helpful... but I will start the season off by burning strictly bricks - giving my wood time to season a little further. I'll put all 4 cords down in the basement at once... and I can guarantee I'll have most of the wood to 15% by thanksgiving. (maybe not the oak) Good dry basement... warm... and a little air circulation - makes for a good recipe for drying wood.

I can't believe it, but I am actually kind of excited for cold weather to get here...

cheers

 

[Piker]

How do the biobricks burn seeing as they are low moisture. I thought you needed atleast 15% to get the best burn. At least most manufaturers recomend at least 15% with 20% best. seems alittle moisture helps???????????
leaddog

Moisture in biomass does two things... slows the rate of combustion, and rob btu's from the combustion cycle. Water in the wood has to be evaporated before the wood can burn... and once the water becomes water vapor, it makes the exhaust gasses more dense, and thus carries more btu's out your chimney.

The only drawback with moisture contents below 15% is that sometimes too much gas can be produced at one time, especially in forced draft gasifiers with static primary and secondary air settings. Plus there is sometimes an issue of generating extremely high combustion temperatures. When burning the bricks in a standard gasifier, you do have to watch how full you load the firebox. The Froling we are using seems to handle the extra wood gas much much better since it can compensate for varying quantities of gas by changing the primary and secondary air settings on the fly. If exhaust gasses get too hot, it slows the burn rate down... I have yet to see the Froling choke on anything I have fed it.

All in all, the bricks work really well, but like anything, you have to use your head a little bit. I suppose it's ideal to mix them with a little wood if you need to temper the combustion a bit...

cheers

 

[Piker]

I should clarify that when I say I am going to burn strictly biobricks, that I always throw a few pieces of wood in on top of the bricks... just so there are some nice coals left over for the next firing once the boiler shuts down.

cheers