Accessibility of the wood burning lifestyle

[clancey]

OMG . I wish you didn't mention that now I am looking at my floors...lol lol clancey

 

[firefighterjake]

I must be stupid. Really stupid.

Chain saws, fireplace insert w/liner, 2 wood stoves in the basement that turned into a single wood boiler, two tanks with a crap load of pipe and pumps, splitter, tractor with logging winch and chipper, wood shed that's too small so I need another plus spare parts for all the above.

Now one can say the winch and chipper are luxuries but I needed the tractor no matter what so we will only carry 25% of it to wood burning.

Can any sane person alive tell me how close to 40K is saving me money on heating the house? I turn 60 next month. What was I thinking?

I figure some of my expenses related to wood burning aren't just expenses for wood burning . . . in other words I would own a chainsaw, ATV and ATV trailer regardless of whether I heated with wood or not. Some expenses -- like the wood splitter -- however are admittedly only due to burning wood.

Now as for saving money burning wood . . . the way I look at it is this . . . when prices are relatively cheap for heating oil and folks are laughing at me toiling away . . . well . . . they are right . . . I look a bit foolish. However, if and when heating oil prices skyrocket again to $4 plus and they are scrapping vacation plans and lowering their thermostats to 60 degrees to save money while I am comfortably cavorting about the cabana sans pans with a toasty 74 degree temp . . . or when they are huddled about a stinking kerosene heater last used in 1998, and worried about freezing pipes bursting and eating cereal for the third time that day due to a power outage while I am comfortably seated in my living room , cooking up a steak on the coals with nary a worry . . . well then the cost of heating with wood doesn't seem to be so bad.

 

[Bad LP]

I figure some of my expenses related to wood burning aren't just expenses for wood burning . . . in other words I would own a chainsaw, ATV and ATV trailer regardless of whether I heated with wood or not. Some expenses -- like the wood splitter -- however are admittedly only due to burning wood.

Now as for saving money burning wood . . . the way I look at it is this . . . when prices are relatively cheap for heating oil and folks are laughing at me toiling away . . . well . . . they are right . . . I look a bit foolish. However, if and when heating oil prices skyrocket again to $4 plus and they are scrapping vacation plans and lowering their thermostats to 60 degrees to save money while I am comfortably cavorting about the cabana sans pans with a toasty 74 degree temp . . . or when they are huddled about a stinking kerosene heater last used in 1998, and worried about freezing pipes bursting and eating cereal for the third time that day due to a power outage while I am comfortably seated in my living room , cooking up a steak on the coals with nary a worry . . . well then the cost of heating with wood doesn't seem to be so bad.

Funny. My wife had a girls week at Moosehead and like many others the power went out. Her friend said to her I like Rob's list of "must haves". Not sure if they fired up the insert but I suspect she did. She likes the extra warmth as much as me and the dog do.

 

[jetsam]

You can't burn wood because you want free heat. (Well, I tell my wife that's why we heat with wood, but she knows there's more to it.)

If you want your heating paid for, go get a second job that pays your electric bill and use electric. Easier, takes less time out of your life. (MUCH less time.)

If you love being in the woods and having an excuse to buy saws and vehicles and all the (many) things you need to operate and maintain said saws and vehicles... well, welcome to your three (or more) new hobbies.

Let me run through a few basic questions a new guy might have....

How do I find a tree to cut? What dries fast, what has high BTUs, what kind of wood do I want in my stacks? How can I tell if I'm transporting tree killing parasites by taking this wood? What kind of growth am I trying to promote on this land and how do I get there? Is this tree dead? Will it die next year? Is the wood going to be okay or is it a sponge?

How do I set up and run a saw? What happens when things go wrong? How do I sharpen a chain in the field, in the shop? What does a good one look and feel like?

How do I drop this tree in the intended area? What if something goes wrong? Seems like I might die. (Yes.) How can it be done safely?

How do I get this log down from leaning on that other tree? How do I get my saw back out of this log?

Okay, this log weighs 4000 pounds and the rounds at the bottom are 200 pounds each... how does this wood get over to my woodpiles?

How do guys who've been splitting a long time DO this without a machine?

How do I stack wood so it has good airflow but also good cover and stays up for three years plus, even when people are rooting through it?

How do I get this tractor running and out of the woods so I can fix it? How do I get this saw going so I can cut that one out? How do I build sheds for all of this wood related stuff?

At this point you have found out that you need to have some skills from the mechanic, the logger, the mechanist, the carpenter, (and maybe also the sprinter, depends how your felling lesson went). You are still a year or three out from getting a stove and having dry wood. And the stove is its own thing to learn about.

So honestly, if learning all that and spending your weekends fixing saws and pickups/UTVs and splitters and such sounds like a good time, enjoy your 'free' heat. (I do!)

If it doesn't, maybe get some solar panels and call it a day!

TL;DR: Accessibility is low, will seriously impact your internet time.

 

[MrCool1]

I am new here, but gotta throw in my 2 cents!
I have been cutting firewood since I was 12. with the crankiest old McCullough saw ever made. 24" blade and I was terrified of it at first.
grew up (obviously) with wood heat, moved into the city for a year and heated electric - never been back. ok, well not to live!
it is a lifestyle - I didn't realize that until I found this forum. awesome bunch of people here with fantastic knowledge/experience. stumbled in while looking for loglifter ideas for my wood splitter. I figure I have at least partially earned the privilege - I retired last March.
living a bit rural requires a bit of what they call a "prepper" attitude - we have enough to get by for months - and firewood for a few years. understanding what it takes to use wood heat safely and be comfortable probably does seem foreign to someone new to it - stick with it for a year and use this forum for questions and you will be fine!
this is such an awesome supportive group - I am so glad I found you all!
I will try to get a photo on the woodshed forum soon - just for the fun of it. some of you on here make me feel like an amateur! Kudos to you all!

 

[stoveliker]

Welcome!

 

[Ctwoodtick]

I am new here, but gotta throw in my 2 cents!
I have been cutting firewood since I was 12. with the crankiest old McCullough saw ever made. 24" blade and I was terrified of it at first.
grew up (obviously) with wood heat, moved into the city for a year and heated electric - never been back. ok, well not to live!
it is a lifestyle - I didn't realize that until I found this forum. awesome bunch of people here with fantastic knowledge/experience. stumbled in while looking for loglifter ideas for my wood splitter. I figure I have at least partially earned the privilege - I retired last March.
living a bit rural requires a bit of what they call a "prepper" attitude - we have enough to get by for months - and firewood for a few years. understanding what it takes to use wood heat safely and be comfortable probably does seem foreign to someone new to it - stick with it for a year and use this forum for questions and you will be fine!
this is such an awesome supportive group - I am so glad I found you all!
I will try to get a photo on the woodshed forum soon - just for the fun of it. some of you on here make me feel like an amateur! Kudos to you all!

Welcome! Yes it’s a lifestyle. Part of that lifestyle is “prepping” like you said. I work in a school during the day and after work find that I need a lot of outdoor type work and manual projects so that I don’t lose my mind.

 

[Rob_Red]

Welcome!

 

[PaulOinMA]

Welcome!

 

[jotulf45v2]

This is great to read. I'm new here as well and here's my experience:
I grew up in a wood burning house and occasionally helped but I never was into it. It was more an obligation to help my dad than it was to spend quality time together. My parents have a stone wall that runs the length of their backyard and they used that to stack wood on, probably 5 cords fit on it as it was not deep. I didn't know about the seasoning process and I don't think my dad did it solely for that reason, at least he never mentioned it. We had an 80's Noble stove so it burned whatever. He was more concerned about having a supply to not run out. Ten years and a house later I got back into it. My wife in the beginning didn't think it'd last, she was all for it but couldn't see me spending my weekends splitting and stacking. I wasn't sure where to start but knew if I started sooner it'd be better than starting later. I wanted to have a large supply to have but my current setup could only afford 2 cords so I started there. I had a small VC intrepid from the previous owner which did a nice job heating. It also gave me the opportunity to re-learn wood burning on an EPA stove with a catalyst.

My first year hurdle was scavenging for wood and getting the wood to my house (my first burn I ordered a cord to get us by). I had a utility truck with a 6ft bed and I found one house on FB that had a tree down that was bucked and the owner wanted gone for free. He had a handful of rounds that were large but I managed to transport every piece back across 3 or 4 trips. Split and stacked was just under 2 cords on pallets in a spot the previous owner had setup. I ran out of space to stack but I kept on the lookout for more rounds and put them aside. As I burned down the pile, I would split and stack the new wood to get somewhat ahead of next season.

It helped that I'm not 100% reliant on the stove for heat and both the wife and myself are at work during the day. Last year was the first season burning 24 hours (except for a 3 week window where I swapped stoves). New stove is a F45 v2 and it was amazing not having to worry about burning down long pieces. My current storage setup allows for ~4 cords split between pallets and two 1 cord racks. Every year I upgrade the setup a bit. I started with a husky maul from HD and split every round I gathered by hand. Last year my wife got me a fiskars splitting axe which made splitting a treat. This year I got a fiskars maul to help with the really large/knotty pieces, totally replacing my husky. Next year I may try my hand at a wood shed if lumber prices come down, this would up my storage to possibly 6 cords. Maybe eventually spring for a hydraulic splitter

I've now become the wood guy on my block. I've setup my wood pile to be neat and clean, it's almost self advertising from the road. Neighbors call me when they have a tree down. I don't have a saw to buck large trees but they'll call tree guys to buck it for them and I'll come and haul it away to save them some trouble. I live in a mixed area where it's half urban and half rural, all trees. I'd say majority of homes have chimneys but not a lot of people burn, at least not wood. Aside from months of no new listings for wood, every year there seems to be a healthy supply to pickup. Unfortunately, I'm all loaded up on what I can store as rounds and it's killing me to miss out on fresh ash rounds but there'll be others.

This hobby has become my workout with my current job being behind a desk. From Dec-Apr when we're not traveling on weekends I'll split and get a pile ready to stack in place of wood burned. It works out and now I have a system in place to find, retrieve and process wood. Still working on adequate storage to hold a multi year supply but it's something to work toward.

 

[MrCool1]

This is great to read. I'm new here as well and here's my experience:
I grew up in a wood burning house and occasionally helped but I never was into it. It was more an obligation to help my dad than it was to spend quality time together. My parents have a stone wall that runs the length of their backyard and they used that to stack wood on, probably 5 cords fit on it as it was not deep. I didn't know about the seasoning process and I don't think my dad did it solely for that reason, at least he never mentioned it. We had an 80's Noble stove so it burned whatever. He was more concerned about having a supply to not run out. Ten years and a house later I got back into it. My wife in the beginning didn't think it'd last, she was all for it but couldn't see me spending my weekends splitting and stacking. I wasn't sure where to start but knew if I started sooner it'd be better than starting later. I wanted to have a large supply to have but my current setup could only afford 2 cords so I started there. I had a small VC intrepid from the previous owner which did a nice job heating. It also gave me the opportunity to re-learn wood burning on an EPA stove with a catalyst.

My first year hurdle was scavenging for wood and getting the wood to my house (my first burn I ordered a cord to get us by). I had a utility truck with a 6ft bed and I found one house on FB that had a tree down that was bucked and the owner wanted gone for free. He had a handful of rounds that were large but I managed to transport every piece back across 3 or 4 trips. Split and stacked was just under 2 cords on pallets in a spot the previous owner had setup. I ran out of space to stack but I kept on the lookout for more rounds and put them aside. As I burned down the pile, I would split and stack the new wood to get somewhat ahead of next season.

It helped that I'm not 100% reliant on the stove for heat and both the wife and myself are at work during the day. Last year was the first season burning 24 hours (except for a 3 week window where I swapped stoves). New stove is a F45 v2 and it was amazing not having to worry about burning down long pieces. My current storage setup allows for ~4 cords split between pallets and two 1 cord racks. Every year I upgrade the setup a bit. I started with a husky maul from HD and split every round I gathered by hand. Last year my wife got me a fiskars splitting axe which made splitting a treat. This year I got a fiskars maul to help with the really large/knotty pieces, totally replacing my husky. Next year I may try my hand at a wood shed if lumber prices come down, this would up my storage to possibly 6 cords. Maybe eventually spring for a hydraulic splitter

I've now become the wood guy on my block. I've setup my wood pile to be neat and clean, it's almost self advertising from the road. Neighbors call me when they have a tree down. I don't have a saw to buck large trees but they'll call tree guys to buck it for them and I'll come and haul it away to save them some trouble. I live in a mixed area where it's half urban and half rural, all trees. I'd say majority of homes have chimneys but not a lot of people burn, at least not wood. Aside from months of no new listings for wood, every year there seems to be a healthy supply to pickup. Unfortunately, I'm all loaded up on what I can store as rounds and it's killing me to miss out on fresh ash rounds but there'll be others.

This hobby has become my workout with my current job being behind a desk. From Dec-Apr when we're not traveling on weekends I'll split and get a pile ready to stack in place of wood burned. It works out and now I have a system in place to find, retrieve and process wood. Still working on adequate storage to hold a multi year supply but it's something to work toward.

Right on!
I never knew there was any kind of kinship with this, I hardly know anyone around here that burns.
I have ten acres of timber - but not ready to cut yet. I do grab any standing dead asap!
I am a pretty good wood scrounge, and I get permits for the national forest when I have time. I retired in March, we will see what this year brings.
my wife is the lead shipper in a plant that has a wood shop - and she seems to get first pick at what they are tossing - and we never wonder where our first pieces for fire-starting are going to come from. I have Cedar on the property, and it seems to die often enough to keep us supplied.
I can cut and split it down to about 3" diameter - then I use a crazy sharp knife to slice off starter pieces - kind of like the "feather sticks" they do in survivalist circles - but I slice them free of the stick- but being a bit of a survivalist/prepper - I almost never use a match - those paper thin cedar pieces will catch a spark and go - the wife and I compete for 1 strike status with the steel and the little ferro rods! something I can do more consistently than she can - but she is determined to win it!
kind of fun for a couple seniors.
I have lit the stove every night for over two months using a fire piston - was a fun time - and I did twice (second time to be sure it wasn't an accident) light the stove from an ember from a bow-drill. knowing I can do it is good enough for me! what a lot of work!
we also practice lighting it in the dark - we have a lot of power outages - one this morning in fact - but we do use a headlamp to see enough to be safe.
My primary (prevailing?) wind is from the south - and I inherited a 10X18 steel quonset hut deal. we finally figured out it could make a good woodshed - I have it aligned north/south, with doors on the south side, but a gap completely across the bottom and a large vent above the doors with a roof over it to keep the rain out - but with it open on the other side, we fill it from one side and use the older side first, then fill the side we just used and go to the other side the next year. it holds just over 5 cord, and we never us a full three cords a year here. and I leave the south doors open all summer - so it power-ventilates - naturally aspirated!
I have a tarp shelter with pallets on the ground that we keep the next stage of wood under - and it gets stacked in the woodshed at a year old.
I have to laugh at myself, my friends give me a hard time about all the effort I put into it - but then I got on here and found I am more of an amateur!
my next project is a lifter for the big rounds to go on my hydraulic splitter - that is how I found this awesome site.
5 years ago I was gifted more big oak than I could haul with 10 trips with my one ton truck. we mostly use that for overnight, and really cold days.
We will be out of that in 2024. but at my age I feel those big oak rounds for a few days after messing with them. the last of them get split this month!!

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Right on!
I never knew there was any kind of kinship with this, I hardly know anyone around here that burns.
I have ten acres of timber - but not ready to cut yet. I do grab any standing dead asap!
I am a pretty good wood scrounge, and I get permits for the national forest when I have time. I retired in March, we will see what this year brings.
my wife is the lead shipper in a plant that has a wood shop - and she seems to get first pick at what they are tossing - and we never wonder where our first pieces for fire-starting are going to come from. I have Cedar on the property, and it seems to die often enough to keep us supplied.
I can cut and split it down to about 3" diameter - then I use a crazy sharp knife to slice off starter pieces - kind of like the "feather sticks" they do in survivalist circles - but I slice them free of the stick- but being a bit of a survivalist/prepper - I almost never use a match - those paper thin cedar pieces will catch a spark and go - the wife and I compete for 1 strike status with the steel and the little ferro rods! something I can do more consistently than she can - but she is determined to win it!
kind of fun for a couple seniors.
I have lit the stove every night for over two months using a fire piston - was a fun time - and I did twice (second time to be sure it wasn't an accident) light the stove from an ember from a bow-drill. knowing I can do it is good enough for me! what a lot of work!
we also practice lighting it in the dark - we have a lot of power outages - one this morning in fact - but we do use a headlamp to see enough to be safe.
My primary (prevailing?) wind is from the south - and I inherited a 10X18 steel quonset hut deal. we finally figured out it could make a good woodshed - I have it aligned north/south, with doors on the south side, but a gap completely across the bottom and a large vent above the doors with a roof over it to keep the rain out - but with it open on the other side, we fill it from one side and use the older side first, then fill the side we just used and go to the other side the next year. it holds just over 5 cord, and we never us a full three cords a year here. and I leave the south doors open all summer - so it power-ventilates - naturally aspirated!
I have a tarp shelter with pallets on the ground that we keep the next stage of wood under - and it gets stacked in the woodshed at a year old.
I have to laugh at myself, my friends give me a hard time about all the effort I put into it - but then I got on here and found I am more of an amateur!
my next project is a lifter for the big rounds to go on my hydraulic splitter - that is how I found this awesome site.
5 years ago I was gifted more big oak than I could haul with 10 trips with my one ton truck. we mostly use that for overnight, and really cold days.
We will be out of that in 2024. but at my age I feel those big oak rounds for a few days after messing with them. the last of them get split this month!!

There is nothing like wood heat. I now know a lot of people that burn. I have met some nice people on here that live in my area and have helped them out with the scrounge. Wood burning is definitely a life style and the people that dont burn dont get it, unless they come over your house in the dead of winter and truly feel the difference. Its not for lazy people, but people that don't mind hard work. Its funny to see people visit for the holidays and for some reason they gravitate to the wood stove.. I get... man this feels nice.. I say to my self... No $hit.. thats why I have it and 12 cords of wood... I love the saws.. equipment, being outside, enjoying the outdoors with my kid.. enjoying a hot beverage out in the woods..

 

[FTG-05]

The first year always sucks. The 2nd is a little better. By the 3rd year, you're now using firewood that has had a couple years to season. That's when you start to see the payoff.

There is nothing more satisfying than starting a fire in a cold stove and have it burning brightly by the time the coffee is ready. Dry wood burns so much nicer!

 

[Poindexter]

Wow! Good thread. The last month I remember clearly was March 2020, kind of a blur since then.

First year definitely the hardest. Second year, hopefuly good enough results to be encouraging and pretty well dialed in for year three.

The main thing is getting your fuel seasoned. At the end of the day you can buy green wood, season it yourself and save a few dollars on fuel and a few more dollars by relinquishing your gym membership. Or you can buy dry seasoned wood for about the same price as natural gas or heating oil if you can find it at all.

Agree about no other heat quite like a woodstove. I work in customer homes, usualy 3,4, 8 stops daily. In and out of my cooling off truck, some houses warmer than others. At the end of a winter's day my hands are cold. I have been through a bunch of different winter boots now and I can get home with stinky sweaty feet that aren't cold, but my hands are often throbbing.

I am happy to be addicted to woodburning rather that oxycodone for the pain in my hands. Forced air and hot water baseboard heat can barely warm my earlobes, wood heat warms my bones.

 

[stoveliker]

wood heat warms my bones.

That!