"Don't We Have Enough Wood"?

[Trooper]

I am still sort of a newbie to gathering and burning, but I love this forum and wanted some expert advice.

Keep in mind I just had my first insert installed about a month ago, and haven't generated a single BTU yet. That includes the burn-in fires -- it's just been too warm.

After a long weekend of scrounging dead & downed wood near our cabin, I was asked the inevitable by the love of my life. I have tried answers such as "I am just trying to keep us warm this winter", and "Think of the money we will save on propane".

I believe I may have become obsessed with this whole wood scrounging thing.

What is the correct response? Do I need professional help?

 

[Ashful]

Oh... the memories. Wait... that was just a year or two ago!

What I can tell you:

1. If she's "hinting" that you're spending too much time collecting wood already, it's time to stand down! Do your wood collecting and splitting when she's not around, and work on that "honey do" list, when she's there to admire all your hard work. Happy wife, happy life.

2. You live in Arizona, so maybe you'll be lucky, but around here wood takes more than a year to season. Get a cheap ($30) moisture meter at Lowes, and check some of your wood. 20% MC is the goal, and the minimum time (in my climate) to reach that is 9 months for softwoods or ash, 18 months for most hardwoods, and 30 months for oak.

If your wood is not superbly seasoned (20% MC), learning to burn for heat is going to be a little frustrating. Nothing you can't get past, mind you, but perhaps enough to turn SWMBO off to heating with wood. Tread carefully. Consider perhaps getting some kiln-dried to get you thru this first year, or even (gasp!) not burning much this year, until you can get that wood properly seasoned.

 

[Oww My Back Hurts]

My wife just said the same thing to me recently. I pointed out what good exercise this is & she seemed to accept that answer, at least for the time being

 

[bmblank]

-Don't we have enough wood?

-No... Not yet...


Simple as that...
I'm lucky, my wife grew up in a wood burning house and realizes what's necessary.

 

[Hills Hoard]

don't answer her questions....its a trap......just wait till you start burning and watch what she does. you will see her take the seat closest to the fire each time so ask her then if she wants you to keep collecting wood or not.....no sane person will tell you not to keep collecting wood while they are nice and warm by the fire....... thank me later

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I see your problem now ,'Your wood is upside down!" YOu must live on the bottom of the globe

 

[Trooper]

1. If she's "hinting" that you're spending too much time collecting wood already, it's time to stand down! Do your wood collecting and splitting when she's not around, and work on that "honey do" list, when she's there to admire all your hard work. Happy wife, happy life.

Great advice, Joful!

2. You live in Arizona, so maybe you'll be lucky, but around here wood takes more than a year to season. Get a cheap ($30) moisture meter at Lowes, and check some of your wood. 20% MC is the goal, and the minimum time (in my climate) to reach that is 9 months for softwoods or ash, 18 months for most hardwoods, and 30 months for oak.

I have a MM in that price range, and most of my wood is already under 20%. I am thinking that's because I live in AZ, plus I am only allowed to cut dead and downed wood in the National Forest. The only challenge is finding wood that hasn't rotted yet. Plus some of my wood was CSS a few years ago because I had a fireplace, which has now been usurped by the insert.

If your wood is not superbly seasoned (20% MC), learning to burn for heat is going to be a little frustrating. Nothing you can't get past, mind you, but perhaps enough to turn SWMBO off to heating with wood.

What's SWMBO?

 

[HDRock]

I see 2 pics of rounds, 1 of split wood, To get an accurate reading of MC(moisture content) U must split a piece, check it smack dead center right then n there,
if U wait till the next day to check , U will not get an accurate reading, as a matter of fact, if U wait 6 hours in the sun U will not get an accurate reading, of what the MC inside of the wood is.
If U R doing this U R OK
Edit, The wood will not really start drying until ,U split n stack it off the ground.
Edit, never set rounds on the ground on end grain, it will wick moisture from the ground

 

[Jacktheknife]

I haven't heard that question yet and don't know if I ever will, my old lady gets pissed off when the furnace kicks on. She checks Craigslist for firewood and tries to get me to drive 60 miles for an easy score.

 

[Paulywalnut]

You don't need professional help. We have people on here that talk to their stacks.( not me oh no)

 

[red oak]

If you need help, a lot of us on here do also!

As for the wood drying, I bet that you see much better drying times in Arizona. It's dryer there than here in the East, as well as warmer. Get it split and stacked and depending on the type of wood it could be dry by the time you start burning.

I cut in the National Forest also - and it seems I'm always on the lookout for dead/down stuff that's close to the road or easily accessible. I tell my wife that as soon as I see something easy I'm going to jump on it - it saves time in the long run. She agrees but I think is just happy to get me out of the house.....

 

[Ashful]

Great advice, Joful!
What's SWMBO?

It took me many years to realize that, although very intelligent, my wife's perception of the world is ruled by hormones and emotion. Learn to manage them, best you can!

SWMBO = she who must be obeyed

 

[Mitch Newton]

Get your wife to help you. I came home from work the other day and my wife had split a half cord all by herself and was so proud. I think she's getting as hooked as I am

 

[blujacket]

Once you burn a couple cord, and your wife sees the empty space, she'll leave you alone. My wife questioned me when we first started, but once she saw how much we burned the first cold winter, and how warm she was from it, she never said anything again.

 

[Jacktheknife]

You might want to ask around and find out how much cordage (is that a word?) you would need to get through a bad winter. Then tell her you need to collect at least 1.5x that much, if not twice as much, so you can have seasoned wood next year. Explain how much less wood you need if its properly seasoned and tell her that the first two years are the hardest. By season 3 she will be used to it

 

[red oak]

Get your wife to help you. I came home from work the other day and my wife had split a half cord all by herself and was so proud. I think she's getting as hooked as I am

Wow. Just....wow!

 

[blades]

You could always ask which month of the winter she is referring to, that is if you don't mind sleeping on the floor.

Although sleeping on the floor in front of the stove ain't a bad spot. Just got pull rank on the pups.

 

[maple1]

I heard those words just last evening - from my kids when I asked them to come help split.

They did get out there, & got way more split than I thought we would - cleaned up all I had cut.

They'll be real impressed if I go cut more tonight.

 

[jeff_t]

I heard that a few times, but not anymore.

Actually, now that I'm a few years ahead, I don't spend so much time at it. I just replace what I use.

 

[lukem]

Acceptable answers for "don't we have enough wood?" include:

No.
Not yet.
Negative.
Nope.
Never.
Not quite.
Not even close.
Not really.
Not nearly.
No way.
Negatory.
Shut up and get to work.

Shaking one's head side to side is also an acceptable response.

 

[Jacktheknife]

Acceptable answers for "don't we have enough wood?" include:

No.
Not yet.
Negative.
Nope.
Never.
Not quite.
Not even close.
Not really.
Not nearly.
No way.
Negatory.
Shut up and get to work.

Shaking one's head side to side is also an acceptable response.

Do a thumbs down.
Do a double thumbs down.
Blow a raspberry.
Tell them in Spanish: "No."

 

[teutonicking]

Acceptable answers for "don't we have enough wood?" include:

No.
Not yet.
Negative.
Nope.
Never.
Not quite.
Not even close.
Not really.
Not nearly.
No way.
Negatory.
Shut up and get to work.

Shaking one's head side to side is also an acceptable response.

What is meant by "don't we have enough wood??" I don't understand--those words have no meaning in my vocabulary!

 

[teutonicking]

Once you burn a couple cord, and your wife sees the empty space, she'll leave you alone. My wife questioned me when we first started, but once she saw how much we burned the first cold winter, and how warm she was from it, she never said anything again.

+1 agree with this. My wife was skeptical at first, but after being warm all winter, she understands now. Just buy her a nice pair of earrings to tide her over until the shoulder season. That's what jewelry is for.

 

[georgepds]

Acceptable answers for "don't we have enough wood?" include:

No.
Not yet.
Negative.
Nope.
Never.
Not quite.
Not even close.
Not really.
Not nearly.
No way.
Negatory.
Shut up and get to work.

Shaking one's head side to side is also an acceptable response.

Let me guess.. you are not married...Or maybe you are married and have taken a strict vow of celibacy as part of a spiritual discipline, and you need some help sticking to your vows ( I'm thinking Ghandi here)

 

[lukem]

Let me guess.. you are not married...Or maybe you are married and have taken a strict vow of celibacy as part of a spiritual discipline, and you need some help sticking to your vows ( I'm thinking Ghandi here)

I couldn't be more married . Getting yoked up from processing wood seems to have the opposite effect than celibacy. Yeah buddy.