Family Time - Puttin' Up the Firewood

[barmstrong2]

Near where I worked today, I watched a guy splitting a stack of rounds, looked like mostly oak, fresh, bright orange, red oak. As he split, the wife and kids were busy filling a pair of wheel barrows and lugging them into the daylight basement, I assume for "seasoning".

 

[pen]

and I see kids riding around in cars without car seats, kids that live in a house without electricity while mom and dad smoke Marlboro's, people who don't have reliable transportation to work, their kids don't have lunch money, yet have an 8k dollar snowmobile,,,,, point is, lots of people make bad decisions, it sucks but not everyone is well informed or cares, sadly.

Others, just don't know any better, or maybe they were where I was 8 years ago and even knowing better, bought my first home with a wood stove and had to put something in it and had to do similar to them, and just did what I could with consistent cleanings and monitoring to do the best I could in the situation that year.

In all, who knows the story for these folks, I wish everyone did it right, but there are lots of reasons for it not happening as it should.

Best we can do is to keep this place going with good info and hope folks want to do better for themselves and take the time get better at this keeping warm bit.

Maybe someone in the area with a plethora of seasoned wood could offer to trade them load for load with seasoned wood for the green wood, to help them?

pen

 

[BrotherBart]

Neighbor that heats with wood as long as I have was splitting some Oak for this Winter Sunday. The rounds showed up in September. Like I used to before I found this place and got dry wood religion.

 

[2broke2ride]

Everyone is putting up wood around hear right now, log loads landing everywhere. The smoke dragons are belching clouds.

 

[Woody Stover]

splitting some Oak for this Winter Sunday. The rounds showed up in September.

No hurry on Oak if you've only had it a month. Like you said, been there, done that. Not goin' back.

The smoke dragons are belching clouds.

Even the guys close to here that appear to have dry wood, are never gonna burn clean with their smoke-bombers. You gotta burn 'em hot to do that but they are trying to get an overnight "burn" and have the air cut to nothing.

 

[timfromohio]

There are quite a few guys around me with outdoor wood furnaces - they are all gathering and processing freshly cut wood for this season? One guy down the road leaves his huge pile of round out in the rain and splits as needed. Are the wood furnaces that tolerant of moisture? I don't get it.

 

[2broke2ride]

No hurry on Oak if you've only had it a month. Like you said, been there, done that. Not goin' back.
Even the guys close to here that appear to have dry wood, are never gonna burn clean with their smoke-bombers. You gotta burn 'em hot to do that but they are trying to get an overnight "burn" and have the air cut to nothing.

I run a smoke dragon myself but I try to burn it clean, my firebox is so big I can get an overnight without choking it down as long as I'm on good wood. Softwood is another story, I like pine but not for an overnight.

 

[Ashful]

There are quite a few guys around me with outdoor wood furnaces - they are all gathering and processing freshly cut wood for this season? One guy down the road leaves his huge pile of round out in the rain and splits as needed. Are the wood furnaces that tolerant of moisture? I don't get it.

Yes, they can burn wet wood, but they put a lot of their potential BTUs into just boiling the water out of said wood. This is why it's not unusual to see outdoor boiler guys quoting usage around 20 cords for an average family home and shop.

 

[rowerwet]

My B-I-L heats with an OWB, my sister says it is no big deal to get a chimney fire. Every few weeks it sounds like a jet engine in the backyard, then the fire is over and they go back to rolling rounds into the firebox.
Of course in lake placid the ground is covered with snow half the year.

 

[Monaco]

I just moved into a very rural area and I've also been spreading the "Dry wood religion." I cannot believe how many people burn green wood.

 

[Seanm]

People will get the message. With a place like hearth advocating dry wood and safe processing it will spread one person at a time, neighbor to neighbor or more likely friend to friend.

 

[Little Digger]

People will get the message. With a place like hearth advocating dry wood and safe processing it will spread one person at a time, neighbor to neighbor or more likely friend to friend.

Unless you burn pine! Then your neighbors will run from you, and your friends will disappear into the black void which is the rip in the space time continuum.

I have been advocating the use of dry firewood for years, but in the end I have my doubts anyone listens, because I notice the same ritual every year. Cut and burn it green or wet! I've demoed my splits at 12 to 16% moisture to their 25 to 40% and asked them which they think would burn the easiest. They answer the 12 to 16% but continue to do as they have been. The latest comment was "it's old school thinking in that burning wet wood means longer burning fires" I'm guessing they will never know the pleasure of burning truly seasoned firewood.

 

[sportbikerider78]

Most people have $10k in credit card debit. You think they can plan heating their homes 3 years out?

 

[Little Digger]

With identity and credit card theft on the rise, I'm glad I have none. Everything I have I own outright. This way, none of the credit card reporting agencies have a record of me which prevents someone from opening an account in my name and ruining my credit. You can't ruin NONE!

I'm guessing that's why I'm a minimum of 5 seasons ahead with my firewood. Potentially 10 years ahead once I complete sealing and insulating my home. By the time I'm done, I might even be 15 or 20 seasons ahead since I won't stop collecting firewood.

 

[Seanm]

Unless you burn pine! Then your neighbors will run from you,

Unless you live out west cause thats what we burn out here.

 

[Ashful]

Credit card discussions aside, I think there is a reasonable chance of educating newcomers, and through this eventually reducing the number of people burning wet wood. It's likely to be the old timers, who "have been doing it this way for 30 years without any trouble," that will be impossible to convince otherwise. The passage of time will eventually flush them out.

 

[Pat32rf]

My tenant and I burn from the same woodsheds. Both with inserts....most wood is fairly well aged but he started complaining about one pile because it was "too dry" and burned too fast. Rather than close down the damper he adds some green poplar....
I clean my chimney every 5-6 years or so but his gets done every year, and needs it.

 

[barmstrong2]

Near where I worked today, I watched a guy splitting a stack of rounds, looked like mostly oak, fresh, bright orange, red oak. As he split, the wife and kids were busy filling a pair of wheel barrows and lugging them into the daylight basement, I assume for "seasoning".

Update --- This house burned last night.

 

[Seanm]

Update --- This house burned last night.

Wow.... do you know if everyone is ok?

 

[barmstrong2]

Yes. All got out, but, the building is severely damaged. Don't know the cause. Seems soon to have been caused by the green wood. Just a curious coincidence. Maybe.

 

[Seanm]

Well at least theres no loss of life. Bad time of year to be out of the house. Maybe they have had bad burning practices for years and hadnt cleaned the chimney in awhile. Once you know more keep us informed.

 

[CenterTree]

Yes. All got out, but, the building is severely damaged. Don't know the cause. Seems too soon to have been caused by the green wood. Just a curious coincidence. Maybe.

Not if they were burning green stuff last year also and didn't sweep the flue yet. Sad.

 

[pen]

Very sad.

 

[Little Digger]

It is possible they were burning green wood last year, and had some wood left over which should be dry enough for a nice hot fire this year.The chances are they didn't clean their chimney and a nice hot fire did the rest. At least no one was hurt.

I'll bet if they had some dry pine, and were burning some of it, it will get the blame for the fire, that is if it was a chimney fire.

Personally, I check my chimney several times during the heating season just to be on the safe side.

 

[barmstrong2]

I bet you're right, digger. The firewood I saw them bringing in a few weeks ago was clearly red oak, and very green. But, definitely a possibility of some leftover from last season which would burn hot enough to ignite the mess from last season.