Feeling behind

[Woodsplitter67]

This weather is making me feel iking I'm behind. I started cutting and splitting back in mid January and the wood has basically sat. I have a tarp on the pile but still need to split more and this weather looks pretty crappie the next 2 weeks.. Im going on the scrounge this weekend and hopefully can knock some of that out.. normally I'll be a little farther than this

 

[osagebow]

Ya never seem to get ahead. When you do you move the goalposts. I like to have 3 years CSS on hand because I burn mostly oak in a cat stove. I'm right there but seeing that empty hole from this year's 2 cords or so has got me twitchy, and it's too icy/soupy to do much

 

[Gearhead660]

Same here. Too much snow to get out into the woods. Getting restless...
I'm about 4 years ahead but you can never have enough!

 

[Caw]

I have 3 cords of oak and maple rounds sitting in my driveway uncovered under all this snow. Regretting not tarping them but I'm not too concerned they aren't covered...they are for 2-3 years from now so they'll dry. All my tarps were in use covering the stacks before I build the roofs this spring. Wasn't gonna buy like 5 more.

It's driving me nuts seeing them there all buried and idle though! Arghhhhh.

 

[MoDoug]

I feel like I'm doing pretty good. But, it would be a completely different story if we had the kind of weather like you guys in the NE have been having. We've had a very mild winter till last week, and if our winter extends into April I may be scrambling for burnable wood.

 

[Caw]

I get wood anxiety every time I look at my snow covered rounds. It's just a few weeks or so until it all melts...they aren't gonna rot or anything. It's more I want to get cracking with my Fiskars!

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I'm good on wood I just don't like the empty bay in the wood shed. Id like to have it full by now. All the rain the next week and the snow the past two weeks I'm feeling like I should be farther along. I like to keep myself close to the 12 cords.

 

[ChadMc]

Ughhh I’m feeling the same. I’m in Bucks county north on the city. We’ve have snow on the ground since feb 1st and a lot of it. Another 5-8 on Thursday. So hard to move stuff around.

 

[MoDoug]

I'm good on wood I just don't like the empty bay in the wood shed. Id like to have it full by now. All the rain the next week and the snow the past two weeks I'm feeling like I should be farther along. I like to keep myself close to the 12 cords.

I misunderstood, and I understand about keeping up with a set goal. I've been holed up for a few days, a couple weeks would be driving me crazy, with the upcoming week looking like another. Hang in there!

 

[awicherr]

First year in a new house started in april gathering wold made it from october to this morning... just barely played pick up sticks in the woods saturday and managed enough hanging dead branches to reach the first thawing we had in a month or so woke up this morning house was still at 68 turned the fuel oil on ... this weekend will be a cutting weekend truck is supposes to drop off friday night cut saturday split sunday repeat... step sons are behind on stacking currently i plan to keep it that way

 

[Caw]

You almost made it to March after getting a late start, that's not bad for year one!

 

[awicherr]

You almost made it to March after getting a late start, that's not bad for year one!

Thats what my wife keeps saying... growing up on wood heat it was just always ready and always a chore i feel like i did ok but always room for improvement

 

[Caw]

I think you should be happy with the result. This was my first year burning 24/7 too. I have about a cord left and should make it to spring ok. I was nervous in lat4 december so I cut down three big standing dead ash trees on my property to help me get through when I realized I was may be short. They burned OK...mostly 20-22% so not the best but it was year one you take what you can get.

I told myself I'd never be close to being short again and went into wood preparation overdrive after that. I've got about 5 cords of maple/ash/cherry c/s/s for next year and another 5 cords of rounds in my driveway to be split when some snow melts. I estimate needing 3-4 cords a season so this will put me about 2.5 years ahead when its all stacked. This was all made possible by the pandemic though...I've been home with the kids and had a lot more free time than usual. My goal is to be 3 years ahead at all times and replenish as I go every year. I can hold about 10-11 cords on my property without it getting too ridiculous so it should be doable.

Staying ahead is the easy part. You just gotta get ahead...that's where the work is!

 

[awicherr]

I think you should be happy with the result. This was my first year burning 24/7 too. I have about a cord left and should make it to spring ok. I was nervous in lat4 december so I cut down three big standing dead ash trees on my property to help me get through when I realized I was may be short. They burned OK...mostly 20-22% so not the best but it was year one you take what you can get.

I told myself I'd never be close to being short again and went into wood preparation overdrive after that. I've got about 5 cords of maple/ash/cherry c/s/s for next year and another 5 cords of rounds in my driveway to be split when some snow melts. I estimate needing 3-4 cords a season so this will put me about 2.5 years ahead when its all stacked. This was all made possible by the pandemic though...I've been home with the kids and had a lot more free time than usual. My goal is to be 3 years ahead at all times and replenish as I go every year. I can hold about 10-11 cords on my property without it getting too ridiculous so it should be doable.

Staying ahead is the easy part. You just gotta get ahead...that's where the work is!

I have two trees i want to take down this spring both very large guick drying a cotton wood and a tree of heaven... i too went into overdrive but got all oak so didnt really help me for next year but it was free so i went through 2 tons of bio block and 4 cords so i am guessing 6-8 cords a year. Climbing the hill to being prepared is where i am but we will get there

 

[Caw]

What kind of area are you heating and which stove? Maybe I'm wrong but 6-8 cords per season seems like a ton of wood for Ohio unless you've got a big drafty house or a smoke dragon... or both!

Oak is always good though...free oak is even better! Just rack it and forget it and in a few years life will be great.

 

[awicherr]

What kind of area are you heating and which stove? Maybe I'm wrong but 6-8 cords per season seems like a ton of wood for Ohio unless you've got a big drafty house or a smoke dragon... or both!

Oak is always good though...free oak is even better! Just rack it and forget it and in a few years life will be great.

House is insulated ok could be better but not horrible... it came with a hot blast 1557m big cast drafty box that holds coals and a fire its either 80 or freezing no in between shouldnt have started in october either but live and learn .... 4 hour burns is about max wife is at home to tend it during the day so it works but i am looking to a better option... currently looking at just making the hot blast a holding box for an a coil for an owb

 

[Caw]

How big is your house? I think you're likely going through a lot more wood than you should be running that furnace and not being able to keep even temps. I bet you'd see much better temp control and use less wood switching to a new EPA stove or outdoor gasification boiler if you prefer that route... they are pricey though.

 

[awicherr]

How big is your house? I think you're likely going through a lot more wood than you should be running that furnace and not being able to keep even temps. I bet you'd see much better temp control and use less wood switching to a new EPA stove or outdoor gasification boiler if you prefer that route... they are pricey though.

2,200 square thats why i am thinking of just using the current furnace as a holder for the heat exchanger for the out door wood burner i am looking into i dont have enough head room to put it above the heating fuel furnace and the hot blast is already ducted in

 

[Caw]

Sounds like quite a protect! What boilers are you eyeing?

 

[awicherr]

Sounds like quite a protect! What boilers are you eyeing?

Thinking of a central boiler there is a dealer right down the road from me

 

[lml999]

I've got about 20 pieces of well seasoned oak left...its the only firewood on the property that will fire off secondaries in my stove. I've got about a half *face* cord of newish cherry...when it gets started, it burns. And I've got a beautiful full cord of fresh oak, that won't be ready for burning for at least a year.

Yea, so I'm rationing now. No more morning fires. Only limited evening fires. The good news is that our primary heat source is cheap (NG), so it's not that painful to turn up the thermostat. Less painful than when we heated with oil, at 4X the cost of NG.

I'll be darned if I'm going to call another crook and buy (not) seasoned (much less than a cord of) wood. In June I'll call the guy that provided the oak and get another four to six cords...far more than I have room for, but I need to get ahead. I'll do some solar kilning on two or three cords over the summer...