Finland, Minnesota firewood culture

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A

armanidog

Minister of Fire
Jan 8, 2017
500
Northeast Georgia
I thought this was interesting. One guy said he burns 40-60 cords a year (My back aches just thinking about it)
"If you’re honest about life in Finland, every season is a part of the cycle of Firewood. You are always either looking for a source of firewood, processing firewood, or using firewood to keep your home warm. From the outside, this may seem to be a very mundane and burdensome exercise, a toilsome task, an antiquated practice. But in reality, heating one’s home with wood is a beautiful cultural practice steeped in tradition, surrounded by stories, and filled with meaning and technique unique to each individual."

https://wtfinland.com/2019/11/06/firewood/

The video is worth watching.

Firewood
 
Nothing but respect for those folks. I look at my process these days and I do the best I can do to streamline and make my process easier. Tractor hauls and lifts the wood. Limiting having to bend over as much as possible. Using a splitter, hardly use a splitting axe. My process still wears me down and I'm not a hardcore burner. Only process 3-4 cords a year on average.
 
It seems most outdoor boiler users burn fresh green wood. Around here they claim it keeps it from "taking off" or "it smolders better between burns". Looked like he was using an outdoor boiler.
 
Isaac Carlson said:
It seems most outdoor boiler users burn fresh green wood. Around here they claim it keeps it from "taking off" or "it smolders better between burns". Looked like he was using an outdoor boiler.
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Around here, some do burn green wood. But, not for long-they learn eventually. Same laws of physics apply to OWB; that being water doesn't burn!

When I bought my 1st OWB in the early 90's, the dealer told me even before I paid for it about the burning practices.....as well as info posted on the OWB itself by the manufacturer.

In the early 2010's, a work partner leaned I used an OWB. He immediately went into a P and M session about the smoke. I let hin have his say and told him to stop by any time he wanted to take a look. One winter day, the boss, the partner and I were all working together (HVACR) and stopped by my house after the job was completed.

As soon as we pulled up, the partner comments about "that OWB sitting there and you don't even use it" Took both of them over to it and showed them all the hot coals in it......

It's all in what you burn, no?
 
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Reactions: sloeffle, Isaac Carlson and stoveliker
GrumpyDad said:
Guy must be wealthy and likes to leave his windows open all year.
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It's not hard to go through wood if heating a poorly or uninsulated building in a cold climate. I have an uninsulated 80 ft shop and I could burn truckloads of wood with little retained heat. Stove design and setup are a huge factor as well. A guy I know has a well insulated workshop and a wood stove, but the stove has no baffle or secondaries, so the heat goes right up the flue and the shop is not warm.
 
Isaac Carlson said:
It's not hard to go through wood if heating a poorly or uninsulated building in a cold climate. I have an uninsulated 80 ft shop and I could burn truckloads of wood with little retained heat. Stove design and setup are a huge factor as well. A guy I know has a well insulated workshop and a wood stove, but the stove has no baffle or secondaries, so the heat goes right up the flue and the shop is not warm.
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yea but 50 cords of wood (it said between 40-60 cords).
That's ALOT of wood...wouldnt one start to rethink their priorities to maybe add some insulation or determine what would reduce their usage of wood?
50 cords of wood is 1600 sq ft of wood. I dont think all of the wood vendors in my area within 1 hour drive have that much wood collectively.
That's not a lifestyle, that's insanity.
 
GrumpyDad said:
yea but 50 cords of wood (it said between 40-60 cords).
That's ALOT of wood...wouldnt one start to rethink their priorities to maybe add some insulation or determine what would reduce their usage of wood?
50 cords of wood is 1600 sq ft of wood. I dont think all of the wood vendors in my area within 1 hour drive have that much wood collectively.
That's not a lifestyle, that's insanity.
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I agree about insanity. Some people just don't know or care. My dad used to burn a cord a week, sometimes more, in his owb. He got it used and would not let me fix it up in any way. He put it in a low spot so it was always surrounded by water so you had to wear tall rubber boots to tend the fire. There was no baffle, the door gasket was gone, and the bottom was open to outside air so the fire was always going with no way to shut it down. The blower would turn off, but the air leaks would let the fire run away and it looked like a locomotive when it would do that. I couldn't begin to guess the amount of wood burned in that stove in the few years he used it, but it is at least in the hundreds of cords.

I feel bad about burning 5-7 cord a year in my house, and it leaks like a sieve.
 
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