Getting Started

[MacinJosh]

Well, as y'all advised, I've started splitting to get my wood drying out. Don't have a stove yet but hoping to install one for next winter. Tons of dead Ash in the Louisville area. The Emerald Ash Borer is bad here. I've had to use an Imidacloprid drench to save some of mine.

So next up is a wood shed. Need to get one up soon. Still have a ton of splitting to do but at least it's drying out now and should be good to go once I get my stove installed.

 

[Jags]

Just a thought...
You are in Kentucky. You will be burning wood to heat a home. You are cutting and splitting wood prior to stove purchase. You might want to be a bit reserved on split size and length. It would be a shame to get all that wood cut and split and ready to go, just to find out that the stove you picked out needs wood two inches shorter than what you cut. Just food for thought.

Looks like you have the rest of this figured out pretty well. Trailer, splitter, saw, PPE and good stacking technique. Nice.

 

[MacinJosh]

Thanks Jags. I'm 99% sure I'm going with a Blaze King King. Online documentation says it can take wood up to 23" long. So I should be ok. But yes, good advice to head. And you're right, that would suck! Lol

 

[Jags]

A King - in Kentucky? Holy warm house.

 

[MacinJosh]

Lol. Go big or go home, right? We did hit -22 degrees here last winter. I work for LG&E as an electrical engineer and we had about 10,000 customers out of power when we lost a 138kV line during that time. Last thing I want is that to happen to my family. I plan on being warm and toasty regardless of electricity. We also get a decent amount of snow. We had an ice storm here a few years ago that knocked people out for 3-4 weeks! So winters he can be quite brutal even though it doesn't seem like it should be.

 

[MacinJosh]

I guess I just like the features and efficiency of the Blaze Kings. Maybe I'll get a Princess, I dunno. I'm always up for suggestions/advice. I'm new to this. You can always dial the stove down for a long slow burn if it gets too hot in the house, no?

My buddy who lives here in Kentucky only heats with a stove and he just told me to get a big stove with a big box so you can load a ton in there and not have to constantly refill it, etc. Seemed logical to me.

 

[Applesister]

My question I have from your pics is did you buy the trailer solely for wood processing or is it part of some other aspect of your business or personal life?

 

[MacinJosh]

My question I have from your pics is did you buy the trailer solely for wood processing or is it part of some other aspect of your business or personal life?

No, not solely for wood. It's to haul anything and everything including my zero turn mower when it needs maintenance, furniture, appliances, lumber, mulch, etc.

 

[ElmBurner]

I guess I just like the features and efficiency of the Blaze Kings. Maybe I'll get a Princess, I dunno. I'm always up for suggestions/advice. I'm new to this. You can always dial the stove down for a long slow burn if it gets too hot in the house, no?

My buddy who lives here in Kentucky only heats with a stove and he just told me to get a big stove with a big box so you can load a ton in there and not have to constantly refill it, etc. Seemed logical to me.

For a non-catalytic option, it's probably better to get a stove that is barely able to heat your house on the coldest day and go no bigger than that. Otherwise, you have smoky fires and no secondary action on milder days, when you are trying to throttle the stove back to avoid cooking yourself out of the house.

But with a catalytic stove, that is less of a concern, since you can get the firebox much cooler, relatively speaking.

Depending on the square footage and type of build, you may find the King to be more stove than you need, but if you like the peace of mind...go for it.

 

[MacinJosh]

House is 2200 square feet with a 800 square foot basement. (so ~3,000 sq ft) Tri level with all 3 bedrooms upsatirs. Stove would go down in Den on floor which is on concrete slab.

My crude sketch.

 

[Jags]

You can always dial the stove down for a long slow burn if it gets too hot in the house, no?

Blazeking is arguably the winner for low and slow operation.

 

[jatoxico]

I did the same as you. Got wood C/S/S 18 mo before I had my stove installed. Also like you I stacked on pallets. When it came time to burn I found a lot of the wood was only marginally dry. Stuff in the center did not get enough air

My wood was black locust and live when cut. Ash probably dries easier and your drying conditions may be better (longer/hotter season IDK) but I'd suggest you try to stack at least some in single rows for optimum drying. You can get two single rows on most pallets even if you have to let the splits hang over the edge but go for air flow to assure success. Cat stoves dig dry wood!

 

[MacinJosh]

Goood advice, thank you! I think the wood is pretty dry but I don't have a meter to tell for sure. All these Ash trees have been standing dead for about a year. The borer basically kills the water supply to them. Terrible for the trees and hate to see them die but it's seriously perfect wood for burning. Kind of a silver lining I guess.

People here in Louisville are begging people like me to come get their Ash. One of my coworker's aunt had to take down 24! And some of these are 2-3 feet in diameter. Just monster trees. More wood than I can handle right now. But it is a fair amount of work to roll those around and load and unload on the trailer. I enjoy the workout/exercise though. What's that old saying about cutting and splitting your own wood? Heat ya twice. haha

I'm an electrical engineer so I'm a gadget geek. Anyone on here use a meter to measure MC? Any recommended ones?

 

[Cervidae]

Greetings from down the road (I'm in Georgetown, Kentucky). Our house is also right at 2200sq ft, and we have a large Squire smoke dragon (rather than a Blazeking) and we certainly don't have any issues being overly warm. Our house has a heat pump, and it really struggles when it gets below 20 degrees here.

I've only been burning for about 1/2 of 1 winter at our house, but burning short hot fires in the evenings at our house saved well over $100/month in electric bills last winter. We limited our burns to just the coldest times due to a lack of decent wood, so you're getting a head now will pay off big time.

I like that I don't need the wood for heat here, but enjoy it instead. I view it as a financially neutral hobby (the heat savings gets reinvested into things like chainsaws, trailers, and eventually a splitter). Plus, the added security for the ice storms that seem to pop up every few years is great.

 

[jatoxico]

Anyone on here use a meter to measure MC? Any recommended ones?

Many. I use the cheap Harbor Freight one. Good enough for firewood. If you think you'd use it for other stuff maybe you want to spend more.

 

[Longstreet]

Thanks Jags. I'm 99% sure I'm going with a Blaze King King. Online documentation says it can take wood up to 23" long. So I should be ok. But yes, good advice to head. And you're right, that would suck! Lol

There is a difference between "up to" and recommended. Even Blaze King them self recommends 17-18 inches. I prefer a split that is shorter because I just find them easier to load. While my stove takes up to 20" (I believe could be wrong) I try to cut to 16".

 

[kennyp2339]

There is a difference between "up to" and recommended. Even Blaze King them self recommends 17-18 inches. I prefer a split that is shorter because I just find them easier to load. While my stove takes up to 20" (I believe could be wrong) I try to cut to 16".

Yes Yes and Yes - I own a princess and it can take 20" splits, but the reality is that 20" is just to big, You can get your first (2) in then you have to be careful and gently jam the 3rd, but if there smaller like 16" -18" you can get a fuller tighter load in without jamming anything. My buddy cut some wood for me last winter, I had to re-saw it last night to be able to pack the stove tighter, went from perfectly good splits to uglies in no time.

 

[FishKiller]

agreed on split size! not sure what size bar you have on that saw (18"?)... but judging by that your lengths look a little long. i cut everything around 16-18", even though both my stoves can handle much bigger. its easier to pack into the stove and you don't have to play the wood stove loading puzzle game.

 

[MacinJosh]

Greetings from down the road (I'm in Georgetown, Kentucky). Our house is also right at 2200sq ft, and we have a large Squire smoke dragon (rather than a Blazeking) and we certainly don't have any issues being overly warm. Our house has a heat pump, and it really struggles when it gets below 20 degrees here.

I've only been burning for about 1/2 of 1 winter at our house, but burning short hot fires in the evenings at our house saved well over $100/month in electric bills last winter. We limited our burns to just the coldest times due to a lack of decent wood, so you're getting a head now will pay off big time.

I like that I don't need the wood for heat here, but enjoy it instead. I view it as a financially neutral hobby (the heat savings gets reinvested into things like chainsaws, trailers, and eventually a splitter). Plus, the added security for the ice storms that seem to pop up every few years is great.

Hey neighbor!

We too have a heat pump and like yours, it struggles when it gets that cold. And that's what I like to here. Last year when we had those 20 below days my monthly bill was $450/month. Just stupid expensive. Although I had attic insulation issues which I have since fixed and some drafty door thresholds and windows which I have also fixed. But I'm ready to have much lower heating bills. I don't think wood supply will be an issue for me for the foreseeable future but we will see.

And I'm with you. It's nice to have a furnace as a backup so I don't NEED wood. But free heat is free heat and I intend on burning as much as I can. Just loading up wood for now to have plenty for awhile. And I'm right there with you, told my wife that a stove will pay for the splitting and saw and everything else over the years. She's onboard.

Peace of mind for electricity outages is nice. Even if my job is to keep those to as few as possible. Sometimes Mother Nature has other ideas.

Cheers!

 

[MacinJosh]

Many. I use the cheap Harbor Freight one. Good enough for firewood. If you think you'd use it for other stuff maybe you want to spend more.

Absolutely not. Firewood only. Will look into this one. Thanks!

 

[MacinJosh]

agreed on split size! not sure what size bar you have on that saw (18"?)... but judging by that your lengths look a little long. i cut everything around 16-18", even though both my stoves can handle much bigger. its easier to pack into the stove and you don't have to play the wood stove loading puzzle game.

Yes, 18. And a few of those splits are long. I knowingly went through a few rounds thinking that was the case. Then I got my saw out and cut them down. You can see the end pieces in my wheelbarrow.

I did t fell the trees or I would have measured each round to 16-18". This is just free Ash I'm taking off someone's hands for them. Up to me to cut it to proper length I guess. Was hoping I could be lazy and get away with 20-22" splits but worst case I have to re-saw them. Not that many are that long. I'd say a rick at absolute max.

 

[Andy S.]

Welcome! Looks like you have an unlimited supply of my personal favorite firewood, congrats! I did not plan as well as you so I was dealing with marginal wood my first year and it was no fun. Ash dried quicker for me than anything but Pine and was my main fuel last year. The point about length has been well made. You're going to love wherever stove you get if uou're feeding it dry wood. Enjoy!

 

[Cervidae]

Hey neighbor!

We too have a heat pump and like yours, it struggles when it gets that cold. And that's what I like to here. Last year when we had those 20 below days my monthly bill was $450/month. Just stupid expensive. Although I had attic insulation issues which I have since fixed and some drafty door thresholds and windows which I have also fixed. But I'm ready to have much lower heating bills. I don't think wood supply will be an issue for me for the foreseeable future but we will see.

And I'm with you. It's nice to have a furnace as a backup so I don't NEED wood. But free heat is free heat and I intend on burning as much as I can. Just loading up wood for now to have plenty for awhile. And I'm right there with you, told my wife that a stove will pay for the splitting and saw and everything else over the years. She's onboard.

Peace of mind for electricity outages is nice. Even if my job is to keep those to as few as possible. Sometimes Mother Nature has other ideas.

Cheers!

Well you're job must get very interesting very fast when it seems like half the state looses power in an ice storm like we had in 2009. I'll have to dig pictures up from the cleanup we had to do at my parents house. It was nuts.

Glad you are sourcing all the wood for free. Around here, most people don't want it and just toss it. I know of lots of people that will just throw it away or toss it in a decomposing pile out of site. I've only paid for wood once so far, and that was actually last week. My neighbor brought over about a cord of round in a pickup and trailer, and said for $40 he'd sell me that and let me borrow a splitter his friend had for a weekend. As I am still trying to get 3 years ahead, it was worth it to me. I split by hand and have split about 2.5-3 cords by hand this year, and split another 3 in just a weekend using that wood, my collection of rounds, and the stuff he brought. It was to good of an opportunity to get ahead to turn down. I'm estimating I'll burn about 2 cords a year starting next winter, so I should be in a good spot now.

My wife was on board when she saw the cost savings coupled with the fact the house went from 65-67 with the heat pump to 73-75 with minimal electrical use (just the blower fan on the insert). My experience is that houses in Kentucky aren't very well insulated. Cheap electric rates and the mostly mild climate seem to not motivate people to put the effort into well insulated homes, but that seems to be changing now. I see more and more houses built with 2x6 walls and higher insulation values.

Does LG&E offer the $1000 incentive to improve your homes energy efficiency that Kentucky Utilities does? I know you already did some improvements, but might be something to look into (if you are eligible as an employee). Could be $1000 towards that Blazeking.

 

[Anumber1]

Absolutely not. Firewood only. Will look into this one. Thanks!

I have the cheap harbor freight one also. It's actually pretty good.

Measures about as accurate as my cabinet maker neighbors much more expensive one.

Defenately good enough for firewood and mine was $12.

 

[MacinJosh]

I'll have to look into that! First I have heard. I work for LG&E-KU as they are both under PPL and I'm on the "servco" side. So perhaps I qualify for the KU incentive anyway. I'll check it out.

I too split by hand for awhile but that quickly gets old and tiring. Especially if the wood is dead and has a little bit of that stringy rot inside it. Damn near impossible to split by hand. So I just broke down and got a splitter.

And yes, our temps are 65-67 and electric heat always feels cool it seems. My wife would love it to be in the 70's. Plus, toasty floors and all. Looking forward to it.