Greeting s from the Czech Republic

[Fly]

Hello Everyone. I have been reading the forum over the last several months and wanted to say hi and thanks to you all for the great advice; your wisdom has been greatly appreciated. It is interesting how local wood lore is sometimes the same and sometimes very different here. And yes, the debates rages on about cover or uncover, bark up or bark down! Wood is sold in meter lengths (3.3 feet) and is generally split in that length and stored for three years before being cut with a circular saw. Scrounging is very hard nowadays as the Czech Forests, the government forests, as well as private landholders, all sell wood to Austria for a premium price. I have to split the meter lengths using a Fiskars splitting maul or hammer and wedges, then cut to length.Mostly oak, beech, birch, ash and then spruce and pine. Pictures show I am limited with space and wife has had enough. Little does she know.... I need a good chainsaw but prices are high here and not easy to get the wife to agree. The castle is behind the house across the meadow and is my morning walk to work. Hope I got the pictures right!

 

[Blue2ndaries]

Welcome Fly and great photos! Looks like you are well supplied. What kind of stove do you have? How much wood do you burn each year?

 

[Fly]

I have a Pacific Energy Super 27. A Czech friend of mine imports Canadian wood stoves here, Regency, Napolean and PE. They are double the price of Jotul, the market leader, but are definitley worth it. We heat only with wood after gas prices ran to several thousand dollars to heat a small two-story house. Energy costs are extremely high here. Gas is double the price as in the states and salaries are twice as low or more. Use about 5 cords a year. Will show the Fiskars splitting mall this weekend when I have time. Really goes through the long lengths except for the pine and birch, the pine being too wet and the birch too dry for good slpitting. Those need persuading from the wedges.

 

[Woody Stover]

Welcome, Fly!
So you do you come by your wood mainly by scrounging, or do you have to buy much of it?
Are you saying that the sellers cut to meter length and store the wood for three years before selling it? Judging from the pics, after you buy the wood you have to split and stack it yourself. How long do you dry your wood, split and stacked, before you burn it? Does it dry pretty fast in your particular climate?
I would be interested to hear how " local wood lore is sometimes the same and sometimes very different here," besides the meter lengths.

 

[TimJ]

good show of wood and welcome

 

[ScotO]

Welcome to the nuthouse, Fly! Looks like you are well on your way and have the same issues (wife complaining) as the rest of us....
You are the first member I know of who has a castle beside their house! Great pictures, sounds like you'll fit in just fine around here!

 

[Ralphie Boy]

Welcome Fly! Where in the Czech Republic do you live? I well remember those massive stacks of meter length splits all throughout Europe. I always wondered, but never ask for some reason, why the splits were so long. Now I know!

I love the Czech Republic! My wife and I have spent a couple of months cycling in the Czeck Republic. We began our trip in Munich, Germany, cycling to Austria and crossed at the Austrian-Czeck border. We cycled the southern section visiting (broken link removed to http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinationRedirector?atlasId=358828) (Your picture reminds me of Cesky Krumlov) and (broken link removed to http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinationRedirector?atlasId=358834) turning north at Tabor heading for (broken link removed to http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinationRedirector?atlasId=358835), where we spent several days in the old city and exploring the area around Prague. Prague is my favorite city in Europe. From Prague it was southwest to (broken link removed to http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinationRedirector?atlasId=358826) for a few beers and such and on to Regensburg, Germany and cycling on to Munich.

 

[Jags]

Welcome to the forum. Looks like you have these things figured out. I have always been curious as to why you would split meter long logs, then cut to length. Since both operations are needed, I would think the cut to length would split easier. I am sure their is some logic that I am missing.

 

[Woody Stover]

Welcome to the forum. Looks like you have these things figured out. I have always been curious as to why you would split meter long logs, then cut to length. Since both operations are needed, I would think the cut to length would split easier. I am sure their is some logic that I am missing.

Yeah, but you only need to split one round, not two. Post some pics when you have completed the lengthening mods to your splitter. I will need a longer quad trailer, too.

 

[midwestcoast]

Welcome & thanks for the pics! I remember seeing stacks of those long rounds when I was over there. I never thought about it much but wouldn't have guessed it was firewood seasoning.
I feel for you on your fuel prices, it sure would make good dry firewood a valuable commodity. At least the cheap and delicious beer would make all that work easier

 

[Paulywalnut]

Welcome Fly. Nicely stacked wood. Looks like a trampoline with a safety net in the background there.

 

[Jags]

Yeah, but you only need to split one round, not two. Post some pics when you have completed the lengthening mods to your splitter. I will need a longer quad trailer, too.

I even took that into consideration. I do think that more buzz saws are in use over there where we do most with chainsaws. Maybe they don't work with hydro splitters as much?? Manual wedge and sledge? Gotta be some logistics of the procedure that I am missing. (sorry, I am an efficiency wonk.)

 

[KodiakII]

Vítejte and thank you for buying Canadian. If you do not mind me asking, how much do chainsaws sell for, and what brands are available.​

 

[BobUrban]

Welcome - on first glance I was thinking you were heating that castle?!? Holy cordwood for that

 

[CHeath]

Welcome from a LONG way away! Nice wood! (no pun intended)

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Welcome to the forum Fly.

That has to be very frustrating with the price of oil and then the price for wood too. We really feel for lots of folks across the pond and keep hoping it gets better rather than worse.

 

[Fly]

These are from a local firewood seller who I have bought from in the past. Everything is cut and stacked to one meter. Customers can then buy in that length or they will cut to size for more money. You can order green, one year old and two or more years old. The two year old wood is only 3 dollars more per meter so definitely worth it! The first picture is already cut to 50 cm.

 

[Fly]

In the back you can see the piled wood that has been already cut to standard sizes. It is sold in a 'piled' meters, rather than a stacked ones. The difference is it takes 1.6 piled meters to equal one stacked meter. They have complicated formulas to show the difference. The price of the piled meter is the same as the price of the one meter long stacked, so it pays to do your own. All wood is separated by type with beech interestingly being more expensive than oak. Could be a question of prevalence I guess.

 

[Fly]

This is what the wood is usually cut with at home and after seasoning. The picture below shows a meter which again is roughly 1/3 cord. The meter lengths are easy to count this way so that is why the meter lengths are the usual way. you can also by log lengths that are calculated differently, with meters again used but is measured as solid mass without air spaces. I will try to answer specific questions on iPad but tried to figure out how to post pics and was not successful so stopped in at the office quickly before heading out for the day.

 

[ArsenalDon]

Wow that is a lot of wood! Welcome Fly.

 

[Fly]

Regarding your post Woody Stover, hope the pictures above help show why we are forced to deal with the meter lengths. In the past, when you got a permit to scrounge from state forests (impossible now due to exclusive contract with Austria in which all wood is sold to them), you still had to cut to meter lengths, stack it on the edge of the forest and then get the official to come and count the meters. So then, two choices, cut to length there and take home, or split it with a hydraulic splitter (the most usual way) and then take it home. I always questioned the stacking in meter length and then cutting to size in the final year as well. Now I can see that the advantage is that you can stack higher and the stack is more stable (I have two small boys 3 and 2) and in limited space can fit a lot more wood. It is also true that people here do not live on several acres of land like in North America; they live in villages or cities in confined spaces. Could be a reason as well.

 

[Fly]

Jags, I am doing the manual splitting mostly because I was not well-prepared. Hydraulics are common here and I should have rented one. The truth is though, that I also like the work and need the exercise. I could rent one now but determined to finish it. I bought over 8 cords of mostly hardwood from a private fenced game farm, where hunters can come and blast away. The wild pigs are the ones you've got to worry about but was nice to bighorn sheep etc. running by while working. I thought they would be split the usual way but were the trunks and I only had one weekend to get it out of there before the snow fell and the area would be inaccessible for the rest of the season. My brother-in-law has a Husqvarna chain saw but too short of a blade and dull at that, so I decided to load them up in log form and take them home. Nearly broke my back doing it. Some of the bigger ones had to be split because could not get them into the trailer. All of that being said, lots of people do all splitting by hand. The hard wood is split right away, and the soft wood is split in the next summer when it is not so stringy.

 

[Fly]

Hi Ralphie boy! Nice to see you have been where I live. Small world. I lived in Český Krumlov from 1995-2000 and now I live over in Jindříchův Hradec. Krumlov became a tourist nightmare and where I live now is not so stunningly beautiful but definitely more quiet! It is on the Greenway cycling route from Vienna to Prague. Telč is not far away! We are on the edge of Czech Canada, a very beautiful area of hills and forests and castles. If you ever make over again, look me up and I will show you around!

 

[Fly]

Midwestcoast, the beer does make it all easier! Getting expensive these days but for perspective, if you go to any pub or cafe, the small bottled water cost $1.50, a tiny coffee $2, a 2 dl (8 ounces or so) coke is $1.50 . A half litter of beer costs $1 or even under depending on the brand! Literally, cheaper than water.

 

[Fly]

Nice Czech Kodiak II! The Canadian wood stoves was a good idea from my friend. He is the authorized dealer for Europe. Czechs have an overwhelming like for Canada and lots of Czechs ended up especially in Toronto. Czechs went to the States in the 19th century and the ties are not so close and then the politics etc. The Czechs went to Canada during communism. The American ones are just as good I am sure, but the marketing is a bit tougher. Husqvarna and Stihl are the usual. Have a Husqvarna shop down the street. When I am pricing a chainsaw now, the price is 30-50 % higher here than what I can find in the States. May wait until friends come over and buy it there. I usually do that for most big purchases. If it is posted, they open the box, check the local price here, add 20% VAT tax and then you pay!