How many times do you handle your wood? (Burning wood I mean)

[remkel]

So I was out stacking wood tonight and began thinking about how many times I handle a piece of wood before I burn it. I have counted six times (not including the multiple times I place a log onto a splitting block). Anyone else more efficient than that?

 

[fox9988]

Depending on how you count, 4 by hand.
I fork saw the logs to stack with my tractor (I don't count this step).
1) Place rounds on splitter.
2) Stack splits.
3) Restack seasoned splits on porch.
4) Splits go directly in the stove.
Ash removal not counted.

 

[swagler85]

For those of us that scrounge there isn't a whole lot less we can handle it. 1 buck 2 load in truck 3 unload 4 split 5 stack 6 move to covered storage (after dry for winter use) 7 carry into house 8 load stove
Dang thats a lot after you think about it

 

[dorkweed]

So I was out stacking wood tonight and began thinking about how many times I handle a piece of wood before I burn it. I have counted six times (not including the multiple times I place a log onto a splitting block). Anyone else more efficient than that?

I'll bet you're retired..........to be able to think about such thing!

 

[bioman]

I am very work alone taught, less is more. when possible!

 

[lowroadacres]

I try to not think about the number of hours actually involved as compared to the dollar value saved on our heat bill as I prefer to know that I am doing something I love.... That being said most of our firewood comes from within a mile of our home and from a tree service. That means I am able to minimize the number of times we move it. We also use our tractor as much as possible to simplify the process.

 

[bioman]

For those of us that scrounge there isn't a whole lot less we can handle it. 1 buck 2 load in truck 3 unload 4 split 5 stack 6 move to covered storage (after dry for winter use) 7 carry into house 8 load stove
Dang thats a lot after you think about it

I will never load a bucked round without splitting first, HELLO !

 

[BrotherBart]

1. Putting the round in the trailer in the woods.
2. Off loading it in the splitting area.
3. Moving it to the splitter.
4. Putting the splits in the trailer to move to the stacks.
5. Stacking it.
6. Moving it into the shed.
7. Moving it into the breezeway a weeks worth at a time.
8. Finally throwing that damned split into the stove.

At around four thousand pounds (averaging wet/dry) a cord for oak that is a lot of weight humped for the three cords burned per season.

I left out picking that fool doctor up by his chicken neck when he asks me if I get any exercise since I retired.

 

[remkel]

I'll bet you're retired..........to be able to think about such thing!

Hardly! I have many, many more years of work ahead of me. The thought just popped into my head while I was out there tonight....the things i occupy my mind with while doing physical labor. Who knows what will come to mind tomorrow night as I move yet another cord.

 

[swagler85]

I will never load a bucked round without splitting first, HELLO !

I do all my splitting at home, splitting where I cut just doesn't work for me. I get wood from scrounges mostly and have time to work a few hours here and there. If I split where I cut much of what I cut would be gone by the next time I go back from other scroungers.
Also I can haul a lot more per load in rounds so less trips on the trucks makes up for handling the rounds again.

 

[red oak]

For those of us that scrounge there isn't a whole lot less we can handle it. 1 buck 2 load in truck 3 unload 4 split 5 stack 6 move to covered storage (after dry for winter use) 7 carry into house 8 load stove
Dang thats a lot after you think about it

That's pretty much exactly what I do. And you're right - 8 times for every piece I burn - where do I find all that time?

 

[swagler85]

That's pretty much exactly what I do. And you're right - 8 times for every piece I burn - where do I find all that time?

Good thing I enjoy the work, heck if I didnt love it I think that would just convince me to turn on the gas

 

[bogydave]

6 is awesome, 4 is unheard of.
I copied BB list & amended it for my system:
No felling & limbing & log skidding on the list
1. Bucking & Rolling the rounds near the wood hauler trailer.
2. Loading it in the trailer .
3. Off loading it in the splitting area.
4. Moving it to the splitter.
5. splitting & tossing into a pile
6. Stacking it in seasoning rows.
(6a)(some get 1 or 2 more handlings if a row falls over)
7. Loading it in the ATV trailer headed to the shed
8. Stacking it in the shed.
9. Loading it in the ATV trailer headed to the house
10. Off loading it & throwing it in the wood box.
11. stacking it in the wood box
12. The best part, throwing those "lovely" splits into the stove.

And: +1 for the doctor LOL

 

[woodsmaster]

1 cut
2 load
3 unload
4 split
5 stack
6 move stack to boiler shed. ( usually less than 50' )
7 burn

 

[woodchip]

Depends on where the wood has come from.
Worst case scenario.........
1 Buck to 5ft.
2 Load onto bike and push the bike through the wood home.
3 Unload and move onto saw bench.
4 cut to 1ft lengths.
5 Split wood and load wheelbarrow.
6 Unload wheelbarrow onto drying stack
7 Move from drying stack into greenhouse due to bad weather.
8 Move from greenhouse into wood shed once dry.
9 Move from woodshed indoors to log basket
10 Burn.

Just once in my life have I been out walking along the road, found a small dry bit of wood, bought it home and put it on the fire..........

 

[TimJ]

can we get a 13 out of this

 

[velvetfoot]

Don't forget emptying and disposing of the ashes!

 

[Wood Duck]

I think my list is about like swagler85's or Brother Bart's lists, so I'll guess 8 times if you count splitting as only one. In practice I may split a round into many pieces so I will handle some of the splits many times while splitting.

 

[muncybob]

For those of us that scrounge there isn't a whole lot less we can handle it. 1 buck 2 load in truck 3 unload 4 split 5 stack 6 move to covered storage (after dry for winter use) 7 carry into house 8 load stove
Dang thats a lot after you think about it

Mine is the same, but since I unload off the truck directly onto the splitter 90% of the time, I count #3 and #4 as 1 step.

 

[quads]

1. When I cut the tree down, I cut it up and split it where it lays, while tossing it on the trailer as I split.

2. I haul the splits to the yard and stack as I unload, where it will season patiently for a few years.

3. Years later, I carry the splits to within reach of the stove.

 

[PapaDave]

"In practice I may split a round into many pieces so I will handle some of the splits many times while splitting."

Good point, Wood Duck.
Anywhere from 2-6 splits is normal. Anything larger and I quit counting.

Log load:
Pull log from pile
After bucking, move to splitter
Split (may require handling 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 splits) and throw into trailer
Stack from trailer and wait at least 2 years (mostly oak in those loads)
Reload trailer for move to woodshed
Unload trailer into woodshed
Move wood from shed onto porch in late fall (all winter long)
Bring wood from porch into holding bin next to stove
Put wood in stove

I'd like to eliminate the porch portion by getting a wood dolly that I can load and just take into the house.
Seems like I'm missing a step....or 2.
I also went to the trouble a fews days ago to approximate how many splits I've moved in the last few years.
The numbers were astounding.
On the low side of about 750 splits/cord x 5 cord/year x 9 times (see above) = 33,750 splits/yr.
If I bump the per cord number to 900, the total is 40,500. That's 243,000 splits (higher #) I've moved since we got here.
That's not factoring in the next 2 years wood I have in the back.
No wonder I'm tired.
Is anybody still awake after all that?

 

[RORY12553]

Good thing I enjoy the work, heck if I didnt love it I think that would just convince me to turn on the gas

If i had natural gas i would most likely not burn wood...although oil prices aren't bad right now and i'm going to fill the tank

 

[fossil]

I don't pay any attention. If I really cared, I'd bring in an outside consultant:

 

[Cross Cut Saw]

I got a really good deal on 2 cords of well seasoned wood but I had to rent a uhaul to go get it.
My wife thought I would just come home and dump it off of the truck onto our driveway to stack later. There was no way I was going to go to the trouble of loading this stuff into a wheelbarrow just to dump it on my driveway and pick it up again later to stack it! I got the truck at about 4pm, loaded it by 6pm and had it all unloaded and stacked by 10pm.

So I guess my answer would be as few times as humanly possible.

Did I mention that I was up at 5 am that day and worked for 9 hours before picking up the truck? What was I thinking?

 

[jeepmedic]

That is exactly what I do as well. Plus cut and fell first.....

6 is awesome, 4 is unheard of.
I copied BB list & amended it for my system:
No felling & limbing & log skidding on the list
1. Bucking & Rolling the rounds near the wood hauler trailer.
2. Loading it in the trailer .
3. Off loading it in the splitting area.
4. Moving it to the splitter.
5. splitting & tossing into a pile
6. Stacking it in seasoning rows.
(6a)(some get 1 or 2 more handlings if a row falls over)
7. Loading it in the ATV trailer headed to the shed
8. Stacking it in the shed.
9. Loading it in the ATV trailer headed to the house
10. Off loading it & throwing it in the wood box.
11. stacking it in the wood box
12. The best part, throwing those "lovely" splits into the stove.

And: +1 for the doctor LOL