Neighbor feeling the chill

[Backwoods Savage]

A couple nights ago I am moving some wood into the barn and the neighbor came over asking questions about cleaning the chimney. Well, they've had a bit of bad luck lately and I told him there was no sense in buying a brush and rods so just told him to take ours. I told him what to do and away he went. I could have helped but he has a really short chimney that is a straight run so figured it would take him 10 minutes at most. It took him about 5 and he was very happy in the end. Good to help a neighbor but......

He started burning wood out of necessity last winter. Picked up a stove for a song and a dance and installed it. It is really a sad thing but helped them out a lot on the cost of heating. He has 10 acres of mostly red and white oaks. He figured there was enough down and ready to burn that he'd be okay but I quickly offered him some good dry wood. He burned his oak.

He got a lot of creosote from the chimney and is good to go now except.....he has no wood ready to burn except a little he has for the outdoor fires they have quite often. So, I suspected he would be out cutting wood yesterday (don't work on Friday) and today. Maybe tomorrow. However, I have not heard a saw running yet.

Isn't this typical of most folks? He'll cut only when he absolutely has to. He was cutting just a little bit on weekends last year and suspect he'll do the same this year. Cut enough for a week....

This really makes me sad and is awful to watch especially knowing he has 3 young children in the house along with a wife. I was amazed they made it through last winter and am hoping they do the same this winter. I have told him where I keep the brush and rods and suggested he clean monthly this year. Time will tell...


Just another case where it should be done ahead of time. He doesn't have much sunshine where he could stack the wood but there is plenty of wind. But sometimes you just can't teach people the right way of doing things.


How about your neighbors? Do they cut before it is needed?

 

[ohio woodburner]

Dennis with 10 acres I'm surprised he doesn't have some standing dead or some dead limbs. I know my Dad always cut in the fall for that year and most of that was cottonwood. Good thing i never followed him in that aspect. lol

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Yes, he has a little downed stuff but not much and I don't think any of it is ready to burn. He will still blindly do it though.

Sometimes Daddy's advise is not so good.

 

[PapaDave]

Dennis, it really is a shame that lots of people seem to not be able to think very far ahead.
The normal practice around here is still to get the wood put up in Aug-Sept, then use that the same winter. Well, not HERE, but around here.
Can't fix stupid, and lazy isn't far behind.
:lol:

 

[BrotherBart]

The temps have dipped into the forties for a couple nights. I expect to hear the saws fire up all around here soon. Happens every year. And on the first night in the thirties the song of the domestic fire engine will be heard just after dark. Always happens too.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I'm ALWAYS amazed at the lack of foresight that people show regarding firewood. Lots of people get their wood cut late Summer-early Fall and they think that they are "early" with it! Tractor Supply and similiar places run "specials" on logsplitters and saws NOW like it's "wood cutting time"; I go by a local dealer every week and he has the log lengths just laying around, bucking and splitting some of them NOW and selling it to some poor sap that will try to use it in a couple months, have an awful experience and declare "wood heat sucks-I don't see what's so great about it"...

If people would only plan ahead they would enjoy heating with wood so much more...sigh....

 

[chvymn99]

I too, have a neighbor like that. The old man neighbor, use to have a tree service drop off big trees. But the last year 1/2 they stopped doing this. Well this was the other neighbors source of wood too. So when he ran low last winter, we went down and processed some old wood stack of log lengths. Well he had a hard time keeping a fire going for the rest of the burn season, and couldn't understand it. I mean the logs had been sitting around for 3 years they should be ready. Whelp you guessed it. Who hasn't processed any wood, except when I went over to help one day and we did a little over a cord in 90 plus temp. Plus, I've tried to get him to go scrounging with me, but its too hard of work & the labors not worth the quality of wood. But if it had not been for the knowledge that I have learned here, I too would not be with this much wood on my property.

 

[loon]

Can't fix stupid, and lazy isn't far behind.
:lol:

yup :coolgrin:

loon

 

[wood-fan-atic]

Everybody that knows me - knows I burn wood. Two different people I know at work both recently bought stoves (they dont know what brand - OR even if they are catalytic or not) - and asked me where they can buy some seasoned wood. When I told then "no where" - thatt is why I have 5 cords c/s/s in the woodshed , and another 5 (almost) drying for next year - they looked at me like I was crazy.

 

[amateur cutter]

I hear you guys. People look at me like I'm cracked too, the other day as a guy was picking up a little campfire wood, his words were " you're too ambitious". My reply was "nope, just don't like to be cold, & I like chimney fires even less". Needless to say, the conversation ended there. Oh well. A C

 

[lukem]

My neighbor often cuts and burns the same day. My BIL did the same when he was heating with wood...out of wood....better go cut some more. They both think I'm the crazy one for having 4 or 5 years worth c/s/s. I just nod my head....yup...I have no sense.

One year my BIL had a chimney fire and blamed it on the "crappy" class A chimney...because a chimney fire in a masonry setup would have been "safer". *sigh*

 

[Woody Stover]

I've been preaching "dry wood" to a couple of my neighbors. I was a bit concerned with one's wood supply...I saw a lot of rounds in his stack. I recently went over when I heard him running the saw. What he was cutting wasn't ready to go, but we tested some rounds out of his stack for moisture. Even though they were not split, they've been there for a couple or three years and aren't too big, so they are ready to go. He only burns when it gets really cold, so he should have enough for this season.
The other neighbor was cutting and splitting some Sugar Maple that had been sitting in log form. 30% moisture in that stuff. He was also talking about getting some slab wood. I told him it might be OK if it was Ash, but he said it's hard to dig through the stack, so some of it might be Oak. So I walked around his property with him and pointed out some dead standing stuff with the bark off that is probably close to being ready. He's got a combustor insert, just installed a liner all the way up in his masonry chimney, and replaced the combustor. I told him about flame impingement on the combustor, but I need to scare him with a lecture about the thermal shock that's possible if he burns wet wood. :smirk:

 

[red oak]

Dennis you are unfortunately correct. I have two older neighbors who have been cutting this year's supply for the last month or so. I have a very good friend who is only halfway to having what he needs for this winter. My friend commented to me last year that he was having problems with creosote in his chimney and stovepipe. I recommended he cut sooner and let the wood season for at least a spring and summer. He told me he'd rather fish during those months. I just nodded but I do worry about him so every couple of weeks I would drop off some of those chemical chimney cleaning sticks to his house - saying that I had a few extra. In reality I don't use them!

I wouldn't call any of these people lazy or stupid, but I don't think they realize the value of planning ahead. I also think if they grew up doing things a certain way it is hard for them to wrap their head around changing it.

I do have another friend who cut a live tree and was splitting it and putting it in his stove THAT DAY! I did give him a rather strong lecture beginning with "S@$T You're going to burn your house down!" After that I tried not to be too offensive! I really worry about some of these people but all I can do is deliver the wisdom - I can't make them act on it.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

As we can tell by the posts, there are a whole lot of wood burners out there who do not know what they are doing and most don't really want to learn a new way. No doubt this does turn a lot of folks away from burning wood and that is really sad.

I recall back in the mid-70's when the oil embargo happened and then the price of gas shot up. Cripes, it got over $.50 per gallon. Unheard of! Then lots of folks, mostly farmers, were installing wood stoves and then going out and cutting wood. I recall one particular area, not too far from where PapaDave lives when lots and lots of farmers did this. Most of them burned wood just one winter and out went the stoves. It was a case of the stoves did not burn and give off enough heat to amount to much. Stinking creosote in the house. Too dirty for the wives and too much hard work for the men. None cut more than they needed that first year. After all, that is how their fathers and grandfathers did it and they done it all their lives so they knew what was best. Then too, even the farmers almanac said to cut the wood in October and November for their winter supply and if it is in print, it can't be wrong.....can it?

The more things change the more they stay the same.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

The temps have dipped into the forties for a couple nights. I expect to hear the saws fire up all around here soon. Happens every year. And on the first night in the thirties the song of the domestic fire engine will be heard just after dark. Always happens too.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[albertj03]

My neighbor has tree length wood delivered in the late summer or early fall, cuts and splits it in October then burns it all winter long. Always has a nice smoke plume coming out of the chimney. Works good for him with his old wood furnace. When I first got my stove I didn't have much wood so he gave me some, it didn't burn very well in my EPA stove but it's the thought that counts.

 

[Wood Duck]

I have neighbors that run the gamut of wood collectors. One guy around the corner has probably 10 or 12 cord in the stacks and always keeps it that way. the guy next door has had a load of logs laying next to the driveway for a year. He sawed some of it up this week for burnig this winter. Plenty of people around here are still waiting to gather wood for the upcoming winter. Another guy at the end of the street has at least 3 cords of wood split and stacked, and seems to have his wood on hand way before average, but he has a constant stream of smoke from the chimney that most of the winter smokes up a good portion of the very small valley below us. I can't figure that one out - at least partially seasoned wood but constant smoke. I guess he has an airtight stove and chokes it down most of the time.

 

[weatherguy]

My neighbor, whos a woodburner, commented to me a month or so ago when I was out splitting wood "you think you got enough wood??", I told him not yet, I was splitting for 2013-14 winter so it could season properly, he said "really?". I told him the wood burns cleaner and hotter when properly seasoned. He's an attorney and has green wood delivered in October for the winter. Hell, if I didnt stumble onto this forum I would probably be doing the same thing.

 

[Shadow&Flame]

The only time people seem to worry about wood is when it turns cold. I hear the chainsaws running about the time deer season opens and that is for this years burning season. Some people you can educate...others you cant. I have never been one to try and tell anyone how to live or run their lives...but I will advise people once if they are doing something wrong or dangerous. I know a guy who has a Buck Model 80 and cuts green wood every year to put in it. I asked if he had any problems burning the cat with wet wood and he didn't know it had one... :shut: Oh well...

 

[Woody Stover]

Hell, if I didnt stumble onto this forum I would probably be doing the same thing.

+1. Last year I cut my wood in May, and that was the earliest I had ever done it. The Ash burned OK. Then I started reading here and found out why my Oak had never burned worth a hoot. I guess I always knew in the back of my mind that I should have been cutting earlier. Now I know why, thanks to this forum. Hence, all my wood's going to be transported to the future. Today I started on my 2012 wood, Pignut and Sugar (or for 2013, depending on weather some Black Oak stacked in May is ready.) Then I've got a couple of Pin Oaks for 2014, to which I'll be adding some higher-powered wood species. I'll have three years on ice by the end of the year.
:coolsmile:

Now I'm trying to spread the word. With more clean burners, wood burning will be looked upon more favorably by those that live near them but don't burn. Those folks might even consider burning wood themselves. That starts right here in the 'hood. Hey, wait, that would mean less scrounging opportunities for me! Oh, well...

 

[Swedishchef]

Dennis,

I currently live in a part of the province where wood is a primary source of heating for a lot of people. Yet many (the majority) people don't seem to understand the importance of seasoning wood. Guys I know (lots of them) just went to cut their wood in the past few weeks for this upcoming winter. We're talking about maple, yellow birch and white birch.

They try to convince me that letting wood dry for 2-3 years is BAD. One guy (good friend of mine) who has a wood furnace said that if he puts dry wood in his furnace it heats the house too fast. So he puts green wood in it and lets it go slowly. However, this same guy had a chimney fire 3 years ago in the middle of a winter snowstorm with a gale of wind. He was clmbing onto the roof of his house while his wife kept bringing him buckets of water (he poured it down). This is an INTERIOR chimney that goes up through the middle of his old 2 story house.

So no, it's not just your neighbors.

Before finding this forum I knew that wood had to be seasoned but not to the extent that it really should. I always told myself that one year was plenty....pffft, was I wrong (for hardwoods).

Andrew

Andrew

 

[onetracker]

I hear you guys. People look at me like I'm cracked too, the other day as a guy was picking up a little campfire wood, his words were " you're too ambitious". My reply was "nope, just don't like to be cold, & I like chimney fires even less". Needless to say, the conversation ended there. Oh well. A C

indeed.....and:
its nice to know that for an entire winter in the northen latitudes, we'll be warm and won't have to scrounge for firewood or burn green wood. power failure? who cares, we've got 3 stoves. no water? no problem, we'll melt snow on the big free-standing.

 

[Thistle]

20-25 yrs ago when I was younger & didnt know any better I did the same thing. Would cut at random,always run out then go cut more when was out of wood no matter the weather conditions at the time.Rain,ice storms,blizzard...didnt matter :-S

Now I'm older & wiser I cut a little every week almost year round,when weather & my regular work schedule allows it. Did take a break for almost 2 months in Jan- March 2011 when the snow was too deep to get around easily.Then again for 2 weeks in July when the heat index was 105-117.But except for that have been spending 5-8 hrs in the woods every week in my spare time since August 2010. Am about 4 yrs ahead now - 13-14 cords roughly.Should finally be done with all the cleanup sometime later in November or early December.Depending on when the first big snowfall hits.

It's great to go out there,see the shed full,all those stacks & the pile (about 2 p/u loads as of last Thursday) that still needs split/stacked. I just smile. :coolsmirk:

 

[Bspring]

A couple nights ago I am moving some wood into the barn and the neighbor came over asking questions about cleaning the chimney. Well, they've had a bit of bad luck lately and I told him there was no sense in buying a brush and rods so just told him to take ours. I told him what to do and away he went. I could have helped but he has a really short chimney that is a straight run so figured it would take him 10 minutes at most. It took him about 5 and he was very happy in the end. Good to help a neighbor but......

He started burning wood out of necessity last winter. Picked up a stove for a song and a dance and installed it. It is really a sad thing but helped them out a lot on the cost of heating. He has 10 acres of mostly red and white oaks. He figured there was enough down and ready to burn that he'd be okay but I quickly offered him some good dry wood. He burned his oak.

He got a lot of creosote from the chimney and is good to go now except.....he has no wood ready to burn except a little he has for the outdoor fires they have quite often. So, I suspected he would be out cutting wood yesterday (don't work on Friday) and today. Maybe tomorrow. However, I have not heard a saw running yet.

Isn't this typical of most folks? He'll cut only when he absolutely has to. He was cutting just a little bit on weekends last year and suspect he'll do the same this year. Cut enough for a week....

This really makes me sad and is awful to watch especially knowing he has 3 young children in the house along with a wife. I was amazed they made it through last winter and am hoping they do the same this winter. I have told him where I keep the brush and rods and suggested he clean monthly this year. Time will tell...


Just another case where it should be done ahead of time. He doesn't have much sunshine where he could stack the wood but there is plenty of wind. But sometimes you just can't teach people the right way of doing things.


How about your neighbors? Do they cut before it is needed?

In a field one summer's day a grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. A group of ants walked by, grunting as they struggled to carry plump kernels of corn.

"Where are you going with those heavy things?" asked the grasshopper.

Without stopping, the first ant replied, "To our ant hill. This is the third kernel I've delivered today."

"Why not come and sing with me," teased the grasshopper, "instead of working so hard?"

"We are helping to store food for the winter," said the ant, "and think you should do the same."

"Winter is far away and it is a glorious day to play," sang the grasshopper.

But the ants went on their way and continued their hard work.

The weather soon turned cold. All the food lying in the field was covered with a thick white blanket of snow that even the grasshopper could not dig through. Soon the grasshopper found itself dying of hunger.

He staggered to the ants' hill and saw them handing out corn from the stores they had collected in the summer. He begged them for something to eat.

"What!" cried the ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?"

"I didn't have time to store any food," complained the grasshopper; "I was so busy playing music that before I knew it the summer was gone."

The ants shook their heads in disgust, turned their backs on the grasshopper and went on with their work.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Good story with a good moral Bspring. Sort of like the virgins when some were wise and some were foolish. When the time come they needed the oil, not all had it.

Also sort of like the pig. One day the pig was rooting around the oaks getting to the acorns. The squirrel told the pig that if he kept doing all the rooting around the oaks would all die. The pig said, "Who cares as long as we have all these acorns?"