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[NWCoaster]

Good afternoon fellow woodshed/chainsaw enthusiasts! First post here, really enjoy the more relaxed, less confrontational attitude at this site, along with the vast amount of knowledge from this helpful group of individuals. I have been lurking for quite some time so figured I might as well make it official and join up,
Thanks !

 

[Wood Duck]

Welcome to the forum. So, does wood ever dry out in NW Washington? I picture about three dry days per year, all in a row in July.

 

[NWCoaster]

Welcome to the forum. So, does wood ever dry out in NW Washington? I picture about three dry days per year, all in a row in July.

Thanks for the welcome Wood Duck, made me laugh..... you are right on target with the presumption about our wood drying out here. If it is not covered it is very hard to get it dry. Of course we dont have the abundance of hardwoods out here.... mostly Alder, Big leaf Maple and Fir to burn, which all seem to dry just fine in a year or less. We have had a huge amount of rain lately, even for around here. It can get beutiful when it clears up though with the climate being so mild.

 

[Paulywalnut]

Welcome. You might be an expert in drying and seasoning firewood. How many dry sunny days do you get up there?

 

[NWCoaster]

Definately not an expert, but it seems as long as its covered and can get some wind through it, it does pretty well! The weather up here can be really different from year to year. Sometimes in the spring (about now) , we can get 2-3 weeks of beautiful sunshine, same for in the fall around late September/early October - other years it will rain for 2-3 weeks straight without let up. Most summers are pretty nice starting early July all the way through to early September. I remeber recent summers with 90-100 straight days with sunshine/ no rain.... that is the exception though.

 

[begreen]

Stack E/W so that the prevailing south-west winter winds and northern summer winds can blow between the splits. I had a stack of maple that was stacked N/S for 2 years and it never really properly dried out. Ideally you will have a wood shed for the last year's drying. That really helps in our climate.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Welcome to the forum NWCoaster.

Hope you are having some spring weather out there. Winter in the east; still winter in the midwest too. We got about 4" snow last night and this morning and expect to be below zero tonight. We would gladly welcome spring here!

 

[fossil]

Don't be fooled! If the weather in Seattle was as consistently miserable as they'd all have us believe, the city's waterfront wouldn't be dotted with these:



They just don't want the secret out because there are way more than enough people there already.

 

[NWCoaster]

Stack E/W so that the prevailing south-west winter winds and northern summer winds can blow between the splits. I had a stack of maple that was stacked N/S for 2 years and it never really properly dried out. Ideally you will have a wood shed for the last year's drying. That really helps in our climate.

Never thought about the East/West thing.... makes sense though.... by pure luck, that is how my wood is stacked, and it recieves a nice dose of sun in the summer! And I DO get some prevailing winds in the fall and winter...good lord, we are on the side of a hill on the mouth of Skagit Valley..... things get a little western some times, Lol.

 

[begreen]

Spring for sure here. Early leaves are showing and the cherries and daffodils are blooming. Cars are starting to get covered with madrona pollen too. :-(

 

[firefighterjake]

Spring for sure here. Early leaves are showing and the cherries and daffodils are blooming. Cars are starting to get covered with madrona pollen too. :-(

Snowing hard here ... heavy, wet snow sliding off the roof in sheets ... five inches on the ground ... More to come ... don't take this wrong, but I hate you right now.

 

[NWCoaster]

Welcome to the forum NWCoaster.

Hope you are having some spring weather out there. Winter in the east; still winter in the midwest too. We got about 4" snow last night and this morning and expect to be below zero tonight. We would gladly welcome spring here!

Actually, the last 2 days have been absoloutly beautiful! Looks like Fossil's picture up above. I had lived in a very cold climate for seven years, I know how that feels when you just wish spring would get here already
Nice picture fossil

 

[fossil]

Nice picture fossil

I swiped off the net. It's the Elliot Bay Marina...just one of a zillion around the sound.

 

[BrotherBart]

Welcome. We actually have higher annual rainfall totals in Northern Virginia than they have in Seattle.

 

[billb3]

Yeah, the sun comes out just about every afternoon, just as the sun is setting and then the clouds pile up again
They are also blessed with copious amounts of that all-season wonderful cottonwood.
If you like green it's the place to be, just keep getting tested for vitamin D deficiencies.

 

[begreen]

Not much cottonwood here, but a lot of fir, spruce, hemlock, alder and big leaf maple. Sun has been here all day. I can see 100 miles in any direction. That doesn't happen very often back east anymore.

 

[billb3]

I can see 100 miles in any direction. That doesn't happen very often back east anymore.

Why is that ?

 

[begreen]

We are edged by the ocean and don't have a country's worth of dust and pollution blowing over us. (Yet, China is working on this.) Visibility degrading pollutants and a humid haze is what I have read are the cause of the east coast haze.The northeast is much more industrialized.

"What is it?
Regional visibility degradation occurs when concentrations of particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the atmosphere hinder the ability to view distant objects or vistas. Of these, the primary visibility-degrading pollutants of concern for agriculture are particulate matter and NOx."

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CGEQFjAF&url=http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1046189.pdf&ei=dfUgU_fOCobmoATSroLYCQ&usg=AFQjCNHUJKlIzmddUjnsCMCRq229nCbEfw&sig2=x881RDawa0w1kxTvDQvdxw&bvm=bv.62922401,d.cGU&cad=rja

 

[Sinngetreu]

Good afternoon fellow woodshed/chainsaw enthusiasts! First post here, really enjoy the more relaxed, less confrontational attitude at this site, along with the vast amount of knowledge from this helpful group of individuals. I have been lurking for quite some time so figured I might as well make it official and join up,
Thanks !

WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOT CONFRONTATIONAL? I'M VERY CONFRONTATIONAL! EXPLAIN YOURSELF!

Just kidding, welcome to the forum.
Now for the true test.... How do you feel about Pine?

 

[Seanm]

Welcome to the forum! My parents live on Vancouver Island and they like to rub my nose in it with pictures of flowers, lawn mowing etc when we in the Rockies are still shoveling snow! I used to live in Whistler, very much a coastal rain forest with lots of ferns, cedars, fir, and silly amounts of heavy snow. The only difference from Vancouver weather was it was colder! Started my wood stove burning there. I have to say its much easier for me to get wood to dry in the Rockies then it was in Whistler. Summers there were full of high pressure ridges which were great but the rain through the fall and in between cold spells in the winter were biblical!

 

[Clyde S. Dale]

Good afternoon fellow woodshed/chainsaw enthusiasts! First post here, really enjoy the more relaxed, less confrontational attitude at this site, along with the vast amount of knowledge from this helpful group of individuals. I have been lurking for quite some time so figured I might as well make it official and join up,
Thanks !

Welcome! So what do you burn you wood in? How about your saws? Do have 1 saw for everything or multiple and always looking to acquire more (CAD) like some of us here?

 

[NWCoaster]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOT CONFRONTATIONAL? I'M VERY CONFRONTATIONAL! EXPLAIN YOURSELF!

Just kidding, welcome to the forum.
Now for the true test.... How do you feel about Pine?

Thanks for the welcome Sinngetreu! Pretty funny...... I do like some Smartassyness though....keep up the good work!

 

[NWCoaster]

Welcome to the forum! My parents live on Vancouver Island and they like to rub my nose in it with pictures of flowers, lawn mowing etc when we in the Rockies are still shoveling snow! I used to live in Whistler, very much a coastal rain forest with lots of ferns, cedars, fir, and silly amounts of heavy snow. The only difference from Vancouver weather was it was colder! Started my wood stove burning there. I have to say its much easier for me to get wood to dry in the Rockies then it was in Whistler. Summers there were full of high pressure ridges which were great but the rain through the fall and in between cold spells in the winter were biblical!

Thanks for the Welcome Seanm! Funny you mention Vancouver Island, I was born there and most of my family still lives there. My wife has dual Citizenship so I was her little import to the US around 20 years ago. I love both Countries.... I have very fond memories of where I grew up, but also am extremely happy where I live now.... From the day I moved here I have been treated like a brother and have a huge amount of pride in living here. Having both citizenships can be a bit complicated sometimes when you cross the border though if you get the wrong guard... Lol.

 

[NWCoaster]

Welcome! So what do you burn you wood in? How about your saws? Do have 1 saw for everything or multiple and always looking to acquire more (CAD) like some of us here?

Good Morning Clyde S Dale.... very catchy name... I like that! Yes I burn wood mostly just for supplimental heat or just to have the nice atmosphere during the weekend or evenings.... I love how the radiant heat feels compared to warm air blowing out of a vent on the floor. I don't burn a huge amount of wood per year, probably only 2-3 cord, but I really enjoy felling trees that are getting diseased or old on my little 5 acre chunk of land and processing them into something useful for the cool winter months.
I really feel like the whole process is therapy for my brain.... both relaxing and rewarding. I mostly burn Alder and Big leaf Maple, not quite the BTU's of hardwoods, but they are nice to work with and season fairly quickly. I have had a Stihl 026 for probably 15 years.... it has never failed to start for me once and has been a really great saw, just muffler modded it about 2 months ago, runs really well! I was also very lucky to get a brand new Stihl 461R from my wife for Christmas this year, all I can say is "Wow", very impressed with it so far! ( Yes, she is a keeper!) Lol. I am interested in trying some other brands of saws...... I could easily see a Swedish saw in my future.... or who knows what.......It is fun to keep an eye on Craigslist to see what pops up, so yeah, I think I have been afflicted

 

[NWCoaster]

Welcome. We actually have higher annual rainfall totals in Northern Virginia than they have in Seattle.

Wow, didn't realize that.... yikes! Thanks for the Welcome