Newbie from South Africa

[SawdustSA]

Hi I'm new here. Not many people I know in my area have this obsession with wood as I and most of you do, but I enjoy the hobby. I bought my 1st wood burning heater in 2012 after burning anthracite for a few years too many.

I have a Bosca Firepoint heater which is in the more affordable range around here. I mostly use Eucalyptus or Blue Gum as it is referred to here. We have an abundance of wood here. Since most South Africans are focusing on wood for barbecue (we call it a 'braai') no one really bothers with Gum. We also have plenty of Acasia Mearnsii (Black Wattle) here, which is very invasive. I use that for the barbecue since it takes too long to season properly for the stove.

I was fortunate to collect a decent load of free wood last week from a property where this River Red Gum (I think) was taken down. It took me 6 trips with my trailer to collect it all. This has been C,S,S for next year. I have some wood from last year as well which is fairly well seasoned for this winter. It is not cold enough to light a fire yet, but it will be within the next few weeks.

Here are a few photos of my collection. My tools consist of a Stihl 064 and a Husqvarna splitting axe.

Thanks for all the info on the site.

 

[Delta-T]

Hello and welcome! Who would have guessed you'd have Chilean stoves in SA?

 

[Jags]

Welcome to the forum. I guess I have never thought about heating needs in SA. My first vision in my head always forms the desert and jungle regions. What are your winters like?

(And what is that fish in your avatar? It looks....delicious.)

 

[bigbarf48]

Welcome to the site! Is that stuff with the red center eucalyptus? Very interesting looking

Is the gum over there hard to split like ours?

 

[SawdustSA]

Yes we have a fairly decent range of stoves here but with the exchange rate, most are very pricey.

Being at the coast in the Eastern Cape, our winters are very mild compared to yours. We hardly see freezing point. Inland they sometimes get snow but that might be for a few days only. So making a fire is more for atmosphere than an absolute necessity.

That fish is a Blue Gill. Still dripping with mother's milk. I enjoy fly fishing over weekends.

We have different types of Eucalyptus over here. This one is the colour of dry blood on the inside. See photo. Splitting was not too difficult but I did it within 3 days, so it was still very wet and green. I have had gum before which was impossible to split due to a twisted grain. I had to noodle each and every round. I find the isolated gum trees to be stunted by strong winds and they have terrible twisted grains. Others which are growing together with more straight limbs, are better.

Our variety of trees suitable for cutting and burning is limited. We only have pine forests here with the invasive Eucalyptus and black wattle everywhere else. Oak you might find in someone's garden. I live in the city, but I have trees to cut within 2 miles from my house.

 

[Jags]

That fish is a Blue Gill. Still dripping with mother's milk. I enjoy fly fishing over weekends.

That looks identical to our Blue Gills. Delicious.