Bobbob
Burning Hunk
Took the Boss with me today. He seems more interested in squirrels than getting any work done!
On the scrounge 2022
- Thread starter Woodsplitter67
- Start date
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Scored some Osage Orange today. Bucked alot of it myself. I'll be back for more. But not having a truck really screws me, so I'll just have to make multiple trips. But I've heard this stuff burns kinda warm? Lol (understatement) shall see how long it takes to season. Stuff seems lighter, but denser than the white oak I've been bucking lately
Edit for pics...
Edit for pics...
Found this stash next to the power lines on a new trail. Looks like poplar, birch, and beech. It’s located about quarter mile from trail head, I figure that I can grab 2, 3 splits each day.
Bobbob
Burning Hunk
sloeffle
Minister of Fire
Friend of mine droped off some wood at my shop.. free is for me.. Ill be hauling this home next week. didnt even need to pill out the saw.. probably a cord and a half
Got some of the wood home in the trailer.. There's some smaller stuff but much is large 24/30 inch stuff
2 dump trailer loads of oak and one of ash . Was able to back right up to the oak ash I had to wheelbarrow 30’ or so so not to bad for free heat
Just got this Locust from a recycle app group. Supposedly tree was downed from Hurricane Sandy, like 10 years ago. No rot at all. About 4 CRV loads worth that was just enough to fill up the last available space in my existing racks.
Bobbob
Burning Hunk
Use to haul all my wood home in the back of my Subaru. I use a trailer now, but have fond memories of squeezing all I could in the back of that Subie!
Yeah the CRV just barely fit down the guys driveway, this was 1 time that smaller was better.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
5 houses down there are a few pieces of live oak a tree company left. Too big for the city to pick up. I guess I’ll do my neighborly duty and wheel my barrow down and tidy it up. Not sure I can lift all of it. So the saw will come along with the helmet and Blaze orange chaps. Really wish they had cleaned up afterwards. It gonna be hot tomorrow and my racks are all full. Well I guess I can just use the 4x4s I collected from 6 houses down to build another rack.
Scrounge on my friends. Don’t pass up the easy stuff even if it’s hot and you don’t really need it. Your neighbors will thank you.
Scrounge on my friends. Don’t pass up the easy stuff even if it’s hot and you don’t really need it. Your neighbors will thank you.
Bobbob
Burning Hunk
Hauled about half cord of maple from my aunt's house today. She lost 6 trees in a recent wind storm. Will be heading back soon to retrieve some more. I've had a hard time keeping up between all the dead ash trees on my property and the trees friends and family have lost with all the crazy storms we have been having here. No worries about running outa wood. I'm close to 3 years ahead.
Investmentdude
Member
I picked up a nice stash of free oak and hickory driving by it a few times and then asking the owner. It’s for the wood stove for the porch we are building right now in the background!!
Im seeing free BTUs.. with what looks like a high cost of heating this coming season this should offset the high cost of living..
Bobbob
Burning Hunk
It will definitely help, but I don't see it offsetting this crazy inflation and the cost of gasoline.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
You just aren’t thinking creatively enough
Like to know how many hours and $$$ went into this.
If you gather enough wood and get away from big oil, youll be far ahead. for an entire year.. 2021 all my utilities added up to 400. that would be all of my electricity, all my gas for cooking and the oil I dont burn to heat my home, this also includes all of my water. to heat my greenhouse which i grow alot of food. My 550 gallon hot tub set to 102 degrees, 2 full size refrigerators and a full size freezer. and a daughter whos 16. A refrigerator for my outdoor kitchen. I heat with wood and do alot of my cooking on wood also. You'd be surprised on how many bills you can get rid of..
Bobbob
Burning Hunk
We have been using wood as our primary heat for about 15 years. Can't even say how much that has saved. Before wood we went through on average 750 gallons of fuel oil a year. At $5 a gallon it would add up quick. We also save by not having cable or satellite TV. We plant a fairly large garden and stock away for winter what we can. But even so the rising cost at the grocery store and gas station is quite alarming. We don't do much unnecessary driving, mostly just for work and getting necessities. All the wood we burn is cut from our property or is free from others. I'm looking into solar to save on our electric, but not sure if it's worth the investment. Average usage is around 1000kw per month.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
There have been a few good threads on this subject, on this site. I ran an analysis of solar fora family member a few months ago, and found his ROI was... never. If we ignored inflation, something I'd not ignore in today's market, then we could pretend there was a 13 year ROI. The primary trouble with inflation, among other things, is that you're spending valuable 2022 dollars in the hope of recouping less valuable 2032 dollars.
In this study, I considered his current and expected usage, based on a gradual schedule of replacing his current appliances with choices that would maximize his conversion to electric, on the expected failure dates of his current appliances, based on national averages. It wasn't perfect, and really only directly applied to his scenario, but some follow-up reading and discussion with others has indicated my findings were typical.
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