The first three loads of the season

[TMonter]

First Three Loads of the Season

So far about 2.5 Cords of wood.

 

[TMonter]

Side view of what a typical load looks like

 

[maplewood]

First Three Loads of the Season

So far about 2.5 Cords of wood.

Nice looking wood - what is it?
Will you re-split the bigger chunks (in your 2nd Chev), or is that what you put in you stove?
We've finally hit great drying weather here in the North East. It was a wet June. Hope yours cracks quickly!

 

[wendell]

Thanks for the pics. I will probably be the only one to say to next time show less wood and more scenery. I used to be you neighbor in CDA and really miss it!

 

[quads]

That's very nice!

 

[BrotherBart]

Nice wood T. Did you cut it on government land? :cheese:

(Ducking under the desk.)

 

[TMonter]

Nice wood T. Did you cut it on government land?

Yes but I paid a user fee to do so (Wood Permit). I don't have a problem paying for use. ;-)

As for what type of wood, the majority of it is Red Fir (Douglas Fir) with a little bit of lodgepole pine in one of the loads. The Chevy was a friend's pickup we took up cutting. I still need to get a tire carrier for the Dodge, as I've been putting it off for 5 years.

I really need to get some shots of me felling trees as we usually cut standing dead Red Fir.

 

[Dune]

How many cords of softwood does it take to heat your house for the year?

 

[North of 60]

Oh please don't tell me your burning softwood, and to top it all off "PINE" you say. Tsk tsk. That must all be for the shoulder seasons or when your at home to feed the fire every two to three hours. :lol: Nice lookin loads. Like all the saws. Ugg Ugg.
N of 60

 

[TMonter]

Home heating usually takes between 3 and 4 cords depending on the average temperature over the winter. It also depends on how much I fire up the downstairs stove to keep the den toasty. The house is usually kept between 72 and 78 degrees when heating.

Just to note, Red Fir and tamarack while technically "softwoods" does have very close to the heating values of many hardwoods. It won't have the heating value of good oak or maple but it will be 3/4 or more the value. The real benefit is it splits like a dream in comparison.

 

[Dune]

Still, your home must be very well insulated. My house in southern New England uses 3 cords of oak, more if I use pine.

 

[TMonter]

R40 Ceilings, Standard R-11 Walls, 50% of the windows are new low-e glass double panes. We have heavy drapes on all the windows to hold in the heat. I typically heat about 1600 square feet of my house with the Quad 3100I. The quad keeps up in temperatures 20 degrees and up, below that I fire up the downstairs stove for supplemental.

It's reasonable but still not even close to how I would do a house if I built one.

 

[mn_jon]

very cool pics, and great to see another pine burner. That wood sure gets a bad rap. But since it makes up the majority (overwhelming) trees up here, in the fire it goes.



Jon

 

[TMonter]

Nothing wrong with pine especially in a modern stove. You certainly won't get the longevity of burns as Red Fir, Tamarack or Hardwood but it is fine as a firewood. I think to many people hear horror stories from the old days of burning pine in the old smoke dragons with the air choked down.

 

[quads]

Yep, nothing wrong with pine, even in the old smoke dragons people have burned it for a long, long time.

Nothing wrong with pine especially in a modern stove. You certainly won't get the longevity of burns as Red Fir, Tamarack or Hardwood but it is fine as a firewood. I think to many people hear horror stories from the old days of burning pine in the old smoke dragons with the air choked down.