Fuel Wood

[patricimo54]

Wood has been my first choice of heating fuel for a good portion of my adult life. For the past 21 years it has been my primary source of home heat and has served as a secondary form of heat for cooking.

I don't have a wood cooker in the home that I live now, but have cooked many a meal on top of the living room heater.

For the first 12 years of the past 21 I burnt pallet wood almost exclusively. When the company I worked for was using steel strap to package our product it was shipped to us on a heavy runner kiln dried hardwood skids. This stuff was awesome. We have since converted to plastic strap which has ended my supply of free
easy to harvest fuel wood.

I have friends that are always giving me wood that they gathered off their property after storm damage etc. Plus the company I work for has many acres of wooded land that I can harvest from.

I am always on the lookout for dunage(4x4's) that drivers leave behind, as well as any hard wood pallet that we receive kiln block on. They are always constructed out of hardwood with heavy runners.

I have burnt a lot of different types of wood over the years and I do have my favorites.

Oak, Juniper. Pinion Pine, and Mesquite have to be my favorite standing timber, but it is sure hard to beat a good hardwood pallet for quick intense heat.

For those of you that burn wood for heat what are your favorite types of wood and what are your sources?

[jacktheknife]

Patricimo,

Howdy, I was thinking about that question the other day when all that north pole weather came through. I have two kinds of wood for my wood stove hard wood and cedar.
Hard wood which is on my land is Hackbery, Elm, and Oak.
Cedar is the second type of wood which burns faster, the stove needs wood added more often, but Cedar is lighter, easier to cut and haul, starts and burns well so thats all I use.
If I am going to the store, out to work or to bed I start using hard wood. As it burns much longer. And sometimes I use hardwood all day but Cedar is easier on the saw to cut and I have tons of it.


Tschüß


JacktheKnife

[watershedman25]

A good friend was doin some clearing on his land and he laid out all the crooked and poison ivy laiden trees too small for mkt. I took the big trailer and we loaded them whole (-small limbs). I can put anything in this stove bot am parcel to oak and ash. I am not beyond using all my fence post cut offs anything from my maint. job. If it will go in there, or if I can make it go in there, thats where it goes.
Tried to post a pic of the stove (Hardy-outside furnace w/hot water) but for some the site want let me. We haven't had a water heater in over 3yrs.

[patricimo54]

Feb 13, 2011 23:21:51 GMT -5 jacktheknife said:

Hard wood which is on my land is Hackbery, Elm, and Oak.

I burn a little Hackberry and Elm myself.

[dennis78]

Any hard wood and even some pine and hemlock. The pine and hemlock make lighting the stove easy. ;D

[patricimo54]

How do y'all store your fuel wood? Do you have a full blown wood shed or a rack covered by tarps?

I know some of y'all store it in your basement.

I have a half a rick rack on my covered front porch. I have a half a cord rack under my slash shed and a half a cord rack in the open. This is where I normally store green cut wood.

[jacktheknife]

Pat,


I stack my wood stove wood out in the rain along the driveway.
If a big storm is coming I will bring in 6-8 wheelbarrow loads and stack it on the porch.


try 40 oz Steel Reserve
Get drunk for $2.





Jack the Knife

[Admin]

Feb 15, 2011 22:50:10 GMT -5 patricimo54 said:

How do y'all store your fuel wood? Do you have a full blown wood shed or a rack covered by tarps?

I know some of y'all store it in your basement.

I have a half a rick rack on my covered front porch. I have a half a cord rack under my slash shed and a half a cord rack in the open. This is where I normally store green cut wood.

For years I did the tarp thing, and that was while I lived in the snow belt. It sucked. Constantly digging in the snow for wood or having the tarp blown off and the wood soaked. I've had it with that. Once I moved here I was determined to have a wood shed so devoted part of my barn restoration to a wood shed, and then added on another woodshed for the kindling and Crawford wood. This is the only way to go now.

[patricimo54]

Your shed JC is my goal ;D

I took a couple of serious falls on the ice in the last couple of weeks. I sure would have left my Bride in a bad place if my injuries would have been worse.

I want to put an extension on the north side for of my hay shed for wood storage with a hard wood pallet floor for good air circulation.

[dennis78]

I do the tarp thing. It sucks

[patricimo54]

Feb 16, 2011 15:02:23 GMT -5 jacktheknife said:

Pat,


I stack my wood stove wood out in the rain along the driveway.
If a big storm is coming I will bring in 6-8 wheelbarrow loads and stack it on the porch.


try 40 oz Steel Reserve
Get drunk for $2.





Jack the Knife

Jack why don't you start off stacking your wood on your porch? Are you limited on room?

I realize over all that you have the same mild winter weather that I do. If we get extreme weather it is normally short lived.

I have never tried the steel reserve brew, it must be worth the investment?

Have you ever considered box wine for your evening beverage?

5 liters = 169 ounces divided by $13.00 a box=several evenings of relaxing liquid enjoyment.

The swamp is an informative and friendly site. I just wanted to return the favor.

I appreciate your input Jack. It is the members input that makes the swamp unique.

[mountainman59]

i like ash,cherry,oak, and maple.....sumac and buck thorn make good ,hot fires.my cellar holds 30 cords with10 cord ,coverd back up.i have 115 acres ,mostly woods. my house has a wood /oil combo unit and my garage has fuel oil.i am currently contemplating putting in an outside boiler to heat it all.....including a new fur shed this year. once youve had wood heat ,its hard to get warm on oil....

[redman]

Over here on the Texas Louisiana boarder We have alot of hardwood. My favorite is the White and Red oak.I do burn some Maple but I don't burn pine. I have a wood shed to cover the wood. It will hold 5 cords but 3 cords will get us thur the worst of winters here in Deep East Texas.

I have went to running wood thur the bar-b-que pit. Have to split it finer that what I do for the other stoves. The food does taste better with the Red Oak and Hickory mix than with charcoal. I even like hot dog on the pit and I use them for catfish bait most of the time.

Redman