Wood Burners

[Pony Soldier]

I'm going to a lower elevation this week to start cutting my winter's wood. I try to keep 18 chord (3 years supply) on hand by every fall.

I start burning wood in late Sept and the last of my heating fires are late May or early June. Just out of curiosity - of those of you that heat by wood, how much do you keep on hand?

 

[riversidejeep]

My heating season starts mid October and runs until mid May. I burn thru 3-4 cord / year. I built my woodshed to hold 8 cord so I can alternate from one side to the other. I'm lucky in the fact I have 200 acres of woodland so over the course of the year I have most of my wood cut just by cleanup. That said I have I have about 10 years ahead.

 

[doc holiday13]

i live at 200 ft above sea level on the east coast.... I usually do my first burn early/mid November. My good friend has a tree removal service so I can have as much wood as I want. I just got 2.5 years worth of wood delivered because it was convenient for his guys to drop it at my house. I still have to buck and split the wood but wood size varies from 15"-30" diameter wood that can be dead but not yet dry all the way up to freshly cut very wet wood.

 

[mtnbiker208]

roughly 6 cords in the house and one cord in the shop.

 

[Beendare]

Can’t burn wood here in Ca…..

 

[Customweld]

I try to keep 2 years worth (8 cords). Generally I am done burning a consistent fire by the first of April. This year is by far the longest I have ran my woodstove. The snow still has my wood holes socked in, but I will be hard at it by opening weekend. I like to get an early start too. I have to cut for myself, mom, in laws and middle daughter.

 

[MThuntr]

I'm averaging about 4 cords a year. This year I'm up against 5 cords which is burning nearly 24/7 from Nov 1 until late March and inconsistently on the shoulder seasons.

I'm burning lodgepole and Doug fir which isn't great but what I can get. Most is standing dead so I don't keep much extra annually. Ideally, this year I'm going to try to cut 10 cords so I can get ahead and have some drier stuff as I've dipped into some that isn't as dry as I'd like.

 

[Customweld]

I'm averaging about 4 cords a year. This year I'm up against 5 cords which is burning nearly 24/7 from Nov 1 until late March and inconsistently on the shoulder seasons.

I'm burning lodgepole and Doug fir which isn't great but what I can get. Most is standing dead so I don't keep much extra annually. Ideally, this year I'm going to try to cut 10 cords so I can get ahead and have some drier stuff as I've dipped into some that isn't as dry as I'd like.

Red fir and lodgepole is the best we can get over here in our area too, unless a fella is lucky enough to find a tamarack snag.

 

[87TT]

Roughly 3 cords a year. Small (1250 sft.) newer manufactured home. Only heat we use. Haven't turned on the furnace in years other than to test it. I have a second years supply in rounds stashed in the tractor shed.

 

[Pony Soldier]

I order my wood in the pile. Lodgepole for late spring and fall with the fir and larch through the nasty cold stretches. Lately I have been mixing about 10-15% lodgepole into my fir and larch because it is easier to light in the morning.

 

[Customweld]

I order my wood in the pile. Lodgepole for late spring and fall with the fir and larch through the nasty cold stretches. Lately I have been mixing about 10-15% lodgepole into my fir and larch because it is easier to light in the morning.

I've got a nice little patch of old growth fir that I've been cutting out of for the last 5 or 6 years. It's beautiful wood, but doesn't burn nearly as clean as lodgepole. I try to clean my flue every month to six weeks. If I burn a couple of aluminum cans in a good hot fire the night before, that tarry creosote that the red fir leaves crumbles off the flue much easier. Lodgepole doesn't leave that nasty, tarry creosote in my flue.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

I've never actually kept track of how much I burn every season. I start burning end of October usually through mid-March. Wood stove is primay heat during the day and I run furnace at 64 overnight in our 100+ year old farm house.

In this part of Iowa we burn a mix of hard and soft woods. My overall favorite is red elm. It ignites easy, burns hot, and leaves very little ash. Oak is a close second but harder to come by. From a BTU perspective, crappy old mulberry is tough to beat, but it takes an extra 6 months to dry compared to others and can be harder to light. Maple is a middle of the road choice that is pretty easy to light, decently hot, and plentiful. I have a little wood left this season, but I plan to kick butt on it this spring to make sure I don't run short next year and so I can burn higher quality wood.

My double wall makes a 90 about 4' high above the stove and goes out through the wall. It makes another 90 (with clean out) and runs about 20' high with a high wind topper. I clean with a 8" wire brush and rod set from menards at least once per year.

My saws of choice are an old (20+ years) reliable Stihl 290 "Farm Boss" that came with a 20" bar that I actually downsized to a 16". I get more rpms with the smaller bar and better chain performance. My other saw is a little Stihl MS-194 T, and it;s a hot rod. With a sharp chain that little saw is a light saber. Both are 2-3 pulls max and I do full service every couple years.

 

[awbowhunter]

I'll have to admit when I read the title, I was afraid we'd be discussing " wood" you know like morning..

But to your question I used to burn wood back east but don't now. I would usually run through 2 cords a year, and I liked it split and stacked for a year before I burn it. It a process for sure as I cut and split all my own wood.

 

[Macintosh]

Northern New England, so I dont bother with anything that isnt maple, beech and the occasional yellow birch. If there's a blowdown or the like we'll also use oak, hophornbeam, cherry or white birch. Any softwood we dont bother--I dont envy you guys in the west who really dont have hardwood to burn. I put up 4 cords a season, and usually go through 3.5 of it. We heat exclusively with wood and burn from mid october-ish through mid April-ish.

 

[MTtrout]

We don’t burn wood for heat but still grumbling that my parents bought a wood splitter the year I moved out

 

[hunterjmj]

Haven't burnt wood for years as we haven't had a house with a stove but we're building a house this year and I'm putting in a wood stove. We miss the heat from a wood stove.

 

[Lil-Rokslider]

I'd recommend changing the title of this thread to "Got Wood?"

 

[MarlinMark]

What kind of wood is kind of important......

 

[Pony Soldier]

Depends on where you are at. Eastern Wash had birch. But Idaho and Montana is red fir or larch where you can find it. Hardwoods aren't an option. Eastern Montana could be cottonwood. (Splits best where frozen)

 

[Gutshot007]

Northern mn . Indoor Lopi stove runs from october until now . Get salvage permit to cut on county land after they log . Used to leave slash pile at landing now they spread it out . Real pain to scronge now . Usually go after oak ,maple and birch . All hand cut and split . Dont measure cords . Probably burn 7-8 8foot bed heaping pickup truck loads a season . Running husky saws . Usually like to have a year in advance cut . Last year moved my stacked wood in lines next drive for ease of access in deep snow . Wife was not thrilled said it looked like an eyesore . Next year back to rows by the woods and plowing snow to get at it !