Wood Burners

[WiscoHoundsman]

I burn 7-10 pickup loads 6’-4” bed here in SW Wisconsin. Preference in order is oak, hickory and red elm. Have also burned cherry and ash. Usually start burning in October and end my may. Inside stove and a 2600 sf basement and same on the main level. For those of you burning 4+ cords a year are you using an outdoor burner? That seems like a lot to me

 

[Customweld]

I burn 7-10 pickup loads 6’-4” bed here in SW Wisconsin. Preference in order is oak, hickory and red elm. Have also burned cherry and ash. Usually start burning in October and end my may. Inside stove and a 2600 sf basement and same on the main level. For those of you burning 4+ cords a year are you using an outdoor burner? That seems like a lot to me

Our wood out west doesn’t have the btu’s that your hardwood has.

 

[riversidejeep]

I burn 7-10 pickup loads 6’-4” bed here in SW Wisconsin. Preference in order is oak, hickory and red elm. Have also burned cherry and ash. Usually start burning in October and end my may. Inside stove and a 2600 sf basement and same on the main level. For those of you burning 4+ cords a year are you using an outdoor burner? That seems like a lot to me

I'm in far northern Calif. next to the ocean, rarely gets to freezing and rarely gets to 75 but we burn Oct. to May. I have a BLAZE KING with a thermostatic damper that runs 24-7 except if we go out of town for a few days. I normally start a fire about 3-4 time a year, the rest of the time its 3-4 pieces in the A.M. and 3-4 when we go to bed. House runs 73 degrees and is 1850 sq. ft. Burn a mix of Doug fir / Blk & Wt. oak.

 

[riversidejeep]

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.

I'm on my second Farm boss, The first one (029) had 20 years of 8-10 cord a year, finally gave it to my son and still runs great. The second one (290) is 8-10 years old and cuts 5-6 cord a year. never a hiccup, love those saws.

 

[Tradchef]

We burn about 6 cords a season and I like to have 8 to 9 on hand.

 

[JFK]

Can’t burn wood here in Ca…..

Yes you can.

 

[DAOutfitters208]

I order a long load of red fir/tamarack mix and supplement with white fir and pine from my property for the shop. The truck load usually lasts 3 years. I just don’t have the time to hunt for firewood anymore, it is a big time commitment to get 10+ cords to fill the wood shed.

 

[MT-Native]

I go through about 5-7 chords a year, 7 this year. Try to Keep 15-20 chords on standby if I can. Gather about 30% out in the field. Then the rest comes from long logs delivered every few years the my neighbor and I split.

 

[Ralphie]

We have two wood stoves but mostly Just use one of them. And we don’t use it all the time. Probably only 1-2 cords a year.

i mostly slum cottonwood because I have all I want right here on my property.

 

[49ereric]

2-3 years worth cuz never know when back issues will interrupt cutting more…

 

[Brooks]

I start cutting in February and March and won’t need to cut any all winter. I don’t keep track of how much but it’s alway enough. Start burning it the last of September first of October. My F500 Jotul burns everyday for about 5 months. I’ve got a nice high efficiency furnace but I love that wood heat. Burn Juniper, oak, Pinon and Ponderosa pine here.

 

[chaser_2332]

I came to the thread ready to see some giant homemade smokers….. that’s being said i do
Heat my shop with a wood furnace. We get enough blowdowns a year to keep us stocked
Up on wood

 

[Dust Rider]

4-5 cords per year. Have five cords in the racks and will cut another five this spring. Just got a fire going as old man winter won’t let up. We bought a 10k dump trailer last year and that helped collecting a lot. I get lots of 2x4 and 2x6 from job sites before it is tossed in dumpsters. I collect all the kiln dried wood around as well as hard wood pallets on sites we work. It’s crazy the amount of wood that gets tossed. Sometimes I am the only guy out of thirty on a site that burns wood.

 

[5MilesBack]

I never really quantified how much wood we needed or how much we burn. We have a Lopi insert. I probably have 3-4, maybe 5 cords right now. I have a splitter, but lots of times I do it by hand. I enjoy splitting wood. When I find wood available I grab it. I have pine, cottonwood, aspen, elm, ash, locust, and maple. I always mix it while burning. The softer stuff is great for getting the fire going and then I add in a mixture with the harder woods for longer burns. Natural gas has been fairly cheap for the last several years so I haven't burned as much. I generally don't get a fire going unless we're going to see highs below 30.

 

[black dawg]

Burned right at 7 cord.....so far. Had almost all larch and fir this year, so would have been far more burning pine, lodgepole, and spruce, with some fir mixed in like most years. Had over 25 cord split in piles, and our 8 cord that we store in a shed. Sold and gave away all but 2 or 3 cord of the 25 that we cut last summer.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

My favorite maul, hands down, is the 8# Fiskars model with the sharp wedge blade and round sledge on the other side.

I've had decent luck with my DR 24 ton kinetic splitter. It has required replacement of key parts and overall cost to own has been pretty high. However, when it's running good I can split a ton of wood very quickly. A guy just has to be careful not to strip out the rack or pinion gear.

 

[Wheels]

Burn roughly 2 cords a winter, try to keep 3 years worth of wood on hand. I have a farm with all the oaks i could possibly want to cut up, but typically cut and split 2-3 a year. After that I'm tired of cutting and splitting, I figure I have to touch each piece 7 or 8 times before it goes in the fireplace.

 

[Customweld]

Burn roughly 2 cords a winter, try to keep 3 years worth of wood on hand. I have a farm with all the oaks i could possibly want to cut up, but typically cut and split 2-3 a year. After that I'm tired of cutting and splitting, I figure I have to touch each piece 7 or 8 times before it goes in the fireplace.

It’s kind of funny to think how many times that one block of wood will warm you up!

 

[thinhorn_AK]

3-4 chords, I only burn it when I’m at home and when it’s below about 10 degrees. My house isn’t very big and the insulation is great so my blaze king royal guardian will cook me out if I’m not careful.

 

[Gutshot007]

What kind of stove is everyone using ? Indoor vs outdoor . Brands ? Pros and cons . We have an indoor Lopi. Used hard over the past 22 years . Replaced door gasket but otherwise bulletproof