Makes ya smile...

[Sandhill Crane]

Everyone wants to drive the equipment...
Break time.
What she is really doing is bringing me a Coke, and watching me finish wrapping another pallet load of fresh splits from the SuperSplit. Twenty cord done, eighty cord to go.
PackFix is working very good. I love it! Some pallets work better than others, especially for double stacking. I wish I didn't have to double stack but my work space is going to get tight. First roll of netting yielded 54 1/2 pallets, one roll of netting is $100., so less than $8. per cord. Will not know about seasoning till next year. The plan is to 'not' cover. Mixed feelings about that. What is your thoughts? Not covering, I can see frozen clumps of wood till July. 4' x 4' pallets, 58" tall.

 

[blades]

I would still top cover before the snow flies. Freeze/ thaw water drips down in the pile and it stays there. I broke down a stack , middle of last May yep bit of ice down in the last couple layers mid section- wasn't top covered. We about had our dry spell for the year lately its been a couple showers or more every couple days. Makes for wet wood on the outside and in a bit from the exterior won't really get to the core but if you are selling appearance is everything. Couple acquaintances told me people don't like dark gray wood think its bad. Whatever.

 

[unclemoustache]

Yeah, I believe you're in a wet and humid area, and it stays frozen longer up there. I'd cover it.

I am able to purchase used Billboard tarps here - about 15' x 50' for $40. Excellent material for keeping the rain out.

 

[blades]

Same thing I use

 

[Sandhill Crane]

I suspect you guys are right. Shaded areas hide ice and snow a long time in the spring. The snow that melts during the sunny days runs down and freezes at night. I have used 30' x 50' tarps in the past with terrible results. Any hole becomes a funnel for melting snow or rain, and by the second year of use, there are plenty of holes. I still have a new tarp in a box. What I did last year was cut up the old tarps into six foot squares for individual covers. Worked very good, but in this case, changing from wood racks to netting, there is nothing to secure to. I'm thinking of using pallets to set on top of the double stacks. I can easily stack them as the wood sells, and re-purpose them if it does not work well. I think I need to start doing that now, as I double stack, rather than trying get up there to place them later. I don't think later is going to happen.

Last year. These are actually in a straight line. The wide angle distorts the visual.
It won't be long before the Carhartt's come out...

 

[aokpops]

Nice job ! bet it took some time to figure out the best way to handle the work . Every try what I call thick blue jeans ? not sure of the right name . I don't even know were my carharts are , been a few years .

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Let me know who makes the jeans, I'd like to try them.
Last winter Margaret knitted me some short sleeves, tubes really, that slide over my Carhartt bib buckles. My beard kept getting snagged in the dang things when I tip my head down a bit, and then I couldn't straighten back up.
What is 'builder healer' and 'coldwater therapist'?

 

[alleyyooper]

Dutch trading post jeans.

Al

 

[aokpops]

Look for insulated jeans , last winter was the first year I wore them . And was nice not all the bulk of wearing coveralls .Home builder by day , see what I can do heal people . What I want is no ego an say we go . I found ways with breathing an cold exposer to end a lot health problems . The way I feel about I was kick out of climate control , what I learned with the heat an cold after decades of being there was to thrive . There are things I can do now at 55 years that I could not do when I was younger . Not sure what I like best . I can get to sleep our wake up, take some power breaths an stop pain . I now like running . What I get is this guy is a nut case . . With being happy healthy you will have to do stuff you don't like an embrace it , take a few minutes of this an enjoy the rest of the day . This is real honest pay , no taxes no worry about welfare . You did work you get the pay out .

 

[chipper1]

Yeah, I believe you're in a wet and humid area, and it stays frozen longer up there. I'd cover it.

I am able to purchase used Billboard tarps here - about 15' x 50' for $40. Excellent material for keeping the rain out.

Good morning Josh.
Your right, little humid up this way compared to Moustacheville IL .
I used to get those "tarps" here for free, but I did work for a sign company.
I paid $5 for the last one I got, they kick but as they are very heavy duty and the good ones will last many yrs.

@Sandhill Crane looks all is well over your way, hi from the other side of GR .

 

[tnichols]

Sandhill Crane that is one hellish pile of wood! Nice. Any estimate on how many cord are sitting there?

 

[Sandhill Crane]

A bit wet this morning. Getting used to the colder temps and enjoying the red coal effect of burning dry, well seasoned wood from the shed each evening. Also the house is enjoyably quiet with no heat pump cycling on/off.
-As for covering wood piles, on these rain days I have taken up sewing in the garage. Cut up more 6' x 6' squares, fold the corners inward a foot and stitch so that I can get my hand through the corner pockets. Picked up a spool of bailing twine and use that to cinch around the top of the netted wood on pallets. I am now staggering the top row of pallets from the bottom row for more stability. Which means the top row rain run off hits the middle of the bottom row, requiring both levels to be covered. Seems to be working well. Hopefully these coverings will be reusable for a few years. A guy a mile from me cuts/splits and into a truck for delivery. Far more efficient than me.
As for material, tarps are the cheapest material I've found. I have some lumber coverings free from the lumber yard, however the weave is quite course and does not sew well. The big part of covering is being able to keep the covering in place without constant attention. Is it worth the time and effort for firewood sales? Maybe/probably not. It is an experiment of sorts to see if covering makes a difference in west MI. I do know that our catalytic stove needs dry wood to burn properly and completely. Perhaps it is up to those that buy wood to buy a year a head for sufficient seasoning, and if they don't get it, then they don't get it. A guy on the phone asked me this year if I guaranteed the wood to be seasoned. I couldn't help but laugh. He runs a charter business, and I thought if I book a sailing on my birthday next July, do you 'guarantee' a beautiful, windy day of sailing on Lake Michigan...it is July after all.

tnichols: Estimate of amount of wood? Not so much really. Four pallets to a cord (226 cu. ft. loose), and at present about one hundred plus pallets in that group. Approaching one hundred covered pallets in another group. Way off my 100 cord, or 400 pallets by Christmas...

I have been very pleased with the Posch PackFix, which has eliminated stacking and surpassed expectation. I doubt once it snows that I will be able to use it throughout the winter, snow covered wood and pallets, and all. Getting around the wood lot and stacking pallets would be very difficult also.. Plan for now is to break it down by lowering the mast and store it inside out of the weather. Possibly continue cutting/splitting and stock pile with the conveyor as I do enjoy working in the winter. Doing so would mean an extra step tossing splits in the conveyor next spring to load the PackFix to palletize them. I did price a ShelterLogic round top for kicks and giggles, and emailed them to see if a door at each end was possible, which it is. 24' x 60' x 16'... $14,000. Everything, all the equipment covered and running. Would love to go that route... but... Moving logs with the lift may not even be possible however, depending on the snow fall this winter. Forks get terribly slippery in winter, below twenty degrees, I don't even try to start it.

Some photos: (1.) first of Nov. (2./3.) working in the garage. (4.) my helper. (5.) cutting squares. (6.) DOT, name, city, state requirement. (7.) the neighbor checking in on us.