Really really really want a tractor

[husky455rancher]

I had and idea how to handle the wood less. I made a small wood rack out of a pallet as an experiment. It’s one row and measures out to be a fifth of a cord. I can’t do more than one row because it has to fit through a regular door and I have a baby tractor and 1/5 of a cord is all it is able to lift. So I split the wood and it goes directly onto the rack. Then I go drive the rack to wherever I wanna put it with the tractor and forks to dry. When it’s time to bring the wood in I place it in the cellar on my ramp inside the cellar door. Then I use a small pallet jack to maneuver it in the cellar.

it’s going to work in my mind haha. The fact that I need to make maybe 25 of these for one winters wood isn’t awesome but if it works out it gets stacked that one time then goes right into there stove.
The loaded one was my trial rack. I didn’t wanna cut the top board cuse it was just to see if it worked.
The other one was made outta pallet scrap. I wanna make it as easy as possible but not a total piece of crap that won’t hold the wood. It’s a work in progress b it you get the idea.

 

[husky455rancher]

Couple obligatory tractor/splitter shots

 

[bbxlr8]

I had and idea how to handle the wood less.

I love the concept, but at first glance, it looks top heavy & easy to dump. I am hopeful & keep us posted on how it works in practice.

I have been burning solid for the last 12 years and go through about a guesstimated 5 cords per year. I am constantly thinking and working on reducing the number of "touches" / times that I handle the same piece.

NOW that I have the tractor, I have moved the splitting & storage area away from the house (much less mess up close). However, it's not great and I am in an interim mode where I stack / store on pallets there. As needed, I am hand loading & dumping a couple of buckets in a pile on pallets by my basement access (WS in down there). Got me by OK & pretty easy in the grand scheme of things, but not a good plan long term.

FWIW: I like & want to try the BLC (bulk liquid container) cages but haven't been able to find them for a reasonable price in my area. In some areas people can get them free like reg pallets

edit - nice job on clearing the yard!

 

[JRM]

I made containers from pallets and plastic netting I found at Tractor supply. Designed to keep pests out. I bought a 7ft roll by I think 100 ft long and cut the roll in half with a Sawzall giving me (2) 3.5ft x 100ft rolls. Wrap the pallet with a section and secure it to the base with 4 precut 2x4's about 3" long each. "Sew" the splice together with thin tie wire. Strong as all get out, and pretty cheap assuming you already have the pallets. The plastic netting is not rigid and floppy at first. I fold it outward in half (now its roughly 1.75ft tall rather than 3.5ft tall). Once you have stacked a few rows you can pull it right back up as the stack grows. I burn all hard wood and have a small L series Kubota, I find that when green stacking to the top of the plastic is about all I can handle. Once the wood is seasoned it is much lighter.
If anyone is interested I can snap a few pics for clarity, but probably nothing that hasn't been done before.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I split into half cord boxes that I build, then move them with my tractor,

OR, I split right into my "self unloading" trailer,

My splitter pushes the splits right into it.

SR

 

[SweetMK]

OR, I split right into my "self unloading" trailer,

My splitter pushes the splits right into it.

SR

I used a wagon like that one for firewood one year,,
The problem was by the time I got to the house, all of the firewood had been spread across the field!

I think that wagon would just go anytime something was loaded into it,,,

 

[SweetMK]

,,,, NOW that I have the tractor, I have moved the splitting & storage area away from the house (much less mess up close). I like & want to try the BLC (bulk liquid container) cages but haven't been able to find them for a reasonable price in my area.
edit - nice job on clearing the yard!

If you do move to containerized wood storage,, consider finding a way to move the wood with the 3 point hitch, rather than the loader.
My neighbor got forks for his loader, then containers for the wood, he was ready for WINTER!
Well, we had a wet year, the narrow front tires just sunk out of sight.
Even with 4WD,, the 30HP Kubota could not move the bins full of wood.

That winter, he had to move small amounts to the bucket, just to get wood to the house.

The NEXT winter he had forks for the 3 point hitch,, the rear tires did not sink, he was back to moving full bins,
even when it was wet,,,

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I used a wagon like that one for firewood one year,,
The problem was by the time I got to the house, all of the firewood had been spread across the field!

I think that wagon would just go anytime something was loaded into it,,,

You not only can heap the wood on it as high as you can, and it will "easily" unload the splits off the back too... No problem at all...

SR

 

[SweetMK]

You not only can heap the wood on it as high as you can, and it will "easily" unload the splits off the back too... No problem at all...

SR

Could you rotate and sharpen the beater bars,, so that it will split the wood, as it unloads??

 

[Sawyer Rob]

No, I let them throw and stack the splits into my half cord boxes...

You just have to get the RPM just right...

SR

 

[bbxlr8]

You not only can heap the wood on it as high as you can, and it will "easily" unload the splits off the back too... No problem at all...

SR

I also have a 25y/o "franken-trailer" that I use with my jeep. 4x8x3h I know when it groans and sits the fenders down on the tires that's enough and time to remove a few rounds!

 

[bbxlr8]

If you do move to containerized wood storage,, consider finding a way to move the wood with the 3 point hitch, rather than the loader.
My neighbor got forks for his loader, then containers for the wood, he was ready for WINTER!
Well, we had a wet year, the narrow front tires just sunk out of sight.
Even with 4WD,, the 30HP Kubota could not move the bins full of wood.

That winter, he had to move small amounts to the bucket, just to get wood to the house.

The NEXT winter he had forks for the 3 point hitch,, the rear tires did not sink, he was back to moving full bins,
even when it was wet,,,

Thanks for the suggestion. I have looked at those but run a BH normally. I am going to invest in forks for the front next. I can't find any decent ssqa ones used around here

 

[bbxlr8]

I made containers from pallets and plastic netting I found at Tractor supply. Designed to keep pests out. I bought a 7ft roll by I think 100 ft long and cut the roll in half with a Sawzall giving me (2) 3.5ft x 100ft rolls. Wrap the pallet with a section and secure it to the base with 4 precut 2x4's about 3" long each. "Sew" the splice together with thin tie wire. Strong as all get out, and pretty cheap assuming you already have the pallets. The plastic netting is not rigid and floppy at first. I fold it outward in half (now its roughly 1.75ft tall rather than 3.5ft tall). Once you have stacked a few rows you can pull it right back up as the stack grows. I burn all hard wood and have a small L series Kubota, I find that when green stacking to the top of the plastic is about all I can handle. Once the wood is seasoned it is much lighter.
If anyone is interested I can snap a few pics for clarity, but probably nothing that hasn't been done before.

@JRM - I think I get it but would love to see a pic when you get a chance.

This may work as a further mod to what @husky455rancher is doing with those smaller pallets

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I also have a 25y/o "franken-trailer" that I use with my jeep. 4x8x3h I know when it groans and sits the fenders down on the tires that's enough and time to remove a few rounds!

Mine can't do that, no fenders and no springs to sag, and waaaay over built...

SR

 

[husky455rancher]

I love the concept, but at first glance, it looks top heavy & easy to dump. I am hopeful & keep us posted on how it works in practice.

I have been burning solid for the last 12 years and go through about a guesstimated 5 cords per year. I am constantly thinking and working on reducing the number of "touches" / times that I handle the same piece.

NOW that I have the tractor, I have moved the splitting & storage area away from the house (much less mess up close). However, it's not great and I am in an interim mode where I stack / store on pallets there. As needed, I am hand loading & dumping a couple of buckets in a pile on pallets by my basement access (WS in down there). Got me by OK & pretty easy in the grand scheme of things, but not a good plan long term.

FWIW: I like & want to try the BLC (bulk liquid container) cages but haven't been able to find them for a reasonable price in my area. In some areas people can get them free like reg pallets

edit - nice job on clearing the yard!

thanks, the yard is coming along pretty good. I still got a good amount to do but it’s a big improvement. One stump is still there it’s tough and I’m a backhoe noob. I’m sure my lack of experience isn’t helping in that aspect.

I use 5 cord a year too. I’m hoping it will be stable enough to move around. I got shipping confirmation on my pallet jack today so when it comes in I’ll try it with some green wood.

I was thinking about the Ibc totes as well. The value of them for me would be where I could move the wood next to the door but u would still have to load up my cart to bring it in. So in reality it’s the same amount of work if I just stack it in a pile in the yard. All it saves is the distance I have to use my motorized cart. That’s why I like the narrow rack idea. Hopefully I can place it inside the door without it falling down. Then move it with the pallet jack inside the cellar.

 

[husky455rancher]

I made containers from pallets and plastic netting I found at Tractor supply. Designed to keep pests out. I bought a 7ft roll by I think 100 ft long and cut the roll in half with a Sawzall giving me (2) 3.5ft x 100ft rolls. Wrap the pallet with a section and secure it to the base with 4 precut 2x4's about 3" long each. "Sew" the splice together with thin tie wire. Strong as all get out, and pretty cheap assuming you already have the pallets. The plastic netting is not rigid and floppy at first. I fold it outward in half (now its roughly 1.75ft tall rather than 3.5ft tall). Once you have stacked a few rows you can pull it right back up as the stack grows. I burn all hard wood and have a small L series Kubota, I find that when green stacking to the top of the plastic is about all I can handle. Once the wood is seasoned it is much lighter.
If anyone is interested I can snap a few pics for clarity, but probably nothing that hasn't been done before.

I would like to see some pics of how you do it.

 

[fields_mj]

I had and idea how to handle the wood less. I made a small wood rack out of a pallet as an experiment. It’s one row and measures out to be a fifth of a cord.

I have a friend with a walk out basement and he does it this way. He had welded frames made for his and he has a base with wheels that he can set them on with the tractor. Once he has the rack on the base, he wheels it into the basement, and into his furnace room. Works great for him.

 

[bbxlr8]

Mine can't do that, no fenders and no springs to sag, and waaaay over built...

Now that is a beast! I LIKE it. Mine is unsound so I am planning on v 4.0 as something similar with all of the angle iron that I salvaged from the old-style 69kv tower on my property that the power company replaced with a monopole. I have related that saga in other threads previously - the whole project was a cluster

My dilemma is figuring out how to safely weld on it because of the corrosion coatings. I am thinking of grinding it down to bare metal and still wearing a respirator. Too much good steel to not use it somehow

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Now that is a beast! I LIKE it. Mine is unsound so I am planning on v 4.0 as something similar with all of the angle iron that I salvaged from the old-style 69kv tower on my property that the power company replaced with a monopole. I have related that saga in other threads previously - the whole project was a cluster

I bought this one for $300.00, I plan to do the same thing to it,

It should hold quite a few splits, about twice as many as my other "self-unloading" trailer....

SR

 

[chipper1]

@pioneerguy600