Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[Philbert]

Cut the spruce up and moved a load to my racks but then the rain started so I put my stuff away for the next dry day .

I love my electric Makita (slightly older version) for cutting up wood near the house! I use it with PowerSharp chain for my 'low-mainteance-in-the-city' combination!

Philbert

 

[Ambull01]

I burn recreationally in a fireplace insert - not heating the whole house or feeding a OWB.

Through the years I have burned many pallets, mostly being oak and maple type hardwoods. The first few I disassembled with a crow bar, but the thinner 'deckboards' often cracked, and left nails that I had to deal with. Realized that, since I was just burning the wood and not trying to save the boards, the nails could just be left in place. It was easier to just cut them off along the 'stringers', then cut each stringer in half. Deckboard pieces get split with a hatchet for kindling. Stringer pieces make nice, stove sized fuel.

If you are concerned about the nails in your ashes (say if you spread them out on a road or in a garden) just drag a large magnet on a string through them.

Philbert

You burn the pallets as kindling or by them selves? I'm going to leave the nails in, too much work.

Can't wait to get out of the National Guard training so I can cut something!

 

[Ambull01]

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/zip/4740829495.html

Crap I need to get this! Fairly close to my job. It will take about 20 trips to get it all out with my caddy though. Kind of weird how I keep seeing free wood in northern VA and very few listings where I live. I'm more in the country than N VA.

 

[Philbert]

You burn the pallets as kindling or by them selves?

I burn them in the mix along with what other stuff I scrounge locally: lilac, box elder, ash, maple, locust, spruce, buckthorn, construction/woodworking/remodeling scraps (not painted/varnished, no treated lumber or plywood/particle board) . . .

Philbert

 

[MustangMike]

I had to wear a jacket & tie to work, so I would throw a saw, boots and coveralls in the car when I went to work in the AM. On the way home, I would stop at construction sites and take the tie off, put the boots & coveralls on, and fill the back with wood.

The 55 gal drum stove was in the basement, and easily heated the small 2 bedroom house. Was nice to wake up to a warm floor in the AM.

Back then, during the Arab Oil Embargo, fuel oil tripled in a day, I could not afford it. Years later, I continued to heat by wood (for 25 yrs) just to remain independent of them.

 

[Ambull01]

I had to wear a jacket & tie to work, so I would throw a saw, boots and coveralls in the car when I went to work in the AM. On the way home, I would stop at construction sites and take the tie off, put the boots & coveralls on, and fill the back with wood.

The 55 gal drum stove was in the basement, and easily heated the small 2 bedroom house. Was nice to wake up to a warm floor in the AM.

Back then, during the Arab Oil Embargo, fuel oil tripled in a day, I could not afford it. Years later, I continued to heat by wood (for 25 yrs) just to remain independent of them.

Ah, I missed the part where you said the stove was actually a 55 gal drum! Holy hell, I would be nervous about burning my house down with that. Did it create a lot of creosote?

 

[Zale]

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/zip/4740829495.html

Crap I need to get this! Fairly close to my job. It will take about 20 trips to get it all out with my caddy though. Kind of weird how I keep seeing free wood in northern VA and very few listings where I live. I'm more in the country than N VA.

Calm down and breath. There will be better opportunities than that silver maple.

 

[MustangMike]

No, U only get excess creosote if U back the damper down too much. U should periodically run the stove wide open (when it is cold out) to reduce it. I also cleaned the flue myself every year.

The Sotz kit was air tight, and designed so the stove could not get hot enough to burn itself out. Also, in the basement, the floor was concrete. Still use one up at my hunting cabin, have NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH THEM. They put out a tremendous amount of heat, and are very efficient. They will also accommodate some pretty long pieces of wood. The most efficient wood stove shape would be a sphere, next a cylinder (or barrel), a rectangular stove is not an efficient shape.

When they were tested against the best wood stoves of the time, they put out more total BTUs, and more BTUs per cord of wood burned. After that, the Gov put them out of business!

 

[MustangMike]

The way it was (I only used the single drum kit):

http://books.google.com/books?id=vN...w#v=onepage&q=sotz wood stove testing&f=false

 

[viking01]

today's load: birch and chestnut

And just for fun: the kids yesterday

Envoyé de mon iPhone à l'aide de Tapatalk

 

[zogger]

I see. Makes it to a breaker bar more or less. Gives a little more leverage. Smart man. Thanks for the tip.

I was thinking burning wood would be cheaper and make me less reliant on big electric companies. The cheaper part? Not looking like it so far lol. Multiple chainsaws, chains, chain sharpening tool(s), PPE, can't hook/log roller, chain oil, fuel, SS chimney liner, liner insulation, chimney cleaning gear, chimney inspections, etc.

Unless something really strange happens, wood heat will be cheaper in the long run. And you can scrounge (and stockpile for the future) wood, you can't scrounge electricity, natural gas, etc.

I think of my wood stacks as stored solar power.

 

[zogger]

I had to wear a jacket & tie to work, so I would throw a saw, boots and coveralls in the car when I went to work in the AM. On the way home, I would stop at construction sites and take the tie off, put the boots & coveralls on, and fill the back with wood.

The 55 gal drum stove was in the basement, and easily heated the small 2 bedroom house. Was nice to wake up to a warm floor in the AM.

Back then, during the Arab Oil Embargo, fuel oil tripled in a day, I could not afford it. Years later, I continued to heat by wood (for 25 yrs) just to remain independent of them.

During the embargo, a friend of mine was stuck with fuel oil bill higher than his mortgage, so he freaked. Had an old flue in the house and woodstove in his garage. He stuck it together, then hired me to tear down an old lean to shed he had. I knocked it apart and pulled it down with my wagoneer. busted it up with a sledge into manageable sized boards or chunks. He would then haul chunks of shed home in his pickup after work, usually in the dark by then, and stack them up. He got a couple pawnshop circular saws, and that was his teenage sons chore after school, slice up shed chunks along with any pallets he could scrounge. He burned the whole thing, saved him a lot of $cratch that winter.

 

[MustangMike]

Nice, but dimensional lumber just does not have the BTUs or longevity of good hardwoods.

 

[zogger]

Calm down and breath. There will be better opportunities than that silver maple.

Every trunk load adds up!

 

[zogger]

Ah, I missed the part where you said the stove was actually a 55 gal drum! Holy hell, I would be nervous about burning my house down with that. Did it create a lot of creosote?

those were common back in the day. You can still buy drum kits, just they aren't designed the same nor as good. Perhaps one could be modified to be more like the original design though.

Hey, you said you drive and obviously like a caddy. Well, you just need the right one if you are going to be a scrounger! A nice escalade, yank the rear seats out....

 

[benp]

I love my electric Makita (slightly older version) for cutting up wood near the house! I use it with PowerSharp chain for my 'low-mainteance-in-the-city' combination!

Philbert

I was really impressed by the power sharp that was on the Oregon electric saw you had at Andy's a few years ago.

I've tried to nudge a few people in the power sharp direction that have the mentality of "It's a fresh sharpened chain, I should be able to cut a couple trees with it." Aaaaaaand they have no clue how to sharpen a chain.

It falls on deaf ears because they feel I have no idea what I'm talking about. lol

I had to wear a jacket & tie to work, so I would throw a saw, boots and coveralls in the car when I went to work in the AM. On the way home, I would stop at construction sites and take the tie off, put the boots & coveralls on, and fill the back with wood.

The 55 gal drum stove was in the basement, and easily heated the small 2 bedroom house. Was nice to wake up to a warm floor in the AM.

Back then, during the Arab Oil Embargo, fuel oil tripled in a day, I could not afford it. Years later, I continued to heat by wood (for 25 yrs) just to remain independent of them.

The old Barrel Stove.

Growing up (70's - early 80's) I remember A LOT of folks having those, including my family.

They put out some heat now.

I remember the first time I saw a tandem barreler. I was in awe.....I was also 7 or 8 but would still be the same way now.

"NO $%^#&@ WAY!!!!! A DOUBLE BARRELER"

Yeah, I don't get out much.

 

[Philbert]

Nice, but dimensional lumber just does not have the BTUs or longevity of good hardwoods.

Scrounging heresy! Wood is wood!

Besides, some trim and flooring is oak, maple, birch. Very dry!

Philbert

 

[Ambull01]

Calm down and breath. There will be better opportunities than that silver maple.

Man you're just saying that because you want it lol.

 

[Ambull01]

No, U only get excess creosote if U back the damper down too much. U should periodically run the stove wide open (when it is cold out) to reduce it. I also cleaned the flue myself every year.

The Sotz kit was air tight, and designed so the stove could not get hot enough to burn itself out. Also, in the basement, the floor was concrete. Still use one up at my hunting cabin, have NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH THEM. They put out a tremendous amount of heat, and are very efficient. They will also accommodate some pretty long pieces of wood. The most efficient wood stove shape would be a sphere, next a cylinder (or barrel), a rectangular stove is not an efficient shape.

When they were tested against the best wood stoves of the time, they put out more total BTUs, and more BTUs per cord of wood burned. After that, the Gov put them out of business!

So smoldering is bad. I was planning on cleaning the flue myself but with an insert, not so sure. I've read you can make a clean out for free standing but not sure how that could work with an insert since it will sit in the firebox. May have to go on my roof and it's 3 stories high.

Did they have secondary combustion or is that a post EPA thing?

The way it was (I only used the single drum kit):

http://books.google.com/books?id=vNgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA210&lpg=PA210&dq=sotz wood stove testing&source=bl&ots=pKPSOoP7PN&sig=xSHPC-TzInEKlE_DklbHTBADxIc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kzxVVIuVIrLCsASXzoGAAw&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=sotz wood stove testing&f=false

Damn that's pretty cool. Looks pretty simple.

 

[Ambull01]

Unless something really strange happens, wood heat will be cheaper in the long run. And you can scrounge (and stockpile for the future) wood, you can't scrounge electricity, natural gas, etc.

I think of my wood stacks as stored solar power.

Good point. I'm going to write this down this will be my standard reply when/if people ask why I choose to burn wood.