Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[Ambull01]

They're Back.............
Pulled a DOG tick off of the cat today, Kitty was not happy.
Puppy gets the expensive back of the neck treatment.
Been trying to get the son's GF to do a full body tick inspection on me, but no luck so far.
Winter is not giving up, got a fire going.
Burning lot of pine and chunks and other uglies, saving the good wood for next winter.
Will try for about ten cord just to be on the safe side. That's a row 4x4 eighty feet long.
Where will I put it? Maybe 4x8 forty feet long is better. can find room for that.

Speaking of ticks, do their bodies all swell up when full with blood? I've only seen dog ticks do that. Interesting

20 minutes with the bow saw.

Like to get out and get a little fresh air when the sun comes up. Sometimes a bike ride on the reservoir, but usually a little woods time. Most often I do some hand splitting, but once in a while I grab my 30" bow saw and do some quiet morning scrounging. (we're talking 6 to 7 am, when even I don't want to hear a saw run.). Would do this more often years ago when the wood supply was uncertain, and I wouldn't let anything go to waste. Most would get cut with a chainsaw, but I always enjoyed going out and cutting a wheel barrow of this stuff by hand. There's tons of this stuff lying all over the woods; just have to go a grab it. Burns good and hot and for early and late season fires, a wheel barrow like that is good for a couple nice evening fires.

Holy hell, I hope the Hearth guys never see this. Combustibles way too close to the stove! lol.

I've read about the Quadra-Fire. Supposed to put out a massive amount of heat and likes to heat up quick right? I can't wait for my real stove to arrive.

 

[zogger]

Speaking of ticks, do their bodies all swell up when full with blood? I've only seen dog ticks do that. Interesting



Holy hell, I hope the Hearth guys never see this. Combustibles way too close to the stove! lol.

I've read about the Quadra-Fire. Supposed to put out a massive amount of heat and likes to heat up quick right? I can't wait for my real stove to arrive.

I keep around 8-9 wheelbarrows full behind my stove in the winter. That's some for me to burn in the smogger, then a couple stacks of no bark heartwood primo stuff for firewood bundles to go out. A week inside next to the stove, it is dang close to kiln dried, tell ya whut...

 

[dancan]

Meanwhile , somewhere in Nova Scotia .

Scrounged wood still burning in the furnace .
I had someone ask me how much wood I burnt this year , I had to tell him I'll know by September ....

 

[Ambull01]

I keep around 8-9 wheelbarrows full behind my stove in the winter. That's some for me to burn in the smogger, then a couple stacks of no bark heartwood primo stuff for firewood bundles to go out. A week inside next to the stove, it is dang close to kiln dried, tell ya whut...

I was keeping a few days worth of wood in my stove room to hopefully dry out. Only issue was my tiny insert wasn't putting out enough heat to actually make a difference. Anyway, I was totally joking about the combustibles being too close to the stove. Hope it was obvious.

Weather cooled off quite a bit here. Just in time for another full day of scrounging tomorrow. Much mo bettah to scrounge in the cold/cooler weather than the 70s or hotter. Are you still burning?

Also, you remember that thread where people was posting about the dump things they've done related to wood cutting/scrounging? Well your advice worked. Much easier to get the kinks out of a chain when I lie it down on something flat. As for dumb things, just did something really stupid the other day. Some history first. Father in-law gave me a wheel barrow he wasn't using. He found it on the side of the road. It's kind of creaky but does the job. The other day while trying to inflate the tires a bit the air valve twisted right off in my hands. I took off the tire and went to a local hardware store to have them mount a new tube. Spent about 2 hours there. Put the tire back and wheel barrow was good as new. Then a great idea hits. I decide to lift my 80 pound dog and put him in the wheel barrow as a joke since he keeps trying to bite the front tire as I push it. I lift him up and attempt to put him in. He goes nuts and starts kicking like he's trying to start up an old school motorcycle. He kicks the wheel barrow, it tips over and goes crashing to the ground. Now the right handle is broken. Wheel barrow with a new tube and one handle lol.

 

[mainewoods]

36* and graupel all day with a nasty NW wind. Wood stove is on overtime. Extended forecast says summer weather should be here sometime in August. No sweat scrounging is good!

 

[USMC615]

Back to the tick deal when it was discussed earlier...I've still got about 12 aerosol cans of the 'old school' Permanone. Some of y'all may remember it...yellow labeled can with all green writing on it with a big green tick 'bout the size of a half-dollar in the center of the label...I've had this stuff literally since the late 80's, early 90's. We bought a few cases of it years ago back when the gettin was good. I shook up a few cans this evening, sprayed like it was just made yesterday. Don't know anything about the newfangled Repel versions nor any other...same application has always applied...spray on socks, jeans, shirts, etc, let dry, then don the clothes.

On another note...always had good luck keeping ticks and chiggers off with using sulfur in a little shaker bottle like ya might would put a homemade rub in.

And on another note...who the hell does AS have running their IT/network/hacking defense/slower than a cats ass friggin site???...let me guess, they outsource it to Ruby's Rib Shack down the street??? WTF...

 

[USMC615]

36* and graupel all day with a nasty NW wind. Wood stove is on overtime. Extended forecast says summer weather should be here sometime in August. No sweat scrounging is good!

...'sometime in August.' Crazy weather...been 80 plus here the last week. Crazy weather you dealing with Clint. Keep the wood a'cookin.

 

[mainewoods]

I think there has been 1 day, since last Oct, when the stove has been cold. That was 2 weeks ago on a Wed. Not unusual up here, but I could do without it. Been a long winter. They were still boiling sap last week and I don't remember it ever being that late in the year, but I'm sure it has been at one time or another. Sure is comfortable scroungin' weather though with just a few patches of snow still in the woods. Before you know it, there will be green grass and leaves again!

 

[stihly dan]

And on another note...who the hell does AS have running their IT/network/hacking defense/slower than a cats ass friggin site???...let me guess, they outsource it to Ruby's Rib Shack down the street??? WTF..

I used to think they are using wang computers, maybe they got a deal on new old stock commodore 64.

 

[spike60]

Holy hell, I hope the Hearth guys never see this. Combustibles way too close to the stove! lol.

I've read about the Quadra-Fire. Supposed to put out a massive amount of heat and likes to heat up quick right? I can't wait for my real stove to arrive.

Hey, when I'm taking a snooze on that love seat my feet are hanging over the side even closer. No problem at all with this stove as the back and sides are triple and double wall construction so clearance issues are non-existant. Really good stove. Had it 20 years and have only needed to replace a couple fire bricks. Very satisfied with it.

Going now of course, as the temp is supposed to dip into the 20's tonight and tomorrow night. Crazy for this late in April, but "Have Wood-Will Burn". No little sticks tonight, just put in 4 good size oak and hickory splits. Should be set for the night.

 

[Ambull01]

Hey, when I'm taking a snooze on that love seat my feet are hanging over the side even closer. No problem at all with this stove as the back and sides are triple and double wall construction so clearance issues are non-existant. Really good stove. Had it 20 years and have only needed to replace a couple fire bricks. Very satisfied with it.

Going now of course, as the temp is supposed to dip into the 20's tonight and tomorrow night. Crazy for this late in April, but "Have Wood-Will Burn". No little sticks tonight, just put in 4 good size oak and hickory splits. Should be set for the night.

20 years and only fire brick replacement, that's impressive. If you cut your own firewood and didn't go crazy on scrounging stuff that would be a huge savings in heating costs. I'll have to tell my wife there's stoves that lasts 20+ years. Does it have secondary tubes?

 

[MustangMike]

All tick gorge themselves on blood. When you pet the dog & feel a lump, it is time for the tweezers!

Snow flurries several times today, frost warnings tonight & tomorrow, and same cold weather predicted for upcoming week. I don't think we are going to see many T Shirts at the GTG!

 

[spike60]

20 years and only fire brick replacement, that's impressive. If you cut your own firewood and didn't go crazy on scrounging stuff that would be a huge savings in heating costs. I'll have to tell my wife there's stoves that lasts 20+ years. Does it have secondary tubes?

Yes it has the secondary tubes. Looks like the burners on gas grill when they get going. Obviously it pays to buy a quality stove instead of a box store special. With a stove it's not just the design but the quality of the materials and workmanship. But also, like a chainsaw or anything else, if you take care of it and use it the way it's supposed to be used, it will last a long time. I've never over fired the thing and had it going cherry red. But it gets better, and people don't quite believe this: I've never cleaned the chimney since I've owned it. Of course I check it every year with a mirror and it's always clean and clear. The most I ever get out of the clean out is about a half gallon sized amount of creosote at the end of the summer before I fire up for the coming season. Part of that is I only burn seasoned hardwood, but this is certainly a clean burning stove.

 

[nk14zp]

I was keeping a few days worth of wood in my stove room to hopefully dry out. Only issue was my tiny insert wasn't putting out enough heat to actually make a difference. Anyway, I was totally joking about the combustibles being too close to the stove. Hope it was obvious.

I think it's time for a new stove if you can't dry yer wood with that.

 

[NSMaple1]

I think there has been 1 day, since last Oct, when the stove has been cold. That was 2 weeks ago on a Wed. Not unusual up here, but I could do without it. Been a long winter. They were still boiling sap last week and I don't remember it ever being that late in the year, but I'm sure it has been at one time or another. Sure is comfortable scroungin' weather though with just a few patches of snow still in the woods. Before you know it, there will be green grass and leaves again!

I still have to burn every day. It gets close to not having to, then gets pulled away again. Minus temps overnight in the next few days forecast, with some daytime snow flurries thrown in here & there. Still lots of snow in the woods. Craziness.

 

[MustangMike]

Most of the time, creosote is formed by people choking down their stoves too much. A fireplace chimney usually does not have to be cleaned.

Of course, the design of the chimney and other factors (like the stove) also play an important role.

When I heated my house with a 55 gal drum air tight stove I cleaned the chimney once a year just to be safe, but it never really needed it. However, if your chimney is not insulated, it will tend to build up creosote fast. Occasionally running the stove wide open with small dry wood will also help to "self clean" the chimney.

 

[svk]

Lets say you start off with a new chimney and burn dry wood. How many years of creosote accumulation from an average stove does it take before it can become a problem?

 

[olyman]

...LMAO!!!...awaiting the 'sloth' response...

 

[MustangMike]

That is a loaded question. It can occur in just days or weeks, or can almost never happen.

It will depend on the quality of your stove, the quality of your wood, how hot you run it, how well your stove pipe is insulated and drafts, etc.

Truly, the only way to know is to gain some experience with your particular set up. Something like an additional elbow or a few lengths of pipe can make a huge difference.

I used to clean mine annually just to be safe. To prevent dirt in the house, I would duct tape a large, strong, supported (by a table, etc) garbage bag to the bottom of the pipe and then run the cleaning brush from the top.

I would run a new set up hot now and then until you are familiar with it.

 

[nomad_archer]

Mine only needs cleaned once a year but there is a bit in there at the bottom because I have a 90 out of the stove, a 90 into the flue in the wall, a 90 to go up the chimney and a dog leg in chimney. With all those 90's I am surprised I never every came close to having an issue with it not drawing. It draws so well I have to keep the dogs away so they don't get sucked in.