I found the draw pin, left on the disc harrow. I have been thinking of getting one of these from TSC and mounting my carrier to it. Using the cultivator has some problems; for one, I have to have the cultivator arms on and that prevents lowering the carrier to the ground, meaning I have to lift heavier pieces instead of just rolling them into the carrier. These are $129.00 at TSC and that really is not such a bad price considering the materials. When my friend comes down with his truck, I may see about purchasing one; at the moment I have no way to get it home. Yes, money is as tight as ever but sometimes you have to buy the tools you need to get the job done.
Kimberly, I assume your weather is very similar to mine. The first year I monitored with a MM and had a plan, my oak got to ~25% MC in one year, single stacked in a mostly shady area with moderate wind -probably far better/faster than the national average). It burnt fine but 2 year wood burnt noticeably better, as did 3 year wood, etc. So, its possible to have marginal oak in 1 year, but faster drying wood will be dryer. On the other hand, is 18% MC cottonwood better than 25% MC oak? I doubt it. Cherry, ash, mulberry or similar (BTU's vs drying time) would be best if you have it.
Yes, I may be looking at some of the manufactured bricks or something and work now for next year or two. Eventually work up so that I am in the three year plan.
Kimberly, you might check with Pallet Pete on those bricks as he used several of them one year to help him through the winter. I'm quite sure he mostly mixed them with the wood he had but he'll be able to fill you in. You could PM him or maybe he'll chime in as I've highlighted his name.
They last about 4 hours, they put out some heat longer than that, You could put a bunch of them in there 10 or 15 l guess , A Single brick measures 9-1/2 x 3-1/2 x 2-3/4 in, most I ever put in was 4 at once, you have to be careful because they burn really hot you could over fire, besides I just don't think they work that good by themselves, they work good mixed with wood. During shoulder season you can put two of them in there with 4_ 5 small splits or branches in get all the heat you need. Some info
Seems like some fellow Virginians could come together and get you started on your wood supply.....just saying. I probably got 30-40 cord of "charity cut" wood on my saws and twice that on my splitter; maybe more for all I know. I normally cut by myself so some of the best times I have ever had are at the Charity Cuts and so forth. It is astonishing what a group of friends can accomplish in one day when they work together. We have cut and split from 5-75 cord in one day depending on the size of the group and the access to the wood.
I have heard of some people filling their cat stove with the stuff, I would not try it with a tube stove, it burns really hot, you can experiment with it though, you could heat your house with it exclusively, with experience, but you can burn 25% wood with it
I stopped at TSC; a cat 1 pin is $6.42. I should probably buy a spare. I went in to look at that carrier; it appears to be solid; I can drag it in place as I do the cultivator. I got to thinking that I could get some heavy angle iron and make some arms for the cultivator. Then it occurred to me that I could just turn the cultivator "arms" or whatever you call them, upside down and see how that would work. I might can save my money for now but that Countryline carrier does seem to be nicer than using my cultivator.
They work well mixed with higher moisture content wood. I used them quite a few times with questionable wood and it averages out the MC so you get a decent burn.
Yup. And I know it burned clean with the high MC wood and blocks because the flue was not bad when I did an after season cleaning.
I looked around while i was at TSC but did not see those brick thingys; they may not have them in yet.
Getting a decent burn, yes. but averaging out the moisture content?......maybe by numbers only; you will still have wood with too high of a MC burning (smoldering in this case) and leaving its unwanted ugly results. But by all means, a more decent burn. Unless there is some sort of plan for future years, this problem will be brought up and addressed year after year!
