I am so far behind I may never catch up. Not sure what happened but a combination of lack of time, poor summer weather, burning all summer because I never got my heat pump installed last spring, etc. All combined to cause me a major headache this fall. I have less than 2 cords of dry split wood, which might get me to Thanksgiving if I'm lucky. I have 3-1/2 cords of mostly dry rounds, which need to be split and stacked in the wood shed and hopefully I can give them another 2-3 months to dry. And everything else is still in log form. Off the ground for over a year, two years in some cases, but we all know that stuff doesn't dry well if at all. Even old beech with no bark is still going to be over 25%, I will be hugely surprised if it isn't. The worst part is, next year's planned firewood is all white and red oak and there is no way that will all be ready for 2019-2020 season unless I split it into something resembling roofing shakes. I may be one of those guys who breaks down and buys a log truck load of wood just to have something to burn in time.
It happens to all of us! It took me five years to get on the three year plan. I struggled at times either all year or towards the end of the burn season when I was cutting dead standing wood to get me through the end. We burn what we have, and sometimes it isn't wood that we want to use, but it gets us by. I'm thankful and blessed to be on the four year plan this year. If you can just keep after it, it will slowly add up and you'll be in better supply.
I've bought "seasoned" firewood in the distant past. I've burned oil. I've bought log loads to get ahead so as not to be playing the struggling to burn half fast seasoned wood. That was a real time saver when I was working 60 and 70 hour weeks. Right now I'm fortunate to be swimming in downed pine, maple and dead oak. Hate to see it but it's there and I have to keep chipping away at it or GIBIR. Best thing we've done here is unplug the TV. For a while it was only on as a replacement din for empty nesters. It was far too easy to sit and watch and accomplish nothing. 99% of the time we do NOT need a break, but rather a break from what we are currently doing which means doing something else.
Jon_E perhaps a log load would help you a lot, especially if you can get a bunch of white ash. Good luck.
If it makes you feel any better, I need at least 2 more cords for this winter. I really need to get going on cruising the back roads for standing dead stuff. I wish I had room in the yard for the 3 year plan but it's never going to happen. I can stash 6 cords for the present year, and a tiny bit along my back fence. That's the absolute limit as long as I live in suburbia.
I second this - dead pine can dry real fast after css. Even if it's holding onto moisture, if it's been down for a few years it seems to lose it very quickly if it's been laying around a few years. I got a few dump truck loads dropped here that I picked at for a couple years that were clogging up a local logger's landing, and even though they spit water when splitting, a few months later lifting the splits was like lifting balsa wood - light a match within ten yards and they'd burn up. My uneducated theory is that the fibers and cells that hold onto water die off and the moisture just "pools" in the wood, making it fast to dry up, even if it is bleeding at you on the splitter. Don't give up the ship!
Jon_E as has been said, we've all been there. Another possible option is slab wood if you have a sawmill in the area.
Jon E. If you were closer to me I would give you a solid 2 full cord of red oak, c/s/s since 3/2017. It has two summers under its belt . I only burn in my fireplace but would be more than happy to pass it over to someone who needed It to heat their home. Best of Luck man.
That’s some of that FHC gold right there! Y’all could meet up in CT...say, right where the ferry makes landing?
Thank you all for the suggestions, and especially the offers of split firewood! I think I will be fine, I just need to make sure I have plenty of small splits in the back of the woodshed for springtime. I wish I didn't have to run the wood boiler all summer long, otherwise I'd be in much better shape. We are refinancing our home in order to install a backup system for summertime hot water, so I won't have to do that anymore.
No mortgage here. If that's your situation, then perhaps an equity line of credit would do you better, as opposed to refinancing.
Jon, sorry to hear but don't fret you will see your way through. Like you suggested perhaps looking around on CS for some loads of wood that have been sitting or as you mention a truck load of wood! Best of luck and keep your chin up!
I'm 50-ish miles south of Route 4. I don't necessarily need anything, just kind of venting since I got myself in a pickle. I am arranging for time off work in October and November to cut wood (I use vacations to stay at home anyway), and hopefully can get help from the kids and a friend or two. It's the age-old dilemma - not enough time to do the work yourself and not enough money to pay someone else. Just found out my new neighbors (last fall they moved in) have been cutting trees off their property at a rapid pace, they're doing the whole "mini-farm/homestead" concept and clearing a couple acres to do so. They don't burn wood and don't plan to, so they've offered me everything they've been cutting. Mostly pine but I'll take it. Now I just need the time to cut it up. My kids are dreading the next three months. Every weekend that they're not part of a Scout event, they get to help with firewood.
