Hi. I discovered the firewood Hoarders Club recently when researching White Ash as a firewood. Most of my previous wood was a blend of Red Oak, Sugar Maple, and Red Elm (Dutch Elm kill, bark free). Emerald Ash Borer made a lot of White Ash available and quarantine regulations do not hinder me from EAB firewood (my ash trees are all dead) after checking with the local State Forester. We heat only with wood in a Royall coal/wood forced air furnace attached in parallel with our propane furnace ducts and have not fired the propane furnace in 25 years. We use 4-5 full cords of the blend in a typical winter and a maximum of 7 cords when an extended period of sub zero highs occurs (house is under 1,000 sq ft). The Royall circulating blower lasted over 30 years with faithful annual oiling but last winter's blower noise said the end had arrived. The new blower has sealed bearings which I suspect will not last as long. The new blower is four speed but the original was two. No one wanted to recommend how to wire up a new blower to a 30+ year old furnace so... I attached the black wire to black, white wire to white, and red wire to red and proved successful. The replacement only took me two hours (one hour next time). Oh, and I left the yellow and blue wires unattached. We get around a quarter of our firewood from our own small wooded lot and the rest by purchasing a firewood permit at the state forest for downed wood. Standing wood belongs to the woodpeckers but it becomes firewood when it hits the ground so most of our wood is seasoned but not dry when processed. We haul in a 2003 Astro which will not last long after having driven many a salted road which payloads 1300 pounds but I stay around 1000 pounds per load (did I mention all that salt?). I cut with a Makita 14" battery chainsaw which I like and easily cuts up to 16" downed wood. The Makita runs two 18 volt batteries to drive a 36 volt motor and each 5 amp battery pair cuts around 500 pounds of wood into 20 inch pieces. Less dense wood or smaller limbs use fewer amps to produce more sticks than cutting 16" of sugar maple. The chainsaw oil tank also lasts for two sets of batteries and so I leave the oil can at home when cutting an Astro load (and the fuel can). When I switch to my truck for hauling, then I will need to carry more batteries and oil. Other battery chainsaws are more powerful but Makita has refined the model I use to a nice cutting machine. I split by hand using a sledge and a wedge (I could never swing a bat as a kid or a maul as an adult). I tried drying firewood outside but our shaded lot faces northeast and the results were never good. We have 30x40 metal shed with six rows of firewood across the back on pallets and two vehicles in front. I just finished filling the last row used last winter with white ash and sugar maple this past week. Two of the six rows is enough for an average winter and so wood dries for two years inside. The last Red Elm I tested was down to 15-16% moisture after only one year and Red Oak was down to 22-23% moisture after only one year (both 20" pieces tested with the grain and fresh split). I would like to thank all the posters as this is a very helpful forum.
Hello and welcome to the FHC. Great to have you join us iowahiker . Would love to see pictures of your set up, stacks and saw etc. We love pictures here!
Welcome aboard iowahiker. I have never tried a battery was but it sounds like it gets the job done for you.
Welcome aboard iowahiker . From your post, you've got it all goin' on and then some. Glad you found us. Like Erik said, we like . Hint, hint.
Grizzly Adam, We live rural and are north of Waukon. Land of woods, hills, dairy, and the Mississippi. Pictures will be slow to load since I do not have a smart phone but with the wood rows full the camera will be out soon.
Welcome. Good to learn a battery saw can be a good primary saw. Having weekend property and other less often needs, I think battery equipment is a great option for homeowners who don’t want to suffer the smell of gas and oil in their garages.
Welcome iowahiker, sounds like good stuff, now stop teasing us and send some pics of all that goodness.
Hello and welcome! There's members here from Ohio. Hopefully, you'll be able to put faces to names. Hoard on.
