I'm in the same boat you are. I always make plans to get ahead with firewood, but I never seem to have the time. I have tons of wood, it's mostly oak and maple tops from a logging job a few years ago, but it's also half a mile in the woods and not easy to get to. This year already, I have gone through 5 cords of wood (admittedly almost half of it was pine, poplar and balsam fir) and will probably go through 3-4 more by the end of the season. Last year I bought 4 cords of dry wood from a Facebook seller that couldn't burn wood anymore due to allergies, and it got me by. This year I'm gonna be getting into the wood that was harvested for 2020-2021 season. I decided that easy is key to getting ahead for me, so I am buying a log truck load for $500 (5 cords of tree-length hardwood), also trading an old beater car for two cords of cut and split hardwood, and a friend is clearing a lot for a horse paddock and will have 3-4 cords of ash for me by spring. So I'm gonna just bury myself in the easy stuff and save the hard stuff for next season. I don't know how some of you guys do it. I can't wait for daylight savings time to start so that I get an extra hour of daylight every afternoon. It's the only way I'm gonna get ahead. If I can spare the time I'd be happy to come to a GTG down there. Not too far away from me.
Be on the lookout for cheaper wood to buy. Yeah, that's right....buy some! Burning the way you are now isn't advantageous, by your own admission of not being able to get ahead. Do your summer need to be re-prioritized? Instead of making wood, are you doing other things? I bought a Harley back in 93 and promised myself that it wouldn't be used unless my homework was done; you know... grass cutting, garden chores, wood pile, family time, son on and so forth. Also, sorry to hear about your son and glad he's on the mend. Regarding that, I never did factor in the help of the boys in wood chores although they did help out from time to time. The way I looked at it was that they would be gone soon anyway. (They did help out when asked; always) One more thing, you may not get three years worth ahead in one years time but once you're there, you can go back to the same schedule of wood making as you are on right now. But burning the wood the way you are now, you are heating it up to get rid of it's moisture and not gaining all of the heat that you would if it is dry and seasoned.
So my house was built in ‘90 and has all the original windows. Couple years ago, I decided to box in the trim (using 3/8” thick pieces ripped from 2x stock) and add the plastic film that costs about $1 per window. Only did this with the windows on the second floor. It raised the temps on the second floor AND reduced how much wood we burn by about a cord per year. I’m thoroughly convinced I have stemmed the tide of warm air escaping through the windows from my second floor and thus reduced how hard we have to run the stove to keep the temp comfortable. Replacing the plastic film each year is about $10 if I take it ALL down. Which I haven’t done in the last couple years. I think the double sided tape would stick better if the pieces I added were finished. Try doing this to just one window and see if you can feel the difference between one that is covered and one that isn’t. I know I can in my house. Here’s a couple pics. LED light in the third one.
After years of hesitating, we finally had this old mining house insulated. Given there was insulation already but a lot of places had little to no insulation. Walls, attic, rim joists, crawl space were all done this past summer. I can tell from the amount of time the blower motor runs on the furnace it is a big improvement. Even though this winter has been quite milder temps than the norm, we should still see a decrease in wood usage. This is with a OWB which she is very hesitant in giving parting with. My body is deteriorating and I have been forced to buy processed firewood to augment my winter's supply. Points I'm trying to make, get the house as insulated and air tight as you can. Buy wood if you need to get on the three year plan. We put it off a bit longer than we should have, but are grateful we finally did it!
Welcome to FHC Finzwake. You'll like it here. We like dogs, beer and pics. A lot of knowledgeable people who are willing to share.
Sir, you have a problem that many have wrestled with. It is not easy to overcome, but it can be done. For sure the first thing I would wrestle with is looking for a way to decrease the amount of wood you are burning. That is a tremendous amount of wood to burn and to put up year after year. We used to be in close to that same boat here but now are down to 3-4 cord per year and in addition to that, keep our house really warm rather than having to put on extra clothing in winter months. In fact, it is funny watching people come for a visit in winter because they can't believe it is so warm in here! We tend to keep it around 80 all winter long, no matter what the outdoor temperature is. It took insulation, some new windows and doors and a new stove to make the changes but life has become much more comfortable since. Suggestions you have been given are mostly good for sure. I really like the idea of a GTG even if you have to buy a truck load of logs to get it done. For sure if you could get 3 years ahead then you'll have more time to devote to other things, but, you will still have to put up a year's supply every year. The nice part of it is that you won't be pressed to get it done no matter what! Sickness, injury, weather... It makes no difference as now you can take a little time off and do your wood cutting in good weather when you feel good. You just have to set priorities and keep with them. Good luck.
I was able to get a full cord of pine split today. It’s been in log form for 2-3 years. I’m going to try and get 4-5 cord of pine split by March 1st. So by October 1st it’ll be 7 months seasoned. Between shoulder seasons and mixing it with my hardwoods I’m hoping to reduce next years hardwood need by 3-4 cords, which should give me a leg up for the following year.
I have 4 cord in the shed left for this year. I also have about 5.5 cords of Red Oak css,and another 2-2.5 cords of Red Oak to process that’s in firewood length. Finally I have about 2.5-3 cord of hardwood logs in the woods piled up. Mostly Cherry, Maple, and Birch. Im hoping to buckle down and blast out a bunch of wood this spring.
I just wanted to come back full circle on this thread. Shortly after starting this thread, I decided screw this. I'm sick of it. I bought the twenty IBC totes, filled those. Build an extension on the woodshed, filled that. Did a 6 cord overflow stack in the woods. Made a few movable firewood boxes, etc. Point is...don't give up. In the last 7-8 months I've processed about 25 cords of wood. It can be done. Just have to keep plugging away during free time sessions. I feel much better knowing I have three years of wood on hand.
