City kid in Vermont with his first real woodpile, and the stove monitoring system I built

Welcome to the club neil_s !!

Tons of good advice already given. All I will add is to turn that splitter vertical on the big rounds. Hand splitting the big rounds can be fun, but you have enough to do, especially with young ones in the house.

 

Hello fellow vermonter! I am a flatlander. Although my wife is from Bristol originally and went to Mt. Abe, and then Middlebury after and her mom lives in Cornwall, so I feel like I get a bit of a pass? I also have two kids who were born here, so I feel like I'm also doing my part to bring more youth here

We're not splitting for this season, unfortunately we had to order firewood for this season (I hope I don't get shunned!)

We have 2, a hearthstone shelburne in our living room and a hearthstone manchester in our kitchen.

 

This is amazing. Do you have a link to learn about square filing a chainsaw chain? I've heard about this on Youtube, but I don't quite understand the premise. I've been using a Stihl MS271 Farm boss, and my chains get dull very quickly. I've been using the 2-in-1 Stihl file with the guide, but I still feel like I'm missing something. My filed chains just don't have that nice out of the box ability to throw chips.

 

I didn't even realize it could go vertical. LOL.

 

Great information!

How do you like the Husqvarna saws? I took a chainsaw class a couple of years ago. It was taught by an old school logger, and he swore by them. My father in law is the land-steward on an estate down in Cornwall, VT and he swears by Stihl and told me to only go with Stihl. Just curious.

 

The Husqvarna vs Stihl thing is like a Ford vs Chevy deal. Both are good saws, some folks have preferences and lean towards one over the other. Take good care of them, use good two cycle oil and keep the chains sharp and they will serve you well.

 

I bought cords of splits and then moved to buying log-length logs, green. That along with available time, got me to the 3yr plan. Of course, staying there still takes time and effort

Nothing wrong with buying wood. Time and opportunity can result in the best firewood- free!

 

Looked like hearthstone on your video; good stoves!
I got family all over this state;
When stacking ash, elm soft maple (you can tell hard maple by weight of split) and pine go in next year pile

Oak and sugar maple put in a different section that needs 2 years minimum

your goal here is to burn dry wood!! 20% moisture content on middle of a fresh split

before spring if your cutting on your own land; go out and girdle the trees you’re going to cut. Take a hatchet knock all bark/sapwood right under bath in 2 foot circle around tree, prevent water from going up tree less water up there less you have to dry out later ..
Once your on 3 plan this is less critical. I have a cat stove (Woodstock Ideal steel). I made every mistake in book and my family have heated with wood for years.

As for creosote, once you are burning good dry wood that falls down priority fast! Burning dry wood and heating your home is a lot less work than trying to heat a house with wet wood. Because water don’t burn well

oh I am off exit 18 but grew up on a city lot

 

Who you calling "old" ?

Just kidding Neil. We also like to joke around here too. It is nice to see and keep younger members.

 

Here’s the thread:
Square filing chains
Square filing by hand is very easy when it’s mastered. The learning curve is a little steep if you don’t have someone that can show you in person. I met Mike Lee (mdavlee on that thread) as he traveled for work and was close enough to stop by and give me some lessons. The files are a bit expensive. Looks like much more than they were back then. Search for a double bevel chainsaw file, like this:
Pferd Double Bevel Square Chisel-Bit Chainsaw Files - 15070P
I have since invested in a grinder that does square. Surprisingly found that it is more durable than round filed (full chisel rnd vs full chisel sq), IF you’re cutting clean wood.
Here’s the best vid I’ve found:

The file he’s using are what I found to be thee very best. Vallorbe.

Stihl vs. Husky
So I’m a “die hard” Husqvarna guy but anyone that tells you one is superior to the other is someone who you need not listen to. They both make great saws and they both make crappy ones. It’s all personal preference.

 

Regarding which brand of saw, I'd recommend finding a good saw service store and go with what brand they service.

I use Husqvarna because I'm happy with the service I get, when needed.

 

I'd say stihls pro saws are the best there are. Husqvarna has good ones but can be less user friendly. I have a 346xp and love it but a 462 and 362 as well and like them just as much. One thing to note is stihls mtronic is 100% user serviceable even without the diagnostic software but Husqvarnas auto tune HAS to go to a dealer for certain issues.

 

Yea, we cut down a couple of dead ash due to the emerald bore beetle.

 

Welcome to FHC sir...neat gadget you came up with there!
Internal or external temp sensor?
If it's external then you are fine, as internal pipe temp is considered to be about double the external temp...depending on if it's a double, or single wall pipe...doublewall would even be a lot more than double.

 

Any idea if the liner is insulated?
If it is, great! The liner will stay cleaner, as far as any buildup, and it's a safer setup too (its actually a requirement on most chimneys, but far too many installers forego the insulation to be able to bid the job lower, and do the install faster)
A properly installed insulated liner with take an internal (chimney) fire no problem...but burning dry wood means the chance of having one is almost zero.

 

The chimney was full masonry with a flues for fireplace and furnace. We burned the fireplace for a year and a half prior to the insert being installed in December 2001. He didn't have to go all the way up according to code at the time but I insisted and paid extra for it so even if I did have a chimney fire there was still the terra cotta liner. I often wonder if the new owners use it or not. I had it going the night I moved out in January 2010.

IIRC it was an uninsulated 6" pipe.

 

Thank you for the welcome!

Actually there are two different types of sensors, you can choose from. A magnetic external stove pipe sensor, and a catalyst sensor that fits into the catalyst port of your modern stove if you have one.

I use the catalyst sensor on my Hearthstone Manchester, and the magnetic one on my shelburne.

 

Hey neil_s glad to have you aboard! Enjoyed the pictures. On the subject of how you operate your splitter...It is a sad fact that large rounds occasionally require the splitter to be used vertically. I usually split the big ones just to the size that I can now handle with the splitter horizontal as they are intended to be used. The whole horizontal/vertical thing is a matter of much debate. Try to be discrete and don't let the neighbors see you using the splitter vertical. Look forward to many posts and pictures! Again.....Welcome!

 

What model splitter is it?
Not all of them convert to vertical...