When I fist started to burn I would look at the smoke coming out of the chimney and then the neighbors.I didnt have much but the neighbors had alot.I thought I was doing something wrong being new to it and all.They go through alot of wood.Most of the people that are selling the wood that's not seasoned but the people buying it don't know any better.They have been doing it so long its normal.
A good OWB burner. I drove to town last week. On my way back I saw smoke billowing into the air. Enough that I thought it was a farmer burning a ditch. Nope was the neighbor with the OWB. The same neighbor that buys semi loads a year or two in advance In the few minutes it took me to drive closer and identify where the smoke was coming from it was down to almost nothing. He must have been starting it up again after a warm stretch. I am lucky, all my neighbors burn and all of them use dry wood.
I just wish someone would offer a prize and start a thread " my BIL is so dumb"----I.E- He jumped on my my MF40 while drunk and drove it into the lake, ---frigging out of sight. I would, but I just can't, y'all know what I mean, but I'm pretty sure I could win.
The cost could also be the loss of their home, or worse. I have seen at least 3 homes lost to fire in a 60 mile radius of me since October. I believe two were chimney fires. The other was combustibles to close to a pellet stove if I remember right. Scary stuff!
15 years as a volunteer firefighter, every fall/winter we'd go give tons of homeowners free chimney cleanings. I don't mean a proper clean with a brush. I mean using things like the terminator. Which was a heavy ball of chain we'd us on stubbornly clogged chimneys. Which there were plenty. It got to the point with some houses that we'd remove the wood stove as they are repeat offenders in one season. Jason from RI
I can't say much. The 14 yrs at our home I've burned mostly fresh split wood in an outdoor water heater. I use 20+cord per yr and started out with chain saw/axe/wedge/sledge and there just isn't enough "me" to bank up stock + run a business + farm work. I also use my sawmill slabs which do dry out quick, also wood shop scraps so I use a mix of wet/dry but as others noted Dry wood = saved $. So finally we said yes to firewood processor. I used the math of $ saved to help convince my financial adviser. When we looked at the large qty. the savings were large enough to value + we will sell some FW also. I get the machine first week in Jan. I'll whomp up a consumer report and post it (Dyna SC12XP). The part of the OP's story that bothers me is "taking from others" BIL should pay his way for the wood. If he wants to burn green wood (and knows the pro's and con's) that's his business, but just Taking from someone says allot about someones character (depends on the fine details,, he could be in a wheel chair for all I know)
The part of the OP's story that bothers me is "taking from others" BIL should pay his way for the wood. Butcher Big beard=Big heart.
I just had this conversation with a buddy last night over a couple of cold ones. It was 50 here yeaterday. He's burning red oak that that was hit by lightning in late June.. We cut and split it then and thought it was for next year.. He's also burnt all the cherry we took down at the same time
Ahhh Ok, I understand. It sounds like he is a good person. A chance at charity is a gift to us. The ability to give the charity is on us. jim
WOW, that old post got convoluted. Sorry I didn't give all the details when I posted it. I was just a little P.O'ed because where I cut at is a 20 mile drive from home and due to weather, crops in the field that surround the place I cut at I have a very limited amount of time to get in and cut and then get out. My BIL is a good guy. Problem I was having at the time was that he owns 18 acres of some sweet timber that is right out his back door. Get what I'm sayin? I may have just been tasting sour grapes at the time. Since the time of the original post my BIL has stuck 2 nice deer on his property and since he and his wife barely eat 1 deer a year he gave me the second 1. (He is an antler hunter not a meat hunter like I am) So even though I am still hunting this week I have a nice BIG 12 point buck in the freezer for eatin. Sorry for the confusion in my original post. Some times the internet is a bad place to try to convey thoughts and emotions. I guess my original point was why would some one think that a tree that had just died 3 months ago would burn like one that has had time to dry out some. Nuff said.
A BIL that'll share some of his venison is a brother indeed. We just had a couple of sticks of delicious Illinois deer sausage last month, thanks to my BIL. He's NOT your typical BIL.
For sure we'd like to see a report on the processor but not just when you get it. A follow up after a year would sweeten the pot. What size home are you heating? And am I correct, you are talking about full cord and not face cord or rick? For sure I'd not be happy if I had to cut over 20 cord per year and I too would be buying a processor.
Sorry no pics as I dressed it out at the shop at work. He kept the hide and head and I took the really important parts home with me. It was almost 60° that morning and I sure did want to get the meat taken care of like it should be. Aint got no smart phone that takes pitchers.
I have a neighbor who actually is ahead of the game, 12-14 cords ahead. All oak, at least 2 years old. (Some is 3) and he is still cleaning out his chimney monthly because it clogs. Always a thick white plume coming from the chimney. He always asks if I'm still burning as he doesn't see any smoke, I take that as a compliment.
I burned pine last year that was cut a few months earlier and split a few days before I burned it. My good stuff was buried under a foot of snow. Once the snow melted, I forgot I had the quantity of seasoned wood I had. Point of the story....that pine left me very cold. And it wouldn't light. Go figure...but if it's all you have... I made up for the chimney damage by burning really hot in late February thru March...no chimney fires, but that couldn't have gone on forever with the pine. This year, I have a 3 cord mound 5 feet tall. Not ideally stacked, but I can get at it no matter the snow accumulation. I have about 1.5 cord of soft maple under the roof over hang about 5 feet tall that won't get buried. It's only about 2 months split and stacked, but if I had to due to weather, it would burn at least. I want that to remain in tact till next fall. Maple after a year is good enough.
