Well if you remember, I purchased a seasoned cord of wood over Xmas break. This wood turned out to be seasoned good, and it burned great. Problem is that it's been so cold, I've burned up the bulk of it. In the house, my racks will get me close to two weeks. I can probably fill them once more. Which would mean I am close to the end of Feb. Unfortunately the wood stove is the only heat, and I'll need to burn through March and part of April. Going to call my buddy to see if he has one more cord. Only problem right now is with the snow on the ground. He'd have to dump it in my driveway, and I'd have to carry it up into the backyard and into the house. My other option is to look to see if anyone has received the Bio Bricks. I checked just over a week ago, and no one had them. The upside is that I have one load of logs for next year on the ground. Once the snow is melted, I'll get that cutting that into rounds and let them sit. The area I want to put this wood will need to wait until the spring thaw for me to clean it up. Going to make it 16' long by 6' wide and 8' tall at it's tallest in the front and 7' in the rear for a slight slant to the roof. Going to be an open leanto.
We were in a similar situation last spring, record bad winter..... The last load of wood was not quite dry but we made it through while being warm If you end up with less than seasoned wood check your pipes often.
If we was closer to each orher id give you a load or two. Im cutting it close as well but its not snowy here just rain. I can go out and get some standing dead to make it through. I would be ok but im actually cutting wood for next year and havent pulled away from doing that to work up any to get me the rest of this year. I have a pellet stove as well so if i can make it this month ill be ok
Take a look around and talk to people for scrap wood at lumber yards. It doesn't hurt to ask. Worse they can do is say no. Pallets are free at many places. Lowes, Home Depot, many businesses. Most have to pay to have them hauled away. If you are decent with a saw you can have yourself some wood to burn with a little work. Not the most ideal for burn times but it will help get your through. Scrounging wood has worked for many in the past. And it is usually the best price!
If at all possible to start cutting and splitting your log load now, it would be best - not sure what type of wood you have, but regardless of type you won't have much time to get that wood dry. Would also be good to see if you can get another load load delivered this spring for the year after and get both done - then you'll start to get a little ahead. For folks that only have wood as a heat source with no back-up, having a good plan to be well ahead on wood is necessary. As you drive around - look for blow downs, dead standing, etc. and ask land owners if you can have the wood. I have good luck doing this. Good luck. Cheers!
Exactly, as soon as this load is processed, I'll get another one dropped. Plan is for 4-5 log loads this year. Then another 3-4 in the fall. That should establish what I need for the upcoming seasons and get the wood drying in various stages. Next year will be another year of not the best wood, but I want to ensure I have plenty. Beyond that I want to make sure that I have two to three years in the drying process. The number of log loads I get might need to change to ensure I have enough for 3 years. Beyond that, I'll be looking to settle in to standard operating mode that keeps up with my demand. Looks like I'm going to burn 4-5 cords this year. This up considerably from the 2 cords I'd been burning in my previous Soap Stone II wood stove. For some reason I half expected the number to drop from last years 4 cords to 3 cords now that the wood stove has had a season of work to season the stove. However; my consumption could well be high as I am not burning the driest wood like most of you are burning. Hopefully once my hoarding is established, my consumption will return to normal.
I like this. Early this season I picked up some pallets to use for storage for next years wood. However; I'm thinking I need to shift gears and use these pallets to burn. Plus get more. Especially if I can simply go pick them up for free. This could well be the bridge I need to get through this season.
I appreciate the gesture, and goes to prove that this group is a family. Very happy to have found this forum.
Just be cautious with your stoves air. The kiln dried hardwood can give you some hot temperatures and you don't want to overheat your stove. And keep your chimney nice and clean, checking more often if you have been burning less than ideal wood as far as moisture content goes. Don't need a chimney fire. We have had many fires and homes destroyed in a 60 mile radius of where I am at this heating season. I think all of them were stoves burning cord wood or pellets.
Please be aware boettg33, that if you do get some pallets and burn them, they are best mixed with other wood. If you do burn only pallet wood, then please do not load the stove. The fire can get too hot with this but so long as you are aware and adjust accordingly, you can get by and this would be a big help to you. Sad that you can't find any bricks. I don't know if it is possible or not but I'd do some looking on the Internet for the bricks. You might luck out and find some shipping free or at least reasonable.
Thank you for the advice. I'll cut up the pallets and mix them in with my remaining wood. Ideally I could find another seasoned cord or the Bio Bricks. As for the chimney, my son and I checked it the weekend before, and it was clean as a thistle. Very surprised as this years wood has not been optimal as far as seasoning goes.
Newspapers and their (sadly) separate printing operations often have free pallets. As do many factories.
Good news, one of the dealers of Biobricks has several tons of them onsite. Tomorrow I am going to drive over and pickup a ton. Hopefully this should get me through the rest of the year.
Good news. I was there once too. Had to mix dry with wet to get me through the end my first season. Glad those are just memories, because now I'm on the 3 year program thanks to FHC.
On again off again. Yesterday I did not get the chance to head over and pickup the biobricks. The woman on the phone ensured me she had several tons available. Just to be safe, I called this morning and all of their pallet tons have been sold. They are down to just 25 sleeves. As it's over and hour and a half ride for me, it's not worth it. For me, I am looking at two options with a third Call around to see if anyone has a seasoned cord of wood to sell and deliver. With the snow, this is going to be a pain to get into the backyard up the hill in a wheelbarrow. Purchase a large enough electric heater to bridge the gap for this season. Get pallets and cut them up to burn. The pallets I have now are buried in the snow. From previous comments, it would better that I augment my current wood with the pallets. Not sure how far I can stretch this my current amount by adding pallets. I know the electric heater is probably heresy. However; I am really looking at the months of March and April to get through. next year with my plan in place I should not run into this problem.
I used some pallets the first year as a mix also. It works but is a lot of hassle since it burns so fast. You can always pick up an electric heater (unless they are scarce for some reason) if the pallet mixing doesn't work. Too bad about the bricks being sold.
That sucks. Let it be a lesson though. If it happens again, get them to hold the bricks, even if you have to pay over the phone.
Nothing wrong with an electric heater. You do what you gotta do. If you're going to cut up pallets maybe mix with some less seasoned wood to get you through?
