Been busy but finally getting around to collecting and splitting wood. Last year was the first year I have ever burned wood for a primary heat source. I’m guessing we burned 4 cords. So I’ll need 12 cords to get to the three year mark. I currently have 6 and a half cords. I went today and cut down more dead standing at my sister in laws property (1800 acres of farm). I think I have another cord on the ground there with many more trees to come down. Major problem is lots of rain in the forecast so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get the wood. This is about 5 cords of green wood from our pond that we had put in in April. Lots of Osage with honey locust and black locust. Truck load of dead standing wood. I have about 1 1/2 cord of that at the moment. Need 2 1/2 more for this winter. My dad brought out his drone and took some pics. You can see some of the woods that we are getting wood from. We hiked around in the woods a month or so ago and spray painted the dead trees so we know what to cut down this winter.
Good plan. Standing dead for this winter, green trees for the future.... even when you are 3 years ahead, you can use the standing dead to avoid burning the stuff that you’d like to season just a bit longer.
So I was talking to my 12 year old son about the three year plan and explaining its purpose. I burn about 5 cords a year, so I explained to him that I would like to be up to about 15 cords by the start of winter. In his infinite wisdom he said “Wouldn’t you need 20 cords to actually be 3 years ahead?” So that got me thinking. Is the three year plan three years of wood, or three years ahead of the current/upcoming winter? Maybe this has been debated before, but I don’t believe I have seen it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I would consider it to be three years of wood on hand at all times. So as this heating season begins, you should be CSSing at least as fast as you are burning. In reality, as long as you replaced what you burned by the end of the heating season, you will get three full years of drying on the wood. One other aspect that is discussed quite a bit is the possibility of an incident that prevents one from processing wood for a while. Messed up Backs, hips, shoulders or any one of a number of other health problems can slow us down quickly. Being ahead on wood is one way to mitigate the potential costs associated with being laid up for a while.
Just remember it's not a race, work on it as you can. Looks like you are making good progress, and getting quality wood. Love the drone picture. The stihl 271 is going to get a workout.
That actually happened to me this past year. I got t-boned at a 4 way intersection and it put me out of commission as far as firewood is concerned for quite a while. I’ve been working hard to catch up. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That’s the way I always saw it too. But my son made me second guess that idea. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Definitely gonna be easy to get the wood for 3 years just a lot of work! Might want to get in there and tag all the dead stuff before the leaves drop
This was discussed here a few years ago...but yeah, 3 summers drying time on all the wood is "3 years ahead"
Hard to like that, but if you were far enough ahead on your wood to not have to buy any or switch to an alternate heat source, then you know exactly why it’s important to stay ahead on your wood.
Yep. I was all excited that I was getting close to the 3 year plan by having 3 years worth of wood on hand then I realized the cords wouldn't be seasoned 3 years so I wasn't qualifying lol. I have 2 year old seasoned oak on hand that I was planning on burning this year but my neighbor told me he had some 2yr old wood that he was getting rid of since his fire pit was replaced w a pool. If it's enough to get me through this winter I'll be on track for the actual 3 year plan by letting the oak sit another summer.
Free wood from a neighbor? Giddyup! Whenever I get such offers, my comeback is most always "Sure, I'd help you clean that up". Then, I try to hide my grin, and keep my drooling to a bare minimum. Hoard on!
