Firewood buying advise, please

[studentofecology]

In previous years, I just kept the house at 62 during the winter, so the electricity bill wasn't too bad; this year, I have renters, and while on the whole they are making me money, they like the house at 72- and it's far too expensive to heat a house with electricity to those temperatures, so I've been using up a stock of wood that I was given. My parents kept us warm with wood when I was a kid, so I've got the basics, but this is my first time doing it on my own.

Now, I'm looking to buy wood for next year, because I'm hoping to save a bit of money by buying it green. My parents chopped their own wood, so I don't have experience with buying wood.

My options, as I can see them are:

1. Buy a chainsaw, and saw and split wood that is laying around mom's place. Entirely alder, and it's been rotting out there for 2-3 years. Alder is a pretty low BTU wood, so that sounds like a lot of work for not much heat. I've used a chain saw a few times, but that was years ago.

2. Buy green rounds. For reference, a cord of rounds goes for around $120-150 here.

3. Buy seasoned split wood. A cord goes for $180-200. It's generally the same kind of wood sold as split wood, so fir and big leaf maple predominately.

I'm leaning towards the last two options, but I really don't know if the amount I save by buying rounds is worth it. Do you guys have any advice for me?

[razz]

We burn wood but mostlyhardwood of beech, maple and ash trees that we cut, split and stack ourselves. A lot depends on what type of a heating system you are using. Is it an outdoor furnace or a fireplace or an airtight stove? How big an area are you heating?
I don't believe that alder which makes a good show in a fireplace will have a lot of heat benefit but will produce a lot of ashes. Where will you discard the ashes?
Is it good wood for $180-200 or punky discards? Cutting and splitting takes a lot of time and effort after you buy the right equipment and keep it going in good form. I would buy the seasoned wood over the green. Where will you store it in order to keep it dry?

[studentofecology]

It's a wood stove, we're trying to heat about 1000 sq ft (this is why we have renters- way too much space.). We have pretty acidic soil, so I figured I could sprinkle some in the garden, also some to repel slugs, but I'm going to have to find somewhere for the rest of it. It looks like pretty good wood from the pics, I will go out and look at it myself before buying anything. We were going to store it in the back shed and car port.


For splitting, I only remember using an axe- do we really need more than that?


Thank you so much for your reply.

[bae]

For splitting, I only remember using an axe- do we really need more than that?


I heat my house with wood, and do the splitting myself. Splitting requires a fair amount of time and physical exertion. Skill and practice make it a bit easier, but if your time has any real value, and you don't enjoy the splitting and the exercise, IMHO it is best to purchase pre-split wood.

But if you've decided to split anyways, you'll want more than an axe. An axe is fine for splitting kindling out of small chunks of wood, but for splitting serious quantities of wood, or wood that is at all troublesome, the axe blade shape/profile is not appropriate to the task, it will be inefficient and frustrating for you. Plus, to be fair, and not meaning to be snarky, if you are asking this question, you probably don't have a decent axe anyways, and the hardware store is unlikely to stock anything other than an axe-shaped object that will require some hours of care and attention to turn into a real axe before you can use it.

Do not buy the cheap "splitting maul" the hardware store will try and sell you. This is a worthless hunk of poorly tempered metal with only a hint of a proper blade shape. You might as well tape a rock to the end of a stick. Save your money, and buy a real splitting maul/axe.

Here's what you want.

1) The Gransfors Bruks splitting maul. This has a 5 1/2 pound head, and the poll is properly tempered to use as a hammer on a splitting wedge if you have a big piece of wood, or you can pound on the poll with a sledge hammer to drive the head through the wood if need be. It is expensive, and worth twice the cost:

http://www.gransfors.com/htm_eng/produkter/new_prod/bilder/slaggyxa.jpg

2) A real splitting wedge, ideally 2 of them. This is the finest one I've come across, it has some very clever design features that spring from hundreds of years of people actually using them full time - the serrations keep it from backing out between blows, and it is forged with a partial twist to it that corkscrews through the wood and splits it with far less effort than a straight wedge. Again, expensive, but get one. Another Gransfors-Bruks product:

http://www.gransfors.com/htm_eng/produkter/new_prod/bilder/vedkil.jpg

http://www.gransfors.com/images/products/i_keil.gif

Those are the essentials.

Gransfors makes some smaller splitting axes (compared to the maul above) that are well worth having for splitting smaller rounds, or making kindling, but if you can only afford one implement, get the maul.

Do not buy any nifty cool new wizzbang time-saving splitters made of pot metal - these are devices designed to split you from your money, not split wood.

Power splitters are wonderful inventions, but they are expensive and you need to have enough wood to process to make it worth your while. Our local tool rental place rents a super one out for $75 a day. If you and some neighbors go in together and make an afternoon of it, that's often a great way to go.

Do not allow your woodcraft to get out of hand...

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-AwwtwAvPkOc/S_rpEhfFtiI/AAAAAAAAD8U/juDHeU5Fb8g/s640/gse_multipart6793438116023170181.tmp.jpg

[bae]

Oh, and keep those tools properly sharp, with the correct blade profile. This will require some not-terribly expensive tools, and learning how to use them. When you are working, if your blade gets at all dull, take a moment to redress the edge, it will save you huge amounts of time and energy in the long run.

[razz]

Bae, that collection is priceless.

We bought a small one-way gas-fired splitter that I can pull out of the shed by hand and return. We used to rent a large two-way gas-fired splitter for about $50/day and do the whole winter's supply in a day but since DH had his surgery, we go slowly on an as needed basis if the weather is suitable. We also have about a winter's supply split and put away to use during nasty weather. Our kids did this splitting as a favour for us. We split it from small enough to act as kindling to larger overnight pieces.

In addition to splitting, have you had a certified shimney sweep check out your chimney and the safety of your wood-burning unit -distance from walls, flooring and connections to chimney just to name a few. We have ours checked every year and show the bill to our insurance rep who gives us a significant discount. Some home insurance companies in our area will not insure homes with woodburning units that are not inspected by a certified sweep. Don't jeopardize your insurance coverage and subsequent liability by not informing your insurance rep.

As with everything else, you need to make an informed decision if woodburning is more cost effective for you by looking at all the issues associated.

[bae]

Yes, the yearly chimney sweep visit is essential, especially here in the Pacific NW where we tend to burn a lot of pine and fir. A really good chimney sweep can often improve your energy efficiency too - at my house here, the initial builder misinstalled both wood stoves, and they weren't drawing nearly as well as they could have been. A little work by someone with a clue, and things were vastly improved. The sweep was also able to engineer a better solution for our high-wind-down-the-chimney problems.

And try not to burn green wood. It's tempting to mix some in with the seasoned wood, but it requires a lot of energy to cook out the water before the green piece will burn, and that steam isn't exactly what you want going up your chimney. Furthermore, that low temperature in and around the green piece is just about the perfect environment for creosote production, which can lead to chimney fires and all that fun stuff. Best to not go there at all.

[puglogic]

Once again, I find myself with Tool Envy. Sigh.

[bae]

Consider also a 1, 1.5, or 2-man crosscut saw for some of your work. They aren't cheap, and require as usual some skill and black lore to properly set and sharpen (the lore at least the US Forest Service nicely packaged up into a super publication), but they are quiet, light-weight, don't use fuel, and are great exercise. Sometimes they are still Just The Tool For The Job.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-kZ1aETuCrbQ/TyCLggrvEbI/AAAAAAAAEmg/M_6TxeUv08E/s640/IMG_0449.JPG

That's a 36" 1-man saw there, I find it super handy, you can also attach another handle to the hole at the end for 2-man use. If I felt the need, I'd drill another hole closer to the main handle to attach an auxiliary handle for use with 2-hands, but the wood here so far is mostly so soft I haven't wanted to have more power.

[WorldFoodie]

Disclaimer: I am not a wood splitter. That being said I saw what looked like a good idea on TV or somewhere. The person splitting the logs put a bungee cord around it before he started splitting. When he was done, the whole thing was ready to bet taken over to the wood pile . After he placed it down, he un bungeed it. Seemed to save some effort, but then again I'm energy efficient/lazy.

[peggy]

Also be sure to buy your wood locally. Unfortunately there are some nasty wood buggies that are doing some real damage. Don't want to accidentally import any to your area.

[Rogar]

I know it wasn't on your list of options, but a few of our local nurseries sell wood from city trees that have been trimmed or removed. They all have what they call a "city mix", which is all hard woods of various types. I like the hardwoods because of their higher BTUs, generally longer burn times, and lower creosote build up. These are cut and split and slightly pricey compared to other local soft woods.

Also, at least around here, Craig's list usually has several ads for free firewood from do it your self tree trimming or other projects. Definitely more labor as you'll have to pick up, season, and cut up. I actually like smaller rounds of wood in the general 2"-6" diameter range that don't require splitting and have picked up free wood from local people trimming trees. These smaller rounds tend to have a slower burn rate and works well mixed in with larger split logs. On one occasion, I spotted some professional trimmers cutting down a medium sized pine tree and asked if I could have some for firewood. They were glad not to deal with disposing of things and cut larger diameter limbed trunk into 6 foot lengths for me for free. I got over a fourth a cord from that one. My neighbor is a bigger scrounge than I am and gets all of his firewood by watching for neighborhood folks that are doing tree trimming or removal.

[bae]

I got a pair of these as a gift the other day, and finally got a chance to mess with them today.

They rock. I'll never have to bend over again to pick up a small-to-mid-sized (9" diameter) chunk of wood when splitting, so much back effort spared:

S.A. Wetterling Axes 334 Large Lifting Tongs with Orange Rubber Handles

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31WbJQ6iy-L._SS500_.jpg

[bae]

The other day, I picked up one of these hand-operated hydraulic wood splitters, from Grizzly tool. It was reasonably frugal, $108. Freight for delivery is insane, $79, but it weighs ~100 pounds. Luckily, Grizzly Tools has one of their main warehouses just a few miles away from me over on the mainland, and when I was over there recently, I just drove by and picked it up for $0 delivery cost. The savings paid for my ferry ticket, gasoline, and lunch.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/10-Ton-Log-Splitter/H6239

The reason I got this is that I have some really nasty tough wood here, with lots of knots or twisted burls, and some of it is a royal pain to split totally by hand - I was getting tennis elbow blasting through it with a sledge hammer and wedges, the splitting maul wouldn't even make a dent in those chunks.

This hydraulic unit eats them up.

One handle moves the ram forward semi-fast, but requires more force, the other handle moves the ram very slowly, using very little effort on your part, so you can start the split with the low-geared one, then speed things up with the other.

It is still a bit slow, so for me its best use is to break a problem round in halves or quarters, then do the rest with hand tools. It is great for team-splitting, one partner can produce halves, while the other deals with them.

It stows upright when you are done using it, so you can tuck it away in a corner of the garage or shed and not trip over it.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Ly2GyFVveps/T1v9MeajpiI/AAAAAAAAEtA/JyyN3cU3VxE/s576/IMG_0523.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-adFtSShoIAk/T1v84AvBMkI/AAAAAAAAEso/STB7XdTnvhY/s576/IMG_0524.JPG

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https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3MCDb4WH1jc/T1v6ycZ6PsI/AAAAAAAAEtE/-QuLPPua58Y/s576/IMG_0532.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Xihp0AJIYJA/T1v7wrF8qbI/AAAAAAAAEsI/ulDoaTglg0g/s720/IMG_0528.JPG

[Bronxboy]

Bae, I notice Harbor Freight has a similar hydraulic splitter. I have to admit to being tempted. :idea:

[bae]

My new exercise gear is all set to go:


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iG5wnPMGbkM/T3d1yP8boGI/AAAAAAAAE1U/8Qi-aiCOxAA/s640/IMG_0590.JPG


https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-zSZ5mH4Kyi0/T3d1gxXuO3I/AAAAAAAAE1M/ACg6GQqnA-o/s640/IMG_0591.JPG


About half of the hemlock trees I took down this week, I still have to buck up and get the rest up here to the house. Then it's splittin' time, arr!

[bae]

OK, by the end of the summer, that pile of hemlock trees is now down to this, I've lost 20 pounds, and my core strength is quite a bit higher:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Yx14gRMmnH0/UF5MYQGioOI/AAAAAAAAGQE/uUT6xs70_E0/s640/Awesomized.jpg

[BayouGirl]

Thanks to the fact that we live in a hurricane prone area, firewood is abundant here. Lots of people are happy to have you come haul off the tree that has fallen on their property. Plus we have a few that have fallen on our property. That is all BayouBoy's job to do the cutting and splitting and such. he uses a chainsaw to cut the logs to length and then splits them with an axe. I also admit I have some tool envy over some of the aforementioned wood splitting tools.

He does it behind the house and I help with toting up to the house, using an old baby stroller. I've told him I want a wagon for Christmas so I can tote other things around the property as well. We stack the right under a window by the fireplace. We just open the window and bring it in as needed. It really helps us save money!

We can go thru a lot of wood in the course of the season but there is nothing like a fireplace to brighten up and warm up a house as cozily as a fire does on a cold winter day as the wind whips around our tiny house.

[Tussiemussies]

Wow Bae, nice job!