Burning Season Begins!

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So today was the day. A warm October and November in northeast Ohio permitted me to delay firing up my Hardy H2 until the third week in November. This afternoon I threw some kindling and a fire-starter into the OWB and in about an hour the water temperature was up to 170 degrees. Our house is now receiving its heat from the Hardy. Burning season has begun!
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I still have wood to stack and some organizing to do around the wood shed and I plan on doing that tomorrow. The weather man is calling for cold and rain for most of next week so I hope to get it done Sunday. This will be our 5th winter heating with the Hardy. So far this fall we have been using the propane to heat the house . I have to lower the level in my 500 gallon propane tank because I want it relocated in the spring for some "barn renovation." Even though I have a supply of wood to last for 2 years I still want the propane for back-up in case the Hardy quits working...you know, redundancy.
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That's all for now. I notice my clothes smell like wood smoke! Ah, the joys of heating with wood!
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OWB

Ash, The Firewood Of Kings

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I was having another boring day at my day-job...you know how that goes. My cell phone rang and it was my friend calling...he owns a huge farm out my way. The township had cut up a bunch of ash trees by the power lines on his property and the crew took the extra step to cut them into firewood length. They left them laying by the side of the road. "If they are still there after you get home you can have it all," he said. Hmm...free wood...ash...laying by the side of the road...sounds like Disney Land for OWB! The remaining time at work crept by...I watched the clock go tick, tick, tick...Oh I hate the anxiety of waiting...would the wood be there when I got home? Is it really ash...the greatest firewood on earth...The Firewood of Kings?
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I got home, loaded up the truck and drove out to his place. No less than 1/2 mile from my house was the freshly cut ash...all piled next to the road. It was all there and it was all mine! Major score! Small victory for the Ohio Woodburner! I love ash. It is an absolute joy to split with a maul, it seasons fast, and burns hot. Around these parts, if you are the type to sell firewood you can get a premium price for split ash...its that nice to have. Here is a picture of one of the two heaping loads of ash I got this day.
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I normally remove my tool box from my truck when I haul wood but this ash was literally a half mile down my quiet country road I live on. I was able to cram a lot of wood into the bed on each load since I wouldn't be driving out onto a main road. Below is a picture of the second load after I unloaded. When cut, ash is white in color and doesn't have much aroma. It is a pretty dry wood even when green so it can get pretty powdery when you are cutting it with your saw. I recommend you clean out your air filter after you cut up some ash because the small dust can clog it up.

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Here is a picture of the second load after I dumped it on the ground. In the background you can see some fresh split cherry. This was split by my Fiskars Super Splitter and was a lot of fun. Cherry is a blast to split...still not as fun as ash...but cherry, to me, has the best aroma of any wood when its cut or split. It is addicting. Sometimes, when I'm not busy I will walk out to my wood pile and smell the split wood. On certain days when the wind is blowing from the perfect direction, I can catch a whiff of my wood pile when I'm working in the barn.

Ohio's weather is still cooperating with me and my wood acquisition so I am continuing to bring in wood whenever I can get it. I have yet to fire up my OWB because we are supposed to have 60 degree weather next week. I am heating with propane until the day I fire up the Hardy. I plan to keep cutting, splitting and stacking before the snow flies and moth-ball my truck for winter. I will probably fire up the Hardy H2 next weekend. Sounds like a reason to throw a party.

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OWB.