Happy Thanksgiving from Ohio Woodburner!

Today I give thanks to my 455 Rancher! Happy Thanksgiving from OWB!

The Dolmar 7900...Holy Cow!

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I mentioned in an earlier post that I have this slight addiction to chainsaws. An online forum I frequent, Aboristsite.com has a name for this problem and they call it CAD...or Chainsaw Addiction Disorder. I have it bad. I have noticed that my "wants" and "needs" are becoming blurred and that the world is only populated with saws that I need...desperately. Case in point...please direct your eyes to the picture below and notice the giant red beast on my tailgate. This saw is none other than the vaunted Dolmar 7900. Dolmar is a German word which means "Mean SOB" in English. This saw is 80 cc's of attitude and brute cutting force. I have never heard a German scream before... but if I did, it would probably sound like what blasts from the muffler of this monster.

The bad news is the Dolmar does not belong to me. I am "testing" it for my local Husqvarna dealer who is being heavily courted by Dolmar to sell their saws. I have long heard great things of Dolmars and until now, to me have been almost like the infamous "Sasquatch." Much talked about...but never seen. Anyhow...I am a frequent visitor to my local Husky dealer and I am certain they refer to me as a "pest." But I do spend money there and send them a lot of business. I must be appreciated however as they let me take this bad boy home for a couple days to test drive. For all the wood I cut I could use something like this saw as it would absolutely stomp a mud hole in my 455 Rancher. But I have to face reality and wonder if I REALLY NEED something like this...well...after thinking about it, I do NEED this saw. I figure I could hang onto the Rancher too. You never know when I will need it for backup service. Can someone lend me $700?
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I took the Dolmar and my trusty Husqvarna 346XP out to a very large downed maple today and quickly dispatched the trunk into very usable rounds. The Dolmar 7900 is a screaming monster. It has gobs of torque and has incredible RPM's. The anti-vibration is excellent. I am not sure if the anti-vibe is equal to the Husqvarna 372 XP but it is darn close. It was a true joy to run. I wish I had more wood to cut. My saw had the 20 inch bar but I think the 20 incher leaves too much on the table for the amount of power the saw has. If you NEED a saw this big I would recommend nothing shorter than a 24 inch bar. After I had the logs loaded in my truck I drove over to my friends house where he and his brother awaited my arrival. They had a 16 inch ash log waiting to try out the Dolmar. They too were equally impressed with its power and speed. Funny...however...the big winner of this chainsaw get together was my Husky 346XP. Both my friends marveled over this little beast. It was almost as fast as the 80cc saw and totally creamed their Stihl 360 and 290 Farmboss. They are both now interested in buying a 346XP and the Dolmar 7900. Here is a picture of my Husqvarna sitting next to the Dolmar on my tailgate. Hey, that's over $1200 dollars in chainsaws in the bed of my truck. This is a nice way to increase the value of my old Ford!

Also, for you chainsaw junkies...notice the Pro HD Filter installation on the Dolmar! Very nice isn't it?

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In my opinion...I can't think of a better 1-2 punch than the Husqvarna 346XP and the Dolmar 7900. The 346XP limbs like a laser beam...you point it at a limb and the limb falls off. Once the limbs are off and the tops cut up, bring out the big gun and let the 7900 buck the trunk. Holy cow! What a day! Too bad I have to give the Dolmar back.
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Smokin

Another Day...Another Free Load of Wood

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The Hardy has been burning for 5 full days and so far, so good. I have the house thermostat set at 72 degrees and my morning showers have been noticeably hotter. My Hardy has no trouble heating my house and domestic hot water. The weather in Northeast Ohio is still unseasonably mild, mid 50's during the day...low 40's at night so I have taken advantage of these temperatures to burn up a lot of my small 3 -4 inch rounders in the OWB. When I am cutting up a load of wood I can't get myself to leave all these smaller logs behind so I load them up in the truck along with the larger logs. After 10-20-30 truckloads of wood I notice that I get quite a nice pile of these small logs that I keep in a convenient pile close to the furnace. I like having these smaller rounds as my wife can easily throw them in the furnace and they burn nicely in this type of weather. I will save my big wood for colder weather. Despite how large this pile of small logs is...trust me...it goes fast! You may think you have a lot of wood in that pile but in no time at all, that pile will have disappeared. Sacrificed to the Hardy Gods.
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Today I had a small victory as I got two pickup truck loads of free, already-cut firewood. It was elm...but fear not...it didn't need split. Please see my previous posts about my experiences with elm. When you heat your house with wood...and you have your name out in the community that you are always looking for wood, its funny how many people find out and call you offering you up free stuff. Today, a friend of a friend called me...and said he cut up a tree that had broken in half during a wind storm and would be grateful if I would haul it away. I was all excited until he said that it was elm. I told him that I don't like bringing elm onto my land so that I don't infest my own 60 foot elm but he claimed it wasn't diseased and the largest logs were about 14 inches and wouldn't need split. I decided to jump on it...thinking if the wood looked sick I would give it to my other buddy who heats with a Hardy. (Us Hardy guys stick together you know...) In the back of my head I was worried about the wood as he said the Elm had broke in half...and if you know your trees like I do...you know that a healthy elm doesn't just break in half in a wind storm...they are a very tough and hardy tree. Regardless, I showed up at his house and found some very nice looking logs and tops that were neatly cut to firewood length so, I loaded it up and drove away happy...two loads and life is good.
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I think that if you get a call for free wood...even if the load is lame...you should probably jump on it because it could lead to other opportunities if you network properly. I made my own super lame business cards claiming my "woodmonger" status and I hand them out to people I deal with. It's amazing how effective they work. I get a lot of calls...more than you would think. When you heat with wood and you are committed to NEVER paying a dime for your firewood, you need all the help you can get.
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Smokin

Let Burning Season Begin!

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My wife paid me a compliment today. "You smell like smoke," she said. Of course that can only mean one thing. It's burning season!
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Yes, that's right. I fired up the Hardy H2 this weekend signifying the start of a long awaited part of our year. Now I can put my summer's labor into action. All that wood in and around the wood shed is poised...ready to have its turn to provide heat to the house and family. Northeast Ohio has had unbelievable weather of late. We have been in the mid 60's (f) during the days and the high 40's at night. I don't ever remember the date being this close to Thanksgiving and being able to sit outside for a birthday party...as we did on Saturday. Wow...I guess this is what people do in Memphis in November. The past three years I have averaged my first firing at Halloween but this year I almost made it to Thanksgiving. I was in shorts and a T-shirt when I lit the fire this weekend. The water temperature read 50 degrees when I struck the first match and it was up to operating temperature in about 1 hour...that's 170 degrees. So after I finished up outside I came in to tell my wife the good news. It turns out I didn't need to as she could tell by the distinctive odor of woodsmoke on me that free heat awaits!
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The Hardy is designed to kick on the firebox blower when the water temp drops below 150 degrees. During this initial firing, I unplugged the blower and simply left the ash bin door open and let the natural draft feed the fire. Once the water temp got up to 150 degrees I plugged the blower in and let it do its thing. I wanted to be sure the Hardy was working properly after sitting dormant all summer. Once the temp got to 170 degrees, the blower shut off, the flap closed and all was well. Next, I went into the house and opened the valves that run the domestic water out to the Hardy. I keep the valves closed in the summer. Once I opened the valves, the feed to my domestic hot water heat was routed thru the heat exchanger inside the Hardy and then back into my domestic hot water tank. Voila, free hot water. You gotta love it. Last, I went upstairs and turned off the thermostat for my forced air (propane) furnace and turned on the Hardy's thermostat. I dialed up the heat until I heard the Hardy relay kick on and listened as my blower from the forced air furnace begin to run. I walked over to the closest furnace register and felt the hot air roaring out of it. Let their be heat! After being shut down and dormant since March, the Hardy awoke from its slumber and took off without missing a beat.
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I fed the firebox with small rounds to help build up a nice ash level for this warm weather. I like to run with more ash in the ash bin when the weather is warm as this helps stoke the flames when the Hardy needs more heat. So all I did this weekend was heat my house for free, and entertain compliments from my wife.
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Smokin

The Husqvarna 346XP...and My Sore Back

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Here is a picture of my new saw. It may be recognizable for some...for others you may want to remove your hat in reverence to the one of the most righteous of all chainsaws...the Husqvarna 346XP. I snapped this picture in front of my fireplace the day I brought the saw home. You can still see the dealer tag on the handle. The tag reads "Bad Dude!"

I love chainsaws...and there is so much that I want to write about them that the writing is difficult for me. I don't know where to begin. I figure this new saw, the 346XP, would be a good place to start. Let me tell you something...this saw absolutely screams. I still struggle in fully understanding how fast this saw runs. It is a professional grade saw and I had the dealer set me up with a 16 inch Oregon Micro Lite bar and a .325 Oregon VP chain. I honestly don't know what I am going to do with my 455 Rancher now that I am running this. This saw puts my Rancher to shame. After running two tanks of gas thru this saw I decided to run my Rancher some and I thought I was cutting with a dull chain. I wasn't...the Rancher was just that much slower than the 346XP. If I can offer you some advice...if you are in the market for a new saw and are considering a 455 or 460 Rancher...or the Stihl 290 Farmboss...spend an extra $60 dollars and buy the 346XP. You will thank me when you do. Good gravy is this thing wicked!!

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I cut up a heaping truckload of wood today. A huge silver maple had fallen a couple weeks back and landed on a two-lane state road out here in farmland. ODOT had pushed it into the ditch and there it lay. It turned out that I knew the owner of the tree and he told me I could have it. I used the 346XP for the limbing and tops and I used the 455 Rancher for the big wood. I had to deal with the ditch on the side of the road and that made lugging the wood into my truck a challenge. I had my truck heaped with wood...probably the largest single load I hauled this year. Boy, let me tell you...I am feeling it now. I am really sore and drained from today and I have been laying on an ice pack during the Buckeye's game. Tomorrow I plan to cut again and it may be my last load of the year. I have a surprisingly big apple tree to cut up and some huge ash trunks that will need split before I can lug them into the truck. They are 24 inches round. Ash, as they say, is the firewood for kings. Right now I don't feel like a king...I feel like a beat down king.

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I still haven't fired up the Hardy. The weather this weekend is in the 60's (f) and we are going to stay warm until Wednesday. I am waiting until Wednesday when I can light it around 3 pm and have it up to temp by nightfall. Night comes real early here since the time change. It is totally dark at 6 pm. Tomorrow I will take some pictures of the woodshed. I am real proud of my work this year.

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Smokin

Web Sites and Other Ramblings

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It is getting cold again tonight...25 (f) degrees. The chickens' water had ice on it this morning. I have still put off the initial firing of the Hardy for the season. The weather man is predicting 70's this week so I am electing to save my wood and get as close to November as possible.
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Here is a site I frequent and I want to share with you. It is Arboristsite.com

I am on it daily and I have really learned a lot and further developed my interests with my hobbies of OWB's, chainsaws, and firewood. Check it out. I am usually in the Firewood forum and the Chainsaw forum. I have also purchased things from the site sponsors and I have had only good experiences with them. Give it a visit.
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I caught a little bit of the sniffles this weekend and that, along with the rain kept me from cutting any wood. I have at least three more ash trees to get before I mothball the truck for the winter. I also have a small pile of logs by my wood shed that need cut. I am saving those for last so I can run all the gas out of my saws before I mothball them. I don't cut wood in the winter as my truck is not one to take into the woods on anything but dry ground. With the supercab and the 8 ft. bed, it is notorious for poor traction.
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I promise to start posting more pics in my future postings. I have to take a bunch of pictures of my wood shed and of "Woodpile 2009." Have a great week. I also want to share with you some product reviews of my new saw and personal protection equipment (PPE).
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Smokin

Not Yet

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The weather in Northeast Ohio has been awful. Cold, wet, rainy, cloudy...with a little snow mixed in. I still have yet to fire up my Hardy H2 for the first time this season. Last night and tonight the temps are dipping into the mid-30's and I normally would have fired my Hardy up but the weatherman is predicting 60's this week and...if this is true...I would probably let my fire go out and save my wood anyway. So I wait, and wait for the perfect time to start the Burning Season.
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One thing you must consider when you buy an OWB is that if you are the type of family that goes on a lot of vacations during the winter an OWB may not be for you. If it is the middle of winter, you just can't pack up and leave the home for a few days R&R without considering the OWB and keeping the fire going. Of course if the temperature outside is really cold, and you're gone for a long time, the furnace could freeze up and start breaking pipes but this probably is a worst case scenario. If you let the fire go out in winter for a couple days the OWB may be able to hold in enough heat to avoid freezing...they are insulated pretty good but I don't see how you could do this without worrying while away. We don't go on vacation in the winter so this is not a problem for us. Both my wife and I do our fair share to make sure the Hardy is well cared for. I fill it in the mornings and evenings and my wife checks it during the day. If you have a job that keeps you away from home for the majority of the day this could also be a problem as it is helpful to have a spouse or friend to throw a couple logs on and check the thing out during the day. Your OWB needs attention and if you don't give it...your OWB will let you down.
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Smokin