Merry Christmas From Ohio Woodburner!

My Dolmar 7900 and I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I hope Santa leaves each of you a shiny new Dolmar and a cord of firewood under your tree. Drop me a line and let me know how you are doing!
OWB

Where's My Wood Pile?

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Northeast Ohio was socked by a pretty sizable snow fall this week as the cold air from Canada passed over Lake Erie. In our neck of the woods this phenomenon is known as Lake Effect Snow. When Erie is unfrozen the passing cold air picks up moisture rising from the warmer lake and...whoa! what happened? Where did all this snow come from? Above is a picture of my wood shed. You can see the smoke stack of the Hardy in the middle.
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A common theme I keep harping on with my hobby is I made my wood shed about half as big as it should have been. Call it a mis-calculation during the planning phase of just how much wood a Hardy H2 will eat thru in order to keep our house toasty warm during Ohio's infamous winters. This mis-calculation resulted in much of my wood sitting uncovered during burning season. What I have done to compensate for this is to throw my dry logs into the firebox first and toss some snowy logs on top. By the time the snowy logs work their way down to the grates for their time to burn they are pretty much kiln dried. Also, I have given up on using tarps to cover my wood piles because, for me, they created too much work having to pull them back with a hundred pounds of white stuff on them in order to fish out a usable log. Its easier for me to just knock the snow off a log and toss it in.
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But this recent snow has really set me back with my usual plan. This stuff is deep. It is above my boots. I had to cut a path to the Hardy in order to keep my boots from filling with snow. The weather man is predicting another round of lake-effect snow next week so I don't think this stuff will be going away any time soon. Despite much of my logs being buried in snow, I feel pretty good about the organization of my wood shed. I know what I want burnt up and I have next years wood ready to be moved into the shed so it will be nice and dry for next winter. But as for now, I will just pull wood from the shed until we get a couple warm days to melt off the snow. I think my logs are in there somewhere.
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OWB

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.

Bringing Home The Heat

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A neighbor of my parents had three trees that were dying and he asked if I would cut them down for him...I could keep the wood. On the face of it, this appears to be a good deal but if you have cut down trees before you quickly realize that cleaning up all the limbs is a HUGE amount of work...and if your time is valuable...the wood you gain is not enough to off-set your labor. But, in this case, the old neighbor is a friend and I was happy to help. This gave me a chance to run my new Dolmar 7900 and use my Fiskars Super Splitter on the large rounds I cut. The trees were a big black cherry and two ash. Both of which make excellent firewood. I love both cherry and ash, they are a joy to split and I love the smell that cherry gives off when its cut and split. My buddy next door offered to bring his backhoe over to help me fell the trees. I would cut and he would push with his machine. They were too close to the power lines for my skill level as a tree feller so I was grateful for his help. Here he is with his machine waiting for me to put down my camera and fire up my saw.

We got all three trees safely, and quickly to the ground and from there I fired up my Husqvarna 346XP and started limbing.

The ash tree is closest to me...the cherry is in the background. Please note my personal protection equipment (PPE). My helmet with face screen, safety glasses, chainsaw gloves, chaps and steel toe boots. Please do not run a saw without your PPE.

I was able to haul away three truck loads of firewood from this job. Again, the branches were a pain. I had to pull them to the middle of his yard and make a large pile to burn at a later date. I did get a lot of wood. I noticed many of the other neighbors came out to watch. I'm sure they were checking out my saws and thinking just how cool I must be!

Below is a picture of the wood once I got it home to my house. I pile my wood next to my Hardy H2 outdoor wood boiler (OWB). One of the benefits of an OWB is you can dump your wood next to the furnace avoiding the need to lug it into the basement. This saves a lot of back breaking work. Not to mention you keep all the bugs, dirt, and ash out of your house. The cherry is the darker wood on the right. The ash is to the left. It is much lighter, almost white when split.

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I hope you have been doing well and have been getting in your wood. I have a feeling the cold weather is just around the corner.
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OWB

Looking Good In The Woods

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I like to surf the internet and spend my fair share of time on YouTube watching chainsaw related videos. There are some really cool videos of people cutting down trees, cutting up firewood, or just showing off their new saw. It’s pretty fun and I have learned a lot just watching these. The more I visit sites dedicated to woodcutting, chainsaws etc. the more I stumbled upon a clothing company who makes duds for people who climb trees or work with chainsaws. Arborwear is their name and…here’s what’s really cool…they happen to be headquartered in my back yard of Northeast Ohio! Their website was pretty inviting and they seemed to be a down to earth company so I stopped out at their place to find they have an outlet store. Wow…pretty cool! I picked up a couple pair of pants and this really cool chainsaw shirt pretty cheap. I never find shirts that have chainsaws on them without some perverted reference of the word “wood” so I was excited to pick this one pictured above.
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I had my new shirt on the other day when I was visiting a land owner to discuss his trees he was giving me for firewood. While I was talking with him his dog, evidently bothered by the menacing “crossed chainsaws” motif on my shirt, decided to attack me. He jumped on me causing me to twist away. The fierce animal latched onto my shirt and ripped it. Scary, when I think about it now. I was close to losing a portion of my mid-section to this beast. If I decide to return to this lot to cut up trees I will bring along some “protection” if this dog decides to come back. Here is a close-up of the damage. It's a good thing this dog was a Poodle or otherwise it could have really caused damage!


I will post some other pictures of my new pants later. I’m really impressed with Arborwear’s quality and the thought that goes into their products. Yes, having an awesome saw like the Dolmar 7900 in the woods is important…but looks count for something too. Oh, how my wife can resist me I’ll never know.
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OWB

The Dolmar 7900

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Say hello to my little friend!
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Well, the deed is done. I added the Dolmar 7900 to my stable of chainsaws. Through my experiences cutting wood I recognized the need for a bigger saw, a longer bar, and something really cool. Let me tell you…there isn’t a better, more powerful chainsaw for the money in the world than the Dolmar 7900. Not only does the Dolmar win a trophy for its good looks, it is unmatched in its power, performance and price tag for a professional grade saw. Dolmars are made in Germany and they have been making gas powered chainsaws for over 80 years. They lack the market presence that Stihl or Husqvarna have but don't let that prevent you from buying one. Dolmar's are a superb machine and have earned their respect in the woods.
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Last year I blogged about my experience with a loaned 7900 and I was very impressed. I immediately recognized how much more productive my woodcutting would be if I had a saw such as this one. Please know that I love all chainsaws…it doesn’t matter if it is a Stihl, Husqvarna, Poulan, Echo or Fisher Price…I love them all. I have looked around and tried different saws, spoke with a lot of informed people and just knew the Dolmar was for me.
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Here is my obligatory picture of my new purchase in front of the fireplace. Yes, I went with the HD filter upgrade because I plan to do some milling with this saw.

The next picture below is a close up. From this side you can see the decompression valve. It's the blue button just left of the started rope. The decompression valve helps make starting the saw easier as it releases cylinder compression when you are pulling on the rope. When the saw fires up, the valve closes. Pretty slick. This Dolmar is 79 cc and weighs around 18 pounds with the bar and chain. It is rated at 6.3 horsepower and will run around 13,500 rpm's. You can also see the HD filter and how it is held on with two clips. This makes access to your air filter easy when you are in the woods...no tools necessary. I went with a 24 inch bar and an Oregon LGX chain.

So...I know what you're asking. How did it run? Well, it ran like a monster. My first time with the Dolmar I cut up a big locust I had tangled with in the spring. It measured 26 inches but the "Big Red Machine" quickly dispatched the log into rounds of firewood. What I love about this saw is, yes it is very powerful, but at the same time has the best anti-vibration (av) of any saw I have ever run. This includes the Husqvarna 372 XP and the Stihl MS 440. Here is a picture of the locust I broke the Dolmar in with.

Don't be confused with its Husqvarna bar. I saved a couple bucks going with it. Hey...every penny counts! I complained the first two tanks of fuel I ran through this saw that the exhaust fumes were potent and gave me a headache. As the saw has broken in I have noticed the fumes are less and I haven't experienced any need for aspirin. I am just hoping this was from its break-in as I have used the same can of mix for it.

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When you cut big wood, unless you are superhuman, the rounds are too big to lift into your truck so a little trick is to cut the logs into quarters buy "noodling" them with the saw. The Dolmar 7900 may be the best noodler in the business. To noodle you lay the log on its side like your are going to roll it. You then lay your bar from end to end and cut thru the log. This makes long, curly shavings...or "noodles" that accumulate on the ground.

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Here is a picture of a locust round I had just noodled. Pretty sweet looking!

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A big saw like the Dolmar 7900 may not be something you need or want but I hope this gives you some ideas for a saw to fit your needs. Compared to other saws in its class the Dolmar is relatively light. But to be lugging it around all day you have to admit it is a little heavy. You wouldn't be using this saw to prune or limb trees all day long. This saw is for bucking big wood and felling big trees. You can't imagine how powerful this saw is until you use it. If your previous chainsaw experience is with a little green Poulan or Craftsman...you would not imagine how this saw cuts until you put it in your own hands. Please, if you run a chainsaw, wear your personal protective equipment (PPE) . Safe cutting should be your goal and its the only way you can come back tomorrow and run your saw some more.

Now if you will excuse me...I have some big trees to cut up.

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OWB

Sharp Chains...Game of Logging

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Yesterday I had an opportunity to attend a seminar on chainsaw safety held in the parking lot of my local Husqvarna/Dolmar dealer. It was a pretty neat deal that came with a free lunch and a bunch of free hand outs such as T-shirts, hats, saw accessories etc. And since this was a free event…you couldn’t beat the price! The speaker, Kevin Snyder, is a certified safety instructor from the Game of Logging, which if you haven’t heard of before, is an organization that promotes safe chainsawing thru education and competition events. Kevin is also a professional logger and was a pretty cool dude. He was very passionate about his profession and had the look, and attitude of a logger. While he had more knowledge about trees, wood, and saws in his pinky than what I have in my whole body I found him very humble and he viewed every question or comment as not only a chance to teach but also for him to learn as well. We need more people like him in this world...
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Anyhow…
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Kevin was very passionate about safety and wearing the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) when ever you use a saw. He taught us the proper use of PPE, safe saw handling techniques, proper saw maintenance, chain sharpening, tree felling, limbing, and bucking techniques. Interesting to me was how much time he spent on the proper way to sharpen the chain on your saw. While everything he discussed ultimately led back to safe saw handling, the one area playing the biggest role in your entire sawing experience was keeping your chain sharp. Using a sharp chain has major implications to how your saw works, its longevity, your safety, and enjoyment of this great machine. A dull chain doesn’t cut wood as efficiently making your saw run faster and hotter. A dull chain makes smaller chips which can easily work their way past your air filter and into the cylinder. A dull chain will wear out your bar and sprocket tip faster. A dull chain can increase the risk of kick-back. I have always known, from experience, that a dull chain is undesirable because you can’t cut wood as fast…duh…but I never realized how much of an insidious roll it had with safety and overall health of your saw. If you love your saws as much as I do… and would like for it to live a long, healthy life with you in the woods then please take the time to learn how to sharpen your chain or at least develop a “sharp chain plan” so that you are never left in the woods with dull cutters. That was my biggest take away from this seminar and I know that this little investment in time will make me a better sawyer and a better ambassador for this “hobby” as I preach the chainsaw gospel to those who will listen!
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The last thing Kevin did was to cut down an 80 foot pin oak to demonstrate proper felling techniques. If you are a consistent reader of my blog you know that I very rarely fell trees as most of my trees have been bulldozed down in a field. The doomed tree for today was leaning two foot in the opposite direction of where we needed it to fall. Kevin methodically walked us thru his felling plan, demonstrated the proper notch, hinge-wood, back-cut, wedging, and safe escape route and plopped the oak safely to the ground. It was cool to see how a wedge can lift a tree as much as it does and also how much confidence Kevin had in his abilities. I honestly would have never considered cutting this tree down...way out of my league! It was a great experience and it has left me craving for more. Safe cutting everyone and keep your chains sharp!
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Below is a picture of Kevin at work. His saw of choice for this job was a Dolmar 7900. Kevin had four Dolmars this day, the 7900, 6400, 5105, and the 420. I took this picture with my phone so its not as quality as I would like.

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OWB

The Fiskars Super Splitter

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I have added a new tool to my firewood procurement activities. Behold the Fiskars Super Splitter (FSS). I have heard a lot about this little gem from a number of people but have never seen one nor had one in my hands to experience what all the excitement is about. For as long as I have been splitting wood my choices have been the venerable sledge and wedge…and the reliable 8 pound maul. The Fiskars Super Splitter is much lighter at 4 ½ pounds and, much unlike a maul, has a razor sharp edge to it…and I mean RAZOR sharp! If you split with a maul you appreciate the semi-blunt edge so if you’re chopping swing fails to split the log, the maul won’t become helplessly stuck in the wood. You would think the Fiskars' would be a pain from getting stuck all time but I have found the razor edge of the FSS works to your advantage because of the non stick coating on its head. This is a precision made tool let me tell you! Up the sides of the Fiskars’ head are two castings that help split the log as the edge is sunk into its target.
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I have seen the Fiskars Super Splitter priced between $30 and $70 at local retailers and on line. I bought mine for $30 on Amazon.com with free shipping. That is how much a no-name 8 pound maul costs. The Fiskars claims the handle is indestructible and the head is guaranteed for life to not become loose. I am now starting to haul in my wood from my late summer cutting so I will be able to give this fellow a workout. I will let you know how it goes.
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OWB

I've Got To Get Busy

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It's been a while since my last post but I have had a busy, productive summer...just not busy and productive with my woodcutting.
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I coached two softball teams this summer and had to get our house ready for a family reunion. The reunion was a blast but getting our house ready for the event was a major undertaking. Ugh...I have learned my lesson the hard way of volunteering to have all the relatives come to my house.
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So I was looking at my woodpile yesterday and realized I need to get busy if I'm going to have enough wood to get me through the winter. This summer here in Ohio has been very hot and even if I had the time to cut wood, I still wouldn't have because of the heat. Us Buckeyes aren't used to 90 degree heat and high humidity. Regardless, I have started up the "Wood Game" and have begun to work my leads in finding trees for me to process into firewood and haul home. I have been given two gigantic ash trees at the edge of a corn field but I can't work those until after harvest. As long as the ground is dry I should be able to cut those up and bring them home....ash is a great firewood. Also, two other friends have offered me up maple trees...they're not very big but I'll take them. I have tinkered with my saws, cleaned air filters, sharpened chains, etc. It's time to get busy.
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OWB

Thank-You Smokey!

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Well folks...burning season has officially ended for my family and our Hardy H2. Today I let the last of the coals burn down to the grates then I went down into the basement and flipped the main power switch...thus putting the final touches on a successful year with the Hardy. Running your OWB in the spring and fall brings many challenges as you find yourself messing with the fire, trying to keep it from going out. This spring NE Ohio has had some 80 degree days and my Hardy would go over 24 hours without needing to stoke the firebox. If the OWB sets that long without stoking the firebox the coals will peter out forcing you to shove in the newspaper and try to fire it back up.
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So I usually keep my OWB's temperature up until around Easter and then I pick a good day to shut it down. Today seemed like that day. The weather still gets chilly at night but now I will switch over to propane for heat until the temperatures finally raise. I decided to keep my propane tank at my house as a backup plan in case I run out of wood or the Hardy fails on me. The propane company requires me to burn at least $300 worth of gas a year or they will charge me $300 in "tank rent." So...if I want to keep my back up plan in tact I have to pay the "Man" his hush money.
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When I first installed the Hardy H2 in 2006 my daughters named our silver friend,"Smokey," because...Duh...it tends to emit smoke. Anyhow the name has stuck and any reference to the Hardy H2 is simply by its given name. So today we all said a big "Thank-you Smokey" to our trusted friend who keeps our house warm without complaint. Now that Smokey gets to take the summer off, I have to get busy with the wood game, and making sure there is enough wood to get us through next burning season. For me, this is when the fun begins. Thanks Smokey!
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OWB

More Cutting. More Hauling

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I have cut up some more of the locust tree I had blogged about last week. The weather here in northeast Ohio has been real hot. Still I wanted to run my saws and make sure they are in good order going into the cutting season. Cutting season for me is spring thru fall.
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I have finally identified this type of tree...its a honey locust. This type of locust is known to be tough splitting but burns real hot. I love the color of this wood but noticed it loses its yellow hue after it sets for a couple days. It's a pretty big tree, this picture below is of my 455 Rancher with an 18 inch bar. The main trunk of this tree is much bigger than what you see here.



This next picture is of my 346 XP...an awesome saw BTW...and it is resting atop a round I had just "noodled" into two halves. Noodling is when you lay your round log on the ground as if you were going to roll the log. You lay your bar across the log, from its base to its top, and you cut with the grain. This type of cut makes long curly shavings, or noodles. Hence the name. You DO NOT want to set the log on its end...as if you were going to use it as a stool and cut down on the flat end. This doesn't work as effective as noodling does and you will quickly dull your chain. Again, here is my hot rod saw in a staged shot sitting proud by the log it just noodled. Notice the noodles just under the saw.

Finally, here is my small load for the day. It isn't much wood but it was too hot to deal with the big stuff. I will get that this weekend when the weather is supposed to cool off. I love the grain and color of these logs. Almost too pretty to burn.

This tree is on the site of an old farmhouse a local farmer friend had tore down. He bulldozed down a couple trees in the process and offered them up to me. There isn't that much wood but still I am grateful for the score. I love running my saws and can't think of a better way to spend my time, if not with baseball, than loading up my truck and heading to the woods with my saws.

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OWB

Cutting and Hauling Firewood

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I haven't written in a while. Spring brings me a lot of distractions from my blogging, namely coaching baseball and softball. I help run our local summer baseball/softball league, coach a number of teams, and run a skills clinic for the younger players in our area. Once the snow melts my interests get tugged in many different directions.
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Whenever life gets too busy for me I can always "get away from it all" by heading out into the woods and bring home next years heat. This is just what I did recently when northern Ohio's winter was chased away by 60 degree temperatures. The ground dried up enough for me to get my truck out of the barn and load up the saws. I had a couple locust trees given to me by a local farmer friend so I quickly dispatched these guys into firewood and trucked them home. Here are some pictures of my haul. Sorry I forgot to take the camera with me to the cutting site. It was an old farmhouse the owner tore down. He filled in the basement and bulldozed down the trees that used to shade the house.
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This is me, my truck, my saws, and the locust...

Here is the locust as it sits in the bed. My truck is a 1977 Ford F150. It is a great truck...I would be lost without it. Sometimes I can't figure out what's more important for my firewood acquisition, the truck or my saws. I cut this load with my Husqvarna 455 Rancher. It fired right up after setting silent all winter. It is a great saw. The Rancher feels perfectly balanced in my hands and runs powerful and smooth. It's a great saw and I recommend this Husky to anyone who cuts a lot of firewood.

That's all for now. I will try to keep posting my exploits this summer as I bring home the wood. Safe cutting everyone!

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OWB

Stay a While...Warm Yourself By The Fire!

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I have been busy at work this week and hadn't posted in a while. While I'm slogging away, sit back...relax...and enjoy the warmth of the Hardy H2! I took this picture the other day while loading my Hardy and thought I would share it with you. There is something special about heating with wood. I think this picture explains all that needs to be explained!
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OWB

To Split, or Not To Split...That is the Question

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A regular reader of this blog, CM, had written me asking if I split the wood I burn in my Hardy H2 and was curious if round wood burns longer.
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Here's the deal with firewood and what I have learned while heating my house with wood. While gathering firewood is labor intensive, the BIGGEST investment of your labor to procure firewood is splitting it. Even if you invest $1500 to $2500 for a good hydraulic splitter...you can never escape the reality that splitting wood is A LOT of work. Of course cutting, lugging, hauling and stacking too can be laborious...but splitting, from my experience, is a major commitment. Because of this the only time I split a log is when its too big to fit in the door of my Hardy. An OWB will burn a round log without any problem and it is also my experience that the round log will last longer and burn just as hot as a split log. If you recall from an earlier post, I had purchased a maul and had a lot of fun splitting wood. I found swinging a maul to be a great workout and split wood does make loading the furnace easier because a log split into four pieces is easier on the back and knees than it is as a whole log. Look at it this way...everything is a trade off.
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If the log fits in my firebox door, I throw it in as is. All the labor I save not splitting logs I can invest in cutting more wood and bringing it home, or playing catch with my daughters. Now, the trade off is a round of wood will take longer to season (dry out) than split wood and can be more difficult to lug around and toss into the furnace. Don't laugh at this because even the toughest Ohioan can get a stiff back or bum knee after four months of tossing logs twice a day into the Hardy. Either way you do it, split or unsplit, you want to devise a plan that will yield a steady supply of seasoned wood. I burn the wood that is in my shed, which has seasoned for over a year. Once it is burned I will restock it this spring with the cut wood I brought home the most recent fall. By the following winter the rounds are fully seasoned and ready to go.
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Allow me to be honest. I think anyone with an OWB must be a responsible owner and be concerned for their neighbor's enjoyment of their homes. You should avoid burning garbage, tires, shingles, or green wood because these things smoke excessively and tend to anger people you shouldn't be wishing to anger. The cruel fact is that green wood smokes a lot more than seasoned wood. However, you may live in an area like me where you have no neighbors...so burning green wood isn't as big of a concern. If you don't have seasoned wood, you may be forced to burn what you have...so in goes the green stuff. Green wood will burn...but not as hot as seasoned wood...so you will burn more of it to get the same amount of heat. At times if I burn a green log, I will throw it in the firebox last so that it can be kiln dried for half the day before it gets its turn to set on the grates.
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I hope this adds some insight into my approach to how I work my wood pile. This approach works for me but you may find that splitting is better for you...which is fine. Your mileage may vary! Thanks for the letters and interest in this blog. Keep them coming.
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OWB

Wood to Burn

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I took a couple snap shots of my wood shed today. I thought these pictures would be a good way to show how much wood I have burnt through this winter. The woodshed you are looking at measures 16' by 8' and I stack the wood about 6 feet tall inside it. This comes out to about 6 cords of wood under the roof. This isn't the only pile of wood I have pulled from this season because in the fall I had about a half cord of pine that I used first before the weather turned cold. In the fall and spring I use my small logs and pine to burn since this stuff burns up too fast in the cold weather. I think I use about 12 cords of wood each burning season, which is a lot of wood when you think about it. An outdoor wood burner uses A LOT of wood...much more than a fireplace or woodstove. Also, keep in mind that I didn't fire up my Hardy H2 until after Halloween this fall due to the warm weather in October and into November. Given everything, I think I'm doing pretty good in my usage so far. I'm happy...I know the gas man isn't!
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Anyhow...here are a couple views of my wood pile as it looked today. I keep four rows of wood under the roof and a fifth row to the right of this picture. The unmanaged pile in the foreground is fresh cut stuff from this fall. I will be moving these into the wood shed after burning season for next winter.

I would estimate that I am half-way through my supply in the wood shed. Keep in mind that I have about three times this amount in strategic piles around my shed that you cannot see in these pictures. Most of the wood I cut this past year came late in the fall and needs to season before I burn it up. I suppose, if I were running short on wood, I could burn the green stuff but that is the luxury of having a wood pile as big as mine now. I probably have about another two years of wood cut up...and that is not counting what I hope to get this next year. Cutting up firewood has become my most favorite hobby...well maybe a close second to baseball, but its something I look forward to doing at any chance I can get.

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OWB

Tales and Tails From the Woodpile

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No pictures of this interesting development but last night when filling my Hardy H2 with its evening's compliment of wood, I was startled by something ...At first I thought it was a snake as I saw the tapered end of its tail disappear into the stacks of logs. Upon further review it was an opossum who made a nest in my woodpile! Cute little bugger. The area of my woodpile I am currently picking from is over a year old, so this guy must have taken advantage of the logs as they went undisturbed for a while. He had made a nice pile of leaves and even went as far as to pull a piece of kindling over his structure for added support. It looks like he has been there for a while.
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Not being a mean spirited woodburner, I placed the log back on top of his nest and gave him the night to remain nestled in his warm bed. This morning he was gone...and as of tonight still no sign of him. I don't know where he ran off to, or how far. For all I know he only moved one cord back into my woodshed and made another nest. Other than birds and an occasional mouse who runs out from under the back of my Hardy, this is the only wildlife I have stumbled across in my woodshed. The mice have been trouble as I have seen where they have chewed on the insulation of my Hardy and even nibbled on some wires. I figure they can only get so far on the wires before Mr Hardy decides to bite back. As for the opossum...he can stay but I may even consider building him a nest myself if he would help tidy around the place, shovel some ash, and stack some wood.
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Here is a photo of my Hardy and the woodshed after a recent snow fall. I'll be sure to tell my new opossum friend you all said "hello."

Bored...But Got Wood

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One of the things I enjoy about my Hardy H2 and all my Chainsaws is I have a lot of things to keep me occupied during the doldrums of winter. I have attached some pictures of a project I have completed recently...I made a clock out of a log.
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Here is the story behind this. In the world of chainsaws a common occurrence is a bunch of people who have...and love...chainsaws will get together and see who's got the best, or smoothest, or fastest saw in the county. When you get all these saws in one place the wood tends to get cut up real quick and the next thing you know...you have a bunch of saws without any wood to cut! Bummer. However, us who love chainsaws have come up with a solution to this problem, which is, we cut "cookies" off of the log...instead of cutting the log into firewood pieces. A cookie is a 1 to 2 inch slice of a log that allows the saw to experience a full cut but in reality you are just cutting off a little bit off the edge. The result of these "cookie cuts" is you have a bunch of cookies laying around at the end of the day.
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Well...I am not one to let wood go to waste so I collect the cookies and throw them in my Hardy H2 and let them heat my house. As I was gathering the cookies I found a couple walnut cookies that had very nice color and I decided to keep them. I didn't know what for but I thought I could find a use for them. They were too clunky for coasters...but eventually a light went off inside my head and I decided they would make a nice clock. Here is a picture...


I went to a craft store and bought a clock motor for $5. I then gathered some 9mm and .22 spent brass and drilled holes where the numbers would go. Voila...a clock! Not bad if you ask me!
This picture below shows how I routered out the back so the clock motor sets recessed in the cookie...thus allowing the clock to rest flush on the wall.



This picture gives you a good view of how thick the cookie is.

This is what the clock looked like before I started. Walnut is a gorgeous wood. The bark is also nice. So far the clock is still functioning and the wood has not split. I think I may be on to something. Maybe I should become a clocksmith?

Anyhow...I just wanted to share this with you as I get bored at times when the winter weather forces me indoors and my mind starts to wander. I consider this a value added service from me and my saws. I have been itching to buy a new saw by the way...I have a feeling a Dolmar 7900 is in my future.

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OWB

Hardy Grates

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In earlier posts I have written about maintaining the grates in your Hardy H2 or H4. I have been doing a pretty good job keeping my own grates rotated and free from abuse...but last night I noticed that the center grate was starting to sag...certainly from excessive heat from letting my ash build up too high. The Hardy has a forced draft system and the ash has to be managed so that it doesn't get too high. If you let the ash build up, the coals will rest too close to the grates and the excessive heat will melt them. Or if you keep the ash too low you run the risk of the fire going out. Even though I am aware of the risk of not emptying the ash regularly, I must have been negligent as when I got on my hands and knees and peaked up into the ash bin I noticed one rung of the center grate had broken in half and was sagging. Below is a picture where you can see...about mid way down the grates...one rung sagging and broken. Not a good thing because if I don't do something I will be making a trip to the Hardy store and laying down $50 for a new one.

Again...this is what I see when I get onto my hands and knees and peek up into my ash bin door. This is the underside of the grates with the coals beneath them.

I had to take action so I decided to let the wood burn down over night and, the next morning, I pulled all three grates out. I decided to move the middle grate to the front and I flipped it over so the sagging part was now facing up. This will help straighten it out. While the grates were out I noted I had another grate showing damage so I flipped it over and put it in the back. The best grate I placed in the middle as my experience shows the middle grate takes the most abuse from heat and weight of the logs. Below is a picture of the broken grate when I had them all out. I was surprised to see that I had not one, but two broken rungs. It's probably just a matter of time until this grate fails and I will have to buy a new one. Remember...too much ash means too much heat!

Once I had the grates in I shoveled some coals from the ash bin and dumped them on top of the grates. I threw in some kindling and the fired roared back to life. All of this was done this morning in 8 degree (f) weather in just about 15 minutes! Each time you remove ash you should peek up inside your ash bin and look for sagging grates. Grate Maintenance must be part of your routine with a Hardy OWB. You can see from my experience that its easy to lose track...especially with the horrible weather we have been dealing with in northeast Ohio.

OWB