Ok
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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!
*
OWB
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
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.
*
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.
*
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.*
OWB
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Cutting and Hauling Firewood
Ok
*
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.
*
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.
*
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!
*
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.
*
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.
*
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! *
OWB
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
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
*
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!
*
OWB
Sunday, February 7, 2010
To Split, or Not To Split...That is the Question
Ok
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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.
*
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.
*
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.
*
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.
*
OWB
*
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.
*
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.
*
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.
*
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.
*
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.
*
OWB
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Wood to Burn
Ok
*
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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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!
*
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. *
OWB
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
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.
*
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."
*
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.
*
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.
*
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."
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