OWB
Monday, December 20, 2010
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
OWB
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Where's My Wood Pile?
Ok
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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
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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.
*
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.
*
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.*
OWB
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Burning Season Begins!
Ok
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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
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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!
*
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.
*
That's all for now. I notice my clothes smell like wood smoke! Ah, the joys of heating with wood!
*
OWB
Saturday, November 6, 2010
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 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?
*
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.
*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.
OWB.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
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.
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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.
*
OWB
Thursday, September 30, 2010
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
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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.
*
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
Monday, September 20, 2010
The Dolmar 7900
Ok
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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.
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.
*
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!
*
Say hello to my little friend!
*
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.
*
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.
*
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.
*
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.
*
Here is a picture of a locust round I had just noodled. Pretty sweet looking!
*
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
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