Fish question for you....

[Pam]

We had to clear quite a few trees here and have two pretty good size piles of logs. Jack thinks we should sell some because they will rot before we use them. I thought if we kept them dry, cover with tarp, take the tarp off when its warm, that they should last 3-5 years...any thoughts?

pam

[fish]

Pam,

first off, it may very well be that Smoke knows more about this than I do. that said ...

depends on how much wood you have, and how much money you can get for it.

there may be a cosmetic factor. some folks want to clean up their lot. they don't want logs lying around. that said ...

if you intend to heat with wood at all, i would keep this wood and begin to process it.

if you do not have the tools and can't afford them right now, then i would consider selling enough wood to get the enough money to get the tools to process the remaining wood.

you want the wood to dry (season) for two years anyway. but it has to be cut and better still, cut and split if it is to dry properly.

in the meantime, the logs will probably be ok. you don't even need the tarp for the logs unless it is pretty wet where you are, although if you use one, it would be much better if you do take it off when the weather is fine. the logs off the ground will last at least two years before being processed without rotting. ours did, even the softwood logs at the bottom.

except,
the ones on the bottom will rot where they are on the ground and wet. and you will get some bugs if the wood is on the ground.

most bugs that get into wood make their nests in the ground and migrate up and down.

so there is no sense at all in selling the top logs and keeping the bottom logs. you are selling the logs that will not rot and keeping the ones that will. unless you restack off the ground. restacking logs seems difficult and dangerous.

firswood is going for a huge premium in Maine because of heavy demand with the oil prices what they were. there is no seasoned firewood left for sale that i know of in the entire state.

if you sell some hardwood logs now, you may get more money than you expected.

but if you intend to burn the wood, i suggest that you keep it and begin to get it ready now. you will only have to replace it later.

if it is softwood, i would try to sell it.

if it is hardwood, i would cut it, and split it, and stack it.

i had a lot of fun doing it. it is good hard work.

what have you got for a stove ?

we have an olympic stove. we recommend it highly. 18 hour burns, easy to regulate, heat the entire house, and relatively clean. wood burning is dirty.

PROCESSING THE WOOD.

get steel toed boots.
get all chain saw safety stuff - chaps, eye protection, ear protection, etc.
get a lot of chain and at least one two ton come along. you will need these to take the pile apart.
get a peavey. you may need this to roll the logs.
get a good mid sized chain saw. I wanted a stihl but got a husqvarna because the stihl was twice as expensive and not twice the saw.
learn how to sharpen the cutting chain. chains are expensive, but easy to keep sharp if you know how. husqvarna makes a simple on-the-bar guide for the rattail file.

important. even if you think you know how to use a chain saw, get a good instructional manual, read it carefully, and follow the instructions without exception. i am no less careful with my chainsaw than i am with my firearms.

if one or two people will usally be available to do the spliting, buy a splitter. if you have two very fit men, or can run a crew of four ordinary men, rent a splitter.

start bringing home wooden pallets. you will stack your cut and split wood on pallets to keep the wood off the ground.

i lay two pallets end to end, and then stand a pallet on each end. i then drive cyclone fence posts between the space in the standing pallet at each end of my run. oh, get a post driver too. i run rope from post to post and drape the tarp over it and out over the wood. this lets the water and snow run off the tarp.

hey, i'm running at the mouth here.

i don't even know if you want to know about all this stuff.

but firewood is going for at least $300 a seller's cord in maine.

let me know.

best regards,

sawfish

ps, if you have birtch, get the bark off right away. birtchbark holds water and the wood will rot.

[Pam]

Thanks fish, yep thats what I wanted to know. I'm new at this. We just have a fireplace but it gives off enough heat to heat the main level, which includes the kids bedrooms and the loft. I keep our bedroom door shut up there because it gets so hot. We are able to turn the thermostat down to around 65 and it can get up to 70 with the fireplace going.

Thanks for taking time to post that for me fish, I appreciate it.

Pam

[fish]

Pam,

This is important.

I don't know if your fireplace is new or old.

Many folks fail to get the fireplace and chimney inspected when they buy a home with an existing fireplace and chimney.

This all too often results in chimney fires.

Chimney fires are very bad, often resulting in loss of life and total loss of the structure.

I don't mean to offend if you guys already know this stuff, but this is really important.

By the way, even though your hearth and open fireplace give good heat, I would still consider a stove. They make fireplace inserts too. We have an insert.

www.avalonfirestyles.com/product_guide/wood_inserts.

fyi, we did not use a "surround panel" with our insert. we think it looks better without it. Just the wood stove sitting in the fireplace. The glass window in the door lets you see the fire. The door burns itself clean too.

I'm running at the mouth again, but let me know if you want any more info.

oh, and look at a circulating fan to keep the heat even in the living area. We use vornado.
Quiet, small, but sitting on the floor, pointed up, it moves the cold air up which forces the hot air down and eventually evens the temp throughout.

Good for winter heat and for summer cooling. We do not own an air-conditioner.

www.vornado.com/CategoryDetail.aspx?ISC_Category=Whole+Room+Circulators

I'm running at the mouth again.

Hello, Jack, how are you ?

fish

[Pam]

Hey fish, we built the house so everything is new. In fact we are still in the process of trying to finish it up. The link you sent me almost looks like what we have, here is the one we have:

www.napoleonfireplaces.com/Fireplaces/Fireplaces_wood/nz6000.html

The one we have has a fan at the top and bottom, it really pushes out the heat. The dogs love sitting in front of it but I get worried that they are going to get too hot and I'll end up with 3 little hot dogs.

We have ceiling fans that we keep running, one over the great room and one up in the loft, we also have them in all the bedrooms. The vornado fan looks like a great idea. I'll have to show that to Jack.

Dont worry about offending me when it comes to safety. I am aware of the dangers of chimney fires but it never hurts to be reminded. I'm sure my kids are so tired of the safety talks they get over and over again.

Thanks again fish, I really do appreciate the time you take to help.

Pam

[fish]

Pam,

Goodness, what a stove !!! How big is your house, anyway ?

And you were thinking of selling the wood ? Really, don't do it unless your cash flow demands it or unless you don't want to process your own wood.

You have one monster of a heating unit in your house. When you guys learn how to manage the beast you will never need anything else. We used to overfeed our wood stove during the day. Way too warm. I finally learned, with the help of a stove thermometer, how to run the thing. Feed the beast less.

Your ceiling fans should be able to keep the heat even. We have one in the "port"house and it does a pretty good job. The vornados are at the "bunk"house where we do not have the ceiling fans.

If you do not have clothing drying racks, I suggest that you get some. We never ever run the dryer any more, the clothing is dry in a couple of hours, and it helps keep some humidity in the air.

One more thing, when you process your wood, you can process it for your stove. That is to say you can cut the wood to fit. 32 " lengths ! At least a third fewer cuts and more like 50%. Splitting will be more difficult, but you're buying a splitter anyway.

fish

[Pam]

hey fish, our house is about 3200 sq. ft. its nice but not as nice as it would be with Ryan here. just yesterday i brought all his pictures home from my mom and dads and we hung them up. they completely changed the feel of the house. i love seeing him everywhere i look.

i love the stove but will be honest only picked it because i liked the way it looked. i never thought it would heat the house the way it does.

i never wanted to sell the wood, Jack did. i think i have successfully convinced him to keep it all. told him what you and sue had to say. he said they get pallets in at work now and then and will start to save them.

thanks again fish.