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  • SKIP

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 5, 2009
    3,248
    Glenwood/Glenelg
    I have about a cord of Pecan wood cut into 18 inch sections.
    Seeking someone willing to split.
    The wood was cut 18 months ago but after all this time remains difficult to split. Especially, the 2 foot diameter ones.
    Can provide photos for a cost estimate.
    I am located not too far from HoCo Fairgrounds.
    Thanks for looking.
     

    Sgt. Psycho

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 1, 2009
    1,915
    I rented one for a day from Rental Works for $105.00. It handled all the oak and gum wood we fed through it.
     

    fabsroman

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 14, 2009
    35,852
    Winfield/Taylorsville in Carroll
    Thanks but this is a one shot task.
    All other trees are pine that I can not use to heat my home.

    You can use pine to heat your home. It just isn't optimal, but it will still burn and it will still provide heat.

    I think I am right around the corner from you and I have a log splitter that can get the job done. Send me a PM if you still need this done. Maybe we can work something out for some brass.
     

    SKIP

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 5, 2009
    3,248
    Glenwood/Glenelg
    You can use pine to heat your home. It just isn't optimal, but it will still burn and it will still provide heat.

    I think I am right around the corner from you and I have a log splitter that can get the job done. Send me a PM if you still need this done. Maybe we can work something out for some brass.

    Thanks Fab.
    Just so happens a forum member read my post and his son splits logs for extra cash. He also lives in Glenelg.
     

    buellsfurn

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 1, 2015
    5,951
    southern end of Maryland
    You can use pine to heat your home. It just isn't optimal, but it will still burn and it will still provide heat.

    I think I am right around the corner from you and I have a log splitter that can get the job done. Send me a PM if you still need this done. Maybe we can work something out for some brass.

    Burn it hot Fabs its my understanding pine creates creosote
     

    fabsroman

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 14, 2009
    35,852
    Winfield/Taylorsville in Carroll
    Burn it hot Fabs its my understanding pine creates creosote

    Pine is a low density/low btu wood and it burns hot in the first place. I use it, poplar, maple, gum, and other soft woods during "shoulder" season and to start the fire. The entire "pine creates creosote" is a myth/wive's tail. What creates creosote is a smoldering fire or the introduction of green wood into a fire. Green wood is especially bad because the flu temp cools down as most of the heat from the fire is being used to drive the water out of the wood and turn the water into steam. Then, you have steam going up your chimney.

    https://homeguides.sfgate.com/burning-pine-indoor-wood-stove-48601.html

    https://www.mychimney.com/blog/about/chimney-myths-and-misconceptions/

    http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/hosoftwood.htm

    Whatever wood you can get that is free will burn clean IF you season it well (i.e., water content below 20%) and keep the flu hot. Pine is no more likely to cause creosote than any other wood.

    Now, if you run out of room in the wood racks, like I usually do, then you can be picky and only look for the higher btu wood like oak, hickory, locust, and birch.

    lol - now I want to fire up the chainsaws and the splitter. They have not eaten since May.
     

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    buellsfurn

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 1, 2015
    5,951
    southern end of Maryland
    Pine is a low density/low btu wood and it burns hot in the first place. I use it, poplar, maple, gum, and other soft woods during "shoulder" season and to start the fire. The entire "pine creates creosote" is a myth/wive's tail. What creates creosote is a smoldering fire or the introduction of green wood into a fire. Green wood is especially bad because the flu temp cools down as most of the heat from the fire is being used to drive the water out of the wood and turn the water into steam. Then, you have steam going up your chimney.

    https://homeguides.sfgate.com/burning-pine-indoor-wood-stove-48601.html

    https://www.mychimney.com/blog/about/chimney-myths-and-misconceptions/

    http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/hosoftwood.htm

    Whatever wood you can get that is free will burn clean IF you season it well (i.e., water content below 20%) and keep the flu hot. Pine is no more likely to cause creosote than any other wood.

    Now, if you run out of room in the wood racks, like I usually do, then you can be picky and only look for the higher btu wood like oak, hickory, locust, and birch.

    lol - now I want to fire up the chainsaws and the splitter. They have not eaten since May.
    Thanks for the links i mean schooling :)
     

    ROBAR35

    Living the farm life
    May 20, 2010
    1,838
    Howard Co.
    Pine is a low density/low btu wood and it burns hot in the first place. I use it, poplar, maple, gum, and other soft woods during "shoulder" season and to start the fire. The entire "pine creates creosote" is a myth/wive's tail. What creates creosote is a smoldering fire or the introduction of green wood into a fire. Green wood is especially bad because the flu temp cools down as most of the heat from the fire is being used to drive the water out of the wood and turn the water into steam. Then, you have steam going up your chimney.

    https://homeguides.sfgate.com/burning-pine-indoor-wood-stove-48601.html

    https://www.mychimney.com/blog/about/chimney-myths-and-misconceptions/



    http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/hosoftwood.htm

    Whatever wood you can get that is free will burn clean IF you season it well (i.e., water content below 20%) and keep the flu hot. Pine is no more likely to cause creosote than any other wood.



    Now, if you run out of room in the wood racks, like I usually do, then you can be picky and only look for the higher btu wood like oak, hickory, locust, and birch.

    lol - now I want to fire up the chainsaws and the splitter. They have not eaten since May.

    I still have a pile of Ash wood sitting here waiting on you or any one else that wants free firewood.
     

    fabsroman

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 14, 2009
    35,852
    Winfield/Taylorsville in Carroll
    I still have a pile of Ash wood sitting here waiting on you or any one else that wants free firewood.

    Just listed our house for sale tonight and I still need to do some cleaning up around the house now that we are showing it. Give me a couple weeks and I will be over there to get it. Damn, now that I think about it, it will be a SOB to move all the wood from this place to the new place if we actually sell this place. Damn, damn, damn.

    I already know which stove I am getting for the new place if this all works out. Going to put one in the basement and another on the main level. Plus, there is a little bit of firewood over there already in a large rack that I am assuming will stay there.

    http://www.woodstove.com/index.php/progress-hybrid#Colors
     

    steves1911

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 2, 2011
    3,026
    On a hill in Wv
    Just listed our house for sale tonight and I still need to do some cleaning up around the house now that we are showing it. Give me a couple weeks and I will be over there to get it. Damn, now that I think about it, it will be a SOB to move all the wood from this place to the new place if we actually sell this place. Damn, damn, damn.

    I already know which stove I am getting for the new place if this all works out. Going to put one in the basement and another on the main level. Plus, there is a little bit of firewood over there already in a large rack that I am assuming will stay there.

    http://www.woodstove.com/index.php/progress-hybrid#Colors

    When we moved I left behind about 6 cords of oak. Just to much to move it 2hrs+ away. It hurt knowing I couldn't take it with me after all the hours spent cutting and splitting it all.
     

    fabsroman

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 14, 2009
    35,852
    Winfield/Taylorsville in Carroll
    When we moved I left behind about 6 cords of oak. Just to much to move it 2hrs+ away. It hurt knowing I couldn't take it with me after all the hours spent cutting and splitting it all.

    If this goes through, we will be moving 10 minutes down the road. I'll borrow my brother's trailer and move whatever we have left here. How much we have left depends on how far into this fall we go before this goes through.

    If this does not go through and we are back to looking in April, then I will have to contemplate whether to start replenishing the supply in the spring or just go a year without burning firewood.
     

    jhcrab

    Active Member
    Jun 28, 2012
    499
    Howard Co.
    No problem. I spent so much time researching all of this when I decided to heat this house with wood 7 years ago. BGE budget billing is currently $181 a month and I can live with that.

    Hey fab, just as a comparison; we heat, eat and hot water with Propane. I have always been interested how this compares to wood heating. Could you put a price on the cost and time to get wood, cut, haul, split, stack, bring into house and feed the stove. Also cost of chain saws, splitter , stove, extra strength Tylenol, etc. Please think of time and material. By comparison, our house is 3000 sf., Our BGE averages $110 and propane budget is $225 (fluctuates). Our HE Furnace lasted 19 yrs, new one was $2500 so it's about $12 a month. Thanks
     

    fabsroman

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 14, 2009
    35,852
    Winfield/Taylorsville in Carroll
    Hey fab, just as a comparison; we heat, eat and hot water with Propane. I have always been interested how this compares to wood heating. Could you put a price on the cost and time to get wood, cut, haul, split, stack, bring into house and feed the stove. Also cost of chain saws, splitter , stove, extra strength Tylenol, etc. Please think of time and material. By comparison, our house is 3000 sf., Our BGE averages $110 and propane budget is $225 (fluctuates). Our HE Furnace lasted 19 yrs, new one was $2500 so it's about $12 a month. Thanks

    Yeah, this is going to be tough to compare apples to apples because first off, our houses are not the same. Only way to really get an understanding of this is to compare before and after for yourself. Before installing the wood burning furnace, we went through $300 of heating oil in a month. Now, we do not use heating oil, natural gas, or propane to heat our house. We also keep the temp at 75 degrees throughout the year. What temp do you keep your house at during the winter.

    Our monthly BGE bill for natural gas, which is what we use as a heating back up, is never above $20 a month and we use it for the water heater and the cooking stove too. The natural gas furnace backup rarely ever comes on. Natural gas furnace only comes on when we are on vacation and cannot feed the furnace with firewood. I run my office out of my house, so the laser printers, computers, lights, etc. are almost always on in the office except for when I am asleep. The vast bulk of our BGE monthly bill comes from electricity and pretty much zero for heating the house. We also have 4 kids ages 11, 9, 5, and 1. Again, trying to compare apples to apples is tough.

    However, to answer your question, the saws cost me $1,600. Thing is, I have cut down 4 trees at my parents, one of which is in the photo. So, they have paid for themselves right there. Have helped friends cut down trees. Have cut down 2 trees on my property. The splitter was $3,200. I can pretty much get damn near what I paid for the saws and splitter right now should I decide to sell them. So, trying to factor in the cost of the saws and splitters and amortize them over the time of this endeavor is a worthless exercise, unless of course you would ONLY be buying these items for processing firewood. Oh yeah, I also have a 2003 F350 that cost me $42,000. Should we factor that into the equation too? Granted, I used it the first 5 years solely as a work vehicle and then I started using it for work and personal purposes after year 6. I would guess that beginning in 2011 it is used about 0.5% for hauling wood.

    Next, let's talk about the hours and hours I spend with my dad and kids processing firewood. Even spent a couple days with my two brothers back in May doing this. I consider that time spent doing this to be "priceless". Yes, I understand that some want to say "time is money". Well, spending time with my dad, kids, and brothers, especially while teaching my kids how to use machinery, is all priceless to me. I would rather be doing that than billing at $225 an hour while sitting behind a desk. Next, we have to realize that for every hour behind the desk, I only get to keep $112.50. So, if I can process a cord of wood in 2 hours, I am in pretty good shape. Honestly, it probably takes 3 to 4 hours to process a cord of wood. Then, I have to look at how much billable time I have. There are down times with my work, so I spend that time working on the house, processing firewood, etc. and saving money.

    I usually keep 3 years of firewood on hand, but since we have been looking at houses I have stopped processing firewood for the most part, knowing that I am going to have to move it all or leave it here. So, pretty much only been processing wood that will season quickly. However, when I have 3 years of firewood on hand, it does give me a little hedge against the Apocalypse or the possible increase in propane/heating oil.

    End of the day, you enjoy flipping a switch and getting heat. I prefer using firewood and processing it myself. Granted, it can also be purchased for $225 a cord for hardwood, sometimes $200 a cord if purchased in bulk. We use about 3 cords a year, maybe 4 when it is really cold. With the natural gas furnace in place, I have the ability to flip a switch too should I ever need a bottle of ibuprofen.

    Oh yeah, and then there is the workout benefit of processing firewood versus sitting behind a desk.

    I will leave you to do the rest of the analysis.
     

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