I've got wood!

[Naturalhoosier 15,434]

Let's talk wood!  Yesterday we had a half dozen Ash trees, a large Maple tree, and a couple smaller Cherry trees chopped down from the property.  They were on their way out, growing towards the house, had bulging roots, etc. 

 

I bought a 5-ton electric splitter from Craigslist (best $80 I've spent IMO).  This thing just rips the logs with such ease.  I had considered some units from Northerntool.com (a vertical and a horizontal), but neither electric.  This thing is so easy I just set the logs and my kids run the machine! 

 

I'll be building a wood-shed to protect the split wood from the rain so it can age.  I was told that Ash is generally a dryer wood and will season in 9-12 months.  Seem accurate?

 

Any thoughts, tips, etc!?  Do you guys with fireplaces burn specific wood types?  Note that we don't use the fireplace at this point as a direct source of heat.  It's more of an aesthetic piece that we casually use.

[Hovadipo 56,530]

My dad really enjoys burning cherry for the smell. I know you don't have any, but for burning purposes, his favorite is hedge.

[mamasa 15,354]

If you have a smoker, cherry is great to burn- gives a nice flavor!

[sirhoosierlot 2,818]

take some to a saw mill and build your self a nice table

[HoosierReb01 7,511]

Ash makes great firewood, not sure on the seasoning time, but it doesn't take long. The cherry shouldn't take long either. Is the maple hard or soft maple? Hard maple wouldn't make bad firewood, but soft maple burns like paper.

[Naturalhoosier 15,434]

Cool.  Thanks for the tips.  I'm not sure if it's hard or soft maple.  It was pretty rotten though.  It was the worse of all the bunch...just waiting to snap and crush my garage.

 

The tree guys chopped all the wood into approx 18" logs for me, so i can't get any milled.  Never considered it but probably should had. 

 

No smoker, but good to know re:the cherry and smokers.  Who knows, maybe I'll get one!

[Naturalhoosier 15,434]

Just some perspective on the amount off wood I have to split.


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[sirhoosierlot 2,818]

I see a lot of tables and an entertainment center 

[mamasa 15,354]

If you're a pool player, ash would make a nice cue.

[HoosierAloha 30,068]

If it last more than 4 hours...

[HoosierReb01 7,511]

Most yard maples are soft maple. Wood would be fairly white with pink to brown streaks. Hard maple tends to have a yellow look to the wood after its been cut a day or two, and will usually just have a brown heart. Soft is very light, hard is pretty heavy. 

[ALASKA HOOSIER 11,276]

I consider myself to be the expert on burning firewood. I usually go through about 8-10 cords of firewood up here in the winter. We all have woodstoves up here in Alaska. However, our wood is different from down in the lower 48. Here are some of my tips:

1. Make sure your wood is bucked/split for at least 6 months. Longer if it is a harder wood.

2. once split, put it up off the ground. If you have something like pallets, use them.

3. get a cover on the split wood. Make sure you can have plenty of airflow.

4. purchase one of those moisture detectors that you stick in the wood and it will give you a moisture reading. You want to have less than 20% moisture content to increase your BTUs and burn time.

[ALASKA HOOSIER 11,276]

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Here it is in amazon; http://www.amazon.com/General-Tools-Instruments-MMD4E-Moisture/dp/B00275F5O2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420924251&sr=8-1&keywords=wood+moisture+meter

[Naturalhoosier 15,434]

Thanks Alaska. I actually just bought one a few months back. I tested some ash that I just split and it's mid-20s. Not as bad as I thought!!

I'll be building a wood shed to keep the wood off the ground and protected. But it will be stacked criss-cross style to maintain air flow. It also isn't a true hard-sided shed but rather have reclaimed pallet boarding as the sides. It will also be away from the house so any bugs or termites that might find refuge in my wood pile won't infest the house too.

[ALASKA HOOSIER 11,276]

Look for cracks in the wood. That is also a good way to determine. our spring and summers up here are all firewood preparation. It is exciting at first but when it interferes with the salmon runs....no joy! Last year was horrible for my winter prep. It rained quite a bit so I HAD to go fish!