Splitting wood.

[Gloop]

So one for you wood burning chappies.
If you have a pile of logs nicely cut to length. I presume it is better to let them dry out for a couple of months before splitting as it should be easier?

[sunndog]

depends really mate. but as a rule most wood will split easier when green. it will also season quicker when split
i always say the worst time is when it just starts to dry, but not yet seasoned

wood is such a variable thing though. oak for example splits very well when green and i'v cut/chopped seasoned elder that was as hard as dragon scales!

are you using an axe declan?......if so watcha got?

[SikaStag]

Split as quick as you can. I can assure you it will not be dry in two months, unless it was dead when it was cut down. I have wood that was split straight away after felling and I will be using it next year, that will be its second year drying. I have a Vermont casting Encore woodburner with the cook on top. Best thing I ever bought from Ebay. After 4 days in the workshop converting it from a catalytic element with a refractory to a conventional woodburner with a baffle plate. It does secondary burning. Like watching the flames dancing above the fire as the gasses are burning.

If you have a smaller fire you could get away with cutting and splitting and using the wood for the coming winter. You do not want to be burning wood with a water content of over 25, I shoot for the 20 mark. Basically the more water that is in the wood, the more tar that accumulates in your chimney. Not good. leads to chimney fires.

Ian

[22-250jock]

as above, saw and split straight away

try and get ahead of yourself and split enough for the next year

cheers jock

[Gloop]

Gosh, or words of a similar nature. I wasn't expecting that. Ok well splitting it will be the way forward. After I finish cutting the logs. The nice council have been cutting trees by the roadside where my mate keeps his bees. So we went and, um, helped to tidy things up. so every evening after work I have been out for an hour cutting everything. Almost finished the current lot. So need to get off and get a pile more logs Saturday. Once that is done I think I will have about enough for the winter. But if I come across more I will keep building my supplies. I need a bigger garden to store everything.

I put the woodburner in last year and even though it is a 5kw it managed to heat the whole house so as far as I can figure out payback is less than 3 years. Have to buy a chimney sweep thingie as well. The most expensive thing was getting the twin wall flue (hurrah for evil bay)and a qualified bloke in to knock the hole in the wall. No chimney in my place.

And I don't have an axe. I was advised to get a maul. Goes through everything.

[SikaStag]

Here is how I done it when I used to sell 100 bags of logs to the local garage once or twice a week. I was a self employed Dry stone wall builder. The winter months were murder on the hands and fingers, not to mention the plastic lens in my glasses got scratched to buggery. I decided to pay out some cash and spent a week at the Inverness school of forestry. I got all my certificates for tree felling.

I do not cut and cover over the top of the pile with a tarp. Leave them in a heaped pile from now till September , October, That is when you want them stacked with a cover on top. Do not worry if they are open to the elements and get wet. That dries out in an hour or two of wind or sun. This is the best way I have found to dry wood out for burning in your wood stove. If you cut them wet and stack them or throw them in a shed. They will be covered in fungus in no time. Leave them open to the elements.

I made my own log splitter 20 years ago. I have a beaver power pack that I use as my power source to work the hydraulics. I have a Stihl MS441 a MS261 and a MS230. I have a bench top sharpener for my saw chains. that has a hydraulic clamp that holds the chain in place when the grinding head is lowered.

Been doing this for a long time now. My system of cutting splitting and leaving open to the elements, works.


Ian

[Gloop]

Well I definitely haven't room to leave the split logs open to the elements. We have a very small garden, I like the idea of a hydraulic splitter put may leave that till next year to make. Got enough on my plate for the next month or so. Still trying to get back to the quad sticks.
But tomorrow is, go get even more logs day to fill the garden up.

As an aside, I have been ripping the wallpaper off and we are intending to change the carpet as well and I stood on the slabs that the woodburner stands on and broke one. So I am wondering if she would notice if I changed the woodburner to one with a back boiler and then run some pipes across the floor through the wall and into the cylinder. Then I wouldn't need the gas at all.

She'd kill me.

[PESCA]

Same position as you, Declan.

Took me all of my wiles to get the missus to let me remove the gas fire for the Esse logburner. I've got no chance of getting rid of the condensing boiler

Mind you, that was the second year for the wood burner and i haven't noticed that I've saved any money. Maybe it's the fact that the gas and electricity has gone up anyway, so negating my savings.

George

[SikaStag]

My Log burner is not connected to any pipes to heat water. I have a massive oval shaped fish kettle that holds about 3 gallon of water. I sit it on top of the stove 2/3rd's full and the wife washes the dishes with this water. We do not have to heat a tank of water using the oil fired heating. We went from using 3600 litres a year of Oil. to using 1400 litres a year whilst using the wood burner. We do all of our cooking on the top of the wood burner when ever it is on. We were in credit with our electricity supplier (until all the Lathe work and fan heater to keep me warm whilst working in the freezing cold of winter.

Wished I had went down this avenue years ago. Nothing more pleasing that watching logs burning in a wood burner, whilst the wind and rain are battering off of the windows.

If you fitted a boiler to your wood burner. You would then need a little generator to work the pump if there was a power cut. My kitchen is twice the size of most peoples living rooms. The log burner heats it to where you are opening the door to the next room, that also gets up to the same heat as the kitchen and you are opening the hall door. This is with it shut down as far as it will go. Brilliant thing. I can close it down at night and in the morning when I get up. I just open the air control lever and I have a beauty of a fire. It will not need any wood on it for another 3 hours.
I can get 21" long logs in it. That helps with long burns.



Ian

[sunndog]

ian, thats sounds a belting stove 21" logs.....iirc an esse can take 17" logs and thats a fair size as such things go

gloop, yes your quite right a splitting maul is what you need. roughneck do one thats pretty decent for the money (20 odd quid). or if you are an exe fanatic like me, go gransfors