Turning trees into firewood

[Simkie]

Mr S waved some saw demos around at Home Depot this weekend, and he’s definitely most comfortable with the weight and balance of a shorter bar. I think we’ll aim for the 16 - 18" range for him.

Gumtree, I wish Homelite still sold that little saw! It looks like it’s been discontinued. Sounds like the perfect piece of equipment for me :lol: (Kind of like the little battery powered Ryobi circular saw I like to use…sure, it’s wee, and doesn’t have a whole lot of power, but I can HANDLE IT and if it’s not big enough for the job, then the job really is too big for me )

Also got the maul this weekend and practiced a bit just getting a feel for the weight and action. Didn’t actually produce any split wood, but my aim got a lot better in the hour I practiced and I knocked off a handful of kindling. Don’t see us using that method to split our wood, but good to have the tools. And hey–good exercise!

[Jim_in_PA]

The first saw I bought was a Homelite and I fried it rather quickly…it was also a bear to start. Thats when I went to the Stihl Farmboss as I mentioned before. Starts easy even in the middle of winter after no use for months. The 18" bar has worked out very well for me.

[Simkie]

@Jim_in_PA

Thats when I went to the Stihl Farmboss as I mentioned before. Starts easy even in the middle of winter after no use for months. The 18" bar has worked out very well for me.

This is definitely on the list! We have an “Elite” Stihl dealer nearby, so I think we’ll head up there next weekend and let Mr S get a feel for the various options.

[SonnysMom]

DH has chainsaws in 3 sizes. I think they are 14, 16 and 20. He only uses the big one for really big trees. His thought is that you use the smallest one you can for each part of the job so you are less likely to get tired.
We had an electric splitter. We barely used it because is sucked. Spend the money on a decent gas one or rent on and have a wood splitting weekend.
DH has used the splitting maul when he was younger. However we use a lot of wood each winter so it wasn’t really practical.

[HungarianHippo]

Sonny’s comment about getting tired is a good one to keep in mind. Keep your chainsaw sessions short and pay close attention to fatigue. That’s typically when you have accidents, and very few chainsaw accidents are minor.
We have one wood stove for supplemental heat (the house cats would argue that it is entirely for their hedonistic enjoyment, judging by how they flop in front of the fire for hours on end).

I’d estimate we go through 2 cords a season? Mr HH splits it all by hand (well, not by actual hand, he uses maul axe and sledgehammer+wedge). He just goes out there and plugs away at the pile for an hour or so most weekend days. You do get good at it, and he really enjoys the “me time”. At 48-49yo, he’s no spring chicken, but still healthy with strong back. That said, the elm trees consistently make him vow to get a splitter-- they’re a real b**** to split–and then he gets over it. At some point we’ll get a splitter though.

A splitter has a really hard job to do, when we buy one we’ll go high end. Over the next couple of months, I bet you can easily come up with 10-15 purchases that you could cut $50 from, or avoid making the purchase altogether, and voila, you have the extra $ to put towards a good splitter vs the little one.

[neversaynever]

Not to put a “damper” on this conversation, but for those that are seriously concerned about air pollution, you may want to reconsider using wood as a heat source in a fireplace or older wood stove. Burning wood emits a lot of ghg, particulates and pahs (carcinogenic). The EPA recommends using newer certified gas stoves to reduce emissions.

[Simkie]

@neversaynever

Not to put a “damper” on this conversation, but for those that are seriously concerned about air pollution, you may want to reconsider using wood as a heat source in a fireplace or older wood stove. Burning wood emits a lot of ghg, particulates and pahs (carcinogenic). The EPA recommends using newer certified gas stoves to reduce emissions.

Just out of curiosity, what’s the “green” way to deal with a whole bunch of downed trees, or trees that need to be removed?

Can’t leave them there–fire risk.

Can’t landfill them–landfill burden + fuel to transport.

Chip them? Fuel for the chipper + what do do with the chips.

…build stuff, I guess?

I promise I am not trying to be argumentative, and coming from Colorado, certainly understand the pollution issue, but there is a LOT of wood out there that has to go somewhere.

[Frog_Pond]

@Simkie

Can’t leave them there–fire risk.

Well, here’s the good news – scratch “fire worry” off your list! Your new neck of the woods is damp, permanently, so you don’t have worry about fire quite the same way as in the west. I grew up near where you are now and the only woods fires we had were accidentally set by local stoners :).

You’ve gotten tons of great advice. I’ve got 8~ acres of a similar situation and we’ve gone through most of the tools mentioned, and yes – I should’ve bought stock in Stihl. Helmet-muff-face guards, chaps, gloves, chainsaw, hatchet, axe, sharpeners, brush cutter, leaf blower – all Stihl. The stuff cannot be beat for delivering consistent power and that = safety.

I quibble with the “hire or trade with someone” and the “rent a splitter” advice. When you live within commuting distance of NYC or Boston, hiring help is often a very expensive PITA. People pay big bucks for all services and finding the affordable and still skilled labor for anything from roofing to log splitting, well, it’s a hobby you have to develop.

As far as renting tools go, well, I much prefer a little splitting at a time. Doing a big 1-day split-a-thon turns my husband into a zombie – which makes splitting more unsafe – and I HATE the giant log pile that results. We have 3 adults stacking and we still burn out. I hired someone to stack this year because we overdid the tree-dropping and chopping. If we’d gone at a more measured pace, we’d never have needed to hire help to clean it up. Just a personal preference.

Enjoy!

[Simkie]

@Frog Pond

Well, here’s the good news – scratch “fire worry” off your list! Your new neck of the woods is damp, permanently, so you don’t have worry about fire quite the same way as in the west. I grew up near where you are now and the only woods fires we had were accidentally set by local stoners :).

Ha! I love the imagery but I don’t think that’s true?

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?CT

I believe we’re still in “extreme drought” in this area. Colorado is actually in better shape.

As far as renting tools go, well, I much prefer a little splitting at a time. Doing a big 1-day split-a-thon turns my husband into a zombie – which makes splitting more unsafe – and I HATE the giant log pile that results. We have 3 adults stacking and we still burn out. I hired someone to stack this year because we overdid the tree-dropping and chopping. If we’d gone at a more measured pace, we’d never have needed to hire help to clean it up. Just a personal preference.

Enjoy!

Very good point! So what tools do you use?

[DHCarrotfeeder]

@Simkie

I promise I am not trying to be argumentative, and coming from Colorado, certainly understand the pollution issue, but there is a LOT of wood out there that has to go somewhere.

It will rot. Unlike out west, the eastern forests don’t tend to “load up” and increase in fire risk. Bugs, birds, critters, fungus, etc all get their cut.

GIBIR = get it before it rots

[Simkie]

@DHCarrotfeeder

It will rot. Unlike out west, the eastern forests don’t tend to “load up” and increase in fire risk. Bugs, birds, critters, fungus, etc all get their cut.

GIBIR = get it before it rots

In an extreme drought?

There is already several years worth of wood out there, not rotting…

[neversaynever]

@Simkie

Just out of curiosity, what’s the “green” way to deal with a whole bunch of downed trees, or trees that need to be removed?

Can’t leave them there–fire risk.

Can’t landfill them–landfill burden + fuel to transport.

Chip them? Fuel for the chipper + what do do with the chips.

…build stuff, I guess?

I promise I am not trying to be argumentative, and coming from Colorado, certainly understand the pollution issue, but there is a LOT of wood out there that has to go somewhere.

Sorry, meant to say, certified wood stove, not gas. They are much more efficient. If anyone is interested here is some info. https://www.epa.gov/residential-wood-heaters.

Some other alternatives are letting the wood rot, chipping and composting or reusing on trails/gardens. Even considering the fuel and emissions of a chain saw and chipper, it is more “green” then burning. Chipped wood can also be worked into soils to amend them. This is done in some areas of the San Joaquin Valley in CA where many a lot of almond and fruit trees have died in their extreme drought. Our county sanitation department doesn’t landfill yard wastes or downed trees. The sanitation department will compost or chip it and let people take it for mulch. The environmental cost to transport to the sanitation department is trivial. You could find out if a landscaping company would be willing to do the same with your trees. Our sanitation department also has a program where they cut up downed trees and let people who really need it for heating have some. Not environmentally friendly but it does help those who otherwise couldn’t afford to heat their homes. You could also bury them on your property…

Where I live, the downed trees usually rot. We have a little over 15 acres with a lot of live trees and downed trees. Over the past few years we have lost well over 20 very large oak and hickory trees because the previous owners damaged them when they cleared the property. The trees that fall on their own are usually in pretty bad shape and already starting to decompose or have hollows. We have a lot of different kinds of woodpeckers that help, including a beautiful nesting pair of pileated woodpeckers. We cut off the smaller limbs to compost. The large trunks are pushed in a line along the sides of our property, around the perimeter of our riding arena, and surrounding our vegetable garden. We also plan to use some on our slopes to help prevent erosion and in some landscaping to make steps. We have a lot of people in the area that use wood fireplaces to heat their homes because that is all they can afford. We have let some of our neighbors take the wood if they need it as we don’t have to burn the wood to heat our home.

Really, it’s a personal choice on how you want to manage the deadwood. Several areas of CO, esp in the Denver area, do have burn restrictions during the winter months. https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdp…ed-information

[Jim_in_PA]

@neversaynever

Chipped wood can also be worked into soils to amend them.

While this is ultimately true, it’s preferable that the chips be composted first to avoid a problem with nitrogen depletion.

[neversaynever]

@Jim_in_PA

While this is ultimately true, it’s preferable that the chips be composted first to avoid a problem with nitrogen depletion.

Yes, and you have to watch your soil pH levels also.

[DHCarrotfeeder]

@Simkie

In an extreme drought?

There is already several years worth of wood out there, not rotting…

For some reason I thought I picked up that you were in the Northeast, but I seem to have been mistaken. Dead wood rots fairly quickly here.

David

[vineyridge]

Simkie, while y’all are at the Stihl dealer, you take a look at the little MS180 saw with the easy chain adjustment–MS180 C+E, maybe–that I have and love. I’m older than you, and I have no trouble with the weight or the operation.

[Simkie]

Thanks for the recommendation, viney! We’ll be sure to check it out

[Simkie]

Oooh. The kindling cracker dealie showed up. Pretty awesome. Totally recommend for an idiot or neophyte…I totally can’t chop off any body part AND it’s super easy to use with only a modicum of strength/dexterity.

I can toss already split wood in there and come up with nice kindling. I think it would also work fine to split small trunks or branches.