Where have I been (Bonfire Log)

[BuckeyeDennis]

A good piece of firewood warms you three times.

Third, when you burn it.
Second, when you split it.
First, when you cut it.

If using a maul for splitting, a temperature of thirty to forty degrees is very comfortable. In your shirtsleeves.

[Ed in Tampa]

When I moved from Ohio to Florida I left behind 8 full cord of split, dried and stacked firewood.
They were honest cords 4ftx4ft x8 ft stacked under a shelter. I had cut and split all this wood. Each piece was 16 inches long. I did use the neighbors splitter on about half of the wood.

I well know the work, enjoyment and sense of satisfaction that comes from laying up lumber for winter. We had a fireplace in the center of the house all masonry that I could heat up and it would remain warm until morning.

Fireplace was a closed combustion system with an outside air source. So I could safely go to bed with a reasonable fire still burning. Creosote was a problem and had to be burned out every year.

Every morning the kids would run out of bed and sit on the hearth until their mother fixed breakfast for them.

[ERLover]

When I moved from Ohio to Florida I left behind 8 full cord of split, dried and stacked firewood.
They were honest cords 4ftx4ft x8 ft stacked under a shelter. I had cut and split all this wood. Each piece was 16 inches long. I did use the neighbors splitter on about half of the wood.

I well know the work, enjoyment and sense of satisfaction that comes from laying up lumber for winter. We had a fireplace in the center of the house all masonry that I could heat up and it would remain warm until morning.

Fireplace was a closed combustion system with an outside air source. So I could safely go to bed with a reasonable fire still burning. Creosote was a problem and had to be burned out every year.

Every morning the kids would run out of bed and sit on the hearth until their mother fixed breakfast for them.

Nice Ed, the fire place and mom fixing breakfast for them, I am sure it did not come out of the microwave. My mom too, but no warm hearth to sit by. Then the uphill walk to school about a half mile in knee deep snow, it was uphill on the way home too

[reible]

I'm going to have to check with my brothers but if I recall we had 10 cords of wood in the basement for a winter and a couple of piles outside in case we ran short.

I recall it as just work. No satisfaction other then getting it done.

At home the stacking and putting it up was as much or more work then the splitting. It wasn't bad if you had a couple of people but if I was working alone........ We had a basement window that the wood would going through so you would wheel it over and throw it in and then after a few loads go inside and stack it. Back out and repeat. All the handling, from stack to chopping area, pickup and take to basement, throw in, stack inside.

When I worked a resort one summer that was my pass time. If I ran out of work to do I would go and chop wood. I liked that better then having to clean fish for guests. They liked to catch fish but didn't like cleaning them so I got to do that. The owner wanted all the wood in small pieces, so you do as they ask but it burns faster that way.

I'd also take occasional side jobs, mostly on Saturdays. Summers were OK a lot of summer visitors and part time residents who wanted things done. Come winter well that was another story all together. If I'm remembering right I could hand split 2 cords of wood in a day if the wood pile and stacking area where located at the same place. I got selective later on and wouldn't take jobs like that. A lot better jobs like digging graves, me and another guy would split the $30...... A whole day of wood splitting got me about $8 or $10.

Worst job I ever took was either the mink farm at harvest time or cleaning up a house after a fire. That smoke smell would not wash off..... clothes I ended up tossing when the job was done. I think they wear special suits and masks now but back then well it was back then. No way I would ever do either of those jobs again.

Anyway I was interested to see no one mentioned the link I provided about firewood and WI. They are pretty strict on that, so a lot of people end up buying firewood for their camping experience now. Most of the parks have it for sale. For those that read it were you shocked?

Ed

[BuckeyeDennis]

Anyway I was interested to see no one mentioned the link I provided about firewood and WI. They are pretty strict on that, so a lot of people end up buying firewood for their camping experience now. Most of the parks have it for sale. For those that read it were you shocked?

Ed

Not really. I assume that they are trying to prevent destruction by the emerald ash borer. It's been illegal to transport firewood here in Central Ohio since shortly after they were discovered several years back. And for good reason ... the larvae live under the bark and feed on the cambium, eventually girdling the tree. I've exposed probably a thousand of the little buggars while cutting my own dead ash trees into firewood.

Early on, the state tried to remove all ash trees in the vicinity of an ash-borer outbreak. It was to no avail, and they gave up before long. I've now lost 100% of the ash trees in my woods, including some big beautiful ones. I've also have had to pay a few grand to have some big ones taken down that were too close to the house for me to fell safely.

But at least they make good firewood.

[ERLover]

Reible, not shocked in WI about fire wood, posters all around about bringing it or moving it. They sell it at the camp grounds. Like washing your boat and trailer off at the landing/Launches here, so you dont move evasive species from lake to lake. WI DNR is proactive.
Not as bad as you, but grandparents had a coal burner furnace, in Brillion,WI, big old 2 story, 411 East Main Street. trouble was stoked at bed time, but died out about 4-5am, grand ma had a Propane stove in the kitchen she would light up the oven when she got up around 6ish and stoke the furnace with some coal. If we were misbehaving we were taken to the basement and put in the coal bin, dark and darker!!!
I remember when the natural gas line got put in in the 60s and they redid Main Street and new lighting, dad, uncle who lived with grandmom, his bro and me and my 2 bros, all helped to get the coal furnace out and a gas furnace in, modern heating!!

[ERLover]

Grandmas house was kinda like the one in "Its a Wonder Full Life", me and my 2 bros all in a big bed, 2nd floor, Down Comforter, and by 5am snuggling. Who was going to get up first for a pee call??
Wont go back, but good times!!!!!

[ERLover]

Basically those logs act like a fire in a chimney with air being drawn up from below to feed the combustion, not just the air around the flame, a minny forge. They have been using that design in India and other countries were wood is sparse, for cooking, you take a small canister, small an air inlet in the bottom, twigs inside, cooking grate on the top, like a jet engine. My nephew made on for giggles out of one of those small beer kegs of import beer that are a few litters. He explained to me, I know the principal, I said lets fire it up. He put his sap kettle on it with some hand full of twigs and about a half gallon of water in the kettle boiling in a few minutes, faster then a stove. 4lb of h20 at about 60* to 212*, ruffly 600BTUs from some twigs in about 3 minutes.

A rocket stove. Very efficient. I wanted to make this one a while back but finding one H block was hard. https://youtu.be/kmDYUrVHPWc
Could only find them by the pallet.
Cheaper than the store bought log but more cumbersome to move.

In your house, if not UL listed will void your home owners insurance and not cover and damage/fire damage!!!

[ERLover]

@ Rieble>I'm going to have to check with my brothers but if I recall we had 10 cords of wood in the basement for a winter and a couple of piles outside in case we ran short.

A cord is 4'wx4'hx8'long, 128 cubic feet, x 10?????? Must have been a big basement, or no room for anything else!!!???
Now a face Cord is 16" w 4' hx8'long, just shy of 43 cubic FT.

[JPG]

8'h x 8'w x 20'l