Bill, you inspired me to go out and harvest some dead standing tamarack today. It burns fresh cut (dead) lots of heat. As for posts a contemporary take on preserving or charing is to wrap the underground portion in plastic; feed bags, old tarps, construction wrapper whatever. Anything to keep oxygen from the wood.
Best regards, David Baillie
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Now I have to use up 20 characters
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So I tried to respond to this yesterday but obviously didn’t work.
I wanted to thank you about reminding me where there is a bunch of dead Tamarak on the low part of our property. I will fire up the snowmobile and hopefully the water is frozen. I should be able to haul a bunch back with the sled.
Pictures to come.
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45° today, almost to warm to work. The snow is midthigh depth, so a little difficult getting the trees out after their down.
Went to go get some Tamarack. We dropped 3 trees and we’re only able to get 1 out due to snowmobile problems.
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I have you and Garry to thank about the Tamarack. I was able to bring ¾ of a tree home so I cut and split it up. I have it in the stove now. It is the dryest wood burned in the stove this year. I think I will use this the remainder of this season while putting up more wood for next year.
Thanks @taitgarry00 for opening my eyes to this resource. A sigh of relief.
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One word of warning Bill… old timers around here won’t burn it. It burns so hot that you have to watch out for your air intake to make sure the stove does not overheat… take it for what it’s worth. I have a modern airtight so I don’t worry much…
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Thanks David. Hahaha yes, I found that out the first day how hot it burns. So I have a recipe of wood I use for the morning, during the day and right before bed. The recipe is also a little different in the subzero weather. Next year the recipe will change again with some more seasoned wood. My stove was designed for coal and is old but works well with the small 240 sq ft area we live in. The Tamarack is great for getting warmth quick in the morning and as the days keep warming up, the less I have to feed it. We are looking at 40° F for the next 10 Days for a high. But… I live in Minnesota and that can easily change.
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This is my egg factory. It is small now but will increase this summer when I get back from Texas from my Son’s basic training graduation.
I am getting 4-5 eggs per day from 5 hens. We had 6 last week but the dog thinks they’re squeaky toys and wants to play. I recently got this rooster for free to care for the girls. Just so happens to be the same breed. When the temps are above freezing, I open the the doors for them to walk around. My hopes are they will be good insect control and I won’t have to feed them as much.
I will have to build a bigger coop this summer.
I have a water warmer constantly plugged in and the Kill-a-watt measures 127 Watts when it is on. It has worked very well in the frigid cold this winter.
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Going to get back to my roots. Every year we made sausage when I was a kid until I was 16. Now I have my own and can make sausage anytime.
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Looking good Bill. Did you split all those poles lengthwise with a chainsaw?
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Yes Don I did.
I found some leaf springs that I can maybe make a froe this summer.
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You sure you weren’t an architect Bill. That wood shed has a very modern rustic look. I like the look.
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Here is somethinmg else you can make out of wood. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6jmzr5HPwE
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Hahaha Jim. The whole design came completely by accident just as everything I do. I started with 4 posts and framework to cover the wood.
My thought process is, just start somewhere and let things evolve. When I run into roadblocks, I talk to people for input. If I had to plan things, I wouldn’t get anything done.
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So going to collect some Maple sap and attempt to make syrup this year. It will be very small scale I will shoot for a gallon but if I end up with a good quality quart, I will call it a success.
I stopped by Jim LaPlant’s today and picked up a half of a SS keg. I don’t have an available closed top barrel so I that of cinder block. So that’s what I googled. Here’s what I came up with.
Any input would be appreciated. I have more stove pipe than what they show in this picture.
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Maybe try to fill the cinder blocks with some sort of insulation to keep the heat in? Maybe dry wood ash, loose soil, and/or sawdust?
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Bill - I don’t know anything about making syrup. I asume that you need to heat the sap up and keep it at a steady temprature for a period of time?
Anyway, your cooker looks like a miniature version of what we use to do whole hog BBQ every 4th of July (minus the pan and smokestack).
With that setup, we build a hickory fire in front of the BBQ pit. Then we periodically shovel coals out of the fire and into the pit. With this method, we are able to maintain a well regulated temperature over a long period of time (12 hours). It takes quite a few coals to get the pit up to temperature. But after those concrete blocks are heat soaked, it takes surprisingly few coals to maintain temperature (a shovelfull or sso every 15 to 20 miutes).
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Hi bill, the pan looks a little small for the size of the fire to me. You will need a way to control your air. When you boil down a bit you will find it gets a little bubbly and can overflow if too much heat gets to it. A gary gilmore tlud might work better for you or maybe even use your WK in flare mode? Just some ideas. Our first few years I had a stock pot cut into the lid of a 50 gallon barrel with a fire underneath… worked well. Assume a 25-40 to one ratio of boil down depending on time of year and species…
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