Was wondering how one gets a membership here? I have emailed and gotten no response on buying the book or the lifetime membership. Thanks
Frances, I emailed you last week. I’ve resent my message.
Thanks Chis. I’ll look for it.
Just checked and it must be lost in internet land. If you could resend to alshotwife AT yahoo DOT com I would greatly appreciate it Thanks Chis.
I hate to admit it but I haven’t run the truck on wood in a while… been busy and had no time to gather fuel. But this weekend a neighbor offered me a couple trees if I came to get them.
So here’s what I managed to bring home Saturday and today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVBuc39sScY.
If you can’t tell, there are six huge rounds on the truck, as well as 3 on the trailer and about eight from Saturday. Plus all the smaller stuff right down to the 1" branches. I’m guessing at least 3 tons, from two large trees. That’s nearly $1000 worth of gasoline replacer.
Chris,
It appears this wood hasn’t been down very long. How soon before you can use it?
Bill Schiller
Bill,
It hasn’t been down long at all… we dropped the trees this weekend. Drying time depends on weather and processing - basically it won’t start drying until I get it cut into smaller pieces. Once cut it needs a week or two of good weather.
Chris, is this your next step? Those big pieces will be much easier to cut with the Chain Saw ASAP! (The green wet wood keeps the bar cooler.) The smaller ones will undoubtedly give you a very tired miter saw arm…Lots of work. I cut up a big oak tree that blew down. Dirty stuff will go on the charcoal drying rack. The first photo shows 1" and smaller cubes (almost like hardwood pellets) that will be used in my TLUD stoves and converted to charcoal while cooking. I put a thin layer these cubes on the grate, and when I use forced air toward the end of the session my grate does not melt down. No smoke.
Hi Ray,
Next step is to split the wood traditionally (splitting maul). Then I’ll have a long session with the chop saw… maybe several sessions. Chain saw is reserved for difficult pieces or whatever I can’t split. Yes this will happen very soon… again (in my experience at least) the wood really doesn’t start drying until you cut it up. I’ll keep y’all posted.
Gonna be tough splitting green wood with a maul, but that’s what young, strapping fellows are for, right? If it were me, I’d beg, borrow, or rent a wood splitter for a weekend.
So, the wood I posted about a month ago… STILL isn’t dry enough to burn. Winter weather can be a bummer for drying wood! It’s been either rain, snow, or freezing cold wind since I cut up that tree.
Tired of waiting for dry wood, I went back to my old standby. Got a heaping helping, which I will cut up tomorrow. Drove home with some of it - I was that close to running out.
Some of this wood has nails, there wasn’t much choice, so I’ll see how it does. They are small nail “stubs” that were cut off flush. Hopefully small actual metal content. I’ll fish a rats’ nest of nails if need be. But at least I can drive.
Hey Chris ,
Thanks for the pictures.
You could run the hopper down low about every hundred miles or so and poke a strong magnet down through the char and might be able to bring some of the nails back out.
Hey Chris, you should ask this company to provide some of your neighbor’s unwanted shade to drop onto the ground for you.
Yes Henry ,
One mans trash is another mans treasures .
Fred Sanford of the “wood hood” scores again.
Good score Henry …With your hungry truck you need all the wood you can get …
It always amazes me to be driving along and see gallons of fuel stacked by the curb for the garbage man. Or should I say firewood?
Check out some of my latest hauls. Quite literally nicked from the neighbor’s trash piles.
Tree came down last Friday, during the hangout. This right out at my street, almost in my driveway. I didn’t hear it fall, but I heard the big equipment moving around to clean up! They brought in a giant front loader/grabber and dump trucks with big chippers. I got a little video of it which I will post soon.
Just asking nicely I got about 1/4 of the wood set aside, with stipulation that I get it out of the neighbor’s yard that night. I was up very late puffing and sweating… but I did get er done.
Next day they took the remainder of the tree down. Guess who took care of the manageable stuff?
