Jakob— You weren’t suppose to be looking in the “back ground”.
That was the original barn on the place. Very small even for a “family” farm. Then along the way, someone added the large barn on the left with the poured concrete first floor. Those barns were made to store loose hay up above the milking parlor which was on the ground floor. By the time I came along, everyone was baling hay into rectangular bales. The bales when place in the second story weighed many time what the loose hay weighed. They had to fill the first floor with standing post to hold the second floor up. I was just raising “beefer” so I didn’t need the milking parlor. But still loading all those bales of hay up to the second floor and then hauling them down when needed, was way to much work. In earlier days the farmers had several children to help or in my case in younger years we drove down town and found some guys “hanging out”, and we could hire them to help make hay. I had no kids and by the time I got the farm, the town kids didn’t work. ( their mommies were afraid they might get dirty or something) So then they came out with round bales which were handled with a front end loader and just stacked outside. The old barn became use less. When the roofs got bad, I let them go and one winters night when the snow was at it’s highest, I heard a rumble like thunder— the barn had caved in. By that time I had built the Quonset where I could store the hay on the ground floor.
Now aren’t you sorry you asked. TomC
Not really I have always liked those old rock buildings preferably ones that are still intact
Sure am happy that summer is over. So much nicer out now. I feel much more alive!
I had a video of the camera setting on this log however I lost the file. Only a picture survived. Wonderful day!
The slab wood jig saves a lot of time.
5 truck and trailer loads, cut, split, and stacked
I remember someone saying that wood heats you twice
This much wood will see me at least 2 years.
Now to complete processing the small stuff into chunks as I burned quite a lot of my dry chunks in collecting this wood
Why do so many people use chunks that size that they can afford an expensive machine like this? TomC
Tom if the log in that photo is 6 inches in diameter it would be about 12 to 16 inches long by my guess in the photo. It must fit into some sort of wood stove is my guess.
Dan, I think you are a little large on your assumption. Looking at the wood going up the converyor, the biggest pieces looke about 6" long. I’m thinking they do this so they can use conveyors to handle the wood, rather than “split chunks” like is popular over here. TomC
This is how much wood you need, when it’s all pine and poplar. (It looks like a massively soft-wood forest around it.)
Extinguishing with water seems unnecessary. You need to dry the charcoal out again if you’re going to use it for fuel. I just snap a tight fitting lid on the barrel and smother it till the next day.
The energy contained in wood is basically a function of its density. A pound of dry wood will have about the same energy regardless of the species but the volume will vary according to density. Here is a chart with density values for many types of wood.
Yes, it is unnecessary. I usually dump that wet stuff out of the barrel into a large pile, and immediately reload the liners and then fill the barrel with junk wood for the next burn. Later, I move the stuff from the outdoor pile to my screening table, and after shaking/screening out the fines, it goes into my grinder. There is hardly any dust when grinding damp charcoal. Usually, it lays under the grinder for a while, until I feel like running it through the screens again. It usually lays on the screens in the hot sun and drys out. I live in a climate where we can go six months without any rain. Wet stuff isn’t usually a problem. The burn bans during the dry periods are a problem, though.
Al, I agree it’s a nice unit.
A little too easy though, with the store bought material and nice tools 
Hi jo i emailed red dragon the other day just too see what he had that would cut down too 2" max chunks, he said i would need a rotater with about 10 blades too cut that small, so i gess that unit is reback about like you and kristi jan unit ?? he said a 10 blade unit would need about 60 HP ABOUT. i wounder how big shafts would be needed to fit the 10 blades and make 2" chunks.? It snowed here too, theres my wood supply in back ground, one row too the right is second hand lumber too add on the garoge, the other two rows are heating wood home and a pile or two behind those for chunking fun soon hopefully, Or i should say lord willing.! too the holly one up in heaven.
There is probbly 10 more rows like the far left row 50’ long 6 ’ tall, sitting at saw mill waiting for perchase’er. wood too be burned anyway.
I have nothing against store bought materials. But my checkbook doesn’t seem to like them very much…
I agree too hard on the interest payments, Thats why i want too build a bigger reback chunker, More fun building my own design, next too no replica parts.
Kevin, with 60 hp you would need to beef things up quite a bit. If you still want to be able to cut 6" diameter logs and make them into 2" discs, that’s probably the kind of power you need.
I use a 3hp electric motor and square tubing axles with 4 blades each. Works good with 2" limbs, especially since I mounted the flywheel.
With the gearing I use I’m down to somewhere around 100 rpm (6-7 chunks a second). That’s just about the speed I’m willing to feed it anyway.
Nice wood piles and nice obtainium collection.
I wish we had a couple degrees colder right now too. Snow is almost gone here. Rain, rain - wet, wet.
Jo, what do you think about this with just one set of blades?
I called or emailed dragon reback chunker CO. BUILDER, And he said in order too get 2" chunks from larger like 6" wood you would need about 10 blades, not sure how far apart would work, though the shafts too perchase are not all that long. How too get the blades mounted in a larger chunk of steel shaft Not sure yet. Why not have matt rider make us all a 4’ large gear about 2" thick and a smaller one for reduction. just jokeing.