Fireplaces & Firewood

[steve white]

When I was a junior in college, a friend and and I cut enough fire wood to pay for a week-long skiing trip!

There was customer who didn't want it split, because he enjoyed doing it for exercise, but he paid us, just the same.

A Fiskars Splitting Axe is a marvelous tool!


However, different logs require different splitting tools.


It's worth it to have several options, until you have can afford to have something that can split anything!

https://www.homedepot.com/pep/Champion-Power-Equipment-37-Ton-338-cc-Gas-Powered-Full-Beam-Log-Splitter-w-Vertical-Horizontal-Operation-and-Auto-Return-with-Hydraulic-Oil-201519/333437766?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla=&utm_source=google&utm_medium=vantage&utm_campaign=47269&utm_content=49527&mtc=SHOPPING-RM-RMP-GGL-D25P-Multi-NA-CHAMPION_POWER_EQUIPMENT-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-MK892859001-47269-NBR-1157-NA-VNT-FY25_Q1_Q4_Champion_Power_Equipment_78587_D25P_OAM_Silver_AON&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-RM-RMP-GGL-D25P-Multi-NA-CHAMPION_POWER_EQUIPMENT-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-MK892859001-47269-NBR-1157-NA-VNT-FY25_Q1_Q4_Champion_Power_Equipment_78587_D25P_OAM_Silver_AON-22162296905--&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22155981072&gbraid=0AAAAAolLu99s3jO7b1fiUbxBElE7Wwl6j&gclid=CjwKCAiA86_JBhAIEiwA4i9Ju2PpckZpfT-XY_3XnlxiTpsnKSFFiuJbe-NOA8cpV7dqvvM7-xlkFxoCJYYQAvD_BwE

Being able to split, otherwise "unsplittable" forked logs is easy with a hydraulic wood splitter.

And, if you can't get gasoline, get a whole bunch of manual tools. As far as manual tools go, there is no "silver bullet," different woods/logs require different tools for best results.


I enjoy manually splitting logs, with my Fiskars, as long as I don't have to chase pieces of wood through the forest.


An old tire can fix that problem:

Great idea--never heard tell of that. I will share with the relatives. Thanks.

 

[Alistair]

We use our fireplace in frigid Wisconsin with some frequency. We go through about a face cord a year. We never buy firewood because we always have enough downed trees on the property to buck up and split each year.

My favorite is Cherry because it burns clean, smells great, and I can also use it in my smoker for a delicious BBQ flavor.

Oak is another great wood for your fireplace. So is Maple.

Things to never burn: Basswood, Cottonwood, any conifers or softwoods, Walnut, Piss Elm, Popple (quaking aspen), weeping willow.

There are plenty of local firewood suppliers that will deliver wood for you. I seem to recall a face cord runs about $300-$500 delivered.

Face cords seem to run about $200-300 in Milwaukee, with full cords at around $320-600.

Air dried mixed hardwoods cheapest (but they'd probably need another year to hit moisture content), kiln dried hickory and cherry most expensive.

I paid $547 for my kiln dried oak cord.

 

[DaddyFlip]

I paid $547 for my kiln dried oak cord.

That's not bad, considering you've gotten five pages of postings so far about Fireplaces & Firewood. Is that pickup, delivered, or delivered and stacked?

We always had a fireplace when I was growing up. Brick hearth, natural gas assist in two houses. Dad loved it. Mom was convinced it's why I stayed sick all the time. Funny, in my adult life, I've never had a fireplace. I'm getting closer to a decision on an outdoor firepit, or maybe a chimenea.

 

[Alistair]

That's not bad, considering you've gotten five pages of postings so far about Fireplaces & Firewood. Is that pickup, delivered, or delivered and stacked?

We always had a fireplace when I was growing up. Brick hearth, natural gas assist in two houses. Dad loved it. Mom was convinced it's why I stayed sick all the time. Funny, in my adult life, I've never had a fireplace. I'm getting closer to a decision on an outdoor firepit, or maybe a chimenea.

Yeah, seems people like fires and have opinions on the matter!

Mine was delivered, not stacked. I could have paid another $50 for stacked, but I'm too cheap for that, so I'll deal!

 

[steve white]

Most expensive oak is that delivered to restaurants with oak fired ovens.

 

[Boyd Brooks]

Most expensive oak is that delivered to restaurants with oak fired ovens.

Food grade food!

 

[coreydb]

Any hardwood will be good. Just avoid your soft wood like poplar or cottonwood. They pop hot cinders quite a ways when the air pockets get so hot they explode. It cost my dad a partial floor repair. Also avoid all pine and evergreen due to their pitch.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Hello chaps.

Winter is well and truly upon us here in WI, so my mind has turned to firewood.

My fireplace is mostly an aesthetic thing. I like the appearance, the smell, the noise, and the coziness, but realistically it isn't a primary heating source. It's a fairly large, totally open grate fireplace with an excellent draw. To be perfectly honest it's probably pulling as much heat up the chimney as it's putting into the room. The advantages of old, brick built Tudor-revival style houses.

I muddled through the last couple of winters purchasing bundles from the gas station on an ad-hoc basis, which worked fine, but this year I'm thinking I want to use my fireplace a bit more regularly and should probably buy some wood in bulk.

A few questions to those with more experience with that.

Firstly, how much is a reasonable quantity to last a season, assuming a couple burns a week, call it 4-6 hours each? I'm thinking a 1/4 cord should be sufficient? This is WI, so I'm using it now, and I'll still want to use it in late March.

Do you have specific recommendations on type of wood I should consider? Oak seems a default choice, but open to Cherry, Hickory, or whatever if it's worth it. Again, smelling nice, looking pretty is as important as actual heat output, but it does need to chuck out enough to make the room feel cozy. I'm happy to do some tending of it, but something that'll last a little while without stacking on more logs would be welcome. Price isn't really a factor, I'm not using much and there doesn't seem to be meaningful differences either way.

Where are you guys storing your wood, and do you have a recommendation on a storage frame or similar? I can set something up in the basement, or outside, and am happy to spend a few hundred bucks for a convenient solution. I'll probably buy kiln dried stuff for the most part, so bugs etc shouldn't be an issue if storing inside.

Cheers!

@Alistair
An open fire loses about 85% of its heat up the chimney.
Personally I would put the biggest slow combustion heater with a glass door in the hearth.
Better for heating, less wood usage and you still get the look and smell of an open fire.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Here in Virginia I buy mixed hardwood as that’s most economical. I burn a fire a fair amount run them hot so I go through a lot of wood—about a half a cord a year. If I was in Wisconsin I would imagine closer to a full cord.

If price is not a factor cherry is my favorite followed by oak. But I would go with whatever you can get locally that’s well seasoned.

@Russ16
I don't know how much wood is in a chord but when I lived in the NSW high country we would burn between 11-15 ton (2,440# to a ton) a season.
Bob

 

[8 x 60]

I use whatever I have tidied up over the preceeding year. Damson, Apple, Oak (if we have a casualty or branch that needs removing) Had to prune some large birch trees due to their proximity to the house effecting the foundations - their water uptake was drying the clay on which the house stands.
Storage in an open lean-to next to garage and another pile under a tarp in the field.

 

[Mountainshadows]

Well, lots of hate for using soft woods, pine etc. People have to realize not everyone lives near an abundance of hardwood. Where I live, hardwoods are rare.
I heat my shop for warmth in the winter (Montana). A few years ago I installed a ceiling hung electric heater just to come on overnight if it drops too cold. I have acquired various types of large machinery over the last few years and don't want a condensation build up on the equipment. 14 years at this place and that wood stove has done a fabulous job. The first bunch of years I burnt mainly old cedar fence posts.
The last 5 or 6 years I have been burning pine. Last year I went to a sawmill and for a 100 dollar bill they would fill as large a trailer as you had with as much wood until you told them to stop. Most of the pieces are trimmings from the logs and can be cut with a battery powered skill saw. Some of the bigger ones need a chain saw. 99.9 % of the wood is pine.
It's never bothered me to cut wood. The saw mill trimmings are just more convenient.

And before I get lectured about creosote build up because of the pine, I burn one of those creosote killing logs every couple of years. I've never had an issue.
Something for those who burn with fireplace or wood stove, keep a jug of water handy and if you have a chimney fire you can pitch the water into the fire and the steam expansion will put the chimney fire out.

A hell of a divergence from the thread, but those were nice bows!

 

[steve white]

Any hardwood will be good. Just avoid your soft wood like poplar or cottonwood. They pop hot cinders quite a ways when the air pockets get so hot they explode. It cost my dad a partial floor repair. Also avoid all pine and evergreen due to their pitch.

Two guys decided to hunt Colorado for the first time. They brought canvas tents with a wood stove. As they drove up to find a camp site, they saw "an old fool" just shooting holes in a section of smoke stack, seemingly for target practice--and he was shooting all over the place. Ha, ha.
Later that night their tent caught on fire and was a total loss. They went into town to buy another. The salesman said, "better buy this screen section to top your smoke stack--the air will burn out cottonwood cinders and the screen will keep them from burning your tent to the ground--OR, YOU COULD JUST SHOOT THE TOP SECTION FULL OF HOLES WITH A .22!

 

[coreydb]

Two guys decided to hunt Colorado for the first time. They brought canvas tents with a wood stove. As they drove up to find a camp site, they saw "an old fool" just shooting holes in a section of smoke stack, seemingly for target practice--and he was shooting all over the place. Ha, ha.
Later that night their tent caught on fire and was a total loss. They went into town to buy another. The salesman said, "better buy this screen section to top your smoke stack--the air will burn out cottonwood cinders and the screen will keep them from burning your tent to the ground--OR, YOU COULD JUST SHOOT THE TOP SECTION FULL OF HOLES WITH A .22!

AMEN!!

 

[Boyd Brooks]

@Russ16
I don't know how much wood is in a chord but when I lived in the NSW high country we would burn between 11-15 ton (2,440# to a ton) a season.
Bob

So a full cord (4’x4’x8) of dried red oak weighs approximately 2 tons. So 3 to 4 cords of wood which is the same as my hunting buddy burns for the winter in here in Ontario.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

So a full cord (4’x4’x8) of dried red oak weighs approximately 2 tons. So 3 to 4 cords of wood which is the same as my hunting buddy burns for the winter in here in Ontario.

@Boyd Brooks
So I was burning 6-7 chords a winter in Tumut then.
Bob

 

[Boyd Brooks]

@Boyd Brooks
So I was burning 6-7 chords a winter in Tumut then.
Bob

What kind of wood, would you be burning in NSW for winter heat? Would it be more like North American hardwoods or African hardwoods?

 

[Betterinthebush]

What kind of wood, would you be burning in NSW for winter heat? Would it be more like North American hardwoods or African hardwoods?

American Walnut. Mostly .243 stocks…

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

What kind of wood, would you be burning in NSW for winter heat? Would it be more like North American hardwoods or African hardwoods?

Some of our woods are bloody hard like iron bark and gidge.
Others like yellow box, gum, mesmate and stringy bark are all great very hot burning woods that last for hours in a slow combustion heater.
Pink stringy bark will burn a heater out in a season of you don't mix it with othe woods.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

American Walnut. Mostly .243 stocks…

@Betterinthebush
Wouldn't burn the stock.
The highest grade wood that should be used in a 243 is a few termite infested fence railings that have been shaped with blunt rust wood working tools.
Even then that's to nice.
Bob