Firewood Information, Firewood Photos, Firewood Pictures

Unstable Firewood Piles, Photo

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:15:00 +0000

I move and stack a LOT of firewood, but despite my experience, a pile topple is a scary reality. Be very careful out there, particularly if you have children!!

When stacking your firewood, avoid gnarled, odd shaped and overly short pieces as they can potentially compromise the pile's stability. Don't stack too high either, the taller they are, the harder they fall.

Happy heating!

Pin Oak Firewood Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:07:00 +0000

Ash Ash Everywhere! Some helpful hints

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:27:00 +0000

A BIG downside to burning wood for heat is the constant ash pile. A very helpful hint, try to move your ash to the bucket while it's still in coal form. It will emit a little smoke, but otherwise keep ash from being shot in the air from the heat. If you let the coals die down, every scoop will send ash into your air, coating everything in the room!

Another helpful hint, don't dump your ash in a trash can until you're SURE it's completely cold. I've ruined two plastic cans this way, both with gaping burn holes in the bottom.

Have a yard? Potash is high in potassium, good fertilizer for some plants. Do your research though, too much potassium can scorch your plants. You can also use Potash in small amounts with your compost pile.

Happy heating!

Leather Gloves, Buy Some!

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:47:00 +0000

Stock up on a few pairs of inexpensive leather gloves. Your local hardware store will have them for $5-$10 a pair. With Winter brings dry air, and painfully dry skin. As you move firewood, collect kindling, break sticks, etc. you will inevitably scratch or scrape your skin. Buy a few pair today, your hands will thank you!

The Hidden Costs of Wood Heat

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:50:00 +0000

I LOVE wood heat. The warmth, the smell, the energy savings... but there are hidden costs that will eat into your bottom line, as a first time buyer. After you've invested in a wood stove, installation, chimney liner, wood, fireplace tools, fire extinguisher, fire grate, ash bucket, etc. you're done right? Wrong. Apart from the time and effort (hard to quantify) of cleaning out ash on a daily basis and finding a suitable disposal location (I suggest your composite pile), you should budget $100-$150 a year for a chimney cleaner. You can purchase your own tools inexpensively, but I say, let the experts do their job. Chimney-sweep's are typically fast, clean and will eliminate the dangerous creosote that's formed from previous fires. An unclean chimney can not only cause house fires, but they can also impact the airflow thus causing backdrafts and a living room full of smoke! You've been warned!

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Firewood Kindling, Kindling Collection

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:34:00 +0000

Unless you plan to keep your wood stove going 24/7, there will be plenty of occasions when you'll re-start a fire from scratch. Start stocking up now on dry sticks and twigs blown down from Summer storms, you will go through them very quickly. The same goes for newspaper. Have a paper birch near-by? Use the sheddings as a great fire starter.

Like to Burn Wood? Join the Arbor Day Foundation

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 15:29:00 +0000

If you like to burn wood, you owe it to yourself to join the Arbor Day Foundation. Membership not only supports the planting of trees, they'll also send you 10 free tree sproutlings as part of your membership! You'll feel good supporting a worthwhile organization and know you're ultimately replenishing the resource you love.

Happy heating!

Fire Extinguishers, Buy One!

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:04:00 +0000

If you have a wood burning stove or fireplace, you should have a fire extinguisher...period. My kitchen floor is singed in half a dozen places due to popping/flying embers. Don't think a fire-screen is going to protect you either, the embers fly over & around. Chances are you will never need a fire extinguisher, but better safe than sorry. Keep it in the same room as the stove, but don't store it next to the stove itself. The high heat can cause undue pressure on the tank risking a malfunction. Make sure and test your fire extinguishers every year as well.

Happy heating!

Wood Burning Stoves + 30 Percent Tax Credit

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 18:22:00 +0000

If you've been toying around with the idea of adding a wood burning stove for your home heating needs, the 2009/2010 seasons IS the time. You can realize a 30% tax credit on your next return up to $1500 per item, in this case a wood stove with at least 75% efficiency. A tax credit will reduce your taxable income dollar for dollar. There's a great Q&A on the Woodstove.com website.

This is HUGE... to draw a comparison, it's like having another child without the long term expense. :-) Parents with children realize a $1000 yearly tax credit.

More Off-season Shopping, Humidifiers

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:42:00 +0000

During the heat of Summer, the last thing on your mind is, "how can I add more humidity to the air?". If you own a wood burning stove though, now is a great time to pick-up a humidifier and humidistat for a little less.

When you heat with a wood stove, you wick the moisture out of the air VERY quickly. Several times the humidity in my house went so low the humidistat didn't have a reading. This is bad for numerous reasons... it's not healthy, particularly with air-born rhino viruses in the Winter. Moisture in the air will help cling to floating particals and draw them down. Overly dry air will dry out your skin and nasal passages making you more suseptable to sinus infections. Bottom line, get some humidifiers!

Hot steam or cool mist is fine and if the room is pretty large, it can't hurt to have two. More moisture in the air will also make the room feel warmer. You've heard of 120 degree temps in Arizona and the people say, it's tolerable because it's a "dry heat". The opposite is true in this situation, you want more moisture so the room feels warmer. If you have a free-standing woodstove (not an insert), you can place a pot of water on top of the stove for some abient steam. Use this as a supplement though, not a primary form of humidification.

Invest in a humidistat as well. It not only monitors the temperature in the room but also the humidity. The humidistat will give you a visual read-out when the heat/humidity is out of whack.

Burning Wood Pallets for Firewood

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Fri, 22 May 2009 17:16:00 +0000

For most businesses wooden pallets are a menace. They add up quickly and are expensive to haul away. As such, you'll often see "free wood" signs close to factories with stacks and stacks free for the taking. Pallets are generally pine but you'll often find oak as well. Out of curiosity I took a few home for my stove. Let me tell you, it's a pain in the butt. The pallets are full of nails and by the time you saw away the un-nailed sections, you aren't left with much! It's like picking a scrawny chicken, not much meat. Don't get me wrong, the wood is extremely dry and burns nicely, but I question the time/effort to benefit ratio here. Unless you have a stove designed to burn the entire pallet nails and all (you can find these!) there's not much value. You can however use old pallets to keep your good firewood off the ground. Why use good split firewood as a base when you can use pallets? If you're really lucky you'll find some old pieces of plywood, these are great for covering the tops of your pile to keep the rain away.

Happy heating!

Prep for the Winter with Yard Sale's

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Sun, 10 May 2009 19:28:00 +0000

Spring is upon us and so is yard selling season. This is an excellent opportunity to find some cheap gear, including firewood rings and firewood tools like shovels, brushes, pokers, etc. Never buy new unless you have to! People convert their fireplaces from wood to gas or buy a new home and have no intention of using the fireplace. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

Happy hunting!

Free Firewood, Bring a Chainsaw!

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Tue, 05 May 2009 00:23:00 +0000

If you troll Craigslist with any regularity, you've likely come across listings for free firewood. But as the saying goes, is anything REALLY free?

The listings give me a chuckle every time I see them: "More free firewood than you can take. I have 10 oak trees in my backyard that need to be cut down. Bring a chainsaw and have at it!" I certainly can't fault the guys for trying, there's a sucker born every minute.

To fell a tree you're looking at $250-$1000 each from a professional tree trimmer.

Strike while the Firewood is wet!

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:34:00 +0000

If you're taking my advice and trying to FIND your firewood vs. pay for it, Spring time is usually rich with free wood. Make sure and check Craigslist or use the Twitter widget here, you'll find loads of free wood. You'll likely drive by many curbs with stacked wood as well. Obviously remember to split and dry the wood for at least 9 months before use. My next big purchase? A junker pick-up truck to cart this free wood home. The family mini-van is not cutting it!

White Oak Firewood Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:51:00 +0000

Firewood Hardness Chart

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:29:00 +0000

This is a GREAT wood hardness chart, not really intended for firewood, but it works for me. Take a look at White Oak or White Ash, two excellent burning woods, compared to the top woods on the chart. Imagine what Brazilian Walnut could do for your home heating needs! Then again, I'd rather keep our precious rain forests. Click on the photo for a larger view. Happy heating folks.

Black Walnut Firewood Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:27:00 +0000

I'd never seen a black walnut or identified the wood before one fell over in my neighbors yard, demolishing his neighbor's garage! It's really quite striking in color and beauty, you will immediately see why it's coveted for high-end furniture and/or veneer. I'm saving several large chunks to hopefully fashion into a nice table or chair. It's a shame to burn the rest but black walnut firewood puts off decent btu's. Click on each photo for a high-res look at the grain. Support Firewood blog by visiting it's sponsors.

Firewood Pile Art

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 14:29:00 +0000

I doubt this is a functional firewood pile, but it's very impressive! Art meets function??

What a sight... shrink wrapped firewood

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:57:00 +0000

I know not everyone heats their house with wood and occasionally people want to use their fireplace once or twice a year, but I couldn't help but shutter when I saw shrink wrapped firewood bundles!

It's got to be the lowest of the lows for a tree; cut down in it's prime, split, aged, shrink wrapped in a petroleum derivative and affixed with a cute nylon handle and bar coded. Oh the shame...

White Ash Firewood Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 19:33:00 +0000

White Ash is an excellent firewood, easy to split and tops the BTU output list with White Oak. As you can see from the photos the wood has long parallel grain. You might notice the pattern, white ash is commonly used in baseball bat production. One easy way to identify White Ash firewood is to check out the grain. It will exhibit a diamond shape pattern in the bark. Click on each photo for a high resolution look.

Hard Work!

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:37:00 +0000

My Father & I split and stacked wood today for almost six hours. I give MAJOR kudos to anyone that splits wood with an axe and maul, because I'm hurting right now... more pictures to come!

Proud of your Firewood Pile?

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 23:44:00 +0000

Proud of your firewood pile and want to show it? Send me a picture of your pile, how you split it, your location and the type of wood and I'll post it to the blog!

Whether you split via axe and maul or hydraulic splitter, splitting firewood it a LOT of work. Splitting, moving, stacking, hauling, rolling... you'll use muscles you haven't used in a while! Personally I'm very sore, but a small price to pay for energy independence.

(unfortunately that's not my firewood pile to the left!)

Coolest Firewood Splitter EVER!

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 16:08:00 +0000

Black Cherry Firewood Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 13:24:00 +0000

Black cherry firewood is a GREAT firewood to burn. It's sad really, because it's so beautiful. The core of the wood is a peach/pink color grading out to yellow, white and then bark. It burns HOT and LONG and coals nicely. It gives off a little scent, a semi-sweet smell. If you find any, you'll treasure it for sure.

As a general rule any of the fruit woods (cherry, apple, pear, etc) are dense, hot burning firewoods. Click the photos for a high-res view:

Firewood Photos Cross Section

noreply@blogger.com (Wine-O) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:50:00 +0000

I found this photo on a discussion group. It's great, but unfortunately too small. I hope to create something similar but in high res so you can really see the wood grain.