OT heater controls

I use a pivoting jib crane with a HF 2500 pound winch to move it to the splitter .

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You mentioned the jib crane before. How did you mount it to support a cantilevered side load?

My crane works well from the truck bed but the trailer is too light to lift much over the side without tipping over. I can flip it on its side by hand to work on a tire or wheel bearing. It was showing its age when I bought it in 1975.

I load long logs from the back end with the tripod hoist, whose legs can be individually walked forward while the log is lowered. The log rests on folding sawbucks in the trailer to avoid damaging the tailgate or tool box lid. I've brought in logs up to about 20' long that way to use as wood shed roof beams; shorter columns fit in the 8' trailer. The only significant expense for the sheds was the 2' x 8' corrugated galvy roofing, which was $8 per sheet originally and I bought extra. Now it's over $20. The sheets are mostly tied down with $1.01 cull PT 2x4s to avoid holes for screws, so it can be reused later elsewhere if damaged by falling branches and hammered back straight over pipe.

The shed floors and inner end walls that support the stacks are 40" x 48" pallets, the outer walls are HF camo tarps that last 5 years or more. They have held up well to heavy snow and ice loads and falling branches, plus a falling tree that broke one roof beam log and was stopped by the other.

Wood - the only home heating fuel that heats twice

The portable base is made from lengths of c channel that was made for steel building roof members . They extend past the circle of the jib in

2 directions . A 3rd piece is at a 45° angle opposite , and is shorter . All 3 have square tube angle braces with doubler pads at the bottom . I can get about 180° rotation with a load - and yes I've tipped it over a few times . I also have a pocket for a pivot pin in the front drivers side corner of my 5x8 utility trailer . With both a hand crank and an electric winch top section it makes for a pretty flexible setup .

I couldn't pick up my 5x8 by hand on my best day ...

I have never needed to bring long stuff out of the woods . If I need to I'd probably get one of the neighbors to drag it out with their 4X4 . Rusty the Tractor would just bury the back tires , got plenty of power but not much traction - especially with the blade up front mounted . My wood lot is a bunch of re-purposed steel 5 rib roofing panels 12 feet long . I have a stack of new and nearly new roof panels 8' long to make a roof over it ... if I ever get a round tuit . And all the steel roofing was free .

You guys must have that "cold" fire. When we used to have desert parties there wasn't much left of cans tossed in the fire. I knew ironwood tended to burn hotter than most woods, but most of our bonfires were dead fall mesquite.

The portable base is made from lengths of c channel that was made for steel building roof members . They extend past the circle of the jib in

2 directions . A 3rd piece is at a 45° angle opposite , and is shorter . All 3 have square tube angle braces with doubler pads at the bottom . I can get about 180° rotation with a load - and yes I've tipped it over a few times . I also have a pocket for a pivot pin in the front drivers side corner of my 5x8 utility trailer . With both a hand crank and an electric winch top section it makes for a pretty flexible setup . [[ That sounds like a very good solution on fairly level ground. I was logging on rocky slopes that had never been cleared for farming, they left small rock piles where they gave up. My own property is about the same, thus the hoisting tripods with freely swinging legs to dodge rocks. In some steep areas the uphill leg would be nearly horizontal and I had to cut the logs to firewood length where they fell and send them tumbling end over end down the hill. That was the only way they'd continue straight after hitting a rock. ]]

I couldn't pick up my 5x8 by hand on my best day ...

[[ But you can carry much more, which is what cargo trailers are meant for. My 3' x 8' bed trailer was originally for a single snowmobile and appears to have a 1000# axle rating. It's a good match to the Sears garden tractor and about the same narrow width to pass between live trees to reach the dead ones, but I can't fill it completely with firewood and still have enough traction, even with herringbone ag tires, wheel weights and chains. ]]

I have never needed to bring long stuff out of the woods . If I need to I'd probably get one of the neighbors to drag it out with their 4X4 . Rusty the Tractor would just bury the back tires , got plenty of power but not much traction - especially with the blade up front mounted . My wood lot is a bunch of re-purposed steel 5 rib roofing panels 12 feet long . I have a stack of new and nearly new roof panels 8' long to make a roof over it ... if I ever get a round tuit . And all the steel roofing was free . Snag

[[ I mentioned long logs to complete the description, for reference if this is archived like some other r.c.m. postings. The cost, or lack of it, was helpful when the town noticed the sheds and considered taxing their value. NH has no general sales or income tax (with some exceptions) and depends on high property taxes. get to amend and vote on the yearly budget at Town Meeting so there's little or no self-serving frivolity left in it (*), but we can't avoid rising prices for everything and competitive salaries for qualified teachers and officials. ]]

*don't try that in a small town

You guys must have that "cold" fire. When we used to have desert parties there wasn't much left of cans tossed in the fire. I knew ironwood tended to burn hotter than most woods, but most of our bonfires were dead fall mesquite. Bob La Londe

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Damp wood doesn't burn very hot.

And I'll be damned if I'll burn up my seasoned firewood for a bunch of lushes ! Actually I have a couple of piles of branches that I could drag to a spot where we could burn them . I usually leave the small stuff piled up as shelter for small critters . The semi-feral cats appreciate it .

Ha! That's about all we ever had a fire for. Okay, when I ran traps there were a few times my fire was legitimately for warmth, and a shovel full of coals for cooking breakfast is cheaper than a few cents worth of gas to start the stove... These days about the only time I start a fire is to grill steaks, lobsters, or chicken. I actually don't care for lobster, but my wife says she likes the way I grill them for her. I think that mostly means she likes when I'm cooking and she isn't.

So you kiss up to the cats to control the pests, and then you create habitat for the pests to appease the cats. Makes perfect sense to me. I actually like cats, maybe scraping half a flattened lizard off my boot not so much... and wondering where the other half is.

Seasoning firewood is not a big deal around here. We get about a month of humid weather all year.

I'm familiar with that climate . I grew up in Box Elder County Utah , very similar . Maybe not quite as dry as where you are , but the av annual rainfall is IIRC 18"-24" . We've had like 15 inches in the last month here .

The singles wettest year on record for Yuma Arizona was 1905 with 11.41 inches. Average annual rainfall is about 3.5. Most of it is late summer. We get lucky enough to get late winter or early spring rain the desert turns green and the wild gambel quail start popping out babies like crazy.

More than twice. I figure every piece of firewood is moved 9 times between the pile of 8' logs and being on fire in the stove. And that doesn't count felling or getting it out of the woods as in recent decades I've had 8' wood delivered to the yard. Don't have the endurance for woods work any lomger but I do still split 8 cord a year with a 7# maul or, when absolutely needed, the occasional gnarly bolt with wedges.

More than twice. I figure every piece of firewood is moved 9 times between the pile of 8' logs and being on fire in the stove. And that doesn't count felling or getting it out of the woods as in recent decades I've had 8' wood delivered to the yard. Don't have the endurance for woods work any lomger but I do still split 8 cord a year with a 7# maul or, when absolutely needed, the occasional gnarly bolt with wedges. Mike Spencer Nova Scotia, Canada

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I counted at least 12 handlings, sometimes more.

1. Lift log with chain hoist to cut to lengths.
2. Pick up 16" lengths, Into wheelbarrow.
3. From wheelbarrow into trailer or truck.
4. From trailer into open-sided drying shed.
5. From drying shed into trailer or wheelbarrow.
6. Into rain-tight storage shed.
7. Into wheelbarrow, to splitter.
8. Split to palm size, into another wheelbarrow.
9. From wheelbarrow into ready-use shed behind house.
10. Into wheelbarrow.
11. Through wall hatch Into metal chute.
12. From chute into stove. (13) screen charcoal from ashes.

1 requires bending down to chain it, standing to hoist. On rocky ground I slice it at waist height while standing upright, though usually cut it where it lies in the yard or driveway or on the roof. (*)

2 requires bending down to pick it up, the only back strain. Cutting to fall into the wheelbarrow risks it tipping onto my feet while I'm holding a running chainsaw. If the tree falls close to the trail and is light enough I cut it to fall into the trailer, but that's rare. I think it's best to do all the felling and sawing while I'm fresh and careful, then get tired lifting and moving the wood. 8 is standing, with the splitter wheels on ramps and an Atwood 82302 folding & telescoping stabilizer supporting the beam. The off side wood rolls onto the table. As-is the splitter beam sits low enough to roll heavy wet pieces onto it. I've weighed them at up to 150 Lbs, more than I probably should have been lifting into the truck. 12 is seated on a rolling stool, the rest are standing and bending only slightly, not enough for back strain. My bad back and knees were high school sports injuries that never completely healed and are easily aggravated. I claim I feel like a teen-ager because I still hurt in the same places.

I rigged the chimney so that pulling one cord tilts the rain/snow/birds cap open, another operates a weighted brush to clean it, while standing on the ground instead of the icy roof. The all-metal added structure up there is minimal and painted to blend into the background of trees.

(*) The morning after an ice storm I woke up to no electricity and a branch poking through the bedroom ceiling.

My procedure : Fell a tree , cut to stove lengths where it falls . Load into small yard trailer pulled by Rusty . Depending on how far from the woodlot , might transfer to larger trailer . If accessible (and there's enough to justify) straight to larger trailer , big pieces get loaded with the electric winch crane. I sometimes drag large rounds out of the woods with Rusty the Tractor then load with the electric crane into the 5X8 trailer . From trailer to splitter , by hand or crane depending on size . Pile up next to stacks or straight to stack , depending on "stuff" . Wheelbarrow to deck , pass thru window to wood box next to stove . Into stove , ashes (not screened) out to compost . This procedure can be modified if for instance a nice neighbor dumps

2 cords of firewood on me with the proviso it needs to be gone from their place as soon as is reasonable . I just yesterday finished splitting that 2 cords my neighbor gave me a month ago ... My woodlot is open , I cover the stacks with a tarp on top , leaving the sides open for air circulation .

My woodlot is open , I cover the stacks with a tarp on top , leaving the sides open for air circulation . Snag

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Maybe some day I'll find a bigger tractor with a bucket. The reasonable load limit for my garden tractor bucket attachment is only 200 Lbs, good to scrape up all but the wettest snow but not enough to excavate.

I tried tarps among many other cheap/free woodpile covers but they don't survive falling branches or our heavy snow + ice load, and my airtight Jotul-clone stove insists on thoroughly dried wood, so I built the pole sheds from tree trunks and a nearby contractor's scrap heap.

There's a noticeable difference between wood freshly brought in and wood that's been in the warm dry basement for several days. If the wood is dry enough it smokes a little on startup, then the chimney exhaust becomes as clear as a gas stove's, smells nice and doesn't sting my eyes. There's a camera watching it and a stove box temperature monitor in the kitchen to be sure it stays clear and inoffensive. It used to have a thermocouple at the chimney top and a draft (vacuum) gauge but the above is good enough. The draft gauge showed that the stove + chimney vibrates like an organ pipe at subaudible frequencies with the door slightly open.

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The turf tires on my garden tractor gave too little traction on snow and ice so I made up a set of tire chains from some rusty chain I got at a yard sale. It wasn't difficult to cut some of it to the length that reached half way around the tire and join their ends to longer lengths with split end chain repair links. The closure is with screw Quick Links. They aren't as tight as car tire chains with pelican hooks but the wheels doesn't spin fast enough for that to be a problem. They gave the snow traction though I still needed ag tires for springtime mud.

I saved some discarded links from log skidder tire chain for disposable weights to throw lines over high branches. On it the links were simply welded together at a right angle.

The turf tires on mine were totally shot when I got it , I went straight to ag tires and the chains stay on pretty much year round . Not much help in the woods but every little bit helps . I use a bow and arrow to get lines over higher branches I can't otherwise reach .

I use a bow and arrow to get lines over higher branches I can't otherwise reach .

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An arrow is likely the most accurate but I don't want to puncture a roof, mine or a nearby neighbor's. Where roofs aren't a problem I use a pneumatic line throwing gun similar to this, which has been accurate enough and can be regulated for power/distance so it doesn't tangle in the tree beyond.

As a general rule there are no roofs in range ... and with a recurve bow it's pretty easy to regulate how far your arrow is going to go .

When I was still cutting firewood from the woods myself, I tried to fell the trees in mid-summer and leave them lay with the tops on for a fortnight or two. The notion being that the leaves remained alive and drew a lot of water out of the wood before drying up themselves, presumably hastening the seasoning of the wood. Never did a high-tech evaluation by measururing wood water content in those trees versus controls cut up immediatly as you do.

Not always possible as summer demands put woods work off into winter as often as not. Now I guarantee well-seasoned wood by staying a year ahead. I'm about to put this coming winter's wood, all split and in a pile, into a closed shed. Wood for the next winter is in the yard already; I'll start bucking it up and splitting it in November.