Wood Heat Thread ~ post pics

Coal plants are all being replaced by gas plants.
1st .... Gas is cheaper
2nd .... Pollution
I've read a few articles bashing Obama for shutting down coal plants.
Yes he increased air quality standards , and rightfully so , but the heart of the matter is that gas is wayyyy cheaper. Hence that being number 1.
The articles went on to say that , even without the air quality standards , plants are switching to gas due to cost of the fuel price along with maintenance costs and ash removal.

I Always admire your craftsmanship oz , lots of artistry involved !
Seems you live in a wonderful place. Lucky You !!
I was a Steamfitter working in power plants , nukes , breweries , hospitals etc. not as much room for artistry afforded there as home improvement.
Was a good living though.

 

I live in a town of 700, I would be surprised if less than 100 homes heated with coal.

 

Hence the CorrosiveTendency I wager

 

Those of you who are burning coal and wood; how long are your metal chimney stacks lasting before you have to replace them? I've read that burning both fuels in the same flue is harder than hell on steel chimneys.

 

The username comes from my bittersweet emotions caused by my 1st rusted out Tacoma frame.

 

Couldn't tell you .... I have a clay , terricota liner , no problems since 83

 

And you haven't noticed any degredation of the steel pipe that runs from the stove to the chimney? I know you've only got a short run, but how many times has that been replaced?

 

^^^ Never ... Seriously , and it's fine.
I'm not sure what you heard on that matter , but it's not reliable information.

 

Thanks. I had my doubts, but had no experience with both fuels in the same flue/stove/etc.
Guess it falls into the same category as burning rock salt to prevent chimney fires

I burned coal the first winter we were in our new house and loved the heat that it threw, but after I burned up the 1/2 ton or so that was left in the shed when the previous owner died I had no interest in continuing to burn it. Around here it costs more than twice as much as wood, and there aren't any suppliers close by. And the dust drove my girlfriend bonkers, lol. So I ripped the Hearthmate wood/coal combo stove out, picked up a Hearthstone that needed some work, restored it and installed that instead. It's been heating the house like a champ ever since.

 

I can watch videos like this until my eyeballs fall out.

 

Springboard mania

All the old stumps around here still have springboard notches in them

 

It's a shame, because that majestic old tree will probably just end up as warped 2x4's at Home Depot.

 

I live in northern Ontario and heat mainly with wood. I decided to install a propane forced air furnace as well because in the wee hours of night the fire either goes out or is no longer generating enough heat. Here is my newly constructed wood shed which is only about 30' from my front door. I go through about 15 face cords a season. A tandem load of logs runs $900 and I can usually get about 21 face cords (1/3 of a full cord) out of a load. I save a bunch of money and I look at it as a gym membership due to the great workout from cutting, splitting and stacking the wood.

 

That is a dandy wood shed.

Here is my splitter:

 

Same here. Have a bunch to do before winter rolls around.

Wood shed I built earlier this summer.

 

That's one sharp-looking woodshed, but it's only a partial gym membership since you're using a hydraulic splitter!

Very nice. I've got two that are my primaries:



The Snow & Nealley I picked up at a yard sale and I'd say it's probably from the 70's. The Council Tool was a gift from the GF last x-mas. Since it's only a 6-pounder it's a little easier to swing and it ends up being more accurate for splitting smaller stuff where the S&N is overkill.


Plus I just got 3 other splitting mauls of unknown parentage (but they're definitely at least 30 years old) in a batch of old tools I picked up this summer, so I've got plenty of spares if I somehow manage to break a haft on one of these.

 

Hey guys, cut me a little slack here. I'm 68 and in good shape but splitting 21 face cords by myself is more than this old body could handle. I do own a splitting maul which I used for years before investing in the gas splitter. I have also come across some old knarly birch that even my 15 ton splitter can hardly split and I absolutely guarantee your maul could never split.

 

Split some wood for deer season, and Ill be in Quebec unable to use it..

 

Lol. Just razzin ya. My dad is 64 and he invested in a splitter a couple of years ago too, a 28 ton unit.

As for the gnarly stuff, I'll usually do a 'saw split' on those, but if I don't feel like firing the Husky up then they get the 'Wedges & Sledges' treatment.

 

I don't hesitate to do a saw rip on the gnarly stuff. Wedges aren't a productive use of time. I fire up the Husqvarna 359 with modded muffler and 24" bar, and let her eat.