Wood Heat Thread ~ post pics

Well thats swell

If you reference post #1 of this thread you'll see I actually enjoy the wood gathering part of it all plus all that wood in those first pics in posts 2 , 3 was dropped off as logs to my yard for free

So like I was saying , I get my wood for free

 

I figured I wood get some wood split today got me hand caught between the ball and hitch on my splitter.

 

D'oh.

 

Ouch!

 

Dang that hurt. Also in the future highly recommend not wearing your wedding band while splitting wood. Don't ask me how I know.

 

While splitting some oak today I discovered an immature Facehugger. Anyone have Ripley's phone number?

 

Is that not a queen termite grub ?

 

We only have the small, subterranean termites here. That's a flat-headed wood borer. After recently re-watching the director's cut of Aliens the other day, it's just the first thing my mind went to when that squirming thing appeared on the chopping block.

 

Same family as the dreaded Emerald Ash Borer. Killing thousands of Ash trees with no natural predators.

 

I'd thought about this before... Found this video, pretty good idea I think.

 

For Oz's sake, it's made of paper which comes from trees, so it is just highly processed wood fire.
I've seen something like this before and thought about doing it. What I think I will do is buy a mixing bit for a drill that is usually used for mixing drywall mud. I can cook up a few of these this summer and have a few paper logs ready for next winter.

If you have wax or candles you don't mind burning up, shred that into the wet paper mix to help these logs light easier. That will probably also lower the burn time on them.

 

This officially starts my log splitter project. My dad acquired a newer gas powered splitter, so I took his old, defunct electric splitter to rebuild. It was originally powered by a 12vdc motor, which was fed by a 120vac to 12vdc inverter. The motor was overheating and the pump no longer pushed fluid, so I gutted the power system and I'm currently acquiring parts to convert it to gas power.

 

Those buggers (and ants) are why the chickens hang out with me while I'm splitting. Whenever I break open a log with bugs, I toss it off to the side and they go nuts over it.

 

Vice grips

 

At least I didn't break out the duct tape...so far. The splitter used to have small motorcycle wheels, but later the whole thing was mounted to a cut up car frame and axle. I took it off the frame so it would fit in the bed of my truck for transport, then I borrowed those two wheels from my yard wagon to unload it and move it around. I'll have to find a new axle nut for the side with the vice grips.

 

This is definitely the heaviest load of firewood I've ever carried in this truck. Three cab high rows and a partial, all scrub oak. I'm about 2" from the bump stops.

 

That looks nice!!

 

Good call on the plywood headache rack

 

... and I get my wood for free. Different countries, different economic factors.

I did buy a wood stove, chimney, truck, dump trailer, wood splitter, 3 chainsaws, about 20 chains, helmet, pants, boots, gloves, and took a loggers certification course, but the wood is free. I have 50 acres of managed forest and wetland, but get most of my wood from acquaintances who want their yards cleaned up after Hydro comes and butchers their trees and leaves the logs in their yards, or removing dead elm from local farmers hedgerows. I do not have to drive far. I cannot see how an $900 to $1100 CAD delivery of log lengths is cost efficient in my case. I live in Canada, we have free trees, lots of them. Oil and electricity are very expensive.







... and the exercise is good for ya!

 

Well got around to working on the stove install recently. Made some decent headway. We were having some unseasonably warm weather just before Christmas so I got my chimney installed complete from stove pipe adapter through rain cap in advance of any looming weather.

I am doing a corner install of a Century S244. I will using all double wall stove pipe and will be constructing a wall heat shield to reduce the clearance required to combustables as well, to really help tuck this thing into the corner. The hearth tile will extend in front of my current sliding patio door as well. The door will be replaced this spring as it is original construction and leaks a bit, then I will finish up the tile.

I removed the baseboards, got the carpet cut back, and the hardi-backer down. Just trying to lay some things out a bit...


Moved the outlet up the wall a bit, also got the tile down.


Overall corner shot showing chimney and sliding door.


Going with AirStone from Lowes for the heat shield. Used the high temp exterior adhesive to attach them to cement board. Cement board is spaced off the drywall with (2) 1/2" strip of cement board to get me my 1" airgap. Using corner stones to wrap the "returns" back to the wall closing off the ends of the wall shield giving it a finished look.


One note about the AirStone. Product is a good idea, but poor execution. It supposed to be a mortarless install, but the variations in thickness (especially the corner blocks) make in very hard to accompish this and have a clean install. I was constantly placing shims to account for variations, which in turn leaves small gaps when everything is dry. Oh well looks good enough and no one will probably ever notice, but just a word of caution.

Finished shot (for now)...I still have got to make up a nice mantle to cap off the stone, but have to leave my airgap at the top too for cooling of the wall shield. Then put some tack strip down and affix the carpet back into place.



Fire!!!