Heating with wood, 40 + years now. This is how I deal with it.

[FTG-05]

I believe it!

When I first started burning, I used cooking oil as a starter. Works great. Now that I know what I'm doing, I have dry wood (most people don't know what really dry wood is) and I have plenty of kindling from the splitting process. That and a half of an egg carton and my fires start with one match.

Of course, once cold weather sets in well, we aren't starting fires any more. It's one long fire from December to February, usually.

Isn't that the truth! All three statements!

 

[PhysAssist]

I start my fires with wood shavings and kerosene. I take a tin can full of shavings and pour some kerosene on them and dump it in a line in the fire box. Put some smaller pieces of wood on and light it. It heats the flu fast and gets a good draw going. Not a lot of fuss.

We use tiny pieces of fatwood pine [which my in-laws bring back from their visits to her brother in GA] to light thinly split pieces of cedar cut from blow-downs and trees we had to move for our driveway improvement project [we had to widen it to get dump trucks and other large equipment up for our barn build in 2012].

 

[turnkey4099]

Kindling? Oil? I have a stove with an ashpan. Put in a couple spits hopefully a couple with a pointed edge, few sheets of crumpled paper in the ash pan, light the paper and come back in a few minues to close the ash pan door. sometimes it takes as few more sheets of paper.

 

[fishheadbob]

I did an average of 7 cords of mostly hickory and beech per winter for over 40 years from growing trees in our woods through to hauling out the ashes. As many geezers will, we took to snowbirding for a month or 2 in the winter which carried the unpleasant bonus of a hefty heating oil bill for those months. Gas isn't available so we bit the bullet going geothermal, which is really inexpensive once you get past the initial wallop. I still burn a few face cord each winter just to keep doing it, guess I don't know any better.
My observations are: 1) that the woods benefited from selectively cutting the "right" trees. I think there is more valuable timber at the end of each cutting season when culling is done right. And 2) Lord does my back feel better.

 

[Thomas]

What do you do w/your wood ashes?...I spread mine on the lawn which helps keep grubs and mole at far.

 

[motownbrowne]

Odd, I thouht I had been at it longer. comes out to exactly 40 years. Comin up on 81 in Jan. Burn around 6 cord a year, sell around 6. Cut all summer hauling the rounds and manually split all winter - gotta have something to do to pass time. I have a hydraulic splitter but it only sees the knots/crotches. Split with Fiskars X27 - that thing is amazing!, Wedge/sledge to bust the bigger ones in half for the X27, Maul only used to tap the X27 when it didn't quite firnish a split or to chop apart a stubborn piece.

I have some 60-70 cord of Black Locust in the stock piles, burn about 3 a year. I lucked into that due to an infestation of the Locust Borer. I about denuded the area for 30 miles around for every stick of it I couild get my hands on.

I am now clear cutting willow groves for farmers at no charge just to keep my physical condition from deteriorating to a 300 lb couch potato. I mix 50/50 willow/ locust for the fire and sell willow at $120/cord. Got surprised with a 6 cord order last week that wipes out my dry willow stock. I'll have to cut/split 15 cord by spring to cover my use next year plus orders and a start on rebuilding a year's reserve. Already have about 9 cord inr rounds so my cutting season has to be extended this year.

Off to Mr. Farmer in the morning to lay down another big willow that should produce over a cord.

Started way back then with used, cheap saws. Have improved the herd now to all Stihl, 192T (limbin), MS310 (getting old and tired), MS361, MS441 with a selection of bars from 16" to 32". Carry 2-3 loops of sharpened chains for each bar size. No filign in the field for me.

Did you guys catch this? Turnkey is 81 years old and splits his wood with an X27 splitting axe.

Nice work my friend, keep it up!!

 

[Budweiser John]

It looks like there are 4 or 5 for sale on eBay for $20 to $165. Mostly they seem to be all brass.

I use a similar Fire starting wrinkle in the shop but with a five gallon bucket full of planer chips to which I add about a half pint of diesel fuel. Like fine wine, after a few days of aging, a small scoop of "home made fat wood"
Will encourage all but the wettest of wood to offer up a bit of heat on a frosty morning.

B. John

 

[TomSeller]

That and a half of an egg carton and my fires start with one match.
.

Interesting way to cook eggs

 

[TomSeller]

Did you guys catch this? Turnkey is 81 years old and splits his wood with an X27 splitting axe.

Nice work my friend, keep it up!!

I hope to hold a candle to that when I get to 81 if cream of wheat is not drooling down my chin. Impressive.

 

[turnkey4099]

What do you do w/your wood ashes?...I spread mine on the lawn which helps keep grubs and mole at far.

Same here and it does add a bit of phosphorus.