Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[WinterDeere]

And I wanted to ask you personally, is it convenient to use this mesh box from the water tank to transport firewood? To load, unload. You probably transport it with pallet forks. Does the tractor easily lift it, especially when the wood is damp or of high density? I'm thinking about purchasing one.

Some quick numbers all from memory, so you may want to check me on this:

1. The heaviest hardwoods, the white oaks and locusts of the woodburner's world, run around 65 lb/ft3 when green.
2. The various state agencies of Weights and Measures usually figure a stacked cord of firewood around 85 ft3 of solid wood, so roughly 85/128 = 66% stacking efficiency. You're going to lose space in the corners and edges of the bin, unless bin dimensions are some perfect multiple of your cut length, but you're also probably going to endeavor to stack a bit more tightly and carefully in a small bin than when working by the cord. So let's say those two factors cancel, and your net stacking efficiency remains around 66%.
3. The standard 275 gallon IBC tote cages are 40 x 48 x 46 inches, so 51 ft3 = 2193 lb. at 65 lb/ft3 and 66%. The 330 gallon version would then come out at 2631 lb.
4. The cage itself weighs another 135 lb, bringing your totals up to 2328 to 2766 lb, respectively.

Long story short, you're going to need one hell of a loader to safely move them, especially if your path isn't totally flat and level. But 3-point forks on most CUT's can probably get the job done on level ground.

 

[ArtMech]

Some quick numbers all from memory, so you may want to check me on this:

1. The heaviest hardwoods, the white oaks and locusts of the woodburner's world, run around 65 lb/ft3 when green.
2. The various state agencies of Weights and Measures usually figure a stacked cord of firewood around 85 ft3 of solid wood, so roughly 85/128 = 66% stacking efficiency. You're going to lose space in the corners and edges of the bin, unless bin dimensions are some perfect multiple of your cut length, but you're also probably going to endeavor to stack a bit more tightly and carefully in a small bin than when working by the cord. So let's say those two factors cancel, and your net stacking efficiency remains around 66%.
3. The standard 275 gallon IBC tote cages are 40 x 48 x 46 inches, so 51 ft3 = 2193 lb. at 65 lb/ft3 and 66%. The 330 gallon version would then come out at 2631 lb.
4. The cage itself weighs another 135 lb, bringing your totals up to 2328 to 2766 lb, respectively.

Long story short, you're going to need one hell of a loader to safely move them, especially if your path isn't totally flat and level. But 3-point forks on most CUT's can probably get the job done on level ground.

Thank you very much for taking the time to do the calculations.

My tractor (M9000) lifts 6173 lb at the ball joints. That means it will definitely lift a tote cage full of firewood with a 3pt hitch pallet forks I have.

 

[Loaderman22]

ArtMech, I also went to the IBC metal totes about 3 or 4 years ago, and right now I don't think I'd ever do it another way. I now have 12 cut totes, ready to go, and 4 more that I have to cut yet.
I have a true loader, that I do firewood with:

So I typically load logs on the front and bring to where the splitter is, chunk them right off the forks, then split and stack right in the totes. I've been thinking of building a cutting table, but the videos I've seen they use only straight logs, which I don't always have.

I also cut the plastic bladders to make a little roof for each crate.

Yes the ends of the log get rained on, but I find that wood dries very well in these, especially in the sun, plus the roof acts like a greenhouse and dries any wood up top. They hold between 1/3 & 1/2 cord each, depending on length and tight/high you stack. Sometimes I'll add over a foot above the top of the metal under the "roof".
I was watching a youtube video of a guy who split up 16" long (green) cherry & red oak and filled a tote even with the top, he then loaded it in his pickup & went to the local weigh station. He also went with an empty tote, the difference IIRC was around 1650lbs or 1675lbs. Again, stacked even with the top and green wood. My machine pics them up fine, just cant necessarily turn without lifting the outside rear tire.
Sometimes I use the forks to lift the really big chunks right onto the splitter beam, here the forks are on either side of the wedge, and I could slide the pieces on the fork, back into the bucket.

I used tarps the first year, not a fan! The plastic lids are dryer, more durable, and you can just push the snow off the top.

 

[Loaderman22]

This time of the year when I do trail clean-up, I will take an empty tote on the forks with the loader, and tow the splitter with the 4 wheeler. I get my better half to drive the wheeler and I follow with the crate. Saw, fuel, oil all on the wheeler, chains, tongs, etc on the loader. We just stop and clean a section at a time, gather, cut split & load crate. When full, its break time, I drive back to house and return with an empty crate. She will use the little Stihl GTA26 saw and cut kindling or trim branches along the way. Anything too big to move by hand, I just set down the crate and use loader to lift. It's a nice little trail train, not too disimilar to the way Mr. Gould will sometimes run his gear. Tractor, wagon, then splitter. His works a little better than mine as he can tow the splitter backwards instead of pushing logs towards the wheeler, that's on the to-do list also! I built an outfeed table which keeps the logs from dropping to the ground, I want to add a folding metal one to the splitter, this was a trial run to find flaws/things I'd change.

 

[oldtimer 66]

I finished cutting up this wood on Friday when the weather was beautiful.

Today I got the tractor ready. Mounter the splitter and grapple. Just need to hook up the hay rack. But it's just to cold.

 

[WinterDeere]

I finished cutting up this wood on Friday when the weather was beautiful.

View attachment 3230334View attachment 3230335

Today I got the tractor ready. Mounter the splitter and grapple. Just need to hook up the hay rack. But it's just to cold.

View attachment 3230404

Nice view! What part of PA?

 

[ning]

And I wanted to ask you personally, is it convenient to use this mesh box from the water tank to transport firewood? To load, unload. You probably transport it with pallet forks. Does the tractor easily lift it, especially when the wood is damp or of high density? I'm thinking about purchasing one.

It's not the easiest to load if stacking the wood nicely, but it's not bad. The overwhelming advantage is being able to split and immediately stack wood at the same location, and then easily move the stack elsewhere. IMO this makes the awkwardness of loading worthwhile. Note though that what I consider less easy to load/stack is likely also due to my not having cut open the side as much as many. I'm likely to remedy this in the future as I grow more confident in the strength of the otherwise compromised cage; considering that very little wood weight is actually pressing on the cage side compared to straight down, the cage is mostly an advisory for the wood to stay in its stack.

My smaller tractor doesn't have any problem with a nicely stacked tote full of dense oak, but I definitely need a heavy counterweight on the back (like the backhoe) when the tote is full of green split wood, but then it's a heavy tractor for its size and a very capable loader.

My current setup has totes of firewood staged away from my house near my barn & splitting area, and a small shed next to the house where I can deliver two totes. When I need more wood in the house, I load some by hand from the tote to a hand-pulled wagon and re-stack it in a wood box that opens to the outside, it fits about 1/8 of a real cord of wood.

IMO a better system would be a frontless, backless cage - something with a base like the tote base, two sides to maintain the stack, and a brace across the top - which would provide excellent access to either front or back for stacking. My goal is that my next house will have a similar wood box, a closet adjacent to the fireplace which is sized for such a rack, accessible to a tractor from the outside, so I can deliver a nice stack of wood directly to the fireplace - so it's stacked once when split, and unstacked only when feeding the fire.

 

[Loaderman22]

I'm likely to remedy this in the future as I grow more confident in the strength of the otherwise compromised cage; considering that very little wood weight is actually pressing on the cage side compared to straight down, the cage is mostly an advisory for the wood to stay in its stack.

I cut the totes fairly open, with just 1 vertical on the open side before the corner. I don't stack mine, nor do I plan to, I'd rather have each one with its own roof. Since I don't plan to stack, I have found this to be more thatn sturdy enough even with another foot tucked up under lid above the metal. I haven't measured, but none look to be visibly distorted or spread open.

My goal is that my next house will have a similar wood box, a closet adjacent to the fireplace which is sized for such a rack, accessible to a tractor from the outside, so I can deliver a nice stack of wood directly to the fireplace - so it's stacked once when split, and unstacked only when feeding the fire.

As long as you don't mind critters and spiders in the house from the tote. I tend to shake them up a bit when moving to the house, but I almost always find a nest, a snakeskin, or a fat wolf/wood spider in the tote somewhere. Spiders are too cold to move in the tote when its outside, so a quick tap on something solid and they fall off the log. But if they warm up inside the house, thats a different story. My wife doesn't care for those basement/imitation daddy long leg spiders on the ceiling, and definitely doesn't like a hairy, fuzzy, beady green eyed, long fanged, wolf spider staring at her from under the log she just picked up! Snakes don't stay too long in the tote, too drafty, and after the meal they shed a layer and move on.

 

[ArtMech]

You guys have come up with so many good ideas. And your pics are eloquent.

I really have a problem with a firewood storage. I sometimes do not cut the dry trees, leaving them for next season because my outdoor warehouse is too small.

Yes, several totes would solve that. Could I lift them one on top of the other? Will the lower one withstand the load of the upper one? I would do it with a 3pt forklift.

 

[oldtimer 66]

Nice view! What part of PA?

Southeastern Erie county, a couple of miles from the NY boarder