smfcpacfp
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2007
- Messages
- 1,346
- Tractor
- Kubota B3030HSDC
I partially heat my house with wood, and have done so for 30 years. Currently I have a Woodchuck 4000 forced air furnace. The other half my heating comes from a propane furnace. Periodically I buy wood, since me land is about 95% pine, usually around 20+cords at a time which should last 3 to 4 years. Below is most of the 22 cord load (80% red oak, some maple, a little white birch that I purchased this year ($2,000 - Is it that high where you live?).
I have an older Stihl 029 and a new Stihl 390 chainsaw to do the cutting. The last 10 years my son cut my wood but he lives in San Frisco and for the 10 years prior to that I hired that job, but this year my wife and I are doing it, and it isn't too bad.
Next is the log splitter that I built from scratch 29 years ago. It is pretty mean and ugly today, but it started on the first pull after 4 years of inactivity. The new addition is the orange lifting tongs which you can see on the splitter deck.
If you look closely at the wood pile, you will see that there are some very large pieces of wood. In the past I would just grunt and pick them up. I have not yet hurt my back, but I decided that I wasn't going to risk it anymore so I borrowed the lifting tongs from a friend. It hooks nicely on the toothbar on the loader of my B3030 HSDC. I don't have any pictures of this operation.
So we split the stuff we feel like lifting and when it comes time to split the ball busters, we fire up the tractor, use the tongs to put the big one on the splitter (this involves getting in and out of the tractor a lot moving the pieces, but it better than a bad back) and then we haul the split wood with the tractor.
My wife and I look at cutting and splitting as a form of exercise. Since we have our own equipment we worked at it 2 to 3 hours a day, every nice day, and the tractor makes it so much nicer than in the past
I have an older Stihl 029 and a new Stihl 390 chainsaw to do the cutting. The last 10 years my son cut my wood but he lives in San Frisco and for the 10 years prior to that I hired that job, but this year my wife and I are doing it, and it isn't too bad.
Next is the log splitter that I built from scratch 29 years ago. It is pretty mean and ugly today, but it started on the first pull after 4 years of inactivity. The new addition is the orange lifting tongs which you can see on the splitter deck.
If you look closely at the wood pile, you will see that there are some very large pieces of wood. In the past I would just grunt and pick them up. I have not yet hurt my back, but I decided that I wasn't going to risk it anymore so I borrowed the lifting tongs from a friend. It hooks nicely on the toothbar on the loader of my B3030 HSDC. I don't have any pictures of this operation.
So we split the stuff we feel like lifting and when it comes time to split the ball busters, we fire up the tractor, use the tongs to put the big one on the splitter (this involves getting in and out of the tractor a lot moving the pieces, but it better than a bad back) and then we haul the split wood with the tractor.
My wife and I look at cutting and splitting as a form of exercise. Since we have our own equipment we worked at it 2 to 3 hours a day, every nice day, and the tractor makes it so much nicer than in the past