OP
Exhibit A. They're so loud tonight I can hear them inside even with the laundry going.
Build thread: house of freedom
- Thread starter freedom_in_4low
- Start date
Exhibit A. They're so loud tonight I can hear them inside even with the laundry going.
OP
Today's projects:
Cut some brush to make a trail to the back property line.
Cut up some fallen branches into firewood. Wife wanted to drive the lawn tractor down there to bring the logs up and got sketched out by the slope. 
Kids got a ride. Youngest has a blue mouth, working on his Halloween candy I see.
Cut some brush to make a trail to the back property line.
Kids got a ride. Youngest has a blue mouth, working on his Halloween candy I see.
Today's projects:
Cut some brush to make a trail to the back property line.
Cut up some fallen branches into firewood. Wife wanted to drive the lawn tractor down there to bring the logs up and got sketched out by the slope.
Kids got a ride. Youngest has a blue mouth, working on his Halloween candy I see.
View attachment 473129
I’ve got that same little trailer
Good lord that thing had a lot of bolts to assemble
Good times with the family right there- Really take time to drink it in. You’ll be glad later.
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OP
OP
I've got this temporary firewood rack set up just to get stuff off the ground until I build something more permanent. I have about 4 more trees (already cut) that are still piled where I cut them, and 1 standing dead trunk about 12" wide and 16' tall that I need to cut down. Then I have about 8 more small to medium sized post oaks and an elm that have to go eventually just because they're in the way or sick but since they're still alive and not at risk of falling on anybody I'm leaving them alone until I have a place to put them.
The bulk of this work has been done with the Milwaukee M18 16" chainsaw. It's better in every way to the previous Poulan Pro I got at Walmart years ago...which it should be because it was 4x the price. But so far I have zero regrets getting that vs a similarly priced Echo or Stihl. I concede that it could simply be because I've never used one of those higher end saws and don't know what I'm missing...but ignorance is bliss.
The bulk of this work has been done with the Milwaukee M18 16" chainsaw. It's better in every way to the previous Poulan Pro I got at Walmart years ago...which it should be because it was 4x the price. But so far I have zero regrets getting that vs a similarly priced Echo or Stihl. I concede that it could simply be because I've never used one of those higher end saws and don't know what I'm missing...but ignorance is bliss.
I’m glad you posted that I picked up one of those the other day and I haven’t got it out of the box but I thought it would be good to have handy
Exactly- that was my idea- great to cut down wood gates and fence posts for trail access
Exactly- that was my idea- great to cut down wood gates and fence posts for trail access
Goes with my M18 grinder for those damn locks!
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Man those pesky locks.
Then those weird signs in French - “no trespassing”....means enter trail here I think- They are always at the gate
OP
I could load a lot more wood in this thing and as it is I'm getting almost 250F air out of it and the 1000sf upstairs has warmed by 6F in 2 hours.
I had to wear a glove to get the temp because it's painful to have bare skin within 18" of it for more than a few seconds.
I'm gonna have to do some sort of door or a curtain over this opening to the upstairs loft to keep some of the heat down here. I've also considered rigging up a plenum in the attic and connect all my return ducts to it along with some dampers so I can make the downstairs unit pull from the upstairs returns and bring some of the heat back down once it gets up there.
When I started the fire it was 65 downstairs and 63 upstairs. Now it's 68 down and 69 up.
I had to wear a glove to get the temp because it's painful to have bare skin within 18" of it for more than a few seconds.
I'm gonna have to do some sort of door or a curtain over this opening to the upstairs loft to keep some of the heat down here. I've also considered rigging up a plenum in the attic and connect all my return ducts to it along with some dampers so I can make the downstairs unit pull from the upstairs returns and bring some of the heat back down once it gets up there.
When I started the fire it was 65 downstairs and 63 upstairs. Now it's 68 down and 69 up.
My last house had a similar stove installation, except I burned coal, and not wood. Anyway, I installed a grate in the ceiling above the stove that lead to the floor above. I had a floor grate on the floor of the upper level and sheet metal connecting the two grates. Between the grates I installed a small fan, about the size of a desktop computer fan.
Hot air rises, and the fan helped it along. I had an open staircase, similar to your house. The staircase acted as the "cold" air return. I was amazed at how well the heat got distributed on the that end of the house. I sold the house before I connected any type of heat input to the houses duct work that served the far end of the house.
Is your ceiling fan able to draw air up or only blow air down?
OP
Like a lot of the country, we've had a cold snap with highs in the single digits. Great opportunity to really use the fireplace.
I've had a burn going for 30 hours now, getting ready to go to bed, loaded up and turned down the air control for an overnight burn. I can sit and watch this thing for hours.
I get particularly mesmerized by the way the flames almost appear to move in slow motion when the air control is throttled down.
I've had a burn going for 30 hours now, getting ready to go to bed, loaded up and turned down the air control for an overnight burn. I can sit and watch this thing for hours.
I get particularly mesmerized by the way the flames almost appear to move in slow motion when the air control is throttled down.
OP
about 95% oak with an occasional elm thrown in. I've been burning through a few trees I asked the builder to set aside for firewood so it's about 2 years old but I'm running pretty low on stuff that's seasoned and may end up buying some before the end of winter. I probably have a cord of stuff that'll be ready for next year and about a half dozen smaller trees I want to cut down this winter in hopes they won't take as long to season as the stuff I cut down last spring.
Not much spruce/pine/fir in this part of the state. We have a bit of juniper that my wife wants me to cut down (because her and one of our kids are allergic) but I'll probably use it for the outdoor firepit because from what I read it'll make more creosote than hardwood and it'll light easier/burn faster and make less heat.
Hard to beat the ambiance of a wood burning fireplace. Our 1980s home has the original Superior fireplace. The forced air fan needs updated/replaced as does the 120v outlet. If I do it right though, I can heat our main level almost 10° warmer using the fireplace.
I get my wood from a local place that cuts down trees in the area. I typically get a mix of soft pines and premium hard maple. Use the pine to get it started and maintain throughout the day and the hard maple to get me through the night or to really throw some heat if its cold enough outside.
Back in October I loaded up a 1/4 cord of local hardwoods (elm, cottonwood, russian olive) as it was all they had (already had some pine at home). It has been absolute garbage to burn. Not hot at all, burns incredibly fast (even faster than the pine) tons of ash, and lots of smoke. I will likely run out tonight and can't wait to go back to the premium maple.
I can get a 2/3 cord to fit in the 5.5' box of my pickup. The premium maple is about $300 for the load. Not a bad price in my opinion for those that don't cut their own cords. The bundles of garbage they sell at the local grocery stores are $15 for about 5 logs.
This also reminds me that I need to plan some time to clean my chimney...
OP
I haven't burned cottonwood but that doesn't surprise me given how fast they grow. I have a couple of 80'+ back next to the creek but have no intention of cutting them down. I believe Russian olives are considered invasive and illegal to plant here so we don't have any. I have read the same about elm which is why when I burn it, it's always one log mixed in with oak. Burning it has mostly just been to dispose of a dying and damaged tree in our back yard and only one branch that had already been dead for years and wasn't even big enough to split is dry enough to burn yet. I also heard it stinks when burned but in a closed fireplace I haven't worried too much about that.
I'll keep maple as a mental note for when I go shopping. I don't have any on my property but we do have them here.