Wood Arrived

[MadTripper]

I took delivery of my wood today. *A beautiful load for $540.00. *Well worth the money for a large pile. *Of course there is a lot of work to be done however they are decent size logs in length and just right for hand splitting. *It is a mix of the following:

Ash
Maple
White Birch
Black Birch
Beech
Cherry
Oak

The only thing I would have added if I hand picked the logs is some Black Locust but fortunately, I have some standing dead thanks to bore beetles. *I'm considering stacking a holz hausen which is supposed to decrease the drying time (3 months from what I've read). *Of course I can't really believe it unless I try it and if it works, I'll continue to stack using this method. *Besides, they look pretty cool.

Not mine but this is what I'm aiming for:

http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php?ACT=24&fid=4&aid=905_xWjktkp0zEnoI541lgI o&board_id=1

Tripper

[flatwater]

Heck , put a roof over it and you have a place to store stuff.
Flatwater

[MadTripper]

I took a quick shot of the wood pile this morning however it was using my phone so the quality is a little shotty.

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/10602-1/wood.jpg


Tripper

[MadTripper]

I started a 7 foot version of the Holz Hausen today. This should be about 2 cord of wood when I'm finished. I wasn't sure if I shared this before but here is the link I am using as directions:

http://www.thechimneysweep.ca/6seasoningwood.html

Here are a few photos.

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/10832-1/September08+079.JPG

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/10835-1/September08+080.JPG

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/10838-2/September08+081.JPG

I also picked up a wagon for wood gathering. A friend had it in his barn and asked if I wanted it. I have some maintenance to do but overall, it should work well either behind the tractor or my Nissan Patrol.

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/10850-1/September08+085.JPG

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/10853-2/September08+086.JPG

[AlchemyAcres]

Very cool!


~Martin

[MadTripper]

I made some more progress today and thought I'd share. *The stacking is coming along a bit faster than I anticipated.

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11078-1/SeptemberII08+078.JPG

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11072-1/SeptemberII08+076.JPG

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11084-1/SeptemberII08+080.JPG

My wife was out with me for a bit today and took some pictures of the woodsplitter. *Not the fastest unit but the results are the same, well, with added muscle pain. :-/

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11108-1/SeptemberII08+088.JPG

Tripper

[MadTripper]

Still growing!

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11126-1/septemberIII08+002.JPG

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11132-1/septemberIII08+004.JPG

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11135-2/septemberIII08+007.JPG

Tripper

[ozarksnick]

Man, that's great. Gotta try that myself sometime. My split wood ain't so pretty though.

[MadTripper]

Thanks! I'm anxious to see if the wood will really season in three months. I'm about half way done with the first one so mid-December, I should be ready to tear into the first pile. I have some ash set aside and I also have some other wood I need to gather that is seasoned already so that should carry us into the season. Overall, I'm pleased with the stacking. Not only does it look pretty cool, it gives a definite number to what is there. So far, about a cord but this weekend should bring that to one full pile which is two cords.

Tripper

[MadTripper]

Updated shots. I'm almost finished and it has been exactly a week today. We are expecting some rain the next few days so I'll probably have to put the finish on hold. Anyways, here ya go!


http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11178-2/septemberIV08+012.JPG

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11181-2/septemberIV08+013.JPG

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11184-2/septemberIV08+014.JPG

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11187-2/septemberIV08+015.JPG

Tripper

[AlchemyAcres]

Very nice looking pile!
Yeah, rain is expected here this weekend, but we'll see...it hasn't rained much at my place since May.
The pile should still dry down fairly fast, but you can't expect the kind of performance that you'd get during summer.


~Martin

[MadTripper]

Thanks Martin. It is coming along nicely. I'm planning on assembling one more close to this unit and stacking about two cords in the basement. The first few weeks, I'll burn some seasoned wood and ash which should speed up the drying of the basement wood. After that, I believe the holz hausen's will be ready which should be in late December, early January.

Tripper

[mom]

I have seen wood stacked that way and wondered why they did it. Will have to pass the information on to dh.

[MadTripper]

Well, the holz hausen took a turn for the worse tonight. *I was worried about the one side because it seemed a bit loose to me. *With my children running around, I didn't want to leave it. *So....I took another piece of wood and began tapping the ends in hopes of tightening everything up. *As I was tapping, I could see the section I was working on move. *I kept tapping and it decided to let go. *I laughed as I ran backwards and watched the waterfall of wood spill onto my yard.

The good news is that I needed about two cord to put in the basement so I'll just take it from that pile. *I also already started another holz hausen because it is important to me to find out if these types of construction really decrease drying time. *As a matter of fact, I may do a typical stacked pile on pallets to compare. *If I weigh some of the pieces and mark them, I can see how much moisture is removed which will prove or disprove the effectiveness of a holz hausen. *Of course I'll take samples of a few different types of wood and different placement. *We'll see and if I feel up to it, I'll take some pictures of the destruction.

Tripper

[WileyCoyote]

Oh, MadTripper, that is really a shame! :'( :'(

We were just glad that we had wood stacked up, but when I showed DH your stack he was highly impressed! I don't think I'm going to tell him it fell down...

[MadTripper]

Haha, like I said, no big deal on my end. I'll build it again and make sure I do it correctly this round. I kind of figured it would take some trial and error. Besides, the wood actually fell toward the house which is where that pile will go now. I'll update as needed.

Tripper

[walls0stone]

likes like building a Carin out of stone. only your useing wood. Cool

[MadTripper]

We were blessed with some balmy weather this weekend so I was able to move forward with Holz number 2. I had been working on it since the other fell however with the help of my neighbor, we finally finished it off this afternoon. Here are some shots of the second attempt and the fallout of Holz number 1.

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11247-1/october2008+018.JPG

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11253-1/october2008+020.JPG

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11256-1/october2008+021.JPG

And the much more sturdy Holz number 2:

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11262-1/october2008+023.JPG

The boys helping out:

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11292-1/october2008+033.JPG

Back to Holz number 2:

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11304-1/october2008+037.JPG

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11316-1/october2008+041.JPG

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11319-2/october2008+042.JPG

And a few final shots of the fall colors:

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11328-1/october2008+045.JPG

http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/d/11322-2/october2008+043.JPG

So, mid-January will be the 3 month mark and I'll see if the pile shrinks as it is supposed to. I have almost 5 cord of wood cut, split and stacked so I should have enough for winter and still have about 4 cord left to cut and split. If it proves to be worthwhile, I'll post a how-to.

Tripper

[cubcadet]

Was your wood load already 1 year dead? Delivered dry?

[MadTripper]

Was your wood load already 1 year dead? Delivered dry?


No, that is the reason for me stacking the Holz Hausens. The claim is that it will be seasoned in 3 months and I haven't been able to verify that it works. I have some other wood seasoned for the first few months while I season about two cord in the basement via our woodstove. This should carry us into the time period where we can start using wood from the Holz Hausen. If it doesn't work, I'll probably stack rows on pallets next year although we really like the way they look.

Tripper

[MadTripper]

Blah, Holz number II fell today. I'm done trying this method. I like the way they look but I can't afford to have something like that around with the kids. I was pretty particular in building this second unit but it still blew out. Not to mention, it does add time to the stacking process.

Tripper