An unexpected benefit.

Hi All;
As you know, I recently had a truck load of firewood logs delivered to my home.
I am thoroughly pleased with the convivence of this. What I had not considered was the size of that wood.

My normal loads of red fir were 10"-36" in diameter.  Lots had to be split at least in half to even lift them into the truck.

In this new wood, the average dia. is 4"  some 6-8" some 2".

The first benefit is how light these pieces are! Even the greener ones are one handers!

The next benefit , is just how easy they split with my Fiskars splitting axe!  Apx 4 chunks at a time fit in my tire. One whack each and they are split!!
BUT THE VERY BEST BENEFIT ?   ALL my wood for the rmh will be already split !!! WHOO HOO !!! Next winter , no splitting every day … just an armload or two and I'm done!  Now that's slick !
I'm now thinking that every year or two I'll be getting a long load of logs again !

it's the type of labor saving benefit that I love and deliberately seek out.....a rocket mass heater built to reduce wood input by 1/10th reduces the labor for the wood by more than 10 times and then if your wood source comes in the right lengths, your only labor is in transportation of the wood, stacking the wood, and unstacking it to burn it.

My long term goal is a land design which only requires 20 hours a week (except during harvest). Here's the direction of those efforts:

-all systems are created with low or no maintenance costs (both financial and labor costs);
-all systems use convection flow or gravity flow so NO PUMPS are required;
-basic system uses no electricity so that maintenance costs are very low (a luxury system maybe layered on top of the basic system);
-forest garden reduces the labor by removing the need for annual planting, weekly weeding, and year end biomass processing (this is a HUGE ANNUAL LABOR SAVINGS...all that is required is pruning and fertilizing);
-rain water is ALWAYS caught and STORED AS HIGH as possible so that gravity feeds for water removes the need for electric pumps and reduces manual pumping to almost nil ( a living space has its water stored high in its wall under the eve where it was harvested);
-a shelter is solar aligned so its largest wall catches all the sun (in hot climates, this works too because the heat can be stored in heated veggie oil and used via a stirling engine  which can create mechanical or electrical energy from the captured heat);
-a shelter heats and cools itself, catches it own water, creates its own hot water, and provides some cooking/lighting gas.

then what am I going to do with all that extra time???   ooooooh just watch me :)

....I point out the first three years are nothing but work from sun up to sun down, initial heavy earth moving equipment is a requirement, and one must use current technology for things like glass for solar, metal for the stirling engine, and pipes.

So Thomas, may you find all labor reducing methods and systems both by accident and on purpose and post them!!!

It was probably a good idea to write about your findings Thomas as next year, if your CRS disease strikes again, you'll have all your permies buddies to remind you of this post!

PS. Couldn't help but notice that it looks like you stack your wood directly on the ground. I guess you don't have any moisture issues with that bottom row?
Also, wondering how much wood total you use up in a season for just one building that you run a rocket in.

Ahh Gerry ;  Yes , I'm sure I'll need help next year, besides just remembering to order more wood... I could use your help in cutting and stacking it as well ... Really nice of you to help another Permie! Oh and while your here "helping" we have fences to fix and oh yeah, that barn is a mess and really needs a cleanup... oh and the car could use an oil change... Man Gerry you are one nice guy! The good news is that we will feed you very well!


Well, now that I have that out of my system.  

Yes ,other than occasionally putting bark or a piece of 2x4 to keep the pile tilted backwards. I stack on the ground in that woodshed.  That stone wall you see, is sitting on a concrete foundation. The floor in there is powder dry.
My house woodshed is more conventional , as its tacked onto the side of the barn. Those wood piles are stacked on top of fir bark, and I generally put less desirable chunks of wood down on the bottom row.
The plastic covered greenhouse / studio is kept warm all winter long on less than 5 cord of wood!
Prier to building my first RMH in there. The old wood gobbler used 12 plus cords to keep it above freezing and it was always way to hot near the stove and really cold near the walls...
With my RMH, its toasty warm every where in the studio all the time.

Oh and just let me know when your arriving... I'll put out some cleaning supplies... the guest room doesn't get used much , might need a "dusting" seems work visits on the ranch are few and far between!

You can count me in! .....oh yeah, just as soon as I cut our own years supply of wood for our 6 cabins, set up the tents in the campground, re-shingle some buildings and finish installing a door - that is assuming nothing breaks and needs repairing in the meantime! (which of course never happens).
"seems work visits on the ranch are few and far between!"..... I know what you mean!