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wood burning stoves

One wood shed full and one to go

thomas rubino

rocket scientist

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Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A

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posted 11 months ago

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Hi All;
It's that time of spring, the mud is drying, the grass is green, and the wood sheds need filling!
I buy my firewood by the truckload a year ahead of time.
Each spring I start as soon as the snow melts and the field firms up enough to drive on.
This year I had Permies staff member Gerry visit for a few weeks.
We built the new Shorty, Rocket core that will go in my home later this summer.
We built a new hugle bed in Liz's garden.
We also cut over half of my log deck filling the studio wood shed with primo split fir and larch and even got a load ready to split at the big woodshed!
I can split wood as fast as my trusty X-27 Fiskars splitting axe with my modified electric splitter.

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Michael Helmersson

gardener

Posts: 707

Location: Geraldton, Ontario -Zone 1b

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posted 11 months ago

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That's a nice looking woodshed. How much wood do you need for a full season?

“Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position. But certainty is an absurd one.”
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Timothy Norton

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posted 11 months ago

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Great photos, I also have to say that is a nice looking wood shed.

Do you find yourself spending spring/summer/fall splitting to get it done before winter or do you get it done relatively in short order?

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thomas rubino

rocket scientist

Posts: 6575

Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A

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posted 11 months ago

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With five wood burners, three of them being in uninsulated buildings, depending on the severity of winter we burn 10-14 cords a year.
Liz's uninsulated art studio is heated all winter, it uses 5 cords all on its own.
My shop building is poorly insulated and it can easily use that much.
Our house being 100 years old is slightly better insulated so it only uses 3 cords or so.
The brand new Shorty core batchbox is built and hopefully will be installed in the house this summer!
I expect the house to only use a cord or so once it is installed.

The other two stoves are my Walker Black and White oven in the outdoor kitchen, it gets used year-round, and a traditional vintage cook stove in the house for supplemental heat when the temperatures are below zero.

All wood splitting and stacking is done by the end of June.

For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
dragontechrmh.com Once you go brick you will never go back!

Scott Weinberg

Posts: 323

Location: North East Iowa, USA

posted 11 months ago

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Tee hee, I see I got to get you bigger logs..

Your fire wood prep looks great Tom!

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thomas rubino

rocket scientist

Posts: 6575

Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A

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posted 11 months ago

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Nice wood Scott!
I see why you are building a 70+ ton wood splitter!
I think I'll stick with tops... I'll leave the 4' dia. butt cuts to you and heavy equipment!

For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
dragontechrmh.com Once you go brick you will never go back!

Michael Helmersson

gardener

Posts: 707

Location: Geraldton, Ontario -Zone 1b

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posted 11 months ago

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thomas rubino wrote:With five wood burners, three of them being in uninsulated buildings, depending on the severity of winter we burn 10-14 cords a year.
Liz's uninsulated art studio is heated all winter, it uses 5 cords all on its own.

Are these bush cords or face cords? We burn about 6 bush cords per year between our sauna/shower-house and yurt.

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thomas rubino

rocket scientist

Posts: 6575

Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A

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posted 11 months ago

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Full cords
4' x 4' x 8'

For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
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Michael Helmersson

gardener

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Location: Geraldton, Ontario -Zone 1b

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posted 11 months ago

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thomas rubino wrote:Full cords
4' x 4' x 8'

Wow. That's a lot of work.

“Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position. But certainty is an absurd one.”
― Voltaire

thomas rubino

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Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A

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posted 10 months ago

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Today I moved the last of the cut wood from the field up to the woodshed.
I do not think I could get any more wood on the old Ford.
I even managed to back out of the field and up to the house without losing any!
Impressive Ehh? Truck backer upper extraordinaire! (polishes fingernails...)
Still some splitting and stacking to do, but I am now ready for next year's long load to be delivered!

There were three cedar logs mixed in this year's load.
They do burn OK but are much better at being fence posts.
I'll get them peeled and stacked later this summer.

It is a very good feeling to look down at the empty wood lot and the full wood sheds up here at the house.
It will look even better once next year's load has been delivered!

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For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
dragontechrmh.com Once you go brick you will never go back!

Deane Adams

Posts: 568

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posted 10 months ago

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Viewing a full stacked wood shed is on par with looking over the well stocked pantry filled with all the canned garden goodness!!

Well Done Sir!

Peace

thomas rubino

rocket scientist

Posts: 6575

Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A

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posted 10 months ago

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Today I finished splitting and stacking all my firewood!
By volume, there are apx 11 cords in this woodshed.

This winter, my new Montana Masonry Heater with Peter's Shorty Core will significantly lower my wood use in the cabin!
I'm excited for the cold weather to return so I can see how much less wood we burn!
I am also excited to see this 90-100F weather go away as well!

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For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
dragontechrmh.com Once you go brick you will never go back!

Michael Helmersson

gardener

Posts: 707

Location: Geraldton, Ontario -Zone 1b

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posted 10 months ago

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I don't know how you can even think about firewood in this heat! It was 88F in Northern Ontario today and I'm dissolving.

“Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position. But certainty is an absurd one.”
― Voltaire

thomas rubino

rocket scientist

Posts: 6575

Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A

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posted 10 months ago

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Hey Mike;
It's been 95F for days now, at least the humidity is %20 or less.
I start early 6 am and quit early.
Although the Fiskars are in the photo they did not get used much.
The real workhorse is the little splitter that could!
My heavily modified, completely safety-free, 6.5-ton splitter is doing all the hard work.
Firewood is done for the season and the landing is open and ready when next year's load gets delivered later this month.

For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
dragontechrmh.com Once you go brick you will never go back!

Carla Burke

Rusticator

Posts: 8887

Location: Missouri Ozarks

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posted 10 months ago

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Our temps are in the low 90°s(F) right now - and starting to climb, again - with humidity ranging in the 60-80% range. This is 'weather you can wear'. But, firewood is definitely on our minds! We had a friend take down 4 big oaks a couple years ago - they were too close to the house for us to feel comfortable doing it, ourselves. We left them where they lay, with hugels in mind. But, our minds changed, when we started struggling to get firewood, last winter. Those 4 will be cut & split to firewood, in a couple weeks. We had 4 more big oaks fall or lose huge branches, in storms, in the last couple weeks, which got us looking at some others, very close to the house. We had a guy come out, and drop 5, in the last 2 days. So, we currently have 4 well seasoned older oaks, and 9 freshly downed ones to cut up, split, move, & stack.

But, first, we are going to harvest all those branches for poles & tree hay for the 4-leggers, while we get the tractor fixed. My next 2weeks is too full of motorcycle repairs & maintenance, rain gutter replacement, outdoor faucet repairs, and a stupid-long list of things that *must* be done, to make room for more than tree hay & pole harvesting. Hopefully that will be sufficient time for the tractor repairs, otherwise we will just have to start cutting and leave it all lay, for a while, cuz Mama ain't gonna carry all those logs up that hill by hand!

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Charles Aarons

Posts: 29

posted 8 months ago

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Carla, those “well seasoned” oaks that have been laying on the ground intact aren’t “well seasoned”.
You have to cur rounds AND split them for seasoning (fancy word for drying) to properly occur.
In Alaska where I live birch in particular is well known for rotting even when in rounds because the bark is so waterproof.

Scott Weinberg

Posts: 323

Location: North East Iowa, USA

posted 8 months ago

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Charles Aarons wrote:Carla, those “well seasoned” oaks that have been laying on the ground intact aren’t “well seasoned”.
You have to cur rounds AND split them for seasoning (fancy word for drying) to properly occur.
In Alaska where I live birch in particular is well known for rotting even when in rounds because the bark is so waterproof.

I agree with Charles, with the exception of a few species of trees with very dry wood even when alive, Your oak could " change greatly" with further bucking and splitting. While it sounds like you may not have any totes for storing, bucked and split and stored under roof, with plenty of air will greatly enhance your wood burning.

Even your small branches, while maybe to hard to split, will benefit from being cut to length. (same storage advice)

Best of success.

By the way, I am a big proponent of handling wood as little as possible, So if you can cut/store/burn all at one location, it can make for a pleasant winter.

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Carla Burke

Rusticator

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Location: Missouri Ozarks

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posted 8 months ago

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These trees are all down around our house. We just need to get out there and cut them up. We're both disabled, so everything like that takes us much longer than it does most others. We might need to hire some help.

Charles Aarons

Posts: 29

posted 8 months ago

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Ideally it would be neatly stacked on a surface that allows drainage (like the 10 cords on the deck) and protected from precipitation (like 4 of the cords on the deck). But the thrown pile isn’t (~13-15 cords).
At least when I move it to the deck it’ll be another 16-18 months before being burned.
Not counting all the moving to make the big pile, it gets moved once to the deck, another time to my arctic entry, 1 more short move to wood stove.
I look at this as a substitute for gym membership and indoor exercise equipment.

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Carmelo Panucci

Posts: 76

Location: Talkeetna AK

posted 8 months ago

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I saw Charles' M37 and had to chime in. Who doesn't love their wood trucks.

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