I rent a couple of teenage boys from the neighbor. They stack, too, but you have to watch them or they get sloppy.
How do you split your firewood?
- Thread starter 53' Stude
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Hadn't swung a maul in years, did a bit this summer--wow, don't remember it being that much work, but it has been 30 years.
Just needed a few pieces for the outdoor firepit. For the most part we just burn twigs, but had some larger pieces that needed to be reduced. For how much I "need", I can handle that. If I were to go back to heating with wood, I'm thinking, I'd have to get a log splitter, my days of swinging may be over. [But I don't see that ever happening, between buying wood (my wood lot would not support it) and my allergies, just not happening.]
Just needed a few pieces for the outdoor firepit. For the most part we just burn twigs, but had some larger pieces that needed to be reduced. For how much I "need", I can handle that. If I were to go back to heating with wood, I'm thinking, I'd have to get a log splitter, my days of swinging may be over. [But I don't see that ever happening, between buying wood (my wood lot would not support it) and my allergies, just not happening.]
4WD
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Gas for heat - wood for sipping a drink outside - don’t know brand of maul - have two plus wedges …
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With an ax.
I have a 14 seer heat pump for the whole house. It puts out heat down to about 30. Then it runs all the time with its heat grids kicking in. My house has a large great room with a wall of windows looking out over the pond. It will keep the temperature in the house but you don’t feel warm. The original heat pump(2007) was worse. So I installed the wood boiler. The odd thing is that 72 degrees from the wood boiler is much more comfortable than 72 from the heat pump. It does blow hot air.
Imagine if we could get politicians talking to heat our homes.
We have a new heat pump and propane. You say propane is $$$$$$. I say it's more like $$$ in a dual fuel system.
We went 370 days on our 500 gallon tank, which they only fill to 400 gallons and we refilled at 100 gallons. So for a full year, that's not crazy. Stove, water heater, BBQ and outside griddle and propane fireplace too. I like propane because it burns nice and efficient, hot.
We do use some small space heaters for short bursts. Our house is ~2600 ft sq and my office is sort of isolated in a corner with windows, so I have a heater in here. Still our electric bill is nothing. I am always surprised at that.
All this said, I would like to burn wood! And pellets!! Need to work on that.
Depends. For us yeah, it was cheaper to run the natural gas furnace than it was to have wood delivered to the house, most of the time…. But no power means no furnace. The wood stove would burn as long as you kept it fueled and was capable of getting the house to 90F if you wanted too. We mostly used the wood stove as a supplement to the furnace most of the time to reduce the gas bill during cold snaps. IIRC we got a “cord” (8’x4’x4’) of hard wood for $300 delivered but not split.
You can also use it for fires outside… I’ve got 3 fire pits that range from a small fancy one on the deck to what is essentially spot I’ve dedicated to burning couches/mattresses/large pieces of wood I can’t be bothered to deal with properly when necessary lol.
Lengthwise
This is what I’d like to do. But with an insert for our fire place. Got 2 cords of fully seasoned red and white oak split and stacked in the backyard also so the first winter would be free fuel for certain. It’s relatively cheap around here and can be found free or extremely low cost if purchased in log length (no issue for me processing). I have a large open floor plan also with 11 foot cathedral ceilings in the room with the fire place. Can’t convince the other half it’s a good idea though…plus the government will kick in 30%.
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Used to run a woodstove in my log cabin home for makeup heat when it got real cold (below 20 degrees), chimney guy said it's done for. A liner tube is pricy, so we have been using up oil at a furious rate to keep the house 63 on the cold days. The woodstove heat also causes ice dams between the front of the house and the low pitch porch roof - so maybe it is a blessing in disguise.
To answer 53's original question - if I was splitting 1/2 or 1/3 logs for kindling, I used a good axe.
Very satisfying. I wonder what my old shoulders would think of that now
I did see a guy on TV with a big wood screw splitter - seems like it wouldn't work in a hand held unless it was a masonry drill.
To answer 53's original question - if I was splitting 1/2 or 1/3 logs for kindling, I used a good axe.
Very satisfying. I wonder what my old shoulders would think of that now
I did see a guy on TV with a big wood screw splitter - seems like it wouldn't work in a hand held unless it was a masonry drill.
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True my comment was based on only using propane for heat. Friend was doing that it cost about $500 to 600 a month
Small house.
I thought it would be a sweet savings. I am amazed at the energy synergy - funny part? I just wanted some AC in the summer. Hahahahaa!
Seriously want to replace the mostly decorative LP fireplace (Ok it heats and does have a blower, but....) with wood or pellets. The heck are my options? Is there a good starting place?? Quotes? DIY??
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
Firewood is for when the power goes out and the Heat Pump isn't working. It never gets very cold here but 36 hours without power or heat (like happened a few years ago) isn't good. Our house had a good wood stove and a woodshed we keep them to mitigate the risk of a prolonged power outage. The wood stove keeps the family room and kitchen nice and toasty and keeps the rest of the house from freezing.
To answer the original question, I use a big maul (weight unknown). I used to use an axe but splitting wood with that was a real work out.
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
Indeed - when the power is on - things around you are making heat doing what they do - then its all gone …
Press ON button for gas fireplace. While I might prefer an old wood burning fireplace the home we bought had two gas fireplaces.
Just remember with wood you have ash and creosote buildup so that has to be handled or chimney fire which is scary.
Was it a real fireplace that was converted to Gas or never a "real" fireplace?
Yes, I've had fireplaces before. I actually don't want that.
I also had a very interesting home made insert at one house (In OR). It was pretty decent believe it or not.
Never was a real fireplace, just a gasser with a side vent. My preference would be a standalone wood or pellet burner. I will post pictures of the area............ but the main problem is space. The room is not large, and TV is over gas insert centered on wall. My only idea is to blow the end of the room out, but the expense would not be worth it.
Wondering what a good splitting wedge you folks would recommend. Thank You.
The 10$ standard HF one is ok for a basic wedge.. if you want a more aggressive one ESTWING.
Tractor supply sells a good one too.
Are there better? yeah do you want to spend $60 on a wedge?(no)
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