From: muratlanne@gmail.com   
      
   "Snag"  wrote in message news:108pg8v$1aioh$1@dont-email.me...   
      
   On 8/28/2025 6:41 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:   
   >   
   > Firewood heat is said to require 5 acres to harvest it continuously for   
   > one house. My improvements have cut my consumption to less than half the   
   > norm others with similar houses report around here, 1/3 in mild winters.   
   >   
      
      Just out of curiosity how many square feet are you heating and about   
   how many cords for an average winter . With what my neighbor has given   
   me (cleanup from storm damage in town) I'll have around 4+ cords of   
   mostly red and white oak with some hickory . I plan on trying to get a   
   couple more and I'm heating about 1500 sf . Everybody here is prepping   
   for a hard winter ... we're all getting our tractors set up for snow   
   removal and making sure things are in good repair . I may actually need   
   those chains I've got for the SUV and my pickup .   
   Snag   
      
   ---------------------------------------------   
   My house is a common local design, 24' x 42' (1008 sq') with original   
   electric heat and good-for-1970 insulation, we were promised cheap nuclear   
   power, ha ha. Others tell me they burn 5 cords a year, I generally use   
   somewhat less than 2 to keep it near 60F and wear lined shirts and pants.   
   Their cords may be whatever they were told, mine are measured.   
      
   A cord is 4' x 4' x 8', 128 cubic feet when split or around 100 easier to   
   measure and figure square feet if cut 15"-16" long. I store it on standard   
   40" x 48" pallets so 16" gives 3 rows the longer way. The 16" cut length   
   guide is a spring-loaded wire on a base that straps to the saw's front   
   handle, largely rebuilt because it broke too easily, another lathe rescue.   
      
   An 8x10 shed 3 pallets wide and 2 deep, 120" x 96", makes efficient use of   
   8' galvy roof panels and 8' and 10' roof beams if it tapers inward for eave   
   overhang. Stacking 6 rows deep half way up and offset to 5 rows above gives   
   a stable pile as the wood dries, shrinks and shifts. I discovered the hard   
   way that longer and higher rows may become unstable as they dry and added   
   intermediate uprights or longer depth-wise tie logs to those sheds. The wall   
   covering is HF camo tarps which last 5-10 years depending on what they rub   
   on, rug scraps help as does not cutting longer than 16". They can be opened   
   in good weather for drying.   
      
   The main house improvements are doubling the attic insulation crosswise and   
   making press-in window inserts to give 4 layers. I rebuilt the deteriorating   
   window exteriors and replaced the doors and sealed them more carefully. I   
   closed air leaks upstairs until the humidity started to rise, an indication   
   of the air exchange rate. The ground-level basement still leaks because the   
   stove there needs unrestricted air for good chimney draft to make the Jotul   
   118 clone burn smoke-free. Like a hot air balloon only the top needs to be   
   sealed.   
      
   The road crews here are skilled and well equipped and heavy snow isn't a   
   problem beyond the effort to clear driveways, usually the roads are clear   
   and dry by noon the day after a storm. Our heating systems are good to   
   perhaps -20F, maybe lower overnight. The danger is ice storms that drop   
   trees onto houses, roads and power lines. Only ice storms close the roads,   
   then we'd play on them on our dirt bikes. I prepared for a week without   
   power and then found I had to up it to two weeks, so Covid wasn't an issue.   
   The limits appears to be sufficient refrigeration and warm showers, both   
   actually easier in winter than summer.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)