Firewood Season 2022

[ws6duramax]

Came home yesterday around 4 to see the overtemp light lit on the outdoor boiler. Never a good feeling, but it's usually just a bad damper door solenoid and I keep 2 on the shelf.

On the way out the back door to check things out, I reached up to touch the pipe that feeds boiler water to my garage furnace. It's just a habit. Do it every time I walk by. It should be too hot to touch, but it was cold.

Overtemp at the boiler and cold inside can only mean one thing, bad pump. Bad pump means no water flow. No water flow means the lines will freeze.

I didn't even go outside. The pump was 12 years old so it dying was not a shock. Sunday night I had noticed a slight change in the pitch of the hum it usually makes. Even took the a peek at it, touched it, but it seemed OK. I should have had a spare, but didn't.

My wife was at work in South Bend so I had less than an hour to track down a replacement. It took 45 minutes. Nobody had the replacement cartridge to repair my pump, back ordered until March 30. Nobody had a trusty Taco-009 pump in stock. But I finally found a comparable Bell and Gossett replacement pump. I didn't even ask how much. It really didn't matter. Just told the guy to throw it on the counter and my wife would pick it up before they closed at 5. When she got home I asked, how much?

Just under $700.

I don't know if the price of bronze has gone through the roof. I don't know if this just another case of, thanks Joe Biden. But a simple Taco-009, bronze circulator pump for a boiler used to run around $200. Now the replacement cartridge is $250 and the pump is over $500. The $700 Bell and Gossett is kinda the Cadillac of circulator pumps but, damn.

At least I got lucky and had it puke on a relatively warm day when my wife was working in town.

I sold and installed outdoor boilers for many years but recently kind of slowed down. The manufacture used to sell and recommend Taco, but we had a run of bad pumps over a few years. Made a switch to Grunfos Super Brute and haven't had an issue as of yet . MUCH cheaper, usually around $125-150 .

They are a 3 speed pump, equivalent to Taco 007 , 009 and 011 I believe. Might be worth looking into for a spare .

 

[ghuns]

...Made a switch to Grunfos Super Brute and haven't had an issue as of yet . MUCH cheaper, usually around $125-150 .

They are a 3 speed pump, equivalent to Taco 007 , 009 and 011 I believe. Might be worth looking into for a spare .

I looked at those. They made me a little nervous. Seemed almost too cheap.

Also saw some specs that listed max temp at 174 and the head at 19.5 feet. I run the water in my boiler at 180 and would need every bit of that head height. It kinda scares me to run at the max like that.

 

[ws6duramax]

I looked at those. They made me a little nervous. Seemed almost too cheap.

Also saw some specs that listed max temp at 174 and the head at 19.5 feet. I run the water in my boiler at 180 and would need every bit of that head height. It kinda scares me to run at the max like that.

That doesn't sound right on the max temp. I've never seen one that low. Most are 220-230 . If I remember I'll look at a new one when I get home. The head height sounds about right though .

I switched to them in 2005 and I don't believe anyone has ever bought a replacement yet . All the Taco's I installed have all been replaced with Grundfos. They have some larger circulators as well , I do recommend them. I've put in quite a few boilers over the last 20+ years and hated going to fix failed pumps. They never go out when it's convenient !!

 

[Leadeye]

I can't tell from the inside, but the outside looks like bronze powder coating like we used to make for GE heavy duty spa motors.

 

[indyjohn]

Getting down to the very last of our seasoned wood. In fact we dipped into our personal stores today so we could give some to a good friend. I think we are behind by 2 months on our cutting and splitting because of poor weekend weather since December and other first world problems.

Now, keep in mind that last winter we were producing firewood only for ourselves and the same good friend. We just kept cutting & splitting to our heart's content as long as there were poles to process - dead standing or on the ground. Turns out we made way more than we would consume in a season, so we decided to sell the overage. You may remember my thread in the For Sale / Non-firearms forum. It all sold within 24 hours of when I posted the thread.

We are about to get serious on refilling the racks because we have so much on the ground and in the air that needs to be harvested. Lots of oak and some more beach. But I have a question: If I cut and split rounds to 12" instead of the standard 16", will there be customers that will buy it? I still plan to produce 16" firewood but I think there is a niche for the smaller pieces.

 

[churchmouse]

Getting down to the very last of our seasoned wood. In fact we dipped into our personal stores today so we could give some to a good friend. I think we are behind by 2 months on our cutting and splitting because of poor weekend weather since December and other first world problems.

Now, keep in mind that last winter we were producing firewood only for ourselves and the same good friend. We just kept cutting & splitting to our heart's content as long as there were poles to process - dead standing or on the ground. Turns out we made way more than we would consume in a season, so we decided to sell the overage. You may remember my thread in the For Sale / Non-firearms forum. It all sold within 24 hours of when I posted the thread.

We are about to get serious on refilling the racks because we have so much on the ground and in the air that needs to be harvested. Lots of oak and some more beach. But I have a question: If I cut and split rounds to 12" instead of the standard 16", will there be customers that will buy it? I still plan to produce 16" firewood but I think there is a niche for the smaller pieces.

View attachment 182780

The smaller pieces you dropped here today work perfectly in our small stove. I can burn the 16" if that's all we can get but for us the 12" pieces are easier to control temp wise in our Franklin.

And many thanks for your delivery today.

Nice truck by the way.

 

[indyjohn]

The smaller pieces you dropped here today work perfectly in our small stove. I can burn the 16" if that's all we can get but for us the 12" pieces are easier to control temp wise in our Franklin.

And many thanks for your delivery today.

Nice truck by the way.

We are blessed to be friends with you and CKW.

And yes, I have a new whip. My middle son sold his pickup and I quickly realized how much I missed the luxury of borrowing it when needed. So, next up on the pole: Sierra!

 

[churchmouse]

We are blessed to be friends with you and CKW.

And yes, I have a new whip. My middle son sold his pickup and I quickly realized how much I missed the luxury of borrowing it when needed. So, next up on the pole: Sierra!

View attachment 182785

Those blessings are mutual my friend. One of the better things I have gotten from my time here is some stellar friendships with people I hold in highest regards. You and the OG are high up on that list.

 

[tmschuller]

Getting down to the very last of our seasoned wood. In fact we dipped into our personal stores today so we could give some to a good friend. I think we are behind by 2 months on our cutting and splitting because of poor weekend weather since December and other first world problems.

Now, keep in mind that last winter we were producing firewood only for ourselves and the same good friend. We just kept cutting & splitting to our heart's content as long as there were poles to process - dead standing or on the ground. Turns out we made way more than we would consume in a season, so we decided to sell the overage. You may remember my thread in the For Sale / Non-firearms forum. It all sold within 24 hours of when I posted the thread.

We are about to get serious on refilling the racks because we have so much on the ground and in the air that needs to be harvested. Lots of oak and some more beach. But I have a question: If I cut and split rounds to 12" instead of the standard 16", will there be customers that will buy it? I still plan to produce 16" firewood but I think there is a niche for the smaller pieces.

View attachment 182780

I know of some older folks that appreciate the smaller stuff. I help out our neighbor that can’t pick up much. I take down the smaller stuff that I can’t use.
It doesn’t last long in the boiler so it’s not worth keeping much of it around other than camp fire fodder.

I went out yesterday and cut for a couple hours and dropped a big ash that had no bark and still solid. Wet weather coming and I will be done for a bit

 

[Leadeye]

The gardener prefers that I cut wood shorter as it's easier to put in the plastic totes we use to move it from the pile to the house. Recovering from covid I haven't been out doing any cutting or splitting.

 

[tmschuller]

The gardener prefers that I cut wood shorter as it's easier to put in the plastic totes we use to move it from the pile to the house. Recovering from covid I haven't been out doing any cutting or splitting.

That’s sucks! Sorry it’s been a hard recovery. Been there!
Headed out tomorrow morning to cut using the tractor to pull this mess apart..

 

[indyjohn]

The gardener prefers that I cut wood shorter as it's easier to put in the plastic totes we use to move it from the pile to the house. Recovering from covid I haven't been out doing any cutting or splitting.

Prayin you get back to normal soon.

 

[indyjohn]

That’s sucks! Sorry it’s been a hard recovery. Been there!
Headed out tomorrow morning to cut using the tractor to pull this mess apart.. View attachment 184018

I have something very similar. A beech, an oak, and a sassafras were hanging out together....

 

[Leadeye]

Prayin you get back to normal soon.

Thanks!

 

[Leadeye]

Went out as did some wood splitting today, first heavy work since my bout with covid.

 

[indyjohn]

Went out as did some wood splitting today, first heavy work since my bout with covid.

Good! You have to push yourself and go day by day to improve.

We need to get ourselves out to the woods. Plenty to cut and split, just looking for a good day to do so.

 

[ghuns]

Good! You have to push yourself and go day by day to improve.

We need to get ourselves out to the woods. Plenty to cut and split, just looking for a good day to do so.

Only wood I'll be able to cut this weekend, or for the foreseeable future, is on the concrete pad behind my barn.

I'd be knee deep in water or mud if I tried to get into the woods.

 

[tmschuller]

Only wood I'll be able to cut this weekend, or for the foreseeable future, is on the concrete pad behind my barn.

I'd be knee deep in water or mud if I tried to get into the woods.

Trying to today or tomorrow.. mud dependent..

 

[Leadeye]

Our ground drys out faster, probably because of the karst.

 

[ghuns]

Our ground drys out faster, probably because of the karst.

Any woods left standing in my area are standing because they are too low to be cleared, tiled, and drained for crop land.