I have never split spotted gum. But what I have seen of the timber it looks like it would be hard work! Thank you.

I assume that fire was in some form of heater...not an open fire...otherwise you could end up with a much bigger fire than expected:-). My shed is colourbond steel (as is common here in Oz) and the roof is black (something I would only recommend in a cool climate), so it can get quite warm on sunny day! Naturally this helps dry the wood - almost like being kiln dried!

Yea it was in an old free standing wood fire u know the ones with the stove on top and the chimney out the rear of it ow was in orange and due to the fault of our own we didn't prepare enough the year before and like u said wet wood is not the best to burn

Those were the days!

Man, I can relate to this 😂 Lived up Lachlan in an old shearers hut. Only a wood fire stove. Winter was awesome....summer it was a right cow to have to light the fire to shower 😭

Thanks. I've never been to your corner of the country...something for the future!

Homesteading DownUnder not as cold as your side that’s for sure. But we like it.

Steven Davis thanks for sharing, great read

You're not off the grid if you're on the internet hahaha wtf

Jordan Tripptree sorry, I don't understand your statement. My homestead is not connected to utilities of any kind. I have wireless Internet. No power grid, water, gas or sewage utilities. I suppose you could say my Internet bill is a utility. If that's the case then so is a cell phone lol.

Jordan Tripptree You can have internet and be off grid Jordan

chrisandshazza01 lol ok. Have a great day!

this said, here, it's easier to split wood once it frozen (in a tire or with a chain & bongee). Google it if your in the 'frozen' belt :)

the leaves suck it dry? leaving the fallen tree as it is with the leaves?

You live in Eastern Canada and you camp ? You're a glutton for punishment aren't ya ? Greetings from way south here in New Hampshire. :)

Glutton for punishment? I think not. When your an outdoorsman that means you enjoy the outdoors so it's not a punishment. The camp is probably a better location to go hunting to stock the larder in addition a great get away from the home. Simply being able to sit on a homemade chair and relax with a beautiful morning or sunset occurring is many times worth it. I visit a campground my buddy lets me use 2 or 3 times a year and while he drops the trees and hauls them in I spend a few hours a day splitting up his firewood and stacking it in one of four drying sheds he's built. Each one holds 2 cords each. Nice during July and August watching the steam and sap come out the vents on the sides ( 4 inch openings top and bottom ) get em filled by May and its full of dried firewood ready to burn by the time the heating season rolls around. His stove is wood and coal so last year I left a surprise for him, 3 tons of rice coal in a coal bunker I built the last week I was there along with a video of how to burn coal and I found an email from him last November, he tried it and loves it as in his stove it holds right around 60 pounds of coal in the firebox and his wife loves it as the house is warm and toasty all day and night. He now has a second coal bunker giving him a total capacity of 10 tons. His reaction is I should've done this years ago so much easier. He gets his coal from a dealer in Quincy, Massachusetts. Initially they were a little reluctant to deliver until he stated he wanted 9 tons then it was no problem 3 hour drive each way. Nice setup you got there sir however a hand hydraulic jack and some home made pallets to hold the firewood sounds a lot easier to move the firewood around. May the gods of the Norsemen be kind to you from New Hampshire USA Cheers!

No, moving wood like that isn't regular, it happened because we had been away and had not burn't as much wood as usual. But having double access is good idea - I have a "long term" plan to build a specific wood shed with doors both ends - then it would accessed from alternate ends each year. In regard to the wood size, I have found that splitting it smaller has several benefits: firstly it drys faster, secondly it burns better and produces more heat, so the end result I believe is less wood burnt overall. But it may be different with other timber types.

You would still have to be able to slide the firewood forward in any given bay so the dry stuff was at the front. A different idea would be to stack the firewood on pallets and use a pallet jack to move the whole pallet around when it needs to move.

No because if there was a door on the other side you could just use it from the rear

David Zajicek agree

Good idea, thank you.

Hi Steve. No, it's not 24/7. What you are using sounds fine for 24/7 burning. We use approx 8 cubic metres, and feed the fire an average of 8 hours a day. Our house is insulated and double glazed so holds warmth well...besides we don't like it too hot!

Thanks for the reply.I can see the answer for me isn't more wood,it's better insulation.My 100 yr old villa is pretty draughty.Heating is about much more than just the wood!

Terryblount Simply build a webpage to sell your firewood but state in large letters customer pickup only. There are a lot of truckers out there that will be more than happy to drive out there and buy and pickup your firewood for sale. If they want it bad enough they'll come get it. I hope you have a way to load the wood mechanically. Cheers

A log dries at the rate of about an inch a year if horizontal. Standing timber dries faster. So large size logs are better cut green - also makes then softer! But small logs are OK to cut dry...you just have to sharpen the saw more often!

i always just let the build up in the chimney burn itself out , " slowly " . the chimney is double bricked with concrete on the inside and it has not cracked yet . and yes there is a clean out port on the bottom of the chimney .

Sorry, but I can't answer your question as I don't have any experience with northern hemisphere timbers as firewood. The only reason I can think of that a timber would burn better unseasoned would be if it contained oils in the sap.

thats exactly what i thought , oils in the tree , . i think the main reason why maple trees dont burn good when fresh is due to the fact that they are a tree with lots of water stored within . would make sense for two reasons , first , when its cold out and you clip a maple it will basically flow what is mostly water with a small amount of syrup , second it takes hrs of boiling maple water in order to get maple syrup . popular and pine have mostly sap with only a small amount of water . thank you for the response :)

Yes, you could do that. One day I would like to build a specific wood shed with doors both ends - that way wood could be loaded and removed from alternate ends in rotation.

Never tried a pickaroon - they aren't common in here. Thanks for the encouragement!

@@homesteading all that you have created on your farm, you can make one. Your back will love you. Peace

So far I have put off a mechanical splitter for the day I can no longer swing a block buster. Given that I am usually splitting large round (18inch +) it is easier to just tip them over and split by hand. That way I get in a HIIT session...if you will pardon the pun!

No. The eucalyptus oil is in the leaves.

Yes, that's correct. The log I had cut had been on the ground for at least 12 years.

I find cut dry and split immediately better.

There is considerable variation on what to burn, depending on where you are in the world. Pine is also avoided here in Australia, as it is regarded as too acidic, but in some places it is the only option. In general I always look for larger logs to cut as older trees give better heat and burn for longer...but I cut them small as I need to do this to fit them into our heater and I find they burn more efficiently this way. Sometimes I burn smaller, younger trees, as they have been either fallen for some other reason, or blown down by wind. Ultimately everything burns! It's wasteful to be too elitist about firewood :-)!