Cutting Firewood With The Sun & New Art

[Jafo]

I finally made it to my yurt camp over the weekend and got some projects done. One was to take advantage of the cold weather and cut up some of the downed trees I have around the place for firewood. We really don't have to cut too many down as nature tends to drop several trees for us on her own every year. The only downside is, I have to carry all the cut wood out of the woods!

This Saturday, I cut all of this (plus about 20%) more with a Dewalt 40v battery powered chainsaw that I charged off of my solar panels. I have a couple of batteries and while I was waiting here and there for them to recharge, I would carry the cut wood out. It went pretty well:



Recovery:



I also finally got around to fixing another "bug" I had at camp. I put an old heavy drape over the window at the head of my bed to keep the draft from coming in during the winter time. Nothing worse than cold air hitting you in the head while you sleep. It bothered me that it looked so awful, so I added a tapestry to liven up the place. All in all, a good weekend at camp!

[ADKbham]

looks good, you can come over and cut some over at place if you dont have enough to do;-)

[Jafo]

LOL. I am just trying to get as much done as I can before blackfly season!

[dlhall]

Im busy getting next winters firewood ready.......this winter in alberta ive going through 19 and counting cords of firewood......yes you read that right.........i will have gone through over 20 cords of wood this winter......and thats in a high efficiency Elmira Fireview Cookstove that provides cooking and heat in my 28" yurt.

[hierony]

dlhall, you make me feel better about using all of my 1 cord of dry wood this winter (plus sporadic propane). We're in a cold spot & it's been a cold winter here--lows of -25 F for a bit. Fortunately I found a downed 40+ ft pine without much bark on it nearby--about 18%

moisture

. Also fortunate, I got to use a tractor to grab the delimbed log and bring it up to my 20 ft yurt before cutting into rounds.

Jafo--do you have a regular window frame or do the vinyl & velcro windows leak a bit?

[Jafo]

It is a vinyl & velcro. I should really just cut a piece of

insulation

and put it in there.

[Bob Rowlands]

Holy Moly! 19 cords is a serious wood pile!

[Wintergreen282]

Not sure if I'm more surprised at the 19 cords or the one cord. I average between 3 and 4 living here full time. Here in Northern New England this morning it's zero with a windchill of -18. Yurt temp is 44 at 7am and I'm pretty bundled up waiting for the stove (& sun) to really warm the place up.

Jafo. Love the art! That is exactly the sort of thing we need to do. Probably can't get every draft, but fixing that particular draft will make your nights waaaay more comfortable. (Though that same draft may make your summer sleeping more comfortable!). I also have a fleece hat tucked in the head board to put on should I wake up cold. Makes a big difference. Also a piece of fleece to pull around one's head and shoulders fills little gaps you don't even feel, but are losing a lot of heat from under the blanket.

Like I've said before, I find hot water bottles ($5 at Walmart) a HUGE help. Heat up the bed at night, one on my lap in the AM while doing email, while reading at night, anytime I'm sitting and could use a little extra heat.

Perhaps more "work" than some would like, but I love being warm and toasty.

When I first read "cutting wood with the sun", I thought you had figured out some new system. Cut wood in the morning when there is less sap make the wood dry faster or cutting at night makes sappy wood burn hotter or something like that. (It's sapping time here so thoughts are on that.

[thebitmaster]

Great job!

I'm in Texas, so although we have ample mesquite on the property, we don't use much wood for burning. We use a little in a small rocket stove, but mostly heat with E- and propane. Our winters can be mildly annoying ,but it's the summers that are the killer

One thing that has worked really well for me insulation-wise is buying large numbers of comforters, blankets, and sleeping bags in bulk, like from the Goodwill Outlet Store ($1 each) and then putting them between the outer waterproof shell and the wall segments. This probably wouldn't work on a yurt where the walls actually get wet, since it might seep through, though one could add a thing layer of plastic in between to stop it. My outer layer is recycle billboard vinyl, which is 100% waterproof. I'm also going to be adding reflectix bubble wrap this summer before it gets too hot.

Even if you're not doing the whole yurt (easy on my 12 footer!) it can be be great to keep the bed area warmer. When I was using the yurt for trips more often, I also built a tent over the bed with sheets to keep in body warmth, and it really helped. Something like a traditional 4-poster bed would be a good way to mount more serious curtains.