*sniff – sniff*
Do you smell that in the cool fall air?
*sniff – sniff*
Smells like . . . a gut pile.
Lol – sorry, the countdown to deer season has begun. T-minus not much. Happy first day of fall everyone. This is the time of year that I start thinking about deer season and NOT my winter preps. Well, okay, I did paint and caulk the trim on an exterior window the other day, and I need to bring my firewood into the basement, but . . . that’s about it. I purposely plan ahead so I’m not dealing with winter preps at the last second. Which leads me to today’s post, perhaps I’m preaching to the choir, but it was only 3-4 weeks ago that I was hearing people talk about needing to split and stack their wood.
HELLO! The time for that was like – IN APRIL! Granted fuel oil prices have a bunch of firewood novices diving into unfamiliar territory, but these are people that should know better. Have they not experienced the difference between a fully dry stick of wood and something that needed to go back in the summer months for another 3 months? I just don’t get it. People procrastinate, and in college I was no exception, but c’mon!
I was talking with a contractor the other day and he said he’s been absolutely swamped with calls from people all looking to get new windows – soon – and insulation blown into their attics. This last minute preparedness is a systematic problem, however. People don’t build their food supplies until they see a real need, then EVERYONE goes to the big box grocery stores and makes a mad run on rice, causing shortages. The scary level (or lack thereof) of preparedness this society has never ceases to amaze me.
- Ranger Man
Beckett Heat Manager BTW: You can’t burn wood, but you have a hot water heat based system? Consider buying a Beckett Heat Manager, which better regulates the burn cycle on your boiler. At today’s oil prices the product can pay for itself in short order. At Ranger Man’s keep we burn wood AND oil. I installed a Heat Manager about 4 years ago. You might also need the Beckett sensor.
Research the unit for yourself, but Beckett guarantees it will save you at least 10%. Read about the unit from Beckett’s own site. Some oil dealers in Maine have even been sending out fliers advertising this unit and offering to install it. Don’t go that route, though. Buy the unit yourself and (if you don’t know how to wire it) have a technician install it for you. The oil company will charge you twice the cost for the unit. It’s just a little computer.
ONE MORE THING! Here’s a good link for you, a very well-written post on how to harvest pine bark for eating – check it out. Eat trees – yummy!
No related posts.
Attention - if you like SHTFblog, please subscribe by RSS or email.
{ 5 comments }
It is rather funny for me to hear about winter prep. I am in Florida and the only two seasons we have are hot and hotter with a few days of cool weather and a few chilly days in the 50′s! I know, I know some of you are laughing at the chilly weather comment! The prep in FL is generally for hurricane season and you should see the people run for the stores when a storm is threatening! As we all know this is the time to finish last minute prep. The stores all end up with nothing on their shelves and fights over bread and parking spaces!!! For all the panic buying it is amazing to see that after the storms in 2005 all the people waiting in mile long lines for food and water! I can honestly say that I have enough supplies to last for about 2 months without outside assistance. My friends made fun of me because of all of my supplies but after 2005, none of them have ever made fun of me, and I have never said “I told ya so”, god it was hard! What I find funny is that people call and try to order shutters for their houses when a storm is possibly 24 hours away! Rocket scientists!!
It would be nice to have a large house with a basement, but since there are no basements in FL….. I will have to make due! Always enjoyable to read the blog and have learned a few things! be safe all!
I have read in the Foxfire series that folks in the Apalachians used green wood because it burns longer, but I know from experience its harder to get and stay lit, which uses a tremendous amount of kindling.
The Beckett Heat manager is a very good product, however I recommend the more sophisticated Intellicon HW+ as both devices are mfg by the same company Intellidyne. There is about a $25 price difference, they both have the money back guarantee but the Intellicon offers a 15 year warranty vs. 5 year for the Heat manager. Additionally the Intellicon has a LCD that allows you to view the actual savings in burner run time hours. The Heat manager is basically a “Black Box”…I do agree also to buy the device and have an electrician or plumber install, but it is simple enough to be installed by the DYI type of person…about 60 minutes of time…anyway lot more details here: http://stores.ebay.com/Green-Heating-Systems
when everyone is sleeping you should be getting ready for daylight.
while driving around every day ie going to work or other places. i noticed lots of downed trees either to a storm or the electric company spending more money again triming trees or a new housing ubit or whatever going in. to me it was free firewood for the cost of me getting off my butt and getting to work. so i started asking around and behold it was free for the taking.
so i rounded up and sharpened my saw blades and other items needed and started hauling wood. piling it up and spliting it later. needless to say in one spring i gathered up enough wood to last me 5 years or 4 good winters.
i also found that i could get free lumber from the house building sites and in one summer i got for free enough lumber to add a 12′x60′ add on and a 12′x28′ deck and lots of other free stuff like ceramic tile, bricks and fireboard that i used around my wood stove and many many other items. america is a very wastefull country and her trash cans are full of new and free items.
a man whom i was with got a one year old so basicly new self propelled lawn mower because the owner had broken the bracket that holds the gas tank to the frame. i showed him how to fix it with some jb weld and wala a brand new lawn mower for free. the rich and middle class of america are lazy and for the most part stupid when it comes to fixing anything or working on there homes or cars. they wont or cant fix anything for them selves. they would rather and do buy a new one.
the song says a country boy will survive. and i agree with that but so will the person who knows how to fix things and has common sence.
Some specialists claim that loan help people to live their own way, just because they are able to feel free to buy needed stuff. Moreover, various banks give commercial loan for all people.