Seeing a lot of wood stoves (Seattle, Port Angeles: for sale, power lines, rent)

[Lighthouse 7669]

In researching our move to the Puget Sound area we have noticed many homes that are for sale or rent have wood stoves. This is great we love wood stoves. My question is where does everyone get their fire wood? ( yes I know from trees lol). We have 60 acres here in Arkansas and I just cut up old and dead trees. Since 95% of the homes we see with wood stoves have under an acre of land, do they buy the wood? If so, roughly how much? Or does National Forstery allow permit harvest of dead wood?

[Dendrite]

Originally Posted by Lighthouse 7669

In researching our move to the Puget Sound area we have noticed many homes that are for sale or rent have wood stoves. This is great we love wood stoves. My question is where does everyone get their fire wood? ( yes I know from trees lol). We have 60 acres here in Arkansas and I just cut up old and dead trees. Since 95% of the homes we see with wood stoves have under an acre of land, do they buy the wood? If so, roughly how much? Or does National Forstery allow permit harvest of dead wood?

As it is for you in Arkansas, you may buy firewood or you can harvest it. If you cut your own wood in western WA you'll need a firewood cutting permit obtained through the US Forest Service office or through the WA DNR (Dept of Natural Resources) office.

How much you'll use depends upon whether wood is your primary source of heat and how toasty you like to keep your house. The climate in western WA is maritime and not particularly cold degrees F wise but it's damp much of the year and people have different degrees of tolerance to gray, damp weather. I cut, split, stack my own wood so I don't have an exact cord count as I would if I bought all my firewood. At my place, if I'm running low on wood, I simply cut, split, stack more to cure. So this will be a ballpark based upon my personal usage over the past dozen years or so. Currently we have an efficient centrally located soapstone masonry wood stove. Wood is our primary heat source. When we built this home, we also had it designed to capitalize on south facing passive solar gain which helps with our heating as well. On average now I'm using roughly 2-3 cords of wood a year. In our previous conventionally built home in the Port Angeles area, we'd use about 4-6 cords of wood a year. For comparison, my elderly parents (who live here also) heat their home with wood as well. They like to keep their home very warm year round. They'll use 6 or 7 cords pretty consistently every year. YMMV-

[StealthRabbit]

WA wood is soft / low heat content and LOTS of ash.

I use 6 - 8 cords / yr (very rough climate w/ 80 mph winds and freezing rain).

Energy home. ~4k SF LOTS of window for heat loss (and gain).

You can get a FREE forest service permit, or buy ~ $200 / cord.

Remember to buy one extra yr in advance, as most is 'semi seasoned'... Seasoned on the semi truck for 1 hr...

Damp climate on we_tside WA means takes a long time (2 yrs) to dry our spongy wood. Maple and oak preferred if you can find it.

I cut my trees in March / April and then my wood in June / July (for the following yr) = ~1.5 yrs drying. You need a shelter for firewood, It will rot in 3 yrs under the rain.

[Pretzelogik]

Bet all this wood burning certainly helps with clean air.

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by Pretzelogik

Bet all this wood burning certainly helps with clean air.

Considering all the western wildfires and what's being put into millions of automobile gas tanks, it's comparatively low impact. And wood is renewable. Trees grow back after one is cut.

[Hemlock140]

My parents heat their home exclusively with firewood. Despite their advanced age (79/83) they buy logs, and spend the summer cutting and splitting (have a power splitter) for a total of about 4-5 cords by fall. Much cheaper than buying it split, and good exercise.

[sll3454]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

Considering all the western wildfires and what's being put into millions of automobile gas tanks, it's comparatively low impact. And wood is renewable. Trees grow back after one is cut.

There are days that burning is restricted because of air quality. On those days, only homes that have wood-burning as their only source of heat can burn.

In my neighborhood, one wood-burning stove a quarter of a mile away is more noticeable than the hundreds of cars that go by every hour. When one person in the neighborhood burns wood, windows need to be closed and outdoors becomes less pleasant. If a lot of people burn wood in a populated area, then yes, the air is noticeably bad.

So if you like to burn wood and don't live near anyone, you're probably not bothering anyone or destroying the earth. But if you have near neighbors, you could be very annoying, and you are adding to pollution. It may feel great in your toasty house, but outside where the neighbor kids want to play? Not so pleasant. At least invite them over for marshmallows.

Sorry, OP, I have not answered your questions. Dead trees/wood are also important for the ecosystem, so I doubt that you can just take them. Maybe someone else knows how you would get permission.

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by sll3454

There are days that burning is restricted because of air quality. On those days, only homes that have wood-burning as their only source of heat can burn.

In my neighborhood, one wood-burning stove a quarter of a mile away is more noticeable than the hundreds of cars that go by every hour. When one person in the neighborhood burns wood, windows need to be closed and outdoors becomes less pleasant. If a lot of people burn wood in a populated area, then yes, the air is noticeably bad.

So if you like to burn wood and don't live near anyone, you're probably not bothering anyone or destroying the earth. But if you have near neighbors, you could be very annoying, and you are adding to pollution. It may feel great in your toasty house, but outside where the neighbor kids want to play? Not so pleasant. At least invite them over for marshmallows.

Sorry, OP, I have not answered your questions. Dead trees/wood are also important for the ecosystem, so I doubt that you can just take them. Maybe someone else knows how you would get permission.

Wood smoke may be more noticeable making it easy to point fingers, but that doesn't mean everything else including the carcinogens in your car's gas tank aren't also being breathed in and having greater impact on your health. Let's not even get into soils contaminated with lead and other toxins along roads from decades of leaded gasoline, making roadside fruit toxic. Perception and reality are not always the same thing.

Diesel Exhaust

Most national forests will issue firewood collection permits. They generally allow dead wood to be collected only. They range from free to dirt cheap, with some rules on where and how you can collect the wood.

[sll3454]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

Wood smoke may be more noticeable making it easy to point fingers, but that doesn't mean everything else including the carcinogens in your car's gas tank aren't also being breathed in and having greater impact on your health. Let's not even get into soils contaminated with lead and other toxins along roads from decades of leaded gasoline, making roadside fruit toxic. Perception and reality are not always the same thing.

Diesel Exhaust

Most national forests will issue firewood collection permits. They generally allow dead wood to be collected only. They range from free to dirt cheap, with some rules on where and how you can collect the wood.

I still think inviting the inconvenienced neighbor children over for marshmallows would be nice.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

Wood smoke may be more noticeable making it easy to point fingers, but that doesn't mean everything else including the carcinogens ...
Diesel Exhaust...

I'm toast..

1. Wood heat for 60+ yrs
2. Extensive Camping for 60+ yrs
3. Burn ~ 500 Cu yds of PNW brush / yr (30+ yrs)
4. Weaned on the smoke stack of a diesel tractor for 16 hrs / day.
5. Drove diesel vehicles for 50+ yrs, (still have 40 diesel vehicles in the daily fleet... most run on free fryer oil... minimal emissions, but people follow you like the piped piper looking for donuts!)
6. Worked in aluminum dust looking like a tin man for 35 yrs.
7. Grew up under HV power lines (over my bedroom).
8. Dug / farmed ate dust from Colorado soils for 30 yrs (Very high Uranium content)
9. Live in a basement house with high levels of Radon
10. Many other minor risks (professional motorcycle racer, home builder (amateur electrician, Really got a jolt from some 480v today), extensive use of smoky / toxic welders (since age 12))

You can always 'Save the School Children and join the Breathable Bus coalition in Seattle!
BAD thing about burning biodiesel or waste cooking oil... Emission check in WA are VERY long, as BD or cooking oils has NO DETECTABLE emissions (no soot / opacity issues)... so they have to reboot the computer, reset the meter, clean the equipment, get a supervisor to witness the test (Still ZERO detectable emissions). About an hour later... they let you go (PASS) shaking their heads. Very costly waste of time with 40 diesel to check.

As a diesel / dust breathing farmer, Grandpa lived to age 96 (till he fell of the tractor while fueling... darn diesel)

I certainly won't make it that far, cuz I don't fry my eggs in Bacon Lard every morning.

I have quite a few marshmallows too (In my apple salad from June till March while my crop is available). But... I have been able to maintain my High School Weight! Width is a bit more elusive.