Who else here burns wood as their primary heat source in the winter and what saw are you guys running? Running a stihl 362c-m R with either a 20” or 25” bar depending on what I’m cutting. Running it with stihl hp ultra l at the recommended 50:1 ratio. Have used a mix of different bar oil, but usually get stihls wood cutter. Been running it for about 7 years now with no problems, been super reliable. Going to order a 500i soon so I can run a 28-36” bars while falling the bigger trees. When I get the 500i I’m going to send the 362 out to get freshened up with a new piston, woods ported, have a bark box added to it and get some 3 point dogs from wcs. Once the 362 is back Im Going to add a bark box, fellers suspension kit, filter upgrade kit and 3 point dogs to the 500i (all from WCS).
Started working on this Sunday evening. Got it down and bucked about half of it before dark. Going to finish bucking tonight and start splitting. Have new 6 & 8lb fiskars mauls coming in today, stoked to see how they do. Have Had the same fiskars splitting axe for 8 years and shit has been the best thing since sliced bread, so figured I would stick with the brand for my mauls.
Burning all of this in our kuma stove, got it when we remodeled our house and I have loved it. We burn tamarack and fir (both white and Douglas). The stove is slightly oversized for our home and it really pumps out the heat.
Would love to see and hear about what some other people are running and burning.
Not sure what we used as far as chainsaw, but my ma still burns wood as well. We’d go clear up the pinion tress on the property and buy cords of aspen as needed.
Everything’s a little smaller where she lives so we used a hand wedge and 3lb sledge to split wood. For the kindling just find a nice piece with no knots and we’d use the machete or cleaver.
She’s looking into a high efficiency stove for their place next.
Never burned aspen or pinion. I just looked up Pinion and it has quite the btu rating! That’s super interesting, I wouldn’t have expected that tbh. I’m used to the ponderosa pine that we have around here. It’s kinda mid compared to tamarack or Douglas fir. Supposedly ponderosa is slightly higher than white fir in btu (just barely) but in my experience I still prefer burning white fir. Ponderosa can be a bitch to split and I have noticed that you have to get it green or right after it dies or it seems to go punky. White fir seems to be able to stand dead longer and still be in its prime.
I do want one tbh, I plan to get one that attaches ti the skid steer. They are nice for some knotty rounds or splitting shit that’s green. I actually enjoy splitting my wood by hand though (at least at this point in my life lol)
Pinion is definitely a bitch to split. The grain usually is all twisted. It burns like a hardwood in the stove.
We’d use the aspen to start the fires and once they were going you keep it burning with the pinion.
Going from living in the suburbs with a thermostat to having to split kindling in the morning because I was cold as a teen did not endear me to the lifestyle lol. It made me appreciate forced air heat, but I also appreciate the perspective it gave me looking back on it.
These fiskars mauls are the shit. Used the 8lb on the biggest rounds, maybe 4-5 of them and then switched to the 6lb for the rest. Fucking hyped. 6lb is definitely going to be the go to, but the 8 is handy to have on hand for those stubborn rounds. Got the rest of the tree rounded out and Almost got it all split. Have another maybe 8 small rounds to split tomorrow and then just need to load it into the pickup and haul it back to the house so that our oldest daughter can stack it all.
Osage Orange is killer fw if you can find it. Huge btu output. Elm was the most difficult wood ive ever split. Shit grows like a hair braid. Luckily my farm is mostly red/white oak and hickory.
Finished splitting and loading that tree back to my house this evening. Close to two cords I’m thinking (possibly even more, we will see once it’s stacked). Scouted out some more standing dead to cut tomorrow morning. Going to go out at 4am and see how many I can get down and rounded out before it’s light out, will work on splitting the next couple mornings. I like doing wood before it gets light out, then once it’s light get to working on my other projects. We already have probably 3 winters worth of wood split and stacked, I want to get up to a 5 year rotation.
Got a little bit of a late start. Didn’t get out here til 5:45. Fucking tired this morning Decided to just take down the biggest tree and get it bucked and split before moving onto the other one. Going to get this loaded and then drop a few more smaller ones so that they are ready to buck and split tomorrow morning.
Curious how the 362 does with the 25" bar. I was looking at a 462 so I could run that bar but it’s definitely heavier. I used to work for a tree service and the 362 always had an 18" bar, 462 with the 25" and 660 series with the 36" was the biggest. I think it was just under 100cc. We used all Stihl the only time they generally broke was getting dropped out of a tree by the climber, or accidentally forgetting the oil in the mix one time. Definitely durable and dependable saws. Not cheap but you get what you pay for.
I would definitely look into a hydraulic splitter if you use a lot of wood. I used to burn around 5-6+ cord and bought a cheaper splitter on sale at tractor supply and it worked great. Had to eventually replace the leaking piston, but definitely don’t regret it. Even using a splitter is still a good workout, less so if you get one with a lift. Next step up is renting a processor. All you do is load the logs and it cuts and splits them. Definitely nice if you have a wood furnace and a big pole barn to heat.
It does fine with a 25” bar. I’m not cutting hardwood or anything so idk how that would affect it. But for fir and tamarack, it gets right through it. You might be able to get away with a 28” on a 362 but I haven’t tried it yet. I have read a few things saying the oiler won’t keep up. But see a. Couple guys do it online. So who knows.
I love my 362, it’s been a great saw, but tbh I would probably go with the 462 if I was you. I’m excited to have my 362 woods ported and throw a bark box on it, give it just a little extra oomph
I’m going to get a 500i for my next saw, use that to run 32 &36” bars. Probably won’t use it for 36” that often as for what I’m cutting a 32” is about the max that I will usually need.
I really wanna order one from ripsaw, they do some really good work. Have heard their 500i is a totally different saw than the stock one.
I tore down a rotted wooden stairs to the deck. Wooks bro said lets save it and make a bonfire? I dont like the idea at all but now weve had this pile of wood stacked for a bonfire? Its even close to a giant tree so maybe we will start a forest fire.
Yeah I mostly cut hardwood, probably 90% of the time. Stuff like oak, hard maple, locust, cherry, beech.
I have heard of firefighters in the mountains running 462’s with 36" bars for light weight setups. The 660’s with 36’ bars absolutely rip through some hardwood. Bucking huge base logs with them is actually pretty fun. Cutting standing timber when you have to go in from both sides, not so much. I’ll have to check out the bark box, haven’t heard of that.
It’s from west coast saws. They have a bunch of good stuff. Basically just a new muffler (well half of it) that will give you a more free flowing exhaust. Couple other companies who make similar products but west coast saws has a great reputation so I’m going to go with them.
Check out the 500i, it’s between the 462 and 660. It is stihl’s first fuel inject saw. Been hearing great things about it. Power to weight ratio is great.
That’s where I want to get my 500i from. And then add the west coast saws fellers suspension kit (makes it sag less when running a long bar) and call it good. One hell of a saw….
I was just looking at it. Pretty wild that it has fuel injection. I know with high quality commercial zero turn mowers, fuel injection was pretty much a game changer. The fuel use reduction alone was huge with the same cut quality. I would be really interested to check one out. I’ll have to see what my buddy thinks as he owns a tree service.
660 had I think a 99cc engine. It was a beast. I cut a 4 ’ diameter standing base log with one while a crane was attached. Definitely the biggest standing wood I ever cut. Near a multi million dollar house as well which is why we used the crane. Definitely sketchy
