Estimating fuel storage for wood cutting

[Mountaintrekker]

Hello all,
I have been busy with the family out at our homestead lately and I do intend to fill you all in with the whens and how's of it all in due time (also with pics). Until then, I wanted to share something with you preppers and other homesteaders that I have been working on with regard to how much gasoline I need to store to be able to cut wood for the season/s.
Everything that comes into our place has a very high price and requires either coming in on our backs, sled, canoe or atv (when the weather, tide and a few other variables coincide with one another.) Hence everything must be planned or we face the consequences of either doing without or possibly getting into a serious survival situation.
I have been cutting wood like mad with the weather changing and getting colder everyday and decided to figure out approximately how much gas I burn in my Stihl MS310 to give me a weeks worth of wood. Well, after some testing this past year I figure one full tank of chainsaw gas yields approximately one weeks worth of wood. Yes I did take into account cold snaps etc. this is just an average mind you for both house and sauna.
So the saw fuel capacity is 1.2 pints which is .15th of a gallon. If we take 6 full tanks of fuel and multiply them by .15, 15 X 6 = .9 tenths of a gallon of fuel for 6 chainsaw fill ups. I figure the tenth of a gallon is a good loss factor for spills, letting the saw warm up or idle for a bit etc. So I figure I'm getting 6 weeks of wood per gallon of gas if I do my part and don't do too much small stuff.
Everyone's numbers will be different due to how your place is insulated, what type of wood and woodstove, how warm you like your place etc.

[crashdive123]

For your situation I can see where that would be important to know. Looking forward to your reports on how things are progressing.

[BScout]

Thanks! Don't forget to keep your chain sharp as a dull one will generate longer run times.

Not sure if you have a gas wood splitter but for me, I found running it at about 30% RPM's is all I need to split easily. No need to run it wide open. With a 6HP engine, and about a 1/2 gallon fuel tank, I can split for 3+ hours on a tank full.

[hunter63]

Know what your cost are in a valuable tool, but I thinking that storage of that fuel might even be a bigger problem.

It's always good to have an idea on costs for anything.

So the question becomes, should I cut it all now when the fuel is fresh, or wait I till need it, and have it in storage, "Just in case"?... Or should I cut small stuff or split the big stuff....either way runs into fuel useage.

[Pal334]

That is a good question Hunter. I would think it would be best to have whatever wood you have split and ready to use in advance. In case of injury or other such calamity. What do you guys think? I especially would like to hear the opinion of those folks "way out yonder", Mountaintrekker (hope this follows the line of your original post), SD, sjj, Dogman and others.

My opinion is that if I rely on wood for heat, I would do my best to have the years supply or more ready to go as soon as practical.

[Rick]

If you cut and split the wood now it can be aging until time to use it whether you have a SHTF moment or not. If you wait, you might be injured, might not have enough fuel on hand and unable to secure any more, will be dealing with a myriad of other things so this is one that will be out of the way. I don't see any advantage to waiting if you can go ahead and do it.

[crashdive123]

When I did heat with wood, I always tried to keep at least a two year supply cut and split. This way, I never felt that there was a sense of urgency that I had to get some more cut and split now. It also ensured that the wood I was using was well seasoned.

[RCKCRWLER]

I agree! Get it in now before the bad weather hits. My wife and I moved into our off grid cabin last November. I was playing the wood game all winter long. It's nice outside, I better go split and cut some wood for the week. It got old fast. This year I have been beavering away this summer and am still currently working on filling the woodshed. It should hold close to four cord, and last year we burnt about 3.5 cord. I am also stockpiling wood for next year too and it feels good to be working ahead. I am doing it myself and splitting by by hand with the red handled beast. LOL ( I know four cord of wood isn't alot. We used to burn 15 cord a year in NY. ) The hard part is finding four cord of wood in the desert! :laugh: A little here, a little there...