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Firewood monster

JohnT8 | Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on December 26, 2006 09:04am

A friend sent me a link for the Chomper.  A firewood processor that uses a shear blade instead of a saw.  They have models that can cut up to 4 cords of firewood per hour.

I downloaded the video clip and just have to say, “wow!”  That is some machine!

http://www.chomper.net/

They cost a fair chunk of change, but it also does a fair amount of work.  Probably the only problem I’d have with it is that it can only cut up to a 16″ diameter. 

 

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jt8

“When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” — Alexander Graham Bell

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  1. User avater
    McDesign | Dec 26, 2006 10:39pm | #1

    Man, that's cool!

    Makes me wanna' have a woodlot!

    Forrest

    1. JohnT8 | Dec 27, 2006 12:18am | #2

      Did you watch the video?  Wonder how thick that blade is to be able to push the log through the splitter?  Looks like it sheers about 3/4 through and then pushes the previous cut through the splitter, and then sheers the rest of the way through the current section...and then feeds the log forward and repeats. 

      Makes me wanna' have a woodlot!

      Cord of woods goes for around $150 hereabouts.   For the full-blown $40k version, that would be 266.66 cords of wood to pay it off (assuming free labor, no maint, free trees, etc)  ;)

      I could see a tree service being able to justify something like that.  Instead of the guys having to cut the trees into manageable sizes, it would let them take down trees in MUCH larger pieces.  And then the thing just winches the tree into its maw and chomp..chomp..chomp. 

      Meanwhile they feed the smaller branches through the chipper.  When they leave an hour later, they've got woodchips and firewood. 

      jt8

      "When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell

      Edited 12/26/2006 4:28 pm by JohnT8

      1. Mooney | Dec 27, 2006 03:27am | #3

        Cord of woods goes for around $150 hereabouts.   For the full-blown $40k version, that would be 266.66 cords of wood to pay it off (assuming free labor, no maint, free trees, etc)  ;)

        I thought it was viable till you said that .

        I dont think a feller would sell more than 266 here so it would take a high powered plan.  

        1. junkhound | Dec 27, 2006 06:24am | #4

          Pretty pricey, but looks like a good DIY 'couple of weekends' project. Ron might have enough stuff out at the farm for a good start.   Might be tempted if I'da picked up the 1" thick plate of 4340 steel I saw awhile back.

          Heated with wood for 30 years, about 10 cords a year, free wood.  Probably would not have built similar even if I could go back 40 years. The video shows starting out with nice limbed and felled logs - getting the logs to a stack and limbed was 70% of the work of getting split logs to the woodshed. 

          Noticed also that there were no logs in that pile with big crooks, Y's, etc. 

          Think the logs in the Oregon pile on the video would bring more $$ at a sawmill than as firewood.

           

          1. Mooney | Dec 27, 2006 03:10pm | #5

            I noticed the size of the logs and how straight and clean they were too.

            If there is a bargain there it may be in the small one where a fellow could hand carry small trees to it and it still load the pieces in the truck. Anyone here would give away its smallest timber to thin it .

            I then wondered what the machine would do to crooked limbs on a right of way cutting .

            If you could get the right timber easily theres a nice living in this set up I think. I really liked the fact it will load the truck pulling it .

            Tim 

          2. JohnT8 | Dec 27, 2006 06:59pm | #10

            The video shows starting out with nice limbed and felled logs - getting the logs to a stack and limbed was 70% of the work of getting split logs to the woodshed. 

            Saw a thing on Modern Marvels a few years back about a machine that harvests trees.  The operator drives it up to the tree and the arm reaches out and grabs the tree and slices it near the ground.   It then de-limbs it and cuts it to size.

             

            These are similar:

            http://www.unb.ca/standint/nbcc/machine/harvesters/sdriz_a.html

            View Image

            View Image

             jt8

            "When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell

        2. JohnT8 | Dec 27, 2006 06:42pm | #9

          They also have cheaper models.  Looks like they start around $15k:

          http://www.chomper.net/page2.html

          But as I said to BossHog, a 16" diameter tree isn't very big.  jt8

          "When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell

          1. User avater
            BossHog | Dec 27, 2006 07:09pm | #11

            The 16" diameter would cover about 80% of the stuff we cut. Trouble is, a lot of what we do is cleaning up around fields. That means crooked trees with lots of forks and branches. Limbing the things is half the work.Firewood doesn't go for much more than about $80 a cord down here, which would make for a much longer payback period. All in all I don't see much use for the thing around here. But it IS cool.
            Guns don't kill people. Postal workers do

          2. JohnT8 | Dec 27, 2006 07:54pm | #12

            Firewood doesn't go for much more than about $80 a cord down here, which would make for a much longer payback period.

            Is that $80 for a full cord, or is it a face cord?  or 'truck load' ?  In the local Shoppers, half-cords seem to be the most popular way to sell it (for $70-85).  Although that is for seasoned, delivered, and often stacked.  So maybe it is a premium price, I don't know. 

            Paying for firewood is hard enough to get a handle on.  Firewood should be free, although it requires planning ahead ;)

             

             jt8

            "When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell

          3. User avater
            BossHog | Dec 27, 2006 09:23pm | #13

            I meant about $80 a truckload - Should have been more specific.It depends on the type of wood, too. If you want attractive split hardwood for a fireplace it might cost more. Pieces of miscellaneous scrub trees (like we cut) might cost less.
            I would rather have a German division in front of me than a French one behind me. [General George S. Patton]

          4. JohnT8 | Dec 28, 2006 01:52am | #14

            I attached this PDF in the wood stove thread, but I find it a handy reference, so here it is again.  Gives me a general idea how well certain woods will burn.  I never would have guessed that apple could put off that much heat (it doesn't say what kind of apple).

            Assuming a cord of wood at 4'x4'x8' (give or take)   I'd just about be willing to bet you that the 'face cord' I'll buy will be less than half a cord.  Probably 12-15" x 4'x8'.  Not practical to cut them in 24" pieces when most wood stoves and some fireplaces don't accept wood that long.  If the firewood seller is a stickler for volume, then the 4x8 portion would be increased, but it isn't something I'd argue about one way or the other.  I'm going to guess that 4'x8' is the magic number.

            The PDF calls a truck load an "imprecise by common measure".  Somewhere in the neighborhood of 1/2 cord (assuming neatly stacked to the top of the bed).

            It depends on the type of wood, too. If you want attractive split hardwood for a fireplace it might cost more.

            I laugh when i see those bundles of 3 or 4 split pieces that they want $3-10 for.  Take a couple of those bundles just to build a decent fire.  But the idiots using them are probably burning them in fireplaces anyway, so not like they're doing it for heat.

            Pieces of miscellaneous scrub trees (like we cut) might cost less.

            They burn just as well and the price is right.  And as a friend likes to say, "Firewood is great because it warms you three times: when you cut it, when you split it, and when you burn it."

             jt8

            "When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell

            File format
          5. UncleDunc | Dec 28, 2006 06:40am | #15

            >> Take a couple of those bundles just to build a decent fire.Indian build small fire, keep warm by sitting close.
            White man build large fire, keep warm by carrying wood.

          6. TheOldCynic | Dec 31, 2006 09:11am | #23

            Apple does indeed burn well, and makes great fireplace wood.In the mid '60's, my brother's FIL decided to "retire" from his farm in the upper end of the Annapolis Valley, but kept his apple orchards. The same year, he renovated a big part of the orchard to plant some new trees, and having the time, he made as much firewood as he could, and stacked it beside the house to season.He took to sitting out on the front porch on Sunday afternoons to have his tea, and soon had a string of city folk stopping in wanting to buy some of his woodpile for their fireplace. He would "reluctantly" allow they could have what they could put in the trunk of their car for $10, but they had to load it themselves, and the trunk lid had to latch.He figured he was getting about $300 per cord for the applewood, plus he had the entertainment factor of watching the family out for a Sunday drive cram in every stick they could, after putting the spare tire and bumperjack and everything else from the trunk into the back seat with the three squawking kids, the family dog and the MIL just to get every possible stick in.Doc - The Ol' Cynic

          7. JohnT8 | Dec 31, 2006 09:39am | #24

            He took to sitting out on the front porch on Sunday afternoons to have his tea, and soon had a string of city folk stopping in wanting to buy some of his woodpile for their fireplace. He would "reluctantly" allow they could have what they could put in the trunk of their car for $10, but they had to load it themselves, and the trunk lid had to latch.

            Now the slickers pay $4 for little bags of apple chips at Menards.  And I'm talking like a bag of potato chips sized bags.  But most of them are using it for grilling, not in the fireplace.

             jt8

            "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."    --Dave Barry

          8. TheOldCynic | Dec 31, 2006 09:55am | #26

            Inflation, or what?Or maybe just clever merchandising.Phineas T. Barnum said something about a sucker born every minute. What with the rates of inflation and population growth in the ensueing 100 yrs, whadaya think that number would be today?Doc - The Ol' Cynic

          9. JohnT8 | Dec 31, 2006 10:10am | #27

            Phineas T. Barnum said something about a sucker born every minute. What with the rates of inflation and population growth in the ensueing 100 yrs, whadaya think that number would be today?

            That is about all that is born any more.

             jt8

            "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."    --Dave Barry

          10. JohnT8 | Dec 28, 2006 08:46pm | #17

            The current shopper has someone selling seasoned, split firewood...  "Hedge also available."  Wheew, there's a hot fire!

             jt8

            "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."    --Dave Barry

          11. User avater
            BossHog | Dec 28, 2006 08:53pm | #18

            Hedge makes a great fire in a wood stove. But it pops like heck, and throws too many sparks around to make a good fireplace wood.I may have some hedge this wniter if ya want some firewood. (-:
            Don't hate yourself in the morning -- sleep till noon.

          12. JohnT8 | Dec 28, 2006 09:31pm | #19

            You're probably joking, but if I like the way it burns, I might take you up on it.  I've got a couple small pieces of hedge someone gave me a year or two back.  I might give them a try.  Don't think I'd be brave enough to try more than a small piece per load (heard enough wives tales about how hot they get).

            That stuff makes really pretty lumber too.  Starts off kinda yellow, but ages into a golden orangish color.  Good luck finding straight pieces though.jt8

            "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."    --Dave Barry

          13. User avater
            BossHog | Dec 28, 2006 09:55pm | #20

            No, I wasn't kidding. The "Spec House from Hell" was built alongside a hedgerow. I've been cleaning up some of the hedge trees a little bit at a time. This winter I want to clean out smoe more of it and get some of the desirable trees to spread out and grow some more.I'll make you an offer you can't refuse - Help me cut the trees and stack the brush, and I'll give ya half the wood.
            The merit of our Constitution was, not that it promotes democracy, but checks it [Horatio Seymour]

          14. JohnT8 | Dec 30, 2006 10:20am | #21

            I'll make you an offer you can't refuse - Help me cut the trees and stack the brush, and I'll give ya half the wood.

            During this mild winter is the best time to do it, but I'm bogged down on the project house until well into summer.  What are you doing with the hedge, burning it?  You got a stove that can handle that much heat?

            My wood stove was delivered Friday.  Also a $70 load of wood.  A couple from Ashland delivered it and had darn near military precision on unloading/stacking it.. right up to the point when my brand-spanking-new metal wood rack (on sale at Menards) decided to start sinking into the yard and tried to dump the stack.  My own fault for not putting blocks or pavers under the legs.   Serves me right for turning into a 'slicker' and BUYING a wood rack instead of just making it out of scraps.

            Looked like a hodge-podge of wood.  Oak, couple pieces of hickory, some cherry, few bits of walnut, some hackberry (which apparently the dude doesn't like to split), some misc I couldn't identify.  Looked to be mostly oak, which is just fine with me.  I might dig the hickory out and save it for the Weber.

             jt8

            "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."    --Dave Barry

          15. User avater
            BossHog | Dec 30, 2006 02:48pm | #22

            Looks like a decent load of wood to me. But - Any good redneck can stack firewood WITHOUT a rack.(-:Any wood that I cut is cut up for firewood. The only thing I burn is the branches. Everything else is hauled out to one of the farms. My Uncle heats exclusively with wood. (No furnace or other source of heat at all) Mom + Dad have a wood stove in their basements. They both have good quality air tight stoves and are old hands at stoking fires with all kinds of wood.
            Q: What's worse than a male chauvinist pig?
            A: A woman that won't do what she's told.

          16. JohnT8 | Dec 31, 2006 09:48am | #25

            Looks like a decent load of wood to me.

            Still seems strange PAYING for firewood.  But it was nice not having to cut it, split it, and handle it 4 or 5 times and wait a year for it to season.

            But - Any good redneck can stack firewood WITHOUT a rack.

            Yeah, but I'm in town now, so I have to act like the slickers do.  :)

            Although I DID just throw a 99 cent blue tarp over the top of the pile rather than buying a $50 special taylored wood-rack-cover.

            If I ever get bored, I might email that company that made the wood rack and ask them just HOW they can get 1/2 a cord of wood on that rack.  Unless you want to make a pyramid on the top, it ain't gonna happen. 

            Mom + Dad have a wood stove in their basements. They both have good quality air tight stoves and are old hands at stoking fires with all kinds of wood.

            What kind of setup do they have?  Got it rigged with a gravity furnace or forced air or such, or are they just pumping out a lot of BTU's and letting it filter up?jt8

            "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."    --Dave Barry

          17. User avater
            BossHog | Dec 31, 2006 11:48pm | #29

            "What kind of setup do they have? Got it rigged with a gravity furnace or forced air or such, or are they just pumping out a lot of BTU's and letting it filter up?"

            Mom + Dad have theirs in the basement. It basically just warms the floor above and radiates up from there. Since their basement is damp it also helps with that.

            They have electric baseboard heat in the house that probaby does 80% of their heating. Dad keeps the wood stove cranked down so it barely smolders.

            My Aunt and Uncle also have their wood stove in the basement. But their house is smaller and very well insulated, so they have no other heat sources. Not even a heater in the bathroom.

            I've fired the wood stove a tme or two for them when they were gone overnight. But they generally don't go anywere, so it isn't much of an issue.

            Neither house has any sort of forced air, a furnace, or even a window AC unit. People got by for centuries without AC, why should THEY have it ???
            Q: What is the difference between a blonde and an inflatable doll?
            A: About two cans of hair spray.

          18. JohnT8 | Jan 02, 2007 07:34am | #31

            Neither house has any sort of forced air, a furnace, or even a window AC unit. People got by for centuries without AC, why should THEY have it ???

            Sound like Swedes ;)

             jt8

            "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."    --Dave Barry

          19. User avater
            BruceT999 | Dec 28, 2006 09:34am | #16

            "Firewood doesn't go for much more than about $80 a cord down here, which would make for a much longer payback period."Don't forget to factor in the cost reduction in labor, fuel and fees to haul away all the trees you've cleared from a site.
            BruceT

      2. User avater
        BossHog | Dec 27, 2006 06:11pm | #6

        I'm kinda like Tim Mooney - It looks impressive in the video. But how would it perform in the REAL world?You'll notice the trees he winches up to the thing are perfectly straight and have already had the limbs removed. They look like pine trees, which are obviously pretty soft. that wuold explain why the blade sliced through them so easily.What happens when the machine hits a tree with a big knot in it? Or one with a fork in it? Or one with a trunk that's crooked as hell?I'd wanna see one in action before I actually believed it was such a great machine...
        I haven't failed. I've found 10,000 ways that don't work. [Thomas Edison]

        1. User avater
          diddidit | Dec 27, 2006 06:14pm | #7

          It'd be great for cutting all those depression-era pines...did<!---->Cure Diabetes - Death Valley 2006!<!---->

          <!---->Donate Online!<!---->

        2. JohnT8 | Dec 27, 2006 06:39pm | #8

          The real issue is that it only cuts up to 16" diameter.  I've seen a lotta downed trees that were a lot bigger around than that.

           jt8

          "When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell

  2. natedaw | Dec 31, 2006 05:56pm | #28

    The going rate around here is $225 for a bush cord. You pick it up, delivery is another $50. Maybe this is why so many people are switching over to pellet stoves.

  3. JohnT8 | Jan 02, 2007 07:31am | #30

    Found a place outside of town where a subdivision developer is selling green, split oak, full cords for $40

    That's a heck of a deal. 

    Gave me an excuse for building a wood "house" with a cover and all.  Now it's off for some loads.

    Just how cold does it get in central TX?

    jt8

    "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."    --Dave Barry

  4. JohnT8 | Jan 03, 2007 12:12am | #32

    The lady on the radio this morning said our 25F was about 10 degrees higher than normal for this time of year.

    I'm thinking we'll burn more wood.  ;)

    And we aren't even 'up north'.

     

    jt8

    "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."    --Dave Barry

  5. JohnT8 | Jan 04, 2007 05:30pm | #33

    I miss all the routine of snow and cold and way prefer  working outdoors with gloves and thermals than sweating my way into a heat stroke.        

    I agree.  As long as I'm prepared for it, I don't mind cold weather.  And cold with snow is better than cold with dreary.

     

    jt8

    "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."    --Dave Barry

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