WoodchuckCanuck is a family-owned woodworking business based in Nova Scotia, Canada. They specialize in creating and selling a wide range of woodworking plans, including furniture, outdoor structures, toys, and decorative items. The company is known for its high-quality designs and detailed instructions, catering to woodworkers of all skill levels. WoodchuckCanuck also operates an online store, WoodworkersWorkshop.com, where customers can purchase plans and woodworking supplies. Additionally, they provide resources and support for woodworkers through their website and social media channels. At their home base they provide kiln dried firewood and green lumber to the local market.
Very nice operation you guys have there. Very different than the firewood sellers down this way, they cut split conveyor in the truck and go. Great job very interesting
I ran a kubota track loader for the first time last week. I like it a lot. It is very similar to the Takeuchi. I also think a hook-lift is just about the perfect set up.
We drove that CAT around the yard every day for about 10 years. I find this Kubota joystick controls not to be as responsive as the CAT. More rattle noise too with that door that pivots up. Ain't complainin' though, just pointing out some differences.
@@WoodchuckCanuck I agree the kubota is a bit more “rustic” The kubota has a ridged undercarriage and your cat had boggie wheels. So the car had suspension so to speak. For grading I prefer a ridged undercarriage. But used as a “fork lift” or working on a lawn I prefer the boggies.
We've tried that a couple different ways. It's more handling having to maneuver logs to the deck whereas I could be using that time to simply be bucking at the log pile. I've got another idea in the works. Just takes time and money to make it happen. Both in short supply.
A few variables comes into play, like MC going in, and ambient temperature. Can be as little as 3 days (seasoned wood in Aug-Sep) and as long as 14 days (green wood in Feb-Mar).
Not much to them really. Find a pallet already made or build to your own specs using 2x4 and 1x4 or 1x6. Once you know the size of your pallet, do the math to determine how high they need to be. Pretty sure there's a video in our channel that talks about building them. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7fXtLlKmWEs.html
@@WoodchuckCanuck Thank you for your kind response, Woodchuck Canuck. Love your design. Appreciate what you are doing with your channel! David in New Brunswick, Canada
Great job taking those readings, Jim! The DC voltage of the circuit was a little higher than I expected but that was due to my calculations being wrong. When AC voltage is rectified to DC, you actually get a higher DC voltage because of the calculation involved. The transformer does just what its name says it does. It transforms AC voltage to AC voltage. Depending upon the winding ratios inside of it, it can either step the voltage up, keep it the same (known as an isolation transformer) or step the voltage down. In your case, the transformer takes your 116VAC and steps it down to 16VAC. That 16VAC is converted to DC voltage through the rectifier and the RMS calculation is 16 (AC volts) x the square root of 2. So in this case, 16x1.414=22.6 VDC. I believe you were seeing right at 20VDC before you began adjusting the cam motor speed. So, when you were monitoring the DC voltage at the time you were speeding the cam motor up, the voltage dropped to 16.9 VDC the first time it stopped, and I saw it drop to 13VDC one of the other times. So I'd say that the rectifier cannot supply the DC circuit with the voltage it needs. As I stated in one of the other videos, judging by the heat-damaged rectifier I can only assume it is because of that. There are 2 other possibilities that I just want you to be aware of with this. One is the cam motor speed control board. It is possible that board has a bad component on it that regulates the speed of the motor. It is also possible that the motor itself could be bad. However, since the rectifier is damaged we need to remedy that first, so go ahead and swap that board out. Then, the first time you start it up after installing the new board, measure your DC voltage on the cam motor board like you did in this video while starting to speed up the cam motor. You should see the DC volt reading stay much more stable and most importantly, it should stay running. If you want to send me that board to fix you know how to get ahold of me and I'll get you my address. Have a good evening! :)
It was warm over night = Less dew/condensation compared to the cooler nights a few days before. To do this right I think you need a sealed room or climate controlled building. The shipping container people think is that but in cool climates because of the dew point people have to pretty much build twice with insulation on both side of the metal to make it stop. Adds up for most consumers trying to build container homes I looked into. You have access to cheap lumber saving there but framing both sides of the containers and insulation $$$ it gets cheaper and better to build a sealed pole barn/garage with a woodstove. Keeping the container doors closed with a dehumidifier will work to control the RH but the electricity $$$ adds up quick with most small household units pulling 1,500 watts. I'll keep watching.
You're right on dehumidifiers costing energy to run. We have a small commercial dehumidifier (capable of 80 pints per day at ) we use in the kiln that consumes about 0.4 kW/Hr when its running 24/7. Works out to about $50 a month based on today's power rates. Pretty good for drying wood to sell but I can see where it can add up if running one to maintain dry storage long term (years).
A dehumidifier will work way better. Look towards commercial drying rooms for plants. I haven't been paying attention to the project but there's was a kiln mentioned and then these containers. I take it to dry wood faster but there must be a huge cost and extra work.
@@jeanpage6669 That's something to consider. While I have that wood in the container with the fan, I could take surface readings of a few pieces, just to see if there is a change in moisture content.
@@jeanpage6669 Sure but not enough to make it rain. It's dew with the door left open over night. Go out in the cool morning and it's everywhere not enclosed.
@@WoodchuckCanuck I don't know many people that would want to pay for fire wood in NS. Split the wood on a tarp and just let it sit outside for a year with the same results with less work and costs. Good luck
Hey Jim. I noticed the east side of one container is painted black. Do you think the morning sun is heating up the black outside and causing condensation on the cool inside?
I don't think it makes much of a difference since the factory colour is that dark brown. When the morning sun comes around, the east side of both containers get the sunshine. The one with the black painted east side gets the sun a few minutes later as it is closer to the hill. The other container, the one closest to the lake, is always warmer, no matter the time of day. I'm assuming its because there is minimal air flow when comparing it to the container with the fan installed.
Jim, I had previously written a long replay to this video but for some reason it never took it! I'm sorry I had thought the comment went through and was awaiting your reply. Anywho, at the 1:40 mark, the lights went out and the disconnect light came back on. That indicates that you momentarily lost DC then it came back. We need to do the AC testing on the transformer and the DC testing on the motor board circuit after it stops, when we have no lights on the buttons but we DO have the red light on the P1 relay. When you go out first thing, do your DC test on the motor speed control board as you start the machine up. Watch the DC voltage as you turn the cam motor on and move the speed control dial from zero speed to whatever speed you usually run. I bet after a few minutes of running you will see the voltage begin to become unstable as the rectifier heats up or just suddenly drop out to nothing as the machine stops. Once you lose the DC circuit, this is when I'd like you to run the AC voltage tests on the transformer. When you first go and start the machine up in the morning, everything is cold, or ambient temp. When you stalled the cam motor on a bad blade the other day, it most likely overheated the rectifier and now you are experiencing what is known as a heat-induced fault. This basically means that the internal connections in the rectifier open up or short out as it heats up which causes it to quit outputting DC power. Once it has stopped for a few minutes or so it cools down enough to where the internal connections in the rectifier are good again and begin outputting DC power again until it heats up and repeats the process. It is fairly easy to replicate. Rectifiers generate heat as a by-product of turning AC power into DC power. They are usually designed to release that heat through conduction through the board it is mounted on and through convection into open air. Your rectifier can no longer efficiently get rid of this excess heat because it is damaged and the internal circuitry of the rectifier opens or shorts out. Anywho, I believe your rectifier damage to be caused by the motor stall the other day. Installing your new board will most likely remedy the problem. If you'd like to send me your old board, I will replace the rectifier and verify it functions before sending it back to you as a spare.
I brought this saw to the dealer due to the pull cord breaking while the engine was running and it did a real good job of tearing up everything behind the pull cord cover. Tore up all the wires in the wire harness, destroyed the air conductor parts and even the rewind pulley. This saw's cut probably a thousand cords in its life, just me using it. Running it with a 24" bar. So the dealer says along with the parts that need replacing, they said the piston has some light scuffing on the exhaust side. What's your opinion of the condition of the piston? They suggested scrapping the saw.
Do you guys ever get black mould in the firewood like in rainy summers like last year when it’s outside like that all summer ? I found last year was horrible.
Few questions: your kiln is similar sized to a 20 feet container? Could you not put in more firewood then 2 cords? Like 3 cords? Or would it just add extra time to season? in your previous video I saw that you needed 8 days to dry a load (2 cords i presume) of 'hardwood') would oak be similar or a bit longer, as it is one of the more difficult species to dry? Do you have experience in how much kilntime you would save if you let the wood airdry for like a month from freshly cut and split? Do you also have some ideas/experience if you let the wood dry at higher temperatures? I noticed that you mentioned that you did not see much difference between a temperature of 95 and 105 ° Fahrenheit, but what if the temperature would be like 160 ° Fahrenheit?
Hi @JoostBuntix Thanks for stopping by. Great questions. Our kiln is 10ft wide, 20ft long and 8 feet tall. I could increase the height of the crates and fit in 3 cords max, but that increases the weight of the crates which makes it more difficult in maneuvering them into the kiln. Two crates on a cart is about 1,000lbs, so it would be adding another 500 lbs to the cart to push in. If it was a shipping container and I was driving the crates in with forklift or skid steer it would not be an issue. But as you can see ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8XW06PNMY7M.html even a 40ft shipping container with 4 cords is, in my opinion, really tight a space if you are trying to get air to flow and keep your mechanics (fans, ducts, baffles) in the same space. Also increasing the amount of wood to dry by 50% would add to the time in drying a 3 cord load compared to a 2 cord load. The dehumidifiers are not working at 100% so it likely won’t take 50% longer to dry 3 cord but my guess, it would be near that. Yes, 8 days for 2 cords, depending on the time of year and the starting moisture content of the firewood. I’ve never dried oak, it’s not a wood species I have access to. White birch also takes nearly as long to air dry as oak, so I would make that a comparable drying time. White birch dries just as well as other species like yellow birch. maple and beech. There is a definite advantage to air drying. In my experience, a month of air drying shortens the kiln cycle by about 1 day. Case in point, this summer has been hot and dry. Firewood we split 3 months ago are only taking 3-4 days to dry to average 20% moisture content. Yes, the drying performance does not appear to me to be much different whether it 95º F or 105º F. I have not dried firewood at 160º F so I have no direct comparable. I am currently thinking about setting up a wood fire, indirect forced air kiln. All the reading i have done, the hotter you can make the environment, the quicker the wood releases the moisture. Operating at higher temperatures changes the method of drying. You won’t be using dehumidifiers unless you can obtain ones that can operate in that temperature, or build a unit that the compressor can be outside that heated environment. I would add though, that you have to be careful to make sure you have proper air flow if you are working with higher temperatures. Air that is forced to flow through the stacks will have much better performance in removing the moisture off of the wood. You also have to make sure you have exhaust fans moving the correct amount of air out of the kiln. And the intake ports and exhaust ports are in good locations based on the setup. Hot temperatures early in the drying process, with a green load, I would be concerned about mold developing. So again air flow management plays a key role.
Gina may like to have a small 8x8 building that you can bring the splitter in one side and basket of wood in the other and she can be in the shade and out of the rain.
It's just a standard 10x20ft shed with 2x4 walls. There's a few blog posts I made about it on our web site if you are interested woodchuckcanuck.com/?s=kiln+build
Most important when storage wood for burning is of curse ventilation so they dry. 2nd is that i seen so many people using 1 opening, so the oldest and dry wood is at the back and when you fill new logs you can not reach the dry ones. Last one i built have 2 doors, one in the front with dry and one in the back with new.
I bought mine from Mat at Empire Attachments whom I met at the Woodsman’s field days in Booneville Ny. They buy them from Soudure Molloy. I reached out to Mat and the Molloy brothers wanted $600 for the side table. I’m confident I can make it for much less seeing that my son is a red seal welder.
Wow Jim you have some serious inventory. It’s like money in the bank . Looks like your split force is servicing you well. I recently purchased one similar to yours but it doesn’t have the additional table on the left. I would like to fabricate that for my machine to have the added work space. I absolutely love this machine though. Cheers Woody !!! from Niagara Falls, Ontario
