5 Acres in Michigan

[xtremek]

We're hoping to make do with the Ford 2N, and we have an older craftsman lawn tractor with a 3ft blade and wheel weights & chains as well. Maybe next year when things settle down, I'll look for a snowblower for the front.

The 2n should work as long as the tires are weighted. Chains make it even easier. I doubt a riding lawn tractor would cut the mustard though, dependent on the size. I use an 8n with a 6' back blade to plow our driveway which is just over 1000'. Make sure to dress warm. The BiL gave me an old set of Carharts he out grew so this year should be better than last.

 

[countrytech]

The 2n should work as long as the tires are weighted. Chains make it even easier. I doubt a riding lawn tractor would cut the mustard though, dependent on the size. I use an 8n with a 6' back blade to plow our driveway which is just over 1000'. Make sure to dress warm. The BiL gave me an old set of Carharts he out grew so this year should be better than last.

Is there a way to DIY fluid fill the rear tires? We do also have chains for the 2N.

 

[theoldwizard1]

The 2n should work as long as the tires are weighted. Chains make it even easier.

I would say weights and chains are a must !

Make sure to dress warm. The BiL gave me an old set of Carharts he out grew so this year should be better than last.

ABSOLUTELY ! Another 'must have" for working out side in the cold is a good set of winter weight overalls and there are none better than Carhart. Not cheap but they will last forever !

Also good "pac" style winter boots. They have a removable liner so it will dry out quicker and can be replaced. Sorel used to be 100% made in Canada and were the best winter boots available, until they were bought out and much of the production moved off shore. Do some searches here on GJ. There have been several good threads on winter boots in the past.

Gloves with Thinsulate are the best. Mittens are also great for really cold weather. A thin pair of gloves with mittens is the best !

Wool or wool blend socks (at least 50%) are also a must.

Cabelas is a good place to shop for winter gear.


EDIT: Shop early ! Many stores will be out of stock for the season once hunting season starts in early November.

 

[ITGuy1998]

That house has tons of potential - I love the porch. Good luck!

 

[xtremek]

I don't know how to pump your own. If I find out, I'll pass it along. I'm interested because dad just had a tire replaced on his tractor and saved me 35gal of brine. If you find out how, pass it along. I had one weighted tire and one empty tire last winter (chains on both though). It made life rough, doable, but rough. Because of that experience, I'd say weight's more important than chains.

 

[shawnspeed]

I would look for the bolt on wheel weights...the rims don't dissapear from the inside out then...

 

[Carl_WI]

Go to Gemplers.com as they sell the adaptor to fill tires.

http://www.gemplers.com/product/7K/Air-Liquid-Adapter-Kit#TAB-REVIEWS

Watch the video.

Hope this helps. I have calcium chloride and water in my tractor tires as I have a loader on the tractor.

Carl

 

[madoc1]

used to fill my farmall tires with water. hardly freezes here. I have an adapter that lets you fill the tire from a hose. you will need antifreeze up there. if you pm me with your address I will give to you.

jim

 

[djbmw]

I'll chime in with regards to the OWB, consumption, etc.
Our home is 2800 sq/ft and we have an oversized boiler that could handle 3 times the load we put on it (currently it heats the house and water heater).
Last year we ended up feeding it ~9 bush cords of wood (we live in Ottawa, Ontario where February can see -40 degree temperatures with the wind chill (yes,.. that's MINUS 40 degrees).

As mentioned already in previous posts, the fall is when I'll start to burn soft wood,... as the temperatures drop I'll start to mix soft and hard woods. Once we're in the deep freeze temps I'll only use hard wood. Because we have an oversized boiler, I'm able to fully load it in the morning and, even in -35 temps, it'll last until the late evening when I'll need to fill it again.

It's IMPERATIVE that you keep the boiler cleanouts free of ash regularly. A buildup of ash will result in the boiler not functioning correctly and burning more wood than is necessary.

I use two gas chain saws to cut logs down to size (one is lighter, I can use it longer without getting tired, but is less powerful and has a shorter bar,.... the other is a Husky Rancher, weigh's quite a lot but has a bigger bar and can handle massive logs).

In my first year of burning wood I tried splitting wood with a maul, a wedge and sledge,... and a lot of determination (I'm in my early 30's by the way). Although the maul and wedge got the job done, it wasted WAY too much time and energy.

The second year I caved in and purchased a 25 ton splitter that works in both the horizontal and vertical position - AMAZING! I should have done this from the start! Mind you,... if I'm splitting small to mid-sized rounds that arent full of knots,... the maul *can* do it faster than the splitter.

PS, i'll burn most wood - im not super picky. However,... for the energy that I put into 'processing' it,... I'd try sticking with hardwood as much as possible.

Stay warm and keep on stacking wood

 

[jeepinerdeep]

This place looks sweet, congrats.

To all you guys in Western Michigan, an honest question.......why is there so many cheap houses and properties listed up there? I mean 15K cheap. I've been poking around some relocation options and it looks like nice country. I can't understand why so many properties listed that low in a regular sale, some with land even? Too much snow? Only have 3 days of summer that far north, lol? No work? Skeeters? Meth? What gives fellas, I gotta know? If it's just happy luck, I'm gonna fly up and snoop around.

 

[JMitch19]

This place looks sweet, congrats.

To all you guys in Western Michigan, an honest question.......why is there so many cheap houses and properties listed up there? I mean 15K cheap. I've been poking around some relocation options and it looks like nice country. I can't understand why so many properties listed that low in a regular sale, some with land even? Too much snow? Only have 3 days of summer that far north, lol? No work? Skeeters? Meth? What gives fellas, I gotta know? If it's just happy luck, I'm gonna fly up and snoop around.

I live in Caledonia, MI it's about 15 minutes south of Grand Rapids, MI. I have never seen anything in the 15K price range or anywhere near that. You can find some rural areas in West Michigan that are a bit to far to be commutter areas to any of the larger cities(Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Muskegon). In whose areas you will find lower prices, but I'd expect to find that if you got far enough away from a large city anywhere.

 

[badss98]

Welcome to michigan and congrats on the house purchase, we too did the forclosure purchase with land and have no regrets as i can assume you will not have any either.

 

[xtremek]

Another reason might be because the Michigan economy took a HUGE hit during the Big Recession and is still lagging behind the rest of the country. I still see repo notices in my neck of the woods. That brings property values down as a whole. Maybe? And this year, the skeeters were THICK. just to out and mow the law this year, I had to layer on the repellant. I heard a toddler went missing in the next county over. When they found him he was dehydrated and covered in welts. It seems the mosquitos picked him up and carried him into the woods so they could dine on him at their leasure. jk

 

[theoldwizard1]

why is there so many cheap houses and properties listed up there? I mean 15K cheap.

Not much there ! Not the best area for farming in the state. Lots of snow. North of Grand Rapids and Lansing the only big city is Traverse City. Some of the towns are almost empty after tourist season so the cost of living can be high.

... I'm gonna fly up and snoop around.

There is an airport in Grand Rapids and in Lansing. I don't think any major carriers fly in or out, except for "affiliates".

Some areas (North of I96, between US131 and US127, North of I96, between US31 and US131 ) don't have major highway access (only 2 lane blacktop). There is a lot of Federal/State Forest land in that area.

 

[theoldwizard1]

And this year, the skeeters were THICK. just to out and mow the law this year, I had to layer on the repellant. I heard a toddler went missing in the next county over. When they found him he was dehydrated and covered in welts. It seems the mosquitos picked him up and carried him into the woods so they could dine on him at their leasure. jk

Nah ! That was in the UP !!

 

[JMitch19]

Not much there ! Not the best area for farming in the state. Lots of snow. North of Grand Rapids and Lansing the only big city is Traverse City. Some of the towns are almost empty after tourist season so the cost of living can be high.



There is an airport in Grand Rapids and in Lansing. I don't think any major carriers fly in or out, except for "affiliates".



Some areas (North of I96, between US131 and US127, North of I96, between US31 and US131 ) don't have major highway access (only 2 lane blacktop). There is a lot of Federal/State Forest land in that area.

We moved from the east side of the state to the Grand Rapids area 10 years ago. I see just as much farm land over here as I did back home. I'd say I notice far more farmers markets around the Grand Rapids area than I did on the east side.

Muskegon is a fairly large city north of GR / Lansing.

Grand Rapids dumped a ton of money in to their airport over the last two years. My old job had me flying in and out of GR 3-4 times per month. It's a much larger/nicer airport than it use to be. United, Delta, American, US Airways, Allegiant, and Southwest all fly out of GR. Southwest was a recent addition and they offer many direct flights.

 

[JDGolden]

Nice place! I like the house a lot.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Muskegon is a fairly large city north of GR / Lansing.

True. After Grand Rapids, Traverse City and Lansing.

Grand Rapids dumped a ton of money in to their airport over the last two years. My old job had me flying in and out of GR 3-4 times per month. It's a much larger/nicer airport than it use to be. United, Delta, American, US Airways, Allegiant, and Southwest all fly out of GR. Southwest was a recent addition and they offer many direct flights. [/COLOR]

Thanks for the update. Obviously I out of context time wise !!

 

[JMitch19]

True. After Grand Rapids, Traverse City and Lansing.



Thanks for the update. Obviously I out of context time wise !!

It's changed a lot over here in the 10 years we've been here. I miss the East side of the state, but my family and my in-laws are both on the east side still so we still end up on that side of the state quite often.

We just bought a new home this past spring and we looked at more homes than our realtor was happy with before finally picking one. I never saw anything out there had I'd consider a super deal. The housing market around GR has really bounced back over the last year. We were finally able to dump our 2005 home purchase without taking a loss which prompted our move.

A few people I work with have recently bought hunting property around the Cadillac area. They said the prices were really good. I'm guessing once you get from enough north of GR/ Muskegon and East of the Lake Michigan towns the property values drop a lot just because there is no industry near by to support expensive homes/properties.

 

[jeepinerdeep]

I'm real sorry....I didn't mean to mess up your thread countrytech. It's a nice place.

Thanks for the info guys, let's keep it on task to countrytech's updates.

 

[terrierman816]

Welcome to Mi! I live up around Cadillac. Once you get settled in perhaps you can put something together like this to help with the firewood issue. It's all electric I think, and I believe should be doable for you. Good luck.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Welcome to Mi! I live up around Cadillac. Once you get settled in perhaps you can put something together like this to help with the firewood issue. It's all electric I think, and I believe should be doable for you. Good luck.

Interesting, but how does he load the log ?

 

[countrytech]

Welcome to Mi! I live up around Cadillac. Once you get settled in perhaps you can put something together like this to help with the firewood issue. It's all electric I think, and I believe should be doable for you. Good luck.

Oh wow. that. is awesome. If only I had some metal working skills...

 

[merr6267]

I caught this thread a few days ago, but only now am I able to type a response. I love the way your house looks from the outside.
I'm a (nearly) lifelong resident of West Michigan, so Welcome! My hometown is Allendale, home of GVSU, and I now live just north I96 and the Grand River.
I also heat with an OWB and I will say that I like it, and the gathering and processing of firewood, but it is a lot of work; especially if you try to do it all at once.

If you're able to do a little work every day, for gathering and preparing it become routine and does not seem so daunting.

2 years ago I was in a similar situation with my heat. I had fought through the previous winter with my pellet stove and propane, and decided that OWB was the way to go.

I took delivery of 10 cord of log length Red Oak in the fall, but it was freshly cut, and I didn't want to burn it and waste it as it was still so green. (I have read that red oak takes a long time to lose its moisture) I burned standing dead pine and poplar for the first winter, and it was ok. The high moisture content really makes more smoke (steam) and you lose a lot of the heat energy out to evaporation, rather than into the water jacket of the boiler. There are other detriments to burning green wood, but you CAN heat the place with green wood.

When I bought my red oak 2 years ago it was $2k for 20 cord (divided with my Father-in-law) I think that red oak has about 2x the BTU content of pine. I'm not sure what today's rate is for firewood, but I'm not sure if the number that you quoted is a good deal.

Here is an old thread about firewood people in Michigan. I got mine form Kirk Cameron, mentioned in the thread.
http://www.arboristsite.com/communi...emi-loads-of-wood-in-central-michigan.180607/


I have made it a habit to read daily at arboristsite.com in the firewood/wood heating section and the chainsaw section, as that place has many many people that know saws and heating very very well.

If your electric saw is able to pull the chain without stalling, yet you are still unable to get healthy chips out, your are definitely looking at a dull chain.

It can't be said enough that most saw problems are the result of a dull chain. A sharp chain with properly set depth gages creates less work for the motor, less heat due to friction and just plain cuts faster.

You can read until you can't stand it about how to properly sharpen the chain.

I'm not sure what type of chain your electric machine has, but there are some very good (I have heard) clamp on the bar type sharpeners that use a file that create a good angle every time. I think the Granberg File n Joint is highly recommended and under $40.

Your Stihl is also a great machine, but like you said, you are unable to start it.

I'm not sure what your limitations are, but there may be a slightly smaller saw that will be start-able and also very smooth and vibration free if you were interested in trying to use a Gas powered machine.

The Husqvarna 545 (not to be confused with 455, or 445, 450) is a 50cc professional quality machine that has very well isolated handles for reduced vibration, autotune technology which automatically adjusts the carburetor tune and it also has a compression release which eases the ability to pull start it.

You MAY be able to start your existing Stihl if you get a full D shaped handle, which will allow you to fully grasp the handle. I've installed it them on my larger saws. If I'm being too presumptuous, I'm apologize . . .

One unfortunate thing about "professional" chain sharpening shops, is that many of them really have not idea what they are doing. They just have a machine that's set one way and they run 'em. I've seen horrendous jobs from so-called professional shops.

Keep the chain away from dirt. If you notice degraded cutting, stop to sharpen or swap chains. It's always easier to touch up a slightly dull chain than it is to sharpen a blunted/rocked chain.

Keep us updated on the progress.

Take care,
Phill

 

[countrytech]

I appreciate all the responses, guys. The advice is very welcome.

I should probably make a new thread on this, but anyhow, I've been working on a plan to connect my OWB into my house's existing hydronic baseboard system. We've been methodically looking over, and fixing all the leaks we can find in the baseboards because the previous owners didn't winterize the place and there's a lot of leaks and split pipes.

For the manifold, I am planning to redo everything since the old valves are corroded and the pipes are a jumbled mess overhead. It also appears to be a few leaks in the existing manifold as well. There is an oil furnace in the basement that appears fairly modern, so I'd like to set my system up in such a way as to allow for future integration of the oil furnace, or any other type of boiler if necessary.

For my individual zones, I am planning to manually adjust the valves for the time being to regulate the heat in in each zone. I don't have the money to add individual pumps right now, but I plan to in the future.

I also wanted the manifold to be easily expandable, for adding future loops for better comfort control throughout the house, and possibly some heat into the garage.

My plan is attached. I'd appreciate any advice you guys can give.

 

[rpenterics]

I appreciate all the responses, guys. The advice is very welcome.

I should probably make a new thread on this, but anyhow, I've been working on a plan to connect my OWB into my house's existing hydronic baseboard system. We've been methodically looking over, and fixing all the leaks we can find in the baseboards because the previous owners didn't winterize the place and there's a lot of leaks and split pipes.

For the manifold, I am planning to redo everything since the old valves are corroded and the pipes are a jumbled mess overhead. It also appears to be a few leaks in the existing manifold as well. There is an oil furnace in the basement that appears fairly modern, so I'd like to set my system up in such a way as to allow for future integration of the oil furnace, or any other type of boiler if necessary.

For my individual zones, I am planning to manually adjust the valves for the time being to regulate the heat in in each zone. I don't have the money to add individual pumps right now, but I plan to in the future.

I also wanted the manifold to be easily expandable, for adding future loops for better comfort control throughout the house, and possibly some heat into the garage.

My plan is attached. I'd appreciate any advice you guys can give.

A few things, first you don't need individual pumps - just thermostat controlled zone valves for each zone like these:http://www.zoro.com/i/G2695436/?utm...1OYk3IE9syZHf_F4AmzXZDOMLMYTG5ty8QaAsGq8P8HAQ

where you have it labeled "eventual furnace integration" do you mean to a forced air furnace?

maybe I missed it but are you planning to do domestic hot water as well?

definitely want to use a plate exchanger as you indicated for tying the open OWB system to your homes closed pressurized system

 

[countrytech]

A few things, first you don't need individual pumps - just thermostat controlled zone valves for each zone like these:http://www.zoro.com/i/G2695436/?utm...1OYk3IE9syZHf_F4AmzXZDOMLMYTG5ty8QaAsGq8P8HAQ

where you have it labeled "eventual furnace integration" do you mean to a forced air furnace?

maybe I missed it but are you planning to do domestic hot water as well?

definitely want to use a plate exchanger as you indicated for tying the open OWB system to your homes closed pressurized system

The eventual furnace integration is for an oil or gas boiler to supplement or take over in the event that I can't keep the OWB supplied with wood.

I'd like to add domestic hot water, but that will come later, and I'll probably put that on a secondary loop with a dedicated plate exchanger tapping into the return side if my temps are high enough.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I took delivery of 10 cord of log length Red Oak in the fall, ...

When I bought my red oak 2 years ago it was $2k for 20 cord (divided with my Father-in-law) I think that red oak has about 2x the BTU content of pine.

Buying "log length" (100" IIRC) green hard wood a year early is definitely the way to go !

If your electric saw is able to pull the chain without stalling, yet you are still unable to get healthy chips out, you are definitely looking at a dull chain.

Highly likely !

One unfortunate thing about "professional" chain sharpening shops, is that many of them really have not idea what they are doing. They just have a machine that's set one way and they run 'em. I've seen horrendous jobs from so-called professional shops.

A "pro" will almost always do a better job than an armature. You might have to shop around a bit.

Stay away from electric grinders. You can ruin a chain quick with them. If you have the time, learn to hand sharpen your chains, but use a guide.

 

[countrytech]

I spent some time getting some workbenches set up and getting my tools in order so that I can find everything and actually have room to work on a project when I need to.

 

[countrytech]

All this and a bunch of Oxygen-barrier PEX arrived, any guesses what I'll be working on this week?

 

[nmcqueen469]

Holy ****, that's a serious plate exchanger!

 

[countrytech]

I'll be trying to keep a big old house with poor insulation warm… I wanted to be sure that I had enough capacity, plus I want to T-off a loop for an air exchanger in my garage eventually as well.

 

[countrytech]

It's been a while since I updated this thread. We did survive the winter believe it or not…

This is a garden post - we're trying to grow as much of our food as we can. There was nothing resembling a garden when we moved here, only a few mulberry trees and raspberries. So this spring we tackled the garden project in earnest. Trying to save money, and back breaking effort long term, we built as many raised bed gardens as we had time for, using free or very cheap materials.

We keep pushing the brush back and gaining more yard space and less weeds.
and we were also able to till up a 50x50 patch of what used to be tall grassy/weed for an additional garden patch. I know, it isn't fancy, there's weeds, and the soil is lousy, but we're making it work.

We also started chickens and planted blueberries.

Here's where our food growing operation stands today:

 

[countrytech]

And we do get to take time and enjoy our property too. Making maple syrup, riding 4-wheeler, finding a hidden fort in the woods, enjoying a huge back yard.

 

[BBQ&Love]

I was the lucky recipient of some of countrytech's maple syrup. Drizzled it over some Belgium waffles my wife made. Oh man...

 

[countrytech]

I was the lucky recipient of some of countrytech's maple syrup. Drizzled it over some Belgium waffles my wife made. Oh man...

Glad you enjoyed it

 

[bczygan]

You are living the life of Riley!

We'll be driving past your place in a couple of days, on the way to camp in Ludington.

Bill

 

[countrytech]

You are living the life of Riley!

We'll be driving past your place in a couple of days, on the way to camp in Ludington.

Bill

Ha! We obviously have a very different view of the life of Riley. My back, feet, bank account, roof, and everything else isn't in too good of shape these days, but we are surviving.

Camping in Ludington? Now that's the life of Riley

Ps. There's always a cup of coffee for fellow GJ'ers in the area.

 

[xtremek]

Drinking maple sap, that is one of my favorite memories of being a kid and going to my uncle's house. The place is looking nice.

 

[countrytech]

Wow, I need to be better at updating this thread. This year is reinforcing in me the concept that nothing comes easy. Our homestead project is turning out to be a lot of hard work, but it has it's payoffs too.

Our chickens destroyed most of the crop of late season tomatoes, so I need to figure out something for next year. We want to let them free range, it saves on feed, and keeps the bug population way down.

Even though it's starting to turn white outside (finally) but I want to show a few photos of how our gardens did this year. I would say for first year gardens, we had a fairly successful crop. I was surprised how well the gardens grew. Check out the sunflowers that tower over my wife. They're over 10 ft tall! And we had so much zucchini, squash, and cherry tomatoes that (after packing a lot away in the freezer) we were able to give quite a bit away to our church friends and neighbors.