The Ultimate Small Scale Firewood Process with Modified IBC Totes Version 4.0 -E194

[@rickbell3402]

Yay, Karen! The most important part of your process, and your life, Jason!

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thanks Rick, we make a good team!

[@OakMountainAcotts]

@kkjppt5359 she’s a good sport!

[@charlesacott1452]

Great video !!😊

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thanks, glad you liked it!

[@FromSteelToWood]

That is a great stacker model you have. It's very accurate with straight cords! Mine need some adjustment, I keep checking the cord to make sure it continues straight. You are right, need good care and will provide very good service! Lol! I've seen the pool noddle below in the comments. I would also add to tilt back the tote and lower it a bit, this way you save some energy to position each pieces of wood, especially for those that are further from the stacking machine. Always keep in mind to use gravity in your favor. Then whenever you don't need to precisely position the pieces of wood, you save effort. So using the back as a guide is a good advantage. Efforts saved for the shoulders, arms, wrist and hand. That is one important basic of ergonomics. Thanks!

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Awesome feedback. Thanks! Busy developing a conversion process to mass produce version 4.0 now :)

[@yvesjolicoeur747]

you are darned lucky to have a Karen 3000 with a good sense of humor and a great smile. Great process. Wow, the tractor back tire were not making big tracks while carrying the green wood IBC

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Hi Yves, I'm a pretty lucky guy for sure. The tractor was a little light in the back end. I was sure to put it in 4WD before I started just in case. I should likely load the rear tires. Thanks!

[@yvesjolicoeur747]

yep, loading sure the tire helps on my Kioty CK4010. WHen I know I'll be lifting heavy I like to even add the backhoe or forestry winch@@OakMountainAcotts

[@AllenFamilyFirewood]

Great video Jason and good idea with the totes. As you know, they don't come cheap in our neck of the woods which is why we build our pallets but the concept is still the same. Thanks for the shoutout! I see we have the same model stacking machine! And no, definitely do not want to get in the way of that piece of equipment! Ever! lol Sure is nice not to have to stack from the ground, saves your back!

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Hi guys, I'm glad you saw the video! We've been watching you guys for a while now picking up some pointers since you produce a lot of wood. Keep the videos coming! Jason p.s. those model Karen stackers are the good ones... ;)

[@AllenFamilyFirewood]

Thanks! We both subscribed to your channel, look forward to your videos. We can all always learn something new. Yes, our stackers are the best around! Take care

[@charlesacott1452]

Great video !!!

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thanks! Took all day to produce ;)

[@thelogfather5002]

I prefer the zero touch method! Just over 400 full cords this year… I’ll be looking to store 40-50 for my bundles and restaurant customers though. I’ll probably stick with the bags. My missing link is a tractor to lift 1/3 of a cord! I have a well maintained stacker as well. Happy new year! Jeff.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Happy New Year Jeff! You have a great setup and a really good customer base down there! Stay safe, Jason.

[@bwillan]

A head knocker prevention system would be as easy as a piece of pool noodle or pipe insulation placed over the top bar. As a further improvement to the process, you could fill your dump trailer with firewood and then unleash the Karen 3000 to start stacking. Then you could reload the log deck on the processor and continue. I will say IBC totes are quite pricey in your area. That will be quite an investment to your firewood production system. I hope the Oak Mountain Acotts crew had a very Merry Christmas.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Excellent ideas! The Karen 3000 is a high performance piece of gear! Merry Christmas!

[@hardworkingmanoutdoors]

Well done! Constantly improving is what it’s all about. Thanks for the mention.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Good to hear from you. You guys are doing great with your channel!

[@hardworkingmanoutdoors]

@@OakMountainAcotts thank you!

[@make-somedust]

I like this 4.0 version, and the Karen 3000 is also a great investment. Good idea on the plastic sticking above. New subscriber, Chuck Make-somedust YTuber.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Hi Chuck, thanks for stopping by and for the sub! I need to figure out how to mass produce these things now. The first couple took way too long to finish, Jason.

[@make-somedust]

@@OakMountainAcotts LMAO

[@jordanhodnett5273]

Great job I often wondered why you didn’t at least use your dump trailer to catch the wood instead of tractor bucket because efficiency is key in any job, also make sure you tie the tote to the pallet forks before dumping in trailer, I’ve also seen an idea cutting the corners of a tote on a 45 degree to use as a roof and keep weather out

[@OakMountainAcotts]

We are pretty excited to use this method this Spring!

[@OpenAirAdventure]

Hey Jason. Great idea with the ibc tote, having that extra for 1/3 cord makes it simply accurate. As for the Karen 3000 stacking machine, be careful warming her up, Phil received some dirty looks from his Karen when he warmed up his stacking machine 😅. Good stuff guys. Kenny

[@OakMountainAcotts]

For sure! There is a specific warm up guide prescribed in the manual…. I wouldn’t dare to deviate from it!

[@noelstractors-firewood57]

Great idea on the totes. The stacking machines are very complicated. My stacking machine, which is a model Karen, only stacks when it wants to, not when I want it too. 🤭 Hope you all had a great Christmas. 7C here today. Strange weather. But it sounds like winter is coming for here later in the week.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Try hitting control alt delete… sometimes the Karen models need to be reset. If that doesn’t work, you may need to spend some money on her! Happy Holidays!

[@noelstractors-firewood57]

She sure would like the control button. 🤭🤭🤭

[@thelankylogger]

Nice work! Anything to save handling wood is a bonus.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thanks! The only other way would be to loose stack I guess but I like to be sure of my measure before I deliver!

[@rochrich1223]

I was wondering why you didn't keep the top of the plastic IBC bladder? Seems to me that blocking the rain would help the wood dry.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

I’m not sure… I wanted the wood in the bladder to get lots of air. It would be a good trial to run with a moisture meter over a couple of months!

[@LarryLarsen-p6t]

If you cut the plastic longer leaving the bottom on and mark the one third height on the sides for stack height then you also have a top rain and snow cover.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

I thought about that… I guess I was worried about fitting the final pieces in near the roof slowing the Karen 3000 down. Also, I was wondering if the top wood was closed in on three sides, would it dry okay? That could be a good trial!

[@outdoorswithlarryrobin]

Hello Jason, Still prefer my way, just bolt two together and no cutting, easy to load easy to dump, but you have a great idea for single totes, Happy New Year 🪵👍🏼🇺🇸

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Happy New Year guys! This is going to be a great improvement for us here on the mountain. I need to put some trees on the ground now!

[@PapaRug.58]

And a beverage/refreshment holder for the Karen 3000 May be a good thing as well and as somebody else mention a pool noodle will prevent the auto stacker from damage as well Good job and all the best to all 😊😊😊

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Good idea, those auto stackers are hard to replace!

[@PapaRug.58]

@@OakMountainAcotts and replacement parts are hard to find lol

[@thelost4076]

I like the tote 4.0, I would add a section of chain on both sides to attach the forks to the tote so when you dump it into your trailer the tote stays on the forks.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Yes, we were thinking chain bunks on the forks and grab hooks on chain to grab each side of the totes when dumping ;)

[@richardward3343]

What if you cut the top rail out and weld some pieces on to it to make a loop over the plastic piece to prevent head knocking. You got the spare pieces from when you cut the rest of the cage.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

I saw Hard Working Man do this. He cut the rail from the front and reinstalled it in the center of the cage. If I find some cheap totes I might experiment a little. Could be a good improvement but that top rail is really strong in its' current location!

[@brianwestveer9532]

I think you guys got it figured out with the tote

[@OakMountainAcotts]

I can’t wait to run some firewood through now!

[@chrisbubar6604]

Where is the snow? Hard start to the winter. Great video, thanks

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Right? I wanted to work in the woods but I’m scared I’ll sink to the bottom!

[@gunnie799]

Yeah hear in minnesota it is not good the frost is about 5 inches below the surface and I have gone through if I could put up pictures I would

[@JeffGeorgalas]

Maybe buy a couple of swimming pool "noodles", cut them to the width of an IBC, make a cut down the length of it, and wrap it around the top rung of the IBC so that if you do bump your head you won't hurt it? And it would also be more visible, so the likelihood of hitting is lower as well? And you could just take the noodle off of whatever IBC that you're working on when done, and move it to the next one. And pool noodles are cheap as well.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Good idea… Karen hit her head yesterday!

[@Mustachio63]

How many gallon tote is it, and how much higher did you add with bladder? Great ideas.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Hi, I think these totes are 1000 litres. I know that there are some larger totes commonly used that are 1200 litres I believe. I made my total height from the tote floor to the top of my plastic 52 inches. To do this, I cut 24 inches of plastic from the bladder. Hope this helps, Jason.

[@Videogamerforlife69]

should build a stand for it to sit on out of a pallet. I've seen tractor hydraulic lines blow out and that's can be dangerous up in the air

[@OakMountainAcotts]

For sure… I think some 6x6 or 8x8 stands will be in order.

[@andrewtiefry5990]

I would stack pallets up to the hight that is comfortable. That way the tractor can be used if needed and no worries about anything happening

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Definitely.. I need to reset the trailer so that I can get 3 totes in close… that will keep the Karen 3000 from shutting down prematurely!

[@Mountaintoptractor]

Question....as apposed to stacking why not just load directly into tote from conveyor? If you took that exact ammount of wood out of the tote that your showing as 1/3 cord, then added in a slightly higher version of the bladder to extend the height of the tote, wouldn't that save allot of time and effort, yet still be an accurate way to count wood even adding an extra 10 pieces just to be 100% your over 1/3 cord that would save you a ton of time and effort spent stacking it would cost $5 in wood but save 30-45min stacking. I'm willing to bet the karen3000 would agree. 😅 good video.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

It is definitely an option... we like to stack the wood to ensure the measure is good but like you say, a few tests with loose stacking and an added margin would likely cover that off. I'm thinking it might take an extra tote or two loose stacked but wouldn't know until it was trialed. Thanks!

[@janking2762]

I store firewood in Gaylord bins. I compared careful stacking to loose stacking in them and the results were very close. Loose pieces were maybe 6” higher. Not a problem as the goes aren’t stacked, and, saved time.

[@gunnie799]

Okay my take on 4.0 the part you cut out of the tote you can cut it into sections and bolt it to the top that you didn't cut that will make the top stronger than just the plastic

[@OakMountainAcotts]

That would definitely work. I'm stacking them up so if they look a little weak, I'll use your idea!

[@gunnie799]

Just a idea you could cut the tub itself and have it cover the the sidewalls and bottom of cage with a safety chain attached to the top of the cage and forks and be able to dump it into the trailer just a thought

[@user-vq3ez2cg5x]

Or you could check the hydraulic pressure of the tractor to see where it currently lies and increase it within limits to increase the lifting capacity of the tractor.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Good idea, I'm going to look into that. Thanks!

[@jeffgove691]

I would think you would get forks for the New Holland backhoe to load totes. Lift capacity is far greater than that of the Kubota with plenty of counter balance.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

I’m working towards selling the backhoe . I’ll know how well the tractor works after this season. Thanks!

[@alanburke1893]

Great video, Canuck ingenuity at its best. 🇨🇦👍.... only issue with the standard Karen 1.0 Model is that they need to be housed in heated buildings year-round and re-sale value tends to collapse at year 50. Often worth keeping the vintage models, however, as the scrappage costs are financially and environmentally ruinous 😊

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Classic… thanks for watching!

[@buckinfirewood]

The time savings pays for the IBC Cages but is quit an investment upfront... if you mount the bar further in wood eliminate hitting your head like Hard working man did... I prefer loose in the cages but it requires more cages and a set of rotating forks which are not cheap..

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Agreed. I have been thinking about the HWM modification. I think the top bars that hold the bladder in could be reused quite easily. I just hate to cut that top ring as it is definitely an integral part of the overall tote integrity!

[@LarryLarsen-p6t]

I forgot to add cut the front side out the same as you have done for dumping.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

For sure!

[@oleberg4196]

I can't get my Karen to even start! As far as totes go, I can get them for free from chemical companies that sell herbicides to farmers. Also check with tire dealers. They get beet juice in them. Have a great day.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Hmmm, I don’t know how to troubleshoot them, sorry! I got a good deal on this first batch… I’m keeping an eye out for more good deals!

[@amandadavis9726]

@@OakMountainAcottsdo a google search for “bulk fluid delivery near me”. Got my 200+ from a company that sells different types of automotive fluids. $15/tote is much better than $40-$100+. Mine are all 275s.

[@summit583ktm]

Use wood sacks placed on a pallet instead and just dump it in them. No need for stacking. Will save your wifes back. Adjust the price accordingly considering ”dumped” means lesser wood than stacked.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Hi, we were looking at the wood sacs and couldn't find any at a reasonable price ($30 each?). I see some guys are using them successfully though and the customers are covering the cost. Thanks!

[@summit583ktm]

Ok, understand, sounds expensive. Are using them myself but in Sweden they cost about half of the price you mentioned and then it becomes within range….Wish you a happy new year🤠

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Happy New Year!