On that first cool late-summer morning—the kind where you step outside and can feel fall waiting around the corner—an unstoppable itch wakes up in my husband’s brain.
It is time to start processing firewood.
Three years ago, when we moved into this house, one of my husband’s first priorities was finding a way to heat it with wood. He grew up heating with wood in his childhood home and often repeats the saying, “Firewood heats you many times: when you cut it, split it, stack it, and finally, when you burn it.”
Living in Wisconsin, dependable heat is not something we take lightly. We do have a propane furnace for backup, installed the day my daughter was born. I may share that story someday, with her permission. Our main winter heat, however, comes from an outdoor wood-burning furnace.
Preparing for winter is not simply a matter of turning up the thermostat. It is a year-round process of gathering wood, cutting it, splitting it, stacking it to dry, maintaining the system, and making sure enough seasoned firewood is ready before cold weather arrives.
It is a lot of work, but there is something satisfying about looking at a full woodpile, even with the resident woodchucks who seem to think we built it for them, and knowing we have prepared for the season ahead.
Our Outdoor Wood Burning Furnace Setup
Our system starts outside with an outdoor wood furnace. When the furnace is burning, it heats a continuous loop of water. That heated water travels through insulated underground piping that my husband trenched in when he installed the system.
Inside the house, the heated loop runs through a heat exchanger attached to our propane furnace in the basement. The heat exchanger transfers warmth into the furnace’s ductwork—the same ducts that carry cool air in the summer—so the heat is distributed throughout the house.
The system also heats our hot water, effectively replacing our electric water heater for much of the heating season. There is always something especially nice about being able to take a longer shower after coming in from the cold.
When everything is running well, the outdoor wood furnace keeps our home comfortably around 70°F through the winter. The propane furnace remains available as a backup, but the wood furnace does most of the work of keeping us warm.
Finding Wood Through Community Connections
Much of our firewood begins with a phone call, a neighbor’s downed tree, or someone who has a tree they no longer want.
My husband used to work as a tree cutter, so he has the equipment, experience, and connections to safely collect wood from trees that have fallen or that neighbors want removed. We gather wood with permission, rather than cutting down healthy trees simply to make firewood.
That part of the process feels especially fitting for our little homestead. A tree that might otherwise be an unwanted problem for someone else can become heat for our family during the winter. It is one more example of how community connections and practical skills can work together.
Cutting, Splitting, and Seasoning Firewood
Once the wood is home, my husband cuts it into pieces that fit our outdoor wood furnace—usually about 24 to 30 inches long.
Then comes splitting. Instead of using a standard stand-alone wood splitter, he built his own log-splitting attachment for the backhoe. That was not a casual DIY project: before his tree-cutting work, he also worked as a machine fabricator. He drew on the tools, equipment, and hands-on fabrication skills he developed in that work to build an attachment that fits the way we process firewood here.
After the wood is split, he uses an old hay bale elevator to move it onto the woodpile (that was visible in the earlier wood chuck sanctuary photo). From there, the wood has time to season, which simply means it dries out before we burn it.
If you are preparing firewood for winter, cutting and splitting it early gives it more time to season before cold weather arrives. Dry wood burns hotter, more efficiently, and with less smoke.
From the Woodpile to the Furnace
After the wood has seasoned, it is moved onto our wood wagon and parked near the outdoor furnace for easy winter access.
The wagon itself is a project with a story. My husband built it from salvaged materials: the running gear from an old farmstead, an I-beam from the salvage yard, sides made from old calf crates in the barn, and pipe that once served as milk lines. Even the welding wire had been left behind by the previous owner.
It is practical, sturdy, and made from materials that might otherwise have been discarded. Eventually, we hope to add a roof so the wood stays dry and protected near the furnace.
During the winter, my husband loads the outdoor furnace each day. There is a bit of experience involved in deciding how much wood to add: the outdoor temperature, the forecast, how warm we want the house, and how much wood remains in the firebox all help determine the day’s load.
Sometimes he miscalculates, or it is difficult to refill the furnace in time. In those moments, the wood furnace burns out and our backup propane furnace takes over beautifully.
Insulating the Upstairs
We are also hoping to use less wood this winter because we recently finished insulating the upstairs of our home.
We have historically called that part of the house the “corn crib” upstairs. On cold days, it was easy to see why it needed attention: no matter how much heat you make, it is hard to keep a house comfortable when warmth escapes through poorly insulated spaces.
It did have one unexpected benefit before we insulated it. During the coldest part of winter, it sometimes worked like an extended refrigerator when I needed to keep food cold without worrying about animals getting into it.
The new insulation should help the heat we already produce stay inside the house longer. That means less work for the wood furnace, less wood used over the season, and hopefully a more comfortable home upstairs.
Our Wood Heat Winter Checklist
Before winter settles in, we try to make sure we have:
- Enough cut, split, and seasoned firewood for the season
- A dry, accessible place to keep enough wood near the furnace
- Underground lines, fittings, valves, and the heat exchanger checked for leaks
- A working backup heating system
- Insulation and drafty areas addressed where possible
- A plan for keeping the daily wood-loading routine manageable when temperatures drop
Ready for the Season Ahead
Wood heat is not effortless. It takes planning, physical work, equipment, repairs, storage space, and a steady supply of dry wood. But it also gives us a sense of preparation and independence that we value.
By the time winter arrives, there is comfort in knowing the wood is cut, split, stacked, seasoned, and close at hand. There is comfort in knowing the heat exchanger is repaired, the system is ready, and our home has better insulation than it did last year.
And, on a cold Wisconsin day, there is nothing quite like a warm house heated by wood you gathered, processed, and prepared yourselves.
Do you heat with wood, propane, natural gas, or something else? What is one thing on your winter-preparation list that you hope to finish before the first snow?
If this look at our wood-heat setup was helpful or reminded you of your own winter preparations, please share it with a friend who is getting firewood, a furnace, or a homestead ready for colder weather.
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