Lets talk fire wood

[hunter63]

Spent last week at "The Place" salvaging wind falls and standing dead wood.
As my primary heat source at "The Place" is a high efficiency wood stove, w/back up elec base boards, (expensive to run).

I have a lot of dead elm, seems that if the bark falls off standing trees, the wood is good, solid and pretty easy to split, burns well.
If the bark is still on, seems all wood is punky, very light weight, so don't mess with them other than to get the downed trees out of the way.
Lots or morals around the bases in the spring.

I do have several large oaks, is various stages of decay, parts blown down, etc.
Trunks are 3+ ft in diameter, but a lot of the larger branches have fallen.
These are what I have been working on salvaging.
Lots of work, but worth it.
Oddly it seems that on some the outer wood under the bark in starting to turn punky, while the centers are still very dense and heavy.
Splits and burns well, need 6 months or so for seasoning.

Other large branches seen to be solid on the outside, with the centers being punky. I'm thinking that happened before they broke or caused the breakage.
Still the outer wood is good and solid.

Other trees on "The Place" are locust, black walnut (some called them black locust around here), a few maples, and a lot of box elder, really kinda crappy trees.
I do salvage the wood from some of them when I can, box elder need to be split, aged a year, burned the second year and rots away on the third.

After starting stove, and warming up the interior mass, log walls, furniture, and other objects inside, only a maintenance fire is need during outside temps of 30+.
Lower temps require a larger fire for comfortable temps.
This is when I burn up the crappy wood, saving the larger elm rounds (8" or so) or large hunks of oak, for over nite damper-ed, fire.

I sure a lot of y'all burn wood as well, and was just wondering what type of fuel you have available in your area, if you cut/split/store your own wood.

Some how I just like a wood fire, and the process of putting up my own fuel, knowing that I don't "need" to use purchased fuel, long term.

BTW, stove pipe checking and cleaning completed as part of fall prep.

I didn't take any pic's last week, but will be heading back out for another week or two for deer hunting, and continuing the "process".

I'll take some then, and y'all will laugh when you see what my little elect splitter can do........................

[your_comforting_company]

The only thing I recommend not burning is pine and red-tips. Red tips are just too darn hard (dense) to burn effectively, and pine soots up your chimney.
I've been using tulip wood from a tree I removed for a neighbor. It burns hot and fast, much like chinaberry. I also use a lot of limbs that my pecan trees drop. beyond that, it's pretty much the standard oak / hickory / etc.
I mostly cut the wood for my grandma to heat her house. We don't have a fireplace in our house, only out in the shed, so I can use whatever out there and just clean the pipes once in a while. No heat in our house.. you better dress warm! (or go to the shed!)

[Camp10]

I only burn oak, maple or ash. I'm a chicken when it comes to chimney fires. I clean the stove pipes every fall and keep an eye on the color of the snow around the chimney...to much yellow (creosote) and I will fire it up hot or clean it again.

[RCKCRWLER]

wood, wood, wood....Enjoy being able to walk out into the woods and cut what you want. I am left with whatever I come across on craigs list when a tree dies in someones yard. Heating with wood this winter I will be using ash, pine, and fruit trees. Not too much variety here in the desert. I am trying to get most of my wood for free because I have issues paying anywhere from $300-$600 a cord. I grew up in Western NY where it is still $65 a cord. Oh well price for living in the high desert.

[hunter63]

Here in the city, I use a wood stove in the garage/shop, and burn mostly "free for the taking" wood.

Lots is given away, but you have to be picky, as some people want you to cut down a large tree in their yard, for the wood.
Well, I won't even get into that trap......too many things to go wrong.

Plenty around already cut up, at the curb, just have to be careful of what kind is, I won't pick up pine, box elder, and willow.

Quality control on free wood is lacking, seems they just want it in pieces small enough to haul off, so cutting to splitter/stove length is kinda of a hassle.

State of Wisconsin is getting real bad about anyone "moving wood" around because of the green ash borer, so what I cut here stays here, and what I cut at "The Place" stays at the place.
I try to keep a face cord here, last me pretty good all winter for working in the garage heat.

[LowKey]

Usually Oak and Maple. Birch occasionally but it gets punky fast. The Ash trees here all died in the last couple of years. Some kind of disease. Ash would get punky fast too.

There are usually quite a few clean oak or hardwood palettes at work. The boss lets us cut them in the yard to haul away-if we sweep up after. I use that mostly for kindling. It's kiln dried wood so it burns kinda hot. The carps divvy up the hardwood cutoffs and scraps from the inside work for the same.

[Mertell]

Here in Western Wisconsin, I harvest dead and down wood in the County Forest for small fee.
The picking is pretty good: White and Red Oak mostly, but an odd stick of maple or birch.
I stay away from the big stuff: its too dangerous. Limbs and saplings after logging works fine for me. I get a lot of saplings up to 8 inches that are left behind.

The wood sits on racks up off the ground for 2 winters before it is burned the 3rd year. It is well seasoned. Top is covered with tin or roofing rubber.

I do not have a woodshed. That would mean handling the wood another time.
I already handle it enough times.....

We have an EPA-approved stove that burns hot. One quick swab with the brush is all the chimney needs each summer. But we also need to vacuum off the top of the baffle, which accumulates a handful of "crumbs".

This will be our 6th season burning wood. I estimate I have now cut approx 30 full cords, counting the 12 I have on hand. The stove will have paid for itself very soon.

Be safe: be warm.

-Mert

[Pepper]

I put adds on craigs list to cut wood FREE people call and say we have x amount of acres we want cleared of these trees Mostly oak or mesquite just pile the small limbs for them I put the add in farm and ranch section I cut the trees into long pcs then cut them into burn size later .

[mountain1]

we just use beetle kill lodgepole pine around here. there is plenty of it, and we have sum big ole' sob's to cut around these parts.
i love cutting down big trees...
though i have made a dent in the density of certain areas...he!he!he! we are always warm.

[jake abraham]

I have been cutting alot of downed red oaks I still have alot to cut up

[mouse111111]

Alot of you burn pine which may be a problem if you don't clean your flu often enough. I wish we had more white oaks and red oaks where I cut, I have to settle for blackjack. (Bastard oak for some of you old timers) It doesn't split or produce much heat. I hate elms, They don't split so I have to resort to cutting them lengthwise with the chainsaw, wasting gas and chain oil.

Oh and the conservation department scored alot of trees there, you can't cut them down but if they fall while your 'leaning' on one it's okay to take the wood.

[Rick]

There is nothing wrong with burning Pine. Creosote comes from the moisture in unseasoned wood. The terpines in the pine are flammable and burn along with the wood.

Pines sp. will give you 20-27 million BTUs per cord compared to 27-28 for oak sp. Maple sp will only give you about 22.

[hunter63]

Looks like it's that time of year again, started thuis thread on 11-17-10 so seems i a little early this year.
Cut a lot of dead falls and cleard a couple of thickets eariler this spring, now chunking, spliting, hauling and stacking.

Some of the standing dead elm I cut 2-3 years ago is starting to punk out, so have been using it just to keep the chill out of the cabin.

Still kinda waithing for that little ecectric splitter to die, so I can buy a new one......still going.

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[crashdive123]

I see that the Radio Flyer is still going strong.

[Wise Old Owl]

Well you all have something on me when it comes to burning wood and Rick your post stood out... I just want to add if you are using a campfire - USE pine.. the turpentine makes a brighter more lit fire! and seasoned wood creates more heat. Unseasoned wood sucks.

And its always easier to split wood by hand in 32 degree winter temps - the water in the wood creates ice.... and blocks of ice are more solid to split.

[mouse111111]

Is it ok to burn red cedar then?

[Wise Old Owl]

I cant imagine why not...

[Rick]

From my perspective there are only two things to consider. 1. Seasoned 2. BTU. Assuming you are burning for heat. Cottonwood can be pretty stinky to burn though.

[mouse111111]

When I was a kid, my father wouldn't ever let us burn pine or cedar. I've never burned cottonwood.

[woodsman86]

Though I don't heat with wood, I did augment Christmas by cutting and splitting spruce and selling it when I lived in WA. $10permit from the base would yield myself and a friend some great holiday cash. We delivered it for $100 half cord and $175 a cord, which was quite a bit less than most people selling spruce. I would just hit up all the old logging sites where the loggers always leave behind piles of delimbed logs already seasoned.