Starting to scavenge for wood .. little advice ?

New guy checking in again. I recently installed a US Stove 2015 Magnolia and am enjoying my first season learning and burning.

I have gathered a little bit of firewood from my father-in-law and from some yard cleanup for my son, but I need to gather faster than I burn so that I have some wood seasoning for next winter. Since I don't own or have access to any land to harvest wood from I am looking at alternative sources.

So far, I have gathered some tossed pallets (to cut out the nail free sections), and that will be a lot of work for not much heat. My also father-in-law found some on a neighbors property that they wanted removed. After that .. I bought one run of reasonably well seasoned and dried wood that was supposed to be a mix of Oak and Hickory.

Today, I stumbled upon a potential other source and wanted some advice on it. A pallet manufacturer near my workplace allowed me to take (for free) a load of waste cuts. They are green so they will be next year's wood. Does this look like wood that is worthwhile to gather ? Any advice on how to stack it for the next 12 months ?

I realized I posted in the wrong section .. sorry about that.

I am enjoying the free wood for sure!!

I don't have a moisture meter yet but plan to get one .. some of the wood is very heavy and some very light. I don't know wood well enough to say what types this is, but I will learn. I hoped this was worthwhile. This place is about 5 minutes from where I work so I will go back there again.

Thanks guys.

homebrewz said:

I think you'll find that most free wood is worth going after if its easily accessible and close by. I don't know what kind of wood that is in the pictures but it looks like it will stack kind of odd. Maybe you could build a box out of pallets and then throw them in there loosely so they get some air circulation.

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I like that idea !!

dave11 said:

Looks like decent wood to me. A lot is probably pine, which is fine, but burns fast. Have you checked it with a moisture meter? It might be pretty dry already. I wouldn't think they would make pallets out of wet/green wood.

All the bark is removed, which is an advantage.

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Good point .. I think what they do is cut the trees down some .. then dry the boards before they make the pallets.

Got to get a moisture meter soon !

wood-fan-atic said:

Yeah,that looks to be a pain in the butt if its not dry. Its like trying to stack chunks and uglies.....makes me crazy.You dont mention what tools you have access to. If you have a decent chainsaw and a maul/splitter, I'd say look on Craigslist for free wood,or place an ad of your own. You can call local tree companies and tell them you can take a load of logs off their hands. All these methods have worked well for me.....I have more wood than I know what to do with. ;-P

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I ordered a fiskars super spliter ? today. Been cutting up pallets with a circular saw. My son has a chainsaw that I can borrow until I get one of my own.

I did look up local tree services today but didnt have time to call yet. Will do soon. I like the idea of having more wood than I could burn

Backwoods Savage said:

Look at the ends of these stacks. This would be a good way to stack those blocks you have got. However you do stack, make sure you do not stack them really tight together (which is easy to do with those). You need some air space so they will dry. Our method is to first lay down a couple of poles and stack the wood on them. This keeps the wood up off the ground and allows the air to get underneath lest you get all the moisture from the ground into the wood.

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I may try this method too.. I have very limited space so with this I could go very tall and use a smaller footprint.

Thanks for the pic !!

willworkforwood said:

Welcome to the world of wood heat - the bonus is having a lot less free time to get yourself into trouble. You mentioned burning only the nail-free sections of the pallets. Perhaps it's possible to also burn the stuff with nails. If the nails don't cause operational issues with your stove, and are not a problem on clean-out, it might be worth you while. Maybe someone on the forum knows if nails would be a problem for your stove. As for the chunks, if you can find old sections of chain link fence (or maybe other types of wire fence), you could stack layers where there's lots of free space throughout, to promote faster drying. +1 on the tree services. Call all of them, and also every logging business you can find. Learn what the going rate in your area is for common things like a triax load of logs, and then you will know when a good deal comes along. One of those big trucks might be a couple of years wood for you, and dropped off right at your door. Good luck!

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I am enjoying the physical activity already.

I wondered about the nails. Have read both good and bad reviews of burning wood with nails.

I may just rick that wood with lots of air spaces or make a crate from some old pallets .. have not decided.

I will be checking with loggers around here, lots of them to try. Maybe I can clean up the tops for them

Singed Eyebrows said:

I burned pallets for about 7 years & most of the main beams were oak. A lot of the cross pieces were elm. Pallets give a lot of heat, don't discount them, Randy

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I see a lot of hardwood in the pile.

Any issue with the nails ?

Thanks Randy! I had saved the wood with nails for outdoor fire but it sounds like it should work fine.

Joe Matthews said:

I think the only issue with the nails would be when you dispose of the ashes, if you dump them in your yard or garden, you may want to go over the area with a magnet unless you think there is no issue with picking up one in a tire... Craigslist free section is your friend for free wood. Also you can watch out for dead trees on the side of the road that are down. I just got 2 really heavy loads from 2 trees this weekend on the side of the road. I also have been going to an area near by that was logged some time ago. The tops were all pushed into burn piles to be burned some day. I have been cutting loads of dry wood from there to bring home. It is so dry the bark is falling off of a lot of it. Good luck!

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I see downed trees by the road and wondered if I could snag them. Plan to contact some loggers too. Good advice thanks!!