Burnable, scroungeable wood?

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nola mike

nola mike

Minister of Fire
Sep 13, 2010
928
Richmond/Montross, Virginia
Since I just got the stove, and the season's already here, I need some wood. I'd rather not buy it, just because I think it's more fun to get it myself. I've already cut some oak which I hope will be ready next year. Is there anything that I can find in the woods that doesn't need to season? Leaner trees v. already down, large v. small pieces, etc? I came across a big hunk of driftwood that I was psyched to see was cedar when I cut into it. Even better, it burned awesome, which surprised me.
 
Not too sure what you are cutting down there in Virgina but any dead and still standing wood is typically dry enough to burn as soon as it hits the ground. Best way to spot a dead stick is that the bark is typically already peeling off in chunks.
 
If you can find some standing dead stuff, you might be able to burn some of it. I cut a white ash today that has been dead for several years, and I am burning some of the top branches right now. All but the bottom 10 feet or so seemed pretty dry. I could prolly burn it this winter if I had to.
You'll likely not find any truly seasoned wood to buy anyway. Your best bet is to worry about next year's wood now, and if you stumble across something dry, burn it. Pallet wood and lumber scraps will also help if you blend it with some less than seasoned wood.
The first winter sucks for a lot of folks. For some reason, I started cutting wood before I knew what I was going to be burning it in. My biggest problem my first winter was that I could my wood 16-18" long, and the firebox on my furnace was 27" deep.
 
Cool, just what I wanted to know. There's plenty of dead men walking around. I had been trying to cut stuff already on the ground, and it's either wet or rotted. I stumbled on pallets when I needed to get rid of my stove packaging, and thought I had a bright idea. Went on CL, took apart a bunch and loaded my truck up for free. Endless supply of them around here, and they burn awesome.
 
Yep, small stuff with bark falling off that's standing dead, hung-up of the ground or very recently fallen can be good to go. Ash, cherry and most of the less dense stuff (softwwods & soft hardwoods) are more likely to be burnabl when dead, but you still can't really burn them "green". It's going to be tough to find enough for the winter. Check you chimney very regularly if you aren't sure your wood is dry & plan to clean it several times this season.
Wet wood is the most common cause for problems for folks posting on here.
Any driftwood from saltwater shouldn't be burned as salt residue remains in it.
 
nola mike said:
Cool, just what I wanted to know. There's plenty of dead men walking around. I had been trying to cut stuff already on the ground, and it's either wet or rotted. I stumbled on pallets when I needed to get rid of my stove packaging, and thought I had a bright idea. Went on CL, took apart a bunch and loaded my truck up for free. Endless supply of them around here, and they burn awesome.
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Looks like you may do alright mixing the pallet wood (untreated only) & dead standing limbs/branches. Don't load the firebox full of straight pallet wood as it can burn to fast, too hot & cause an overheat.
 
nola mike said:
Cool, just what I wanted to know. There's plenty of dead men walking around. I had been trying to cut stuff already on the ground, and it's either wet or rotted. I stumbled on pallets when I needed to get rid of my stove packaging, and thought I had a bright idea. Went on CL, took apart a bunch and loaded my truck up for free. Endless supply of them around here, and they burn awesome.
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Mike, you just learned one of the keys of finding good vs. poor wood. When a tree falls, if the log lays flat on the ground, it won't last long before it turns punky. However, if you find some leaners or anything that is off the ground (sometimes the limbs keep most of the trunk up off the ground), then usually it will be good unless it has just been there for too long.

Warning though. Just because a tree is dead does not mean it is ready to burn! You will likely find that out quickly. For example, we cut a lot of dead elm and we wait until all (or almost all) the bark has fallen from the tree. The top branches usually will burn okay right away but we always leave the trunk an extra year before trying to burn it. Here's another hint. If you find elm that is dead with the bark fallen off, do not listen to folks when they say to stay away from elm because it splits so hard. If you wait to cut after it is dead like this, most of it splits pretty decent and makes better firewood too.

Most oaks that are dead will tend to have some punk around the outside of them. Pay no attention to that as those will still make good burning. A little punk and oak seems to go together.

Try to get the hardest of the hardwoods if at all possible.

If you cut any green standing trees, white ash will dry probably the fastest of any tree you will find. It is low moisture to begin with and dries fast. Makes excellent firewood and now there is a glut in many areas because of the Emerald Ash Borer that is killing all of them.

Good luck.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
nola mike said:
Cool, just what I wanted to know. There's plenty of dead men walking around. I had been trying to cut stuff already on the ground, and it's either wet or rotted. I stumbled on pallets when I needed to get rid of my stove packaging, and thought I had a bright idea. Went on CL, took apart a bunch and loaded my truck up for free. Endless supply of them around here, and they burn awesome.
Click to expand...

Mike, you just learned one of the keys of finding good vs. poor wood. When a tree falls, if the log lays flat on the ground, it won't last long before it turns punky. However, if you find some leaners or anything that is off the ground (sometimes the limbs keep most of the trunk up off the ground), then usually it will be good unless it has just been there for too long.

Warning though. Just because a tree is dead does not mean it is ready to burn! You will likely find that out quickly. For example, we cut a lot of dead elm and we wait until all (or almost all) the bark has fallen from the tree. The top branches usually will burn okay right away but we always leave the trunk an extra year before trying to burn it. Here's another hint. If you find elm that is dead with the bark fallen off, do not listen to folks when they say to stay away from elm because it splits so hard. If you wait to cut after it is dead like this, most of it splits pretty decent and makes better firewood too.

Most oaks that are dead will tend to have some punk around the outside of them. Pay no attention to that as those will still make good burning. A little punk and oak seems to go together.

Try to get the hardest of the hardwoods if at all possible.

If you cut any green standing trees, white ash will dry probably the fastest of any tree you will find. It is low moisture to begin with and dries fast. Makes excellent firewood and now there is a glut in many areas because of the Emerald Ash Borer that is killing all of them.

Good luck.
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All good advice.
 
I have found dead wood that is very dry, and dead wood that is even wetter than live wood. The best stuff is usually smaller diameter parts of the tree that are held well off the ground. The main trunk of a standing dead tree can be very wet, even with a long dead tree.
 
One year to season oak is really not nearly enough time unless it has been dead and off the ground for some time or split into skinny pieces.

One year old oak will burn but you will definitely suffer from not getting nearly the best temperature performance from your stove. I struggle with this issue all the time because I have a very limited space to store the wood and oak is the predominant score for me. I only have enough room to store a one year supply at home.

Good advice from the above statements.

I see nothing wrong at all targeting fresh water driftwood. It burns very well and dries very quickly because the bark is usually off. I scrounged a cord of it a few years ago when the corps of engineers offered a rare free permit to cut in an area once flooded and occasionally I get some worth burning that gets tangled in my dock and yes it does burn like a charm.

The big negative issue with it is finding something that is worth burning as typically the log/branch is punky or past its prime. Usually you will see bottomland species in the mix which are not your densest hardwoods and the wood deteriorates much more quickly when in contact with the ground.
 
All of my wood is from dead trees, mostly downed oaks. I'd never cut a live tree just for firewood. As sav said, even if oak is a little punky on the outside it can be nice and solid inside and burns great.

Being that this is your first season, I'd suggest to burn any type of punky wood that's nice and dry than unseasoned wood. Cover the punky wood so it does not get wet at all. If it's punky all the way through it may take a few weeks or more to dry out, but once it's dry it will burn well.
 
I know my stove manual says burning driftwood is a big no no. I would imagine all stove brands warn against that, the salt can corrode the metal in the stove and liner.
As for finding wood right now, scrounging will be tough if you are looking for wood that's ready. Might want to find someone with some seasoned wood and buy a couple of cords, bought wood typically isn't totally seasoned but at least you might get be able to find some that is 5 or 6 months old, which is likely better than anything you will scrounge now. But keep scrounging and keep it for next year.
 
krex1010 said:
I know my stove manual says burning driftwood is a big no no. I would imagine all stove brands warn against that, the salt can corrode the metal in the stove and liner.
As for finding wood right now, scrounging will be tough if you are looking for wood that's ready. Might want to find someone with some seasoned wood and buy a couple of cords, bought wood typically isn't totally seasoned but at least you might get be able to find some that is 5 or 6 months old, which is likely better than anything you will scrounge now. But keep scrounging and keep it for next year.
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I would have to disagree. It takes three things to cause corrosion- salt, water and oxygen. You won't find too much water in a furnace of chimney flue. Salt on metal does not corrode the metal. And they say salt helps dry out creosote in the chimney...just sayin
 
salt on metal doesn't cause corrosion ?
Don't buy a boat and put it in the Atlantic.
:)
 
NewBoiler said:
krex1010 said:
I know my stove manual says burning driftwood is a big no no. I would imagine all stove brands warn against that, the salt can corrode the metal in the stove and liner.
As for finding wood right now, scrounging will be tough if you are looking for wood that's ready. Might want to find someone with some seasoned wood and buy a couple of cords, bought wood typically isn't totally seasoned but at least you might get be able to find some that is 5 or 6 months old, which is likely better than anything you will scrounge now. But keep scrounging and keep it for next year.
Click to expand...

I would have to disagree. It takes three things to cause corrosion- salt, water and oxygen. You won't find too much water in a furnace of chimney flue. Salt on metal does not corrode the metal. And they say salt helps dry out creosote in the chimney...just sayin
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Salt is a mineral so it doesn't burn, therefore the residue is left behind long after the fire goes out, so when that stove is not being used there is plenty of moisture in the air to corrode metal.. And I think that I would prefer to remove creosote from my chimney by sweeping it.
 
If your firewood contains around 20% moisture, doesn't that result in a lot of water vapor going up the flue and potentially condensing on the metal?
 
The original poster listed Richmond VA. Being from VA, I know any drift wood he's scrounged is freshwater wood from maybe the James River. I've often thought of scrounging wood from the river. Especially after a flood event - tons of trees come down stream and wash up on the bank and boat ramps. It would be easy to get to. Unless he's driving down to the tidewater area or east to the bay, he's not getting salty driftwood. Driftwood occurs in freshwater lakes and rivers just the same as saltwater.

I think you can find deadwood that is ready to burn. One way to tell is it's hard to cut and dulls your chain quicker then cutting green wood. Wood doesn't really season until bucked and split. I have found wood that I thought might be dead and leaning for 10 or more years - only to buck it and split it and see moisture inside. The only way to know for sure is to cut it up and split it. You'll know if it's ready or not.

I'd look around to buy some good seasoned wood for this year - yet continue to scrounge for next year.

Good luck
 
basswidow said:
.......... I have found wood that I thought might be dead and leaning for 10 or more years - only to buck it and split it and see moisture inside. The only way to know for sure is to cut it up and split it. You'll know if it's ready or not.
Click to expand...

My experience is similar. When I split wood from old standing or grounded dead trees (mostly oak), there is a high moisture content (28%). However, instead of taking years to season, it takes only days or weeks.
 
[quote author="Wood Duck" date="1289934856"]If your firewood contains around 20% moisture, doesn’t that result in a lot of water vapor going up the flue and potentially condensing on the metal?
quote]

+1

The humidity in the water should be enough to corrode your system.
 
[My experience is similar. When I split wood from old standing or grounded dead trees (mostly oak), there is a high moisture content (28%). However, instead of taking years to season, it takes only days or weeks.[/quote]

I agree. Not sure about days, but it will definately shorten the season time. Get it split and out in the sun and wind. If I find an old dead oak, I will buck and split it and burn it in less than one year - rather then the 2 years for green oak.
 
I have a lot of oak, and dead oak, on my property. I started splitting oak that looked like it was laying on the ground for decades. I expected it to have a very low moisture content (well under 20%). Time after time I'd buck and split this dense red oak and the moisture meter would give me readings of 24-30%. It was confusing and frustrating. How could that be? I wanted to smash my moisture meter. I'd go back and look at this split oak and said to myself that it sure looked seasoned, regardless what the moisture meter said. Eventually, I realized that once it's split it just need a short time (days, weeks) to air out. Burns great.
 
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