Are small logs worth burning?

I am clearing a very large Maple from a builders house and all of the 2"-4" round branches were left in 6' long sticks with all of the smaller branches removed, Are these smaller pieces worth taking, I would imagine they would burn okay does anyone else burn the real small stuff?

I burn smaller stuff as a fire starter or during milder weather. I would imagine that those smaller rounds would season quicker, too, if stored properly.

if its wood, it will burn. The smaller stuff is good for getting things started, also they will burn a bit hotter and faster so they are good for bringing things up to temp quickly.

I was just kind of wondering if they have bark and not split if they would take longer to season but I guess not because they are so small..

This is my first year as a burner and I've found that having the greatest variety of wood and wood sizes is ideal. As mentioned above, you can use them as small or medium kindling to establish coals or get the temps up in your stove. They can also be used to pack a stove full of wood, where larger pieces wouldn't suffice.

I made a 6 ft. tall bin for scraps and small pieces. I filled it so quickly that I set up 4 pallets and began throwing my wood scraps into a big mountain. I am a scrounger, so I take all the cut logs I can get, which usually aren't cut to 16" for me. When I cut them down to size, there is a lot of thin slices and stubs. Think of all the BTUs I would be throwing away! No need to waste the stuff if it's already there!

They'll season fast, but keep them well covered. They dry fast but they'll get wet and rot fast too. I keep everything down to about 1" in diameter. Lets me build a hotter fire faster.

No, they are not worth your time at all. I recommend you cut them all into easy to dispose of 18-20" lengths and bring them by my place for an environmentally friendly disposal.

Just trying to give something back to the community.

Summertime now that we have a newer EPA stove I've started saving that smaller stuff. In the newer stoves the smaller limbs burn longer and help load up stove around the bigger splits. If I were a scrounger of wood I grab all the small stuff I could get...it's an easy take and ya don't have to split it.

If you are going to use alot of smaller stuff, the best thing to do would be to make yourself a bucking horse/jig. I cut all the branches and limbs to 6' lengths for transport home, then use the bucking horse. It gets them off the ground, saving your back and chain.

ISTR your's looks like a centipede. %-P
I built mine with a wheelbarrow wheel on it and handles so I can roll it to where the wood is.

They sure beat bucking on the ground and keeps the lengths consistent.

Keep them, stack them, burn them.

After seeing CowboyAndy's pic and comments in another post I decided to slap together a bucking horse using scrap 2x4's. I'm no carpenter but even I figured out how to bang a few nails and make this bucking horse. I typically scrounge wood, cutting it in 4-6' lengths and use my pickup to transport home where I finish cutting up. My back was killing me from cutting bent over for a long period of time. I made mine with 3 "legs" which is long enough for the lengths I'm dealing with. It has already proven to be a huge savings on my back and I believe it is a much safer way to cut as the horse helps hold the logs/branches in place.

Almost any wood is worth taking... With a few exceptions (Rotten and Soggy)
I even go around on brush collection day and scoop up the nice little bundles people have sitting by the curb.
Makes great kindling!

yes they are worth it.

if there alread cut into 6' sections either make your self a jig to stack a few into and then cut them off at the desired length or pile them up on pallet's till you have a nice little stack and then get your self a buzz saw and you can make some firewood in a hurry then.

they are great for fitting them in next to larger chunks in the fire box.

only bad part about the buzz saw wood is stacking it in an free standing pile is a big pain and to make an end of off the small sticks is darn near impossible.

when I due the buzz saw wood it goes into the truck and then to the holding pile next to my wood boiler that has a wall on both ends.

or I use it to top off and pre existing pile where it is just thrown on top and not really stacked.

sublime out.

I take all the free wood i can get accept the rotten stuff, yes take it. Its free !

Any pics of this horse? I'm up for a new winter project. Besides feeding the stove!

4" is a small log? LOL.

I take it all down to about 1.5" wide.

Some of the trees I cut down are 4 inches at the stump.

It's dark out already so not the best pic but here you go.

It's relegated now to holding my extension cords.

The tub rotted out on an old wheelbarrow so I just took it off and notched the bucking horse legs for it. The handles slide back and forth raising and lowering the wheel. It is in the retracted position. There is a board stuck in one side to hold it retracted and the board gets moved to the other side to hold it extended.

I picked up all I could which was about 3 cords (7 truckloads) of different size wood all maple (heavy stuff!), now I have to figure a way to split everything! anyone have a good deal on a log splitter??

Thanks for all of the responses.

PFFT!
My wife thinks I'm nuts, laughing at my computer.

No one can decide for you what is and is not worth burning. I wouldn't bother with it, but firewood is free and abundant around here.

I think the cutoff for what's worth the effort is somewheres around the 1-2" mark, sometimes 3" depending on how "bushy" the branch is... If I have to trim off one or two branches per stove length peice, it's worth it, sort of. If it's a dozen it goes on the brush pile... If stuff is already trimmed I'll take it as small as it goes. I guess it's a question of how fast does it take to turn the peice from a branch into a hunk of stove wood, I'll give it about 30 seconds a peice max on the small stuff.

For most of my use, a 1-2" peice counts as kindling, a 4" is ~ to a small split, and 5-6" a large one. Over that it will get split.

Gooserider

I save down to 2 in routinely, sometimes down to around 1" I've been able to make fast work with both hatchet and machete in limbing small branches quickly into 'sawable to length' sticks. Being a new wood burner, I'm still experimenting a lot with the wood processing methods. I did build myself a sawbuck and that has been pretty handy so far. But I'd still like to work out a method involving an attached 'keeper' that would clamp down on the workpiece(s). It's often a three handed job IMO.

i cut a ton of small stuff gotta use something to get the fire going
i guess part of it is i have my own bush & like to look after it if i don't chop it up it just lays there
usually throw that crap on the trailer & pile it up when i have a big enough pile i cut it up with the skill saw or chop saw
samller stuff 1/2 to 1" i break up & put in the kindling box
bob