Back yard scrounge

[jatoxico]

Took down two medium smallish locusts. Both dead standing. Took them down with an ax and bow saw before cutting to stove length. Got a small amount of green cherry too.

Stuff is DRY and hard, plinking sound when they get banged around.

Better yet...the Jotul Rockland is in and should be installed Saturday. Should be good stuff to play with for the first few fires. Was gonna split it up but should I leave it in the round for longer burns? I have plenty of split up locust.

 

[PapaDave]

Good score, from your own yard!
Start a fire and see how well one of the rounds burns. That'll tell you whether to split or not.
Alternatively, split one and check the m/c.
You've got a nice stash of wood going there, from the looks of it.

 

[jatoxico]

Good score, from your own yard!
Start a fire and see how well one of the rounds burns. That'll tell you whether to split or not. Alternatively, split one and check the m/c. You've got a nice stash of wood going there, from the looks of it.

Any rounds I've burned in the past burn slower but mostly those had bark. Do debarked rounds burn slow as well? Moisture Meter on the way from Harbor Freight, will check when it arrives but I'll bet this stuff ain't gonna get any drier. As far as wood stash, getting there. Been listening to the experts here and trying to get ahead. Not in the league of some here. Not sure what my needs are since this will be first year w/ EPA insert.

 

[Woody Stover]

With the bark off like that, I'd think that even the bigger rounds may be dry enough to burn well. The last bit of BL I got, I found that I could also gauge MC by how the sawn ends looked. Less yellow was drier. You can also gauge dryness by the weight. If you get two similar-sized rounds, and one is noticeably lighter... Good move getting a meter, though. It's cheap, and removes all doubt when one is trying to get wood to burn now. I'm going to burn only 16% or less immediately. If it's at 18%, I'll split it small in hopes that it can dry out a little in a few months.

 

[jatoxico]

With the bark off like that, I'd think that even the bigger rounds may be dry enough to burn well. The last bit of BL I got, I found that I could also gauge MC by how the sawn ends looked. Less yellow was drier. You can also gauge dryness by the weight. If you get two similar-sized rounds, and one is noticeably lighter... Good move getting a meter, though. It's cheap, and removes all doubt when one is trying to get wood to burn now. I'm going to burn only 16% or less immediately. If it's at 18%, I'll split it small in hopes that it can dry out a little in a few months.

The wood in question is light in color and weight. I'll fresh split one to check w/ MM when I get it but will be shocked if it needs seasoning. First reaction was to split it up but the more I think about it I'm thinking leave it. I've been working on having as much variety of wood and sizes figuring that way I can make adjustments but I have no decent sized dry rounds. The ones in the pics are up to about 7-8" so no too big. Might burn really well.

 

[weatherguy]

With the bark off like that, I'd think that even the bigger rounds may be dry enough to burn well. The last bit of BL I got, I found that I could also gauge MC by how the sawn ends looked. Less yellow was drier. You can also gauge dryness by the weight. If you get two similar-sized rounds, and one is noticeably lighter... Good move getting a meter, though. It's cheap, and removes all doubt when one is trying to get wood to burn now. I'm going to burn only 16% or less immediately. If it's at 18%, I'll split it small in hopes that it can dry out a little in a few months.

The wood in question is light in color and weight. I'll fresh split one to check w/ MM when I get it but will be shocked if it needs seasoning. First reaction was to split it up but the more I think about it I'm thinking leave it. I've been working on having as much variety of wood and sizes figuring that way I can make adjustments but I have no decent sized dry rounds. The ones in the pics are up to about 7-8" so no too big. Might burn really well.

Yeah, those big boys will burn hot and long if they're dry. I always leave some big fat ones too for those frigid nights.

 

[jatoxico]

Yeah, those big boys will burn hot and long if they're dry. I always leave some big fat ones too for those frigid nights.[/quote]

Yeah, been splitting small partly cause I sorta like doing it and also because I was burning in an open fireplace. Was better to have small airy fire, the big chunks wouldn't burn down so well (probably too wet too). Had an older insert few years ago and with the contained heat in the insert most things burned up completly.

 

[PapaDave]

For the first couple years, I split pretty much everything. For the past 3, I split a variety. I like to have some rounds for overnight burns. I'm finding more and more rounds in the stacks.
Ahhh, who am I kidding, I don't get overnight burns. But, that's the plan for the new stove......whenever that happens. I'll be gooder to go.

 

[firefighterjake]

Gotta love it when you can get firewood from your own yard . . . I have a bunch of elms that grow to a certain point and then die off . . . I end up cutting 1-3 trees each year . . . nothing easier or better than cutting them down just yards from the wood pile (well perhaps not so easy if the tree is near the house, pool, etc.)