choosing downed / dead trees

[Flavo]

I'm new to burning this year. My wife and I just bought a small farm in the country. I have only an acre of wooded lot that is technically mine. The rest is pasture. I do have roughly 100 acres behind me though that has a pretty nice 8' wide trail that is just starting to get growth on it but very easy to drive the truck on. It was built from a previous land owner that recently died and used the land for scavenging rock I believe and getting firewood out of. As a side note there are tons (literally) of stacked stone to build walls out of that my neighbor said I could have.
I'm wondering how to know what downed trees I should be grabbing? How do I know if the tree is past is useful burning point? I was checking some of the stuff out today and noticed a few of the trees were obviously turning back into earth.

Thanks for the help, Mike.

 

[thewoodlands]

Most of our wood that I buck up comes from downed trees, I find that cherry and sugar maple seem to last the longest when down. If punky you'll know by how easy your chain goes through the tree.

The middle picture is a punky beech beyond burning, the first and third picture is rounds of sugar maple that is punky on the inside but has some good wood on the outside.


Zap

 

[Flavo]

Interesting, so the inside gets soft 1st. What do you w/ the 1st and 3rd pics? Do you split them and try to use just the hard stuff then? If so is it O.K that some of the punky gets in the stove?

 

[Arc_Dad]

A big factor is who hard you have to work for the BTUs. If the wood is a little punky but easily accessible and Free it's likely worth it. If the same tree is a long way off that wide trail out back and is a lot of work, skip it for the easier stuff. I think the stuff that has started to rot is fine as long as when it goes in the stove it's nice and dry.

 

[mesuno]

Flavo, punky stuff won't hurt anything - it just doesn't have much heating value and will be slower to burn. Basically it isn't worth the effort of cutting, seasoning etc... I've burned punky stuff in the past when the alternative was to let it rot in a heap.

Not all logs will go punky on the inside first either - I was chopping up a fallen oak a couple of weeks ago that had been down for around 10 years. The outer inch was punky powder but the inner core was solid and looked like the tree could have been felled yesterday for all the evidence of decay there. I just gave the punky logs a bit of a bash against a block to get the worst of it to fall off.

Basically, all wood is "good" - some are better than others but nothing will make your home colder if you burn it! Get out there, get chopping and you'll soon get a feel for what trees are better in your area.

Mike

 

[thewoodlands]

Interesting, so the inside gets soft 1st. What do you w/ the 1st and 3rd pics? Do you split them and try to use just the hard stuff then? If so is it O.K that some of the punky gets in the stove?

I split it up and will be burning it for 2011-2012 heating season. If the middle was real bad I just split it off and kept the good stuff. The beech is still on the ground and will make some nice dirt.



Zap

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Welcome to the forum Flavo.


We say it over and over that wood is not a sponge. That is, when it rains, that moisture will not soak into the wood. However, there is an exception and that is punky wood. That punk is like a sponge and once it gets wet it can take a long, long time to dry. If it is dry, sure, you can burn it. We've never found it worth the effort and simply leave it lay or if just a few pieces will throw them on a brush pile.

Oak is one of the very best woods you can burn but it is a strange one. Most times the outer layer will turn a bit punky but that does not hurt the wood at all. Just remember that oak, even though one of the best firewoods out there, can take a long, long time to season enough to burn in a stove. On the other hand, ash is also one of the best and it is about the slowest wood to turn punky of all the woods. Right now I have a couple of tops that I just did not get cut up and they have been laying in the woods at least 3 years. The wood is fine. Last year I found some when the snow melted. Then I remembered that it was the year before that I had cut that wood and it was laying flat on the ground. It was great firewood.

If you want to cut trees that have fell, the very best is to find the ones that have fallen or partially fallen so that very little of that tree is touching the ground. That wood will keep for a long time but the trees that lay flat on the ground generally are not so good unless you find them shortly after falling.


Because you are new to wood burning I'll throw out some information that you can use or not use; your choice. Beware that the wood that wood sellers sell as seasoned, is not! Do plan on cutting and splitting your wood well ahead of time and giving it at least through the summer to dry. Better to give it a year or two. To dry the wood, stack it outside, preferably where it can get wind. Stack it in single rows to dry the fastest. If you can stack it in the sunshine so much the better but remember that wind is more important than sun. Air circulation is the key. This is also why it is wrong to stack freshly cut wood in a shed. Dry it outside and then move it into the shed before the snow flies.

Good luck.

 

[Flavo]

Thanks for all the info everyone. This being the 1st year I was on the property I had to purchase my wood. Next years wood will only be seasoned for a year or 9 months. After that I should have a pretty good stash to move forward a couple or few years. I was running out of wood so I went to try and find some dry and downed trees. I'm sure I could have done better but my tires are bawled and I was about to get stuck right at the bottom of the property so I turned around. That and I couldn't get my warmed chainsaw to start.

This is what I came up with. I think it is a type of birch as the tree it was sistered to had smooth grey bark that I think is supposed to be birch??
It seems pretty ready to burn. It feels at least as dry at the wood I got delivered in the beginning of the season.

Man, really not my day. For some reason my pics aren't showing up either. Time to try and start this day over I guess
Edit: I guess it's this place. I tried the same pics on another forum and they worked.?

 

[firefighterjake]

Thanks for all the info everyone. This being the 1st year I was on the property I had to purchase my wood. Next years wood will only be seasoned for a year or 9 months. After that I should have a pretty good stash to move forward a couple or few years. I was running out of wood so I went to try and find some dry and downed trees. I'm sure I could have done better but my tires are bawled and I was about to get stuck right at the bottom of the property so I turned around. That and I couldn't get my warmed chainsaw to start.

This is what I came up with. I think it is a type of birch as the tree it was sistered to had smooth grey bark that I think is supposed to be birch??
It seems pretty ready to burn. It feels at least as dry at the wood I got delivered in the beginning of the season.

Man, really not my day. For some reason my pics aren't showing up either. Time to try and start this day over I guess
Edit: I guess it's this place. I tried the same pics on another forum and they worked.?

Pictures . . . I find it easiest to upload the pics right from my computer or source . . . just be sure to resize the pics so that they are small enough to be loaded to this site . . . I think if you are at 900 pixels wide or so you will be OK to load them up.

 

[Flavo]

Edit:
Apparently it's a snafu between how photbucket will allow a user to name a folder w/ spaces and hearth.com will not allow a img hosted w/ spaces in the url. Oh well, I'm glad I got it figured out and my day bot a lot better. I decided to go back out in the woods and cut a bunch of wood.

 

[WoodpileOCD]

your pics are showing up fine now and that's some good looking wood that should burn fine. No punk that I can see.

 

[woodchip]

my day got a lot better. I decided to go back out in the woods and cut a bunch of wood.

That always improves my day.........

And I see you are another wood grenade fan.........

 

[northwinds]

I decided to go back out in the woods and cut a bunch of wood.

Something I enjoy almost as much as burning it.

Hey, just wanted to say that I like your blog. You've already hit on many of my favorite subjects.

 

[Flavo]

Whiskey and wood, what's not to like? Thanks though. I have some pretty nice updates to add. Hopefully I will get them up tonight.
As for the wood grenade. I have nothing to judge it against. I just bought a month ago and it is the 1st wedge I have ever used. I can imagine that the normal wedges would be much more difficult to get in the round though. I had considered sharpening the tip so it would set easier. That was until it popped out a few times under force and aimed itself at me.

 

[woodchip]

[quote author="Flavo" date="1299870128I had considered sharpening the tip so it would set easier. That was until it popped out a few times under force and aimed itself at me.[/quote]

Always a good idea to wear protective clothing when using any tools around wood, but a sharpened wood grenade does sound pretty lethal against most clothing out there......

If I'm in doubt about getting a wedge or grenade in I usually saw a small starter bit where I want the split.

 

[Kenster]

I had considered sharpening the tip so it would set easier. That was until it popped out a few times under force and aimed itself at me.

The Grenade was the first wedge I bought. I had the idea that one would, set into the middle of a round, split the round into three or four pieces at one time. Not happening! I used it quite a while, though it did have a tendency to go flying off. I took one smack on my knee cap once and it dropped my like a sack of flour. Took ten minutes before I could get back on my feet. No damage but it hurt to bend my knee for a few days. Eventually, the head began to mushroom and split around the edges. I heard stories of shrapnel flying off and actually killed one man.

I gave it up and switched to wedges and am much happier. The first thing I reach for is my Fiskars SS. If that doesn't work, it's the ten pound maul. Wedge and Sledge is the final resort.

Regarding your question about selecting wood. I walk my woods often, always in search for a tree or a top that has come down in high winds or a storm. Usually, these are live trees that may have been weakened by ants or other bugs. The wood will still be good, and fresh/green. I cut up the fallen top, then drop the standing remaining part of the tree and get it all buck, split and stacked right away.

Standing dead can be almost as 'wet' as a live tree and it, too, should be bucked/split and stacked right away. Standing dead can have an inch or so ring of punk. Don't let that deter you. Leave standing deads standing until your have the time to cut it up. They rot much faster once they are in contact with soil. I leave really rotted standing dead trees alone for the birds and critters.

If I come across a down tree that still seems pretty solid, I'll cut it up and burn it despite it having a little punk. I really appreciate finding these late in winter when I'm running short of wood. If I cut into a downed log and the saw just zips through it, I leave it alone. But some punky logs have super hard centers and burn great.

 

[Flavo]

It's great to hear about the punky stuff being OK. I could seriously get over loaded on the stuff pretty easy here. While I'm in the country and it seems like everyone around me burns. I don't know if it's because there are so many acres around us of woods? Or if the majority of people are purchasing the wood instead. There are so many downed trees. Even just driving around. I see so many recently downed trees from storms and such it is almost overwhelming. I will just pick from my own property rather than stand on the side of the road. The fella that made the logging roads behind my property (or whatever they are) passed away and left stacks of maybe 3 cords of split wood back there. I haven't gotten a chance to see how punky that stuff is though. My guess is that it has been out back for 5 years or more.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

It should be fine. Maybe the bottom row stayed wet too long.

Don't get hung up on species too much. Some people are picky about what they will burn. It'll all burn and it all throws heat. Being able to ID the trees will come in time.

Matt