Dimensional Lumber vs. Cord Wood?

[nate379]

Same could be said about burning Oak, Maple, Birch, etc... spruce... I mean should a person be making boards out of everything instead of *gasp* BURNING it?! haha.

 

[woodsmaster]

Same could be said about burning Oak, Maple, Birch, etc... spruce... I mean should a person be making boards out of everything instead of *gasp* BURNING it?! haha.

Yes if is a board quality tree, to me it would make much more since to use or sell as lumber.

 

[lammi66]

KankuJoe,

You are sitting on a pile of $$$$$. I sell industrial wood products wholesale in Michigan. I am guessing that what you have is economy grade Spruce, Pine or Fir. There may be a "KD" stamp on the pieces of lumber, if that is the case it is kiln dried down to 19% moisture content. Too may variables to guess exactly what the MC is actually. If you have a place to store it, save it and sell it to a pallet company or distributor. Currently a 2x4x4' are selling for $.50 to $.70ea. and a 1x4x4' is $.25 to $.35ea. A tandem axle truckload, 11k pieces, of 2x4x4' is worth $5,500.00. or 35-45 cords or hardwood in these parts. If you were closer to Michigan, I would buy them from you, but freight is a profit killer.

 

[Kankujoe]

Thanks for all the replies...

What an education! The opinions and information is much appreciated.

I think I'll stockpile as much as I can get my hands on. Burn some, build with some... Nice to know I'll always have something available, dry and close at hand to burn as needed. Since it will take me a few years to get quality seasoned (oak, hickory, elm) cordwood put up, I'll mix it in with some splits of (not fully seasoned) standing or fallen dead wood from my yard (60 acres). Also, have a friend who is giving me hardwood flooring scraps and remodel tearouts from his flooring business.

I can't believe I gave away tractor-trailer loads of hardwood (to others who were splitting & selling it) when I thinned out my forest to build my house 15 years ago. I just never got around to building that fireplace I planned (concrete & framing was complete). I was saving up to buy brick and stone to finish the fireplace. Never seriously considered a woodburning stove until a few years ago.

I guess its better to learn late than not at all.

 

[DonNC]

My install is 10 days old. Its near impossible to find any seasoned wood. Ive turned away 5 loads after the first crappy half cord and have a load being delivered tomorrow afternoon , .. if its seasoned. In the mean time I have been burning pallets. Places that sell tile or furniture are gold mines for pallets. The problem Ive noticed with the pallets is that new or old, they start turning the glass black. Sure the moisture heavy cord wood did that too, but the pallets seem very dry. They flame up in a hurry and create a very bright yellow fire..no redish blues. Hard to keep a secondary burning with them too. Pallets are what I have so I will continue to burn them. I call the flat parts the kindling and the 2x4s the logs. My brush is on the way and I will be cleaning the chimney soon and often, but it keeps the house warm.

Is it worth it?
Last year my Feb power bill was over 400. Its worth it to me.

Burn the 2x4s

 

[Jimbob]

I burnt lumber for a couple of winters, years ago when we could get it for free. It worked well.
I used to stack a lot of it tightly together, and run with the draft control low once it was going well.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I burn 2x4 scraps all the time, my stove handles it well ,burn pine during the day when im around to reload more often, no chance of it running away, it does burn faster than oak ,thats for sure, have to keep the air on a lower setting if you want some burn time. Throws plenty of heat, you just have to reload more often.

 

[nate379]

Sometimes just because it's "worth" something doesn't mean it's worth a persons time. I have burned bird's eye sugar maple before, though only realized it after cut and split most of that log anyhow.

Same could be said about burning Oak, Maple, Birch, etc... spruce... I mean should a person be making boards out of everything instead of *gasp* BURNING it?! haha.

Yes if is a board quality tree, to me it would make much more since to use or sell as lumber.

Kankujoe I did the same with firewood when I moved into my house. I cut all the trees off the yard, ended up with about 3 cords. Mostly cottonwood but some spruce/birch as well. I didn't figure I'd put a stove in, and also really didn't have place to stack the wood. Was more concerned about cutting it all and hauled it out so I could bulldoze the yard and get grass in. I ended up having to haul the wood to a few people cause no one would even come pick it up for free!

 

[Cluttermagnet]

Electronics metaphor, BK?

Stack it outside uncovered in the rain, and give it a few months to 'unseason'. Cover a month before you want to use it to remove surface moisture.

I thought about that, but I wonder how strong the hysteresis effect is with this wood. Bringing wood up to EMC from kiln-dried usually results in a lower MC than drying it down to EMC. I've read it can be up to a 3% difference, but I don't know for what woods and under what conditions that would occur. Probably not important since they don't dry dimensional lumber down that low in the first place.

You can always nail them together and make EPA test loads. %-P

I can't imagine trying to heat with a big stove using thin pieces of pine. I have an unlimited source of kiln-dried pallet wood and I never even consider it. I had nightmares with that stuff many years ago, and it was all beautiful hardwood. Every once it a while I drive over to bug my buddy who runs the shop and come back with the back of my wagon full. It does make the very best kindling wood, but I'm a "the bigger, the better" thinker when it comes to wood size. However, if all you have is that and some marginal wood, it will surely help get those internal temps up where you need them to be.

Kankujoe: Yes, store some, maybe sell some, and definitely burn some. A little is OK, mixed with hardwood splits- dandy free BTU's. I use a little myself, from time to time, mostly from pallets. Maybe 2-5 percent of what I burn here. The really warped stuff burns good, and is otherwise near useless.