Guys,
First off I've been reading a lot of posts here and the info you guys have is pretty darn amazing. I have a question on the wood I've been scrounging.
I just put in a wood stove in our little house and hope to use it to generate 90% of the heat we need. We live up in NW Iowa, where corn is king and trees are not as plentiful. Budget is a big deal to me, and I've made huge improvements in insulating the house to reduce energy bills.
I came across some old railroad property along a farm field that the trees were all cut down last year. The abandoned railroad bed sits up high and they range from 8" to 24" in diameter. I cut them to 16" lengths and so far have brought back about 2/3 cord to my house. I've been splitting them and stacking as I go. I was hoping that because they were sitting out for a year and not on the ground (I've been selective in what logs to harvest) that they would be fairly dry. But I've noticed that the stove is definitely not burning them as easily as stuff I collected and stacked last year. After reading some here, I brought a bunch in and put them near the stove to help dry, but kind of doubt my new wife would appreciate me bringing the rest in our bedroom. LOL.
I am going to take a sample to the local Forester at the DNR and see if he can get a species on them My Wisconsin buddy who burns alot of wood thought they might be Cottonwood from a picture I sent him. I am going to try to get my hands on a moisture tester from Home Depot next.
Question is , outside of finding other wood, can I burn these effectively this year to get me by?
Is there anything else I could be doing to help them burn? I know the stove is working well, based on dryer wood burning well.
Is there any danger in using this wood? Creosote build up?
Also, not sure if anyone cares but I use an Olympia chain saw inherited from my dad. Runs great after all these years.
Thanks for all the help.
First off I've been reading a lot of posts here and the info you guys have is pretty darn amazing. I have a question on the wood I've been scrounging.
I just put in a wood stove in our little house and hope to use it to generate 90% of the heat we need. We live up in NW Iowa, where corn is king and trees are not as plentiful. Budget is a big deal to me, and I've made huge improvements in insulating the house to reduce energy bills.
I came across some old railroad property along a farm field that the trees were all cut down last year. The abandoned railroad bed sits up high and they range from 8" to 24" in diameter. I cut them to 16" lengths and so far have brought back about 2/3 cord to my house. I've been splitting them and stacking as I go. I was hoping that because they were sitting out for a year and not on the ground (I've been selective in what logs to harvest) that they would be fairly dry. But I've noticed that the stove is definitely not burning them as easily as stuff I collected and stacked last year. After reading some here, I brought a bunch in and put them near the stove to help dry, but kind of doubt my new wife would appreciate me bringing the rest in our bedroom. LOL.
I am going to take a sample to the local Forester at the DNR and see if he can get a species on them My Wisconsin buddy who burns alot of wood thought they might be Cottonwood from a picture I sent him. I am going to try to get my hands on a moisture tester from Home Depot next.
Question is , outside of finding other wood, can I burn these effectively this year to get me by?
Is there anything else I could be doing to help them burn? I know the stove is working well, based on dryer wood burning well.
Is there any danger in using this wood? Creosote build up?
Also, not sure if anyone cares but I use an Olympia chain saw inherited from my dad. Runs great after all these years.
Thanks for all the help.