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Wade A.

Feeling the Heat
Nov 4, 2010
360
South
We had an inquiry earlier in the year about what kinds of wood we Southerners find to burn. I was taking an inventory this morning of the wood I've collected off the curb in Birmingham, year to date. I have:

Hickory (man, can you imagine putting that out for the trash ?!)
Oak, three different species
Cherry
Yellow Birch
Maple (hard and soft)
Gray Aspen (burns fast and bright, good for starter wood)
Dogwood (hard to get in quantity, but dense with BTU's)
Hackberry (not my favorite, but it'll do in a pinch. Comes in ginormous rounds)

And whatever the wind blows in. I do draw the line at sweetgum, and they grow absolutely everywhere around here.

I told a friend that while I didn't exactly delight in tornadic episodes, but they do bring firewood. As the saying goes, it is an ill wind indeed that doesn't bring some good.
 
ploughboy, that sounds like it would be good firewood no matter where you lived. And I agree with you on that hickory....
 
We had some micro-bursts come thorugh the neighborhood Monday night. I knew that if I waited a few days, wood would be there for the taking. I have not been dissapointed. Scored an 12" hickory this morning, bucked and on the side of the street. KA-CHING!!!!
 
Ah, I too spotted a downed hickory yesterday when I went through a neighbor's woods. I could hardly believe it but he had cut it down....and just left it.
 
Is your neighbor a woodburner? Wait....no answer necessary. I might be making him an offer to "remove" that tree, free of charge, as it is the neighborly thing to do, don't you know?! I'm also due a lot of credit from my public works department for taking the time and effort to keep our streets clear of unsightly storm debris. All in a days work.....no, really, it's nothing, glad to help.

It was only property damage, but the house down the street got cleaved by an 18" poplar, pushed over at the roots. Messy. I couldn't help but hope that it was an oak as I drove past it on the way to work yesterday.

Most of you guys up North wouldn't believe it, but green wood cut in April will be ready to burn come October, when our weather starts to cool down enough to need it. I stack my split wood under the carport roof, with direct southern sun exposure. A few months of 90-100 degree temps and it will be down to 7% or better. Plus, I'm not splitting wood in the heat of Summer and in the Fall I've got better things to do. Good feeling to know that your solid fuel needs are met with lots ot time to spare.
 
Yes, he has burned wood for over 30 years now so he should know better. But, he has more wood than he knows what to do with and just doesn't care. I'm betting the tree has been down for 3 years or more.

On the wood seasoning, we too can cut in April and burn in October.....with some of the wood. Cut an oak and try that and you can get it to burn but you'll also make a mess of your chimney and stove. Many do it yearly. Not for us. We'll leave it in the stack for a few years and it burns just so much better. We cut in the winter months and split when the snow goes then stack right after the splitting is done.

I'm wondering about that 7%. It is difficult to get it lower than the average relative humdity and most places I've been in down south is super humid!
 
Well, if it only dried to the average relative humidity, we'd be talking 50% or more. As we say down here in August, "Sure it's hot, but it's also humid." Heat, and good breezes are what drives the water out, not migration from more moist, to less moist, I'm thinking. Or, those factors do the work despite the humidity. You do have to keep it covered though. September and October are also the driest months of the year, so that helps "finish" it off at just the right time. I also probably split down to smaller sizes than I would if I were leaving it a year or more.

I do remember fondly my time getting the wood in with snow on the ground when I was living up towards your lattitude. Of course, I still enjoy that on a brisk day here, but the blow downs only arrive with the Spring storms. Make hay when the sun shines, right?
 
ploughboy,

do you ever get your hands on any pecan? theres a ton of it around here and i have access to some. Ive been setting smaller limbs aside for smoking, but not sure what to do with the bigger stuff. I can get more eventually but wasnt real sure if its worth the work.

I have noticed that the pecan limbs have been swarmed with ants (not fire ants or carpenter so im not really concerned). I assume theyre getting at the sap, but havent seen them do this with any other woods Ive cut.
 
I've got one pecan next to my house that is a threat to become firewood soon. It has a fungus and is dropping branches pretty regularly. It also is killing all the ornamentals I've planted near it. The only reason I haven't axed it yet is because it does provide signficant shade to a sunny corner of the house. Still.....they are a mess, dropping catkins, hulls and leaf spines all over the place. More bad is that the squirrels get most of the nuts. But yeah, I've burned pecan now and then. It is a good hard wood, and puts out good BTU's. I'd burn it in a heartbeat if I had it. If you have a quantity of it around here you can take it to any one of the many b.b.q joints in town and get cash money. They love it. RE; Ants. Yep, I think they do mine the sap this time of year.
 
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