White Birch

[hemlock]

Hello,
I have a bit of white (paper?) birch to come down, but in the past have not had the best luck with it for firewood. It seems to begin to rot almost instantly. Is this normal for it, and can anything be done to help it "keep" a little longer? Thanks.

 

[woodchip]

I suspect white birch is a bit like our silver birch.

The bark is waterproof, which is why it is sometimes used for canoes.
The fact that it is waterproof also means that unless it is cut and split after it has been felled, the moisture inside the tree is trapped, and it will start to rot at an alarming pace.

I always cut and split mine within a day of felling. Even a standing dead birch can show signs of rotting. If the bark is apparently intact as it rots from the inside.

The upside to birch is that the bark, if stripped, does make really good tinder dry firelighting material for a camp fire, it dries quickly and burns very well.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

split it. It will allow it to dry faster.

Matt

 

[snowleopard]

Also I think the time of year it's dropped makes a difference. If you can get it before the sap starts running you've got a little time on your side.

 

[bogydave]

Birch is my staple wood.
Cut & split asap.
Also you have to cover the top. I know some say leave it out in the rain & snow
but my experience is , cover the top. For some reason it is real susceptible to rotting if you don't.

 

[nate379]

I have some rounds out back that were cut in 07 and none of that is rotten.

 

[Wood Duck]

Dead standing birch are usually rotted, in my experience. Live cut birch seems to last fairly well if you stack it off the ground.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Yes, white birch can and does indeed rot many times before it falls. If you cut it before it dies, then you can have some good firewood.....as long as you get it split really soon, or sooner. So cut, split and stack and then you will find that the birch will dry quite fast and won't rot.

 

[firefighterjake]

As Wood Duck said . . . when I see birch on the ground 9 times out of 10 it's punky or one step away from being mulch. The other time I see birch on the ground is when it has been taken down by ice . . . in which case it may be good.

As others have said . . . get the birch off the ground, split it vs. leaving it in the rounds and cover . . . I don't top cover my stacks in the first year or so they are outside . . . but I also try to keep the birch with the bark face up and stack other wood on top of it to act as a "cover."

 

[billb3]

I have some two and three finger diameter that's just too small to bother splitting and top covered has dried rather well.
I hope it keeps until next Winter because I have much older stuff to get rid of first.