Would you drive for PINE...IF...

you didn't have all the wood you needed for next year? Got an offer to cut down about 15 pine trees that are "30-40ft tall," BUT, those trees are just a hair over an hour from me.

I have access to plenty of hardwood, but most of what is in line for the cutting next is hickory and I don't know if it will be ready to burn by this winter.

I plan on burning a minimum of 3 cords of wood next winter (more if i get a bigger stove) and right now I only have about 2 cords split and stacked.

I wouldn't mind burning pine for the first cord or so, or maybe even mixing pine in with some less than perfect wood.

I'm thinking a uhaul trailer behind the dodge could get me more than I need, but certainly not all of what he has (I haven't seen them, myself).

What would you do?

I just got some pine, but it is literally 2K yards from my front door and it was already down and in log form. I suppose if I didn't have enough wood I may, but to me an hour seems a bit extreme.

Is that renting a uhaul trailer? Plus about $50 for truck gas. Plus everything else. I would do it to help a friend, but not just for the wood.

Just my opinion, I'd pass. Spring will come and folks will be cleaning out. Plus the price of fuel is a deal buster.

30-40 foot eastern white pine trees growing out in the open could be a LOT of branches to have to deal with.
Tough call.
I'd have to be pretty nervous about running short. Plus it would have to be split right away, too.

For the amount of time and work and driving that would take, i would simply pay for a cord of split hardwood to be delivered to me.

Tough call . . . guess it all depends . . .

Depends on whether you believe you will be able to scrounge another cord of wood in time for when you need to burn this wood.

Depends on how much you value your time . . . cutting down, bucking up and transporting wood an hour away will take up a good chunk of time.

Depends on how much you value your money . . . the price of gas for the saw, truck, renting a U-haul trailer, etc. will cost you.

I have no problem with the fact that they are pines, but it is a long drive and you'd have to rent a trailer. I'd like to know what you're getting into. Are these skinny, branchy trees, or tall straight ones? How accurate is the estimated height? To me the big question is how much wood for how much work, not whether you want pine or not.

+1 on what Wood Duck said. Personally 1hr+ is out of my range entirely unless I was really just doing a friend a favor.

NO WAY!

I can make this be on my way to visit my parents in a couple of weeks, I'll have a chance to see them with my own eyes by then if I think I'm REALLY interested.

I would gladly pay for someone to bring me some seasoned firewood, but that doesn't exist around here (or is a rare commodity). If I want a cord of unseasoned hardwood I'll cut it myself off of my own land. I think I may just keep collecting what I have access to, I've just been very busy for the past few years and never seem to really get ahead.

The only reason I'm even considering it is because it will season faster and burn better than what I'd have as an alternative.

gas for the dodge is the primary deciding factor for my hesitation. Otherwise I think I'd probably do it. I could probably borrow Dad's bigger trailer, too.

Just throwing it out there to see what other people came up with when they considered the benefits/cons...

With oak being the exception, around here most any hardwood c/s/s now will be ready to burn by the time I go through the 1st 2 cords next year.

what do you all think about some shagbark being ready to burn by late fall? That's what I'm cutting next...

+1 there. Pine is messy as heck, especially if it is alive. Gas and time, order a load of wood already done. Scrounge some standing dead Elm and call it a day.

My neighbor is giving me 4 40 foot tall pine trees freshly felled, bucked into 14-18" thick and high rounds. Totally sappy right now.

I LOVE pine for burning once it seasons, and it seasons fairly fast in my mind. Seasoned pine you can stack in your firebox in 2x4 sizing, throw some newspaper in, and it'll light off beautifully with almost no kindling or small stuff. It gets your firebox up to temp faster than anything I've used to date (still a young burner though) and if your firebox is full of last night's leftovers pine will burn it all down to a super fine ash. Plus, I like a little crackling and popping from my fire.

I have plenty of knotty pine pieces that are large and will provide a nice even hot burn for 2-3 hours with my air control only 50% closed - it'll keep the stove top temp at 500+ for that long, which is really nice when I'm just sitting in the room relaxing.

Would I drive an hour for it? No. Would I drive an hour for any wood? No (though I have, and I regret it).

Wood around me is too plentiful within a few miles at any given time - just need to keep my eye out for it.

Joe

If its c/s/s single row in a open area that gets sun/wind,it should be OK.Unless any rounds are over 5" or large splits.Hickory dries faster than most all Oaks,plus it has less moisture to begin with.Still not as low as Ash of course.

I'd pass on the pine,unless it was to help a friend or family member.Gas at $3.40/gallon & up its not worth any distance.I went about 7 miles round trip for a load of Juniper 2 weeks ago,thats not like 40-50 one way.

IMHO, for hickory available nearby, you will be MUCH, MUCH better off with 1 year seasoned hickory over driving to get pine.

That is a no-brainer questions for me. For the fuel I would spend driving an hour to cut pine, I could buy good hardwood a lot cheaper, let alone cut it nearby.

Go get the hickory, get it split as soon as you can, stack it in the sun/wind, put a tarp on the top if the weather looks wet and it will be fine this winter.

ETA, added a response to your post above.

Do you mean too busy to cut firewood? If you're too busy to cut wood then why even consider driving so far. That would add to the "no-brainer" fact posted above. Cut what is close to you and save all the time driving around.

Even if it does season faster, hickory burns really good and I think you'll still be much further ahead to just go with some hickory cut locally asap.

Unless you are doing a friend a favor by cutting it down and hauling it off, I'd pass.

15 trees and the work your going to do! Wasnt even thinking of gas money! RUN Forest Run!

My time is worth a lot to me lately. A long drive for any less than say a full cord per trip would be a waste for me I think- and I have no way to transport a full cord.

I should clarify that my general wood supply is on our family's Timber which is located almost exactly 35 miles from my house. About a 45 minute drive if I take my time.

All good points made here. I haven't been able to get ahead because I have had just about enough time to cut what I need each year. I figured that 2 hours of driving to save several months of seasoning MIGHT be an appropriate tradeoff. To burn this hickory I have two options 1) burn this wood in about 8months or 2) restack all of my wood with the more seasoned in front, but then it would be blocking the newer hickory from getting the wind and sun. Unless I find another place to stack (wife probably won't be thrilled with that, but i'm considering it.

I'm hopeful this year that I'll be able to make it out to the timber to clean up enough to really get me 1-2 years ahead. I dunno, i manage to get more projects than I have time to complete, so we'll see.

I don't know what I'd do in your situation, but here are two factors to consider.

UHaul trailers are cheap to rent for local moves. Last time I got one was a long, long time ago, but it was under $20/day (closer to $10, I think).

30 foot pine trees can be skinny. I just cut one that was in the way and it was only about 5" across. Make sure you know they're big enough around to be worth your effort if you decide to do it.

Nope no way I'd even consider it.. I wouldn't even do it if it were hardwood... Gotta figure your time (2 hrs. driving) plus time to process and load the truck then take it home split and stack it.. Not to mention gas at over $3.50 per gallon... Pine has no value around here even when free it's hard to get rid of it..

Ray

Danno, if you don't mind driving a little further, I have a few thousand pines you can cut and there will be no charge. Come and get them.