Alder rounds fully dried out

[begreen]

Had a surprise today. I am splitting a big pile of mixed wood. Most of it was green wood when felled a year ago. In the mix is an alder, a couple wild cherries and a bit of hemlock. I am noticing that all of the alder is completely dry, even splits from the largest 16" rounds. You could burn this stuff tomorrow and be fine. I was going to stack this wood outside top covered but now will put it in the shed and will burn it this fall before it goes punky. The cherry is still somewhat damp as one would expect, but it's drying quickly after splitting.

Amazingly at the end of this pile is another pile of madrona. It was cut late last summer and is already deeply checked on the endgrain. I split a few rounds to check it out. It is not fully dried, but I suspect that it will be ready by winter after splitting. I won't be burning it as we have plenty of wood already in the shed but this does illustrate what a dry spring we've had.

 

[Soundchasm]

That cherry is an amazing wood. It'll dry very quickly if split small. I don't know madrona, but being dry adds a hefty chunk to the "fun" index of a species.

We haven't had the terrible troubles others have had, but it has really rained here for a long time. It's hard for me to fathom a drought on the left side when the middle is getting pasted.

 

[begreen]

Yes I like cherry, but the bark on this tree is tough. It hangs in there and makes the splits stick together after splitting.

 

[Soundchasm]

I had a batch of cherry rounds some years ago where the bark was coming off in sheets I euphorically recall nearly half the diameter of 20" rounds. It came off just like veneer or something. Then about two years ago I did battle with some bitternut hickory where the bark was as you described. It would NOT let go for dear life. It wouldn't tear nor would it come off.

I'll keep an interesting split since I'm weird that way. Check the wood the bark was holding on to.

 

[begreen]

Looks like I am going to have to keep a hatchet handy when stacking in order to separate the splits from the joining bark.

 

[Woody Stover]

I am noticing that all of the alder is completely dry, even splits from the largest 16" rounds.

Just goes to show ya, many of these firewood "laws" have their exceptions. Soft Maple is another type that will dry somewhat quickly, even though it hasn't been split. Oak bark, on the other hand, seals in water. Even the 3-inchers I will at least crack so some air can get to the middle. Red Oak will dry noticeably faster with no bark, if the sapwood isn't punked.

Looks like I am going to have to keep a hatchet handy when stacking in order to separate the splits from the joining bark.

I've always got a hatchet within arm's reach to finish off stringy splits, take off bark that's somewhat loose but not loose enough to pull by hand, shave off Red Oak punk if it's crumbly, or chop off a branch stub that was overlooked while bucking.

 

[pdxdave]

Alder is pretty amazing. A friend of mine regularly cuts down alders in his yard and burns them a month later without too much trouble. Not that I'd recommend going that extreme, but overall considering it gets OK burn times, and grow very fast and straight and round, it's one of the best trees to grow for firewood. Also, it splits and stacks easy, and seems to be far more critter resistant than other woods in my pile. Now I want to go find some alder!

 

[blacktail]

I like alder and have also found it to dry surprisingly well without being split. I've cut some alder logs that were stacked off the ground, with a lot of the bark knocked off, and it was well on its way to being dry.
It's a very nice firewood. No pitch, splits easy, grows like a weed, dries fast.
When I'm pulling wood from the shed to burn in the fire pit outside, I always try to grab alder because the smoke smells so nice.

 

[pen]

My buddy uses alder to smoke cheese,,, as good as it comes. Just something to keep in mind if you have it on hand!

 

[Highbeam]

I've said before that I'd take alder over any other common pnw species. It ashes up better than Doug fir for even longer burns.

What's this jive about burning it before it rots? Like any wood, it will last decades if you keep it dry.

 

[iron]

i like this thread. my buddy is hooking me up with a red alder he cut down. i think it was probably 24-30" at the base.

 

[AmbDrvr253]

You must have the sweet version of cherry up there. We have both sweet and black in PA. I prefer the black cherry as the bark does not have the same properties as the sweet. Either way it is firewood nonetheless.