Bark?

[BradleyS]

Is it wise to have the bark off the wood you burn. I noticed sometimes the bark comes off pretty much on its own. Depending on how long the rounds or tree was down.

Some species the bark is not that significant, but on something like Sassafras it is pretty thick.

Also, does the bark compost well?

 

[CTFIRE]

I like let the rounds shrink and dry until the bark comes off in big pieces. Some species are better than other. Then I use the big pieces as ground cover in my wood area . Keeps weeds at bay and is dry so it's not muddy after the rain. Split dry faster IMO without bark on also

 

[Applesister]

Bark is composed of cork cells. It is a protective skin for the living tree. the most viably healthy actively living part of the tree is just under the bark. The cambium, in the winter the tree and bark adhere tightly and in the most active growing period of spring and early summer the cambium is looser and more easily seperated from the wood. If you cut in the winter it will be close to impossible to seperate the bark. If you harvest dead or dying trees the bark has already seperated and can almost fall off.
In my opinion its solely your preference as to what you want to do, I think bark or no bark is totally meaningless. And extra work. It's also scrap that you would have to get rid of by some other means. Might as well just burn it.

 

[osagebow]

I rake it up and add it to my mushroom beds

 

[fossil]

Bark falls off, it falls off...and becomes ground cover. Bark stays on, it stays on...and becomes stove fuel. If my ground cover piles up, I move some of it somewhere else. That's the extent of my CBMP (Comprehensive Bark Management Program). Rick

 

[firefighterjake]

Like others I don't mess around with removing the bark. If it comes off or is just about off I might pull it off and toss it on to the ground around the stacks as mulch/weed control or into the summer fire pit . . . otherwise I burn it how I find it.

 

[lindnova]

I don't make much effort either way either. I pull it off when loose and throw it wherever is closer. Sometimes it is behind the pile in the tall grass, in the field, or into the outdoor furnace. The bark does compost, but much slower than the average garden and grass clippings.

 

[Shawn Curry]

The bark sheds water better than the core wood itself; that was part of it's function in life. I like to leave the bark side up on the top layer of my stacks. I haven't actually done any scientific drying experiments, but it seems like a good idea in theory. Plus it burns, and I'm still early into The Three Year Plan, so I'll keep all the BTUs I can get.

The only time I remove it on purpose is if I'm sawing the log into lumber. All it does in that case is create extra, wet sawdust, that quickly rusts tools and blades.

 

[TMonter]

I chip my bark up in the wood chipper for mulch in the garden and flower beds and around trees. I generally let it dry really well before doing so so the chipper breaks it up nicely.

 

[gyrfalcon]

I get my wood c/s/d, so after I've got it all stacked, there's a lot of bark and chips and debris on the ground in the middle of my yard. I rake it up, shove it in empty 50-pound bird-seed bags or cardboard boxes and burn it in shoulder season when I'm hanging around the house. That collection of bark was incredibly welcome last spring after a horrible cold winter used up nearly all my wood and the less cold but still very chilly spring dragged on and on and on.

 

[Hickorynut]

If wood has been stacked over 4 or 5 years the bark of many firewood species is often a mess. I have found this with maple, red oak, cherry, locust and others. If I have this condition and the bark is easy to remove, I do. I don't want to fool with that mess in the house or where I stack it in the garage. So I am removing bark quite a bit. If it is still tight it stays on the firewood.

 

[Lakeside]

Bark- not a big fan of this stuff. I think it slows down the seasoning process, attracts bugs and generally messes up my place. My latest method is to target dead black locust because of the lack of bark. Bring it home bucked, then it is split and stacked that day. It could be good with less than a year seasoning but will most likely not be needed for two years. As for other woods if the bark can be easily removed it is and it will be trucked off to the dump. As you can tell I do not like bark.

 

[BradleyS]

Thank you,

All the replies were welcome advice. I live in the suburbs so do not have a huge property, but large enough to have a compost pile and I am blessed to have my share of trees. Do not own a chipper, but I will probably break it up by hand and toss it around my more wooded sections.

Do not think I plan on shaving the bark off, but if its loose I will pull it off. Like someone mentioned it does tend to make a mess in house and the bugs love it.

I had a Sassafras get up rooted during a storm (think was the one before Sandy, maybe Irene), anyway we took it down and cut it into rounds. Had no insert at the time. These rounds sat for awhile. Last December I installed my insert and went through all the oak that I had by early March. Being a novice I did not have a good track on how long some of the Sass was split compared to being in round form. So due to our unusually never ending Winter we burnt some of this.

This Sass had/has a very thick bark and when the wood was burnt seemed to be leaving a residue on chimney rain cap, God knows what inside looks like.
Will check out thoroughly prior to this season. I am assuming this wood might of been culprit, did not see this build up until the late season burn. Then again have no idea what my wife and kids were burning while I was at work, at the end of season LOL. Seemed to be moisture problem, was wondering if the bark could of been problem also. The day I noticed it the transient temp between house and outside was not that much.