Burning Bark

[Moranaj]

As the winters gone on ive accumulated a nice pile of bark that has come flying off as i split wood. I know the bark holds moisture in the wood so ive been hesitant to burn it, but it seems dry. Do you guys bother burning it? Seems like a waste of fuel to let it sit there

 

[HisTreeNut]

We use it to start fires and for small fires to get the chill out of the house.

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[jetsam]

I burn it. Good BTUs in bark, and if it has fallen off it is thin enough to fit in the cracks when loading the stove!

I've also burned entire loads of bark and splitter chips and sticks. Free heat for a day when you are around to reload frequently!

 

[XmasTreefarmer]

I do save those big slabs of Oak bark and put those in when I load or sometimes will just do a "bark fire". Those pieces are often a full inch thick - lots of heat in there! It burns well when dry and as several have said, I just hate to waste anything - I call those fires with bark my "free fires" because I'm heating without touching my main wood!

Burning bark does seem to leave a lot more ash - that's not a problem, just be ready for it.

 

[jotul8e2]

If it is dry it will burn clean, but expect a lot of coals, a lot of ash, and a lot fewer btus. A stove full of hardwood bark will burn down and leave you with a stove half full of coals that will take hours to burn down.

 

[Moranaj]

Thanks for the replies. I was asking because im home all weekend which is rare so i have the time to keep feeding it and get rid of some of my less desirable stuff. Not burning as hot but it seems to be burning just fine

 

[Dataman]

If your lucky it has some big black shield bugs in it too. They provide Wonderful Heat. I would just sweep it all up and put in in Trader Joe's bag and then use it for starting the fire up. All one nice neat bundle and with paper TJ bag all burnable. Alas sold my stove last May and went Pellet. No longer can sing the song. "Throw another bug in the fire....:>)

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Its burnt. I stuff it between the splits and on the top to seek that last few btu out of a load.

 

[begreen]

It'll burn. If there is a lot of bark you may find a large amount of clinkers in the ash due to the high silica content.

 

[SpaceBus]

The only bark I find myself purposely burning is birch bark to help start fires. I try to strip the bark otherwise and I use it for mulch.

 

[SpaceBus]

As begreen says, bark ash does have more clinkers. My riddling grate deals with it and I plan on using my wood ash to help gain traction when my gravel drive turns to ice again.

 

[WiscWoody]

I use dry bark as part of my kindling. Not much goes to waste when it comes to what I throw back into the woods when I process my firewood.

 

[rwhite]

I don't purposely burn a lot of it. If any falls off it the stack I burn that. All the stuff that accumulates when I split gets raked into a big pile, grab 1 or 6 cold ones and light it off and relax at the end of the day.

 

[XmasTreefarmer]

You just never know what you are going to learn on this forum. Today I learned that I need to involve beer when I sit down and admire my work of the day! (it would be in a bottle of course).

I always sit down and appreciate what I've done. Sometimes it's a tree on the ground and limbed. Other times a nice stack that I just split. I have started occasionally smoking my pipe for a bit before I head back home and put equipment away. Sounds like a beer would fit right in with a smoke.

 

[Dix]

I burn it, usually to start fires from a low coal bed when I don't want to waste a Super Cedar

Bigger pieces also come in handy for kicking off a fire when you get some sizzling firewood

 

[Stelcom66]

I burn bark, also use it instead mulch in certain areas of the back yard. It looks different, but good IMO. I can't see throwing any burnable wood out.

 

[firefighterjake]

I'll save the birch bark if it comes off in big pieces . . . simply because it's a great fire starter.

 

[Dabster13]

I burn it. Good BTUs in bark, and if it has fallen off it is thin enough to fit in the cracks when loading the stove!

I've also burned entire loads of bark and splitter chips and sticks. Free heat for a day when you are around to reload frequently!

Also great to burn on the warmer days as you don't need that much heat form the fire. Save the good stuff for the really cold days

 

[CincyBurner]

Lots of Btu, good coaling, lots of ash afterward.
I experimented with bark only loads last season after I realized I was leaving a lot of bark on the ground - lots of oak bark that just falls off after 2-3 seasons, but usually has lots of powdery frass that I didn't want to bring inside.
Bark might be wet on the surface, but since it's bark it doesn't hold moisture and doesn't need to season like wood. I let it dry out in box on the porch.
I lay a load of bark on hot bed of coals and usually burn after dark: Lots of smoke for a few minutes until hot, with quick change-over when the secondary burn kicks in, then burns hot and clean. It leaves a surprising amount of coals.
Good for in between full loads in evenings, shoulder season burns, and spring clean-up at the end of season.

 

[Dix]

I keep 2 - 3 milk crates of all kinds of bark. 1 for the back deck, ready to come inside if needed, and 2 out in the stacks, top covered with the firewood. Replenish as it falls off, was spliiter trash, etc.

I also keep an old garbage can with a craked bottom full, still have the lid. Got it from a friend 15 years ago, or so