Can I Burn Rounds ?

[carlo]

I had someone cut down a river birch on my property and the guys left me rounds (about 15" long) My woodburning stove accepts 18" max so the wood is perfect length. My question is I have a few rounds that are probably anywhere from 20" -26" round. Can I put one of these rounds in the stove with hot coals and burn the wood efficiently ? Will it burn correctly ? I don't have a splitter or a big enough ax to split the pieces...... just wondering because if I put it in the stove I don't know how I can take it out with some burning and the sheer size of it besides letting everything just die out.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Carlo, long time no see. I'd highly suggest you borrow a splitting maul or sledge and wedge to get that thing split. That big of a round just won't dry out worth a hoot nor will it burn worth a hoot unless you have a really big stove and it seems to me you don't have that big of a stove. Get it split and then give it some time to dry.

 

[stejus]

No way will rounds that big burn clean... Best to take splitter to them or a chainsaw to make cookies out of them.

 

[Joey]

+1 :gulp:

 

[bogydave]

+1
Split it. Birch especially needs split to dry, the bark is water tight & the center of big rounds will start to rot in a few years,
26" diameter is a big birch for up here.
Definitely split it :zip:

 

[WoodpileOCD]

What in the world kind of stove do you have that would have an opening big enough to even get that round in there. 20-26" x 15" ? The only thing worse than trying to get it in there would be trying to get it out all charred because it only burned the outside. That would be a real son of beech er birch or something....

 

[smokingolf]

Is this what they call a yuel log? %-P

 

[carlo]

Thanks for the replies folks. Hey, Backwoods Savage ...... tis the season, I'm back. I learn a little more every year from all you folks ...thanks.

And yes .... this was a big birch. I think it died because it got too big. I lost another birch a few years back that got crazy big also. I don't know .... can this happen with birches ? Maybe insects got to them as I noticed a lot of holes in the leaves, Whatever ..... they're dead

I guess I'll have to get an ax and maul and split these things. This tree has been slowly dying for years. as branches fell down I would throw them in the stove. I love how hot birch burns. I was thinking because most of the tree has been dead for a year now, maybe the wood is drier. I should wait longer anyway just to be safe.

And you know what ? That one real big round probably wouldn't even fit in my stove. Didn't even think about that ...lol My real concern, like someone said is if the round didn't burn, how would I get the darn thing out all charred and stuff.

Anyway ....I'll split them big suckers soon and let em sit for next year. Also, I might as well split the smaller rounds for the excercise while I'm at it

 

[weatherguy]

Carlo, get a Fiskars, you should be able to split those rounds pretty easy with a fiskars. I scored some birch on a scrounge this spring. They were cut over a year earlier, I split them open and they were still juicy inside.

 

[BlankBlankBlank]

Definitely split them. A tree service buddy of mine asked me to take some pine off his hands, saying it was dead when he cut it this year so would be ready to burn this year. Well, when I split them and tested, they were at 24%, a little on the high side. Some of them were higher and juiced out all over when i split them.

 

[jharkin]

You can split rounds that big with a maul or fiskars no problem- I have and I'm no expert. The trick is not to start by halving it like a smaller round. Work your way around lopping off a quarter at a time. Then knock down the corners. Once you get going its surprisingly easy.

 

[carlo]

OK .... the wood is still most likely moist even though the tree has been dead. No problem, i'll just burn it next season.

So a fiskar's ax is the way to go. What size ? I don't ever plan on splitting all my wood so I don't think I would need the most rugged of axes, but it would be nice to have a capable ax and splitter to handle rounds I may find or be given at times.

What make splitter also and size ?

 

[BlankBlankBlank]

OK .... the wood is still most likely moist even though the tree has been dead. No problem, i'll just burn it next season.

So a fiskar's ax is the way to go. What size ? I don't ever plan on splitting all my wood so I don't think I would need the most rugged of axes, but it would be nice to have a capable ax and splitter to handle rounds I may find or be given at times.

What make splitter also and size ?

I have a 25 ton SpeeCo that I bought from Blain's Farm and Fleet for $1250.00. I've owned it for < a month. Split ~5 cord. Goes through anything.

Also don't take my word that your wood is wet. Go to Harbor Freight. Buy their moisture meter for $12.99.

 

[Needshave]

I have some large knots set aside that I don't want to spend the time pounding on to split. I've been able to burn them down by stuffing in the stove when it's cold and build the fire on top. I do this when I'm home and able to keep throwing smaller splits on top to keep the fire going.

 

[tamarack]

I burn alot of birch. If the tree was so dead that the branches were falling off, there's a good chance the wood has already begun to rot. We only cut live birch for firewood around here, because anything dead or down has already gone bad. I burn birch in the round up to 6", after its seasoned for at least a year. Love birch = great heat.

 

[Gasifier]

What in the world kind of stove do you have that would have an opening big enough to even get that round in there. 20-26" x 15" ? The only thing worse than trying to get it in there would be trying to get it out all charred because it only burned the outside. That would be a real son of beech er birch or something....

:lol: Good one woodpile.

 

[carlo]

lol .... i just was reading the other thread about rounds and I just realized i was wrong in measuring the rounds. I thought you measured a round by measuring AROUND the wood. Sorry guys ..... I guess my rounds are about 9" in diameter. Big difference ...lol

But anyway .... can I burn 9" rounds ?

 

[mdocod]

Technically yes, you can burn any size piece that will fit in the stove. You may find it to be an inconvenience to keep such a large piece burning clean.

9" is probably too large for long term unsupervised burns. Around 6" rounds will usually burn pretty clean if you can get 3-5 of them in there together and that makes for an ideal over-night load but you'll need to practice with damper settings to see what setting is required to keep the larger rounds burning properly.

Eric

 

[NH_Wood]

Time to buy some basic tools! If you are going to burn wood and process some of your fuel, you need to (at least) own a splitting maul, wedges, sledge, etc. When you have big rounds, you split them. Start getting the tools to burn wood now - they will pay for themselves in short order). Cheers!

 

[WoodpileOCD]

lol .... i just was reading the other thread about rounds and I just realized i was wrong in measuring the rounds. I thought you measured a round by measuring AROUND the wood. Sorry guys ..... I guess my rounds are about 9" in diameter. Big difference ...lol

But anyway .... can I burn 9" rounds ?

That makes more sense. I was also trying to picture your biceps if you were going to be tossing 26" rounds in the stove. %-P

I would split even the 9" rounds if you can. I split a bunch of pine last year and left the smaller pieces in rounds but I'm seeing a huge difference in how the split pieces and the rounds burn. Wood just doesn't dry much unless it is split apart.

 

[mdocod]

A 6" round in my experience needs a couple/several years to dry properly. split pieces of similar average dimensions will season about 2-3X as fast.

 

[ecocavalier02]

lol .... i just was reading the other thread about rounds and I just realized i was wrong in measuring the rounds. I thought you measured a round by measuring AROUND the wood. Sorry guys ..... I guess my rounds are about 9" in diameter. Big difference ...lol

But anyway .... can I burn 9" rounds ?

lol. i was just wanting you to post pictures of you trying to put a 26 inch round piece of wood into your stove.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

lol .... i just was reading the other thread about rounds and I just realized i was wrong in measuring the rounds. I thought you measured a round by measuring AROUND the wood. Sorry guys ..... I guess my rounds are about 9" in diameter. Big difference ...lol

But anyway .... can I burn 9" rounds ?

I sure hope so! *looks at wood pile* It may take longer to dry based on species though.

I do know folks with OWBs that toss some amazing sized stuff in there.


Matt

 

[Backwoods Savage]

OK .... the wood is still most likely moist even though the tree has been dead. No problem, i'll just burn it next season.

So a fiskar's ax is the way to go. What size ? I don't ever plan on splitting all my wood so I don't think I would need the most rugged of axes, but it would be nice to have a capable ax and splitter to handle rounds I may find or be given at times.

What make splitter also and size ?

Carlo, there are plenty of folks who like the Fiskar's but if your dollars are tight you can pick up a 6 lb splitting maul a bit cheaper. Or you could get a sledge hammer and a couple of steel wedges. Either way you go they should last a lifetime. If hydraulics are in your budget, a 20-22 ton model will no doubt split everything you need splitting and expect to pay around $1000-$1300 for one.

 

[firefighterjake]

Can I burn rounds? Yes.

Can I burn rounds at the sizes I mentioned? No . . . not efficiently, safely or in a time frame that doesn't involve seasoning the rounds for a number of years . . . and even then it may be doubtful if the wood would be seasoned.

Split 'em up.