I was at my friend's woods yesterday and hoped to get at least 3 cords bucked but we have cut up all of the deadfall and moved onto the standing dead but with needing to go up in the bucket to cut down hanging branches and then cutting a path through the rasberries, etc. to get to the trees, probably only got around 1+ cord done. I won't be able to get back down there until mid-May, just in time for the mosquitoes. Starting to panic I won't have enough wood seasoned for this winter. It is all elm so I may need to start taking all of the small branches I would normally drag to the brush pile.
Frustrated
- Thread starter wendell
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You are in the same situation I was in last year. I had moved to a renovated farm house and they had an old woodburner set up to work with the furnace. Problem was it was April when I moved in and had no wood. I set out cut every old dead elm that was standing, in addition to scrounging dead wood on the ground that wasn't punky. I made it most of the winter, but still cut up elm as winter went along. Burned real good, hot enough, just not long lasting. I had installed a HotBlast wood furnace to replace the old one. More efficient, just didn't have the fuel.
I now have six REAL cords of dead oak, some cherry, C/S/S out in back and am adding to my collection as I find wood. I have another 2-3 cord cut up in the woods, but don't have time to drag it out.
Good Luck!
I now have six REAL cords of dead oak, some cherry, C/S/S out in back and am adding to my collection as I find wood. I have another 2-3 cord cut up in the woods, but don't have time to drag it out.
Good Luck!
Deadwood is the answer. I've been burning a lot of it. Minimal seasoning will do ya. Let the raspberries ripen and pick them, then go back and get the wood. ;-) In my area, the berries come in the last week of June/ first week of July.
You may have to breakdown and lower your standards and burn some pine that no one seems to want down that way. ;-)
An idea anyways.
An idea anyways.
Cut it short. Wood is like a bundle of straws filled with water. Shorter straws will empty of water faster.
Matt
Matt
wendell said:
Well this is a case where things could be OK or really bad . . . it really depends on how dead the standing dead elm are in your case.
If the standing dead elm are on the smaller side and/or the bark is already falling off and bare in places there is a pretty good chance the elm will be dry enough to burn this winter . . . you'll have a good indication of whether the wood is "good" or not even without a moisture meter -- the really good standing dead elm I burned last year would split cleanly with little moisture. Generally, I noticed that this wood came from trees where the bark was falling off.
If the standing dead elm is larger and/or the bark isn't falling off, but instead the tree is simply dead based on the lack of buds/leafs, then there is a pretty good chance the elm will not be dry enough to burn this winter . . . again you'll have a good indication of whether this wood is "bad" for this year when you split it -- wood that is dead, but not dead-dead will be very stringy when splitting and will be notably heavier and "moister" compared to similarly sized dead dead wood.
Last year I got a late start on getting the wood in . . . and I have to say what really saved me was having several acres of standing dead elm which was dead-dead . . . occasionally I would burn a piece that was just dead and I would know it immediately as there would be a bit of a sizzle and the wood did not catch as quickly as the dead dead elm.
Splitting smaller will also help dry things a bit quicker . . . and as mentioned cutting shorter can also speed things a bit more.
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