Half punked

[Lyndenbrook Farm]

Old oak tree taken down this year. There is a solid core of wood for much of its length and some yucky stuff outside

For a guy who has no headstart on next year's woodpile, is it worth trying to salvage some btus? How would you do it?

Thanks

 

[gzecc]

If it were 1/2 I would probably toss it aside. Thats maybe 15%. I would split it to its maximum potential and let it season. The rot will disappear over time.

 

[Jags]

I have burned plenty of stuff just like that. Burn it. It makes heat.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

It will burn fine. The only issue is that the punky part will sponge up rain water like mad- so keep it covered.

 

[Sconnie Burner]

Have some of that in my piles as well. Got it covered right away and it dried out nicely. Most of it seems to just brush off now. The heart wood still looks great and thats where all the btu's are! BURN IT!

 

[Lyndenbrook Farm]

Thanks, guys!

It is going to be headed to next year's pile, then.

I am new to our home and new to having a wood stove, and this forum sure has taken the pain out of some learning. I sure do look forward to a time of being 2-3 yrs ahead in the CSS dept.

 

[nrford]

Looks like Cherry from those pics.

 

[Lyndenbrook Farm]

Looks like Cherry from those pics.

You could be right. We had a couple taken out next to each other, one of each. Oh, and a metric buttload of dead ash, too.

 

[BobUrban]

built in kindling/fire starter. Burn it!!

 

[firefighterjake]

Yes.

Option A: Buck to length. Split. Keep dry. Season. Burn . . . bonus: built in tinder.

Option B: Buck to length. Split. Split off punk. Keep dry. Season. Burn . . . bonus: no mess from the punk falling off.

In either case, there's still a lot of "meat and heat" left in that wood.

 

[Lyndenbrook Farm]

Yup, imma gonna burn it

 

[red oak]

It will burn fine. The only issue is that the punky part will sponge up rain water like mad- so keep it covered.

Exactly!

 

[Rebelduckman]

You could be right. We had a couple taken out next to each other, one of each. Oh, and a metric buttload of dead ash, too.

It's cherry without a doubt. I've cut 3 cords of it this year. Cherry is pretty easy to identify because of the raised plates on the bark.

 

[Woody Stover]

Looks like Cherry

raised plates on the bark.

Yep, I can see a bit of the bark there. Black Cherry heartwood is very rot-resistant. I found a down trunk this spring, all the sapwood rotted off but the heart was still solid. I'd venture to say that if you split that and put a meter on it, you'd find it very close to 20%...ready to burn this winter. As mentioned, the rotted sapwood will hold water, and Cherry heart seems to absorb a little water in my stacks, which are just top-covered and get a little rain on the sides. Doesn't absorb too much, just saying cover it as well as you can. It's a pain to split the punk off but if it just scraped off easily with a hatchet, I might mess with it. Cherry is good medium-output wood and smells great in the stove. Grabbing dead stuff is a good way to get ahead for next season, especially if you can find small dead-standing trees with the bark off. Bigger Oaks may look dead and dry but when you get down into the trunk wood, it's still often in the high 20s moisture content, and will need at least 2 yrs. split and stacked.

 

[Rebelduckman]

Yep, I can see a bit of the bark there. Black Cherry heartwood is very rot-resistant. I found a down trunk this spring, all the sapwood rotted off but the heart was still solid. I'd venture to say that if you split that and put a meter on it, you'd find it very close to 20%...ready to burn this winter. As mentioned, the rotted sapwood will hold water, and Cherry heart seems to absorb a little water in my stacks, which are just top-covered and get a little rain on the sides. Doesn't absorb too much, just saying cover it as well as you can. It's a pain to split the punk off but if it just scraped off easily with a hatchet, I might mess with it. Cherry is good medium-output wood and smells great in the stove. Grabbing dead stuff is a good way to get ahead for next season, especially if you can find small dead-standing trees with the bark off. Bigger Oaks may look dead and dry but when you get down into the trunk wood, it's still often in the high 20s moisture content, and will need at least 2 yrs. split and stacked.

Yep I just cut a dead red oak up about 20" or so and the bottom 3rd of the trunk was in the upper 30's. This tree had been dead for several years and had recently came down.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

I have burned Red Oak and Cherry that was more punky than that. You've made the right call- keep it and burn it.

In my case, I spent some additional time with a hatchet chipping away the punky wood after splitting. Many would not bother with that. In my experience it really helped the wood to dry out and season. Punk can be just like a sponge, likes to keep soaking up rain water if it can. It all depends on how well you can get it under cover, and if you are willing and able to give the wood a couple of years to season- after splitting. Punky wood also burns just fine, provided you get it well covered (in a wood shed). OTOH if you expect to just grab it, buck it, split it, and burn it right away, you are in for a miserable experience. You waste a lot of BTU's just heating the water trapped in the punky wood. Only thing worse is trying to burn clean but green wood.

 

[Paulywalnut]

That punky oak is better than some of the whole firewood you get. That's good heat. Split it in half to get some air to the good stuff.

 

[Nelson]

Looks like Cherry from those pics.

Was thinking the same thing based on the bark and the heart of the wood. Either way, stack it up and it will burn just fine.