narrowest diameter you'll save for burning (not kindling)

[mar13]

This time of year has me thinking of yard work and looking at what trees I should trim. (Yes, probably better done in the fall & winter....) With hardwoods (liquid amber, maple, apple, etc) what is the minimum size diameter of branches do you save for mixing in with your winter firewood?

My other option to just to haul it all off to the city's green waste dump. Having to pay for most of my firewood does influence my decision, so anything that's reasonably straight and 2 inches or more in diameter gets saved with the firewood. I use them in the early stage of my fires or to give a little boost to a dying fire. I often second guess myself as to whether this wood is worth the effort saving.

 

[GadDummit]

Depends on how hungry I am for firewood. If I'm low or think I'll run low, or just in a frugal mood, I'll save anything bigger around than my thumb. If I'm rich with wood I usually keep only stuff 2" thick or better.

 

[Sodbuster]

3" in the normal minimum for for me, although I'll accept smaller high quality hardwood for shoulder season. I have been more picky about cutting out Y's and other anomalies in the wood to give me nice easy to load/stack wood.

 

[kennyp2339]

2-3" branches, after that things get muted and even at 2" I question myself the worth of the size while loading the stove

 

[peakbagger]

If I am cutting on someone else's property, I shoto for 1.5" diameter so they feel I am not wasting wood. It its straight I usually so down to 2" on my own property.

 

[Ashful]

If it’s in my yard, it’s less work to just split and stack it, than to haul it away or burn it, so there I’ll split and stack right down to maybe 2.5” or 3” diameter, if it’s straight enough to split. I just halve them on the splitter, so they dry well, maybe not even necessary.

But if it’s in the woods, I usually don’t bother dragging anything but trunk wood out. All tops and branches are left to replenish Mother Nature. I’ll take any trunk over 8” diameter, maybe even 6” if it’s exceptionally straight.

 

[Sawset]

I would say 2.5-3"
Smaller stuff like that really takes a lot of pcs to make up any kind of volume. If I'm cutting, a lot of times it's a matter of motivation whether I'm in the mood to run around picking all of those little ones up or not. Volume is a matter of the diameter squared - so 4, 9, 16, 25 - small equals a lot more work for little gain. Usually it's worth the work to go after 2.5-3" and greater. Smaller, no, they get tossed on the brush pile.

 

[peakbagger]

I usually pick a hole or out of way spot to make a brush pile with the branches I leave in the woods. I find that the snow pack will usually flatten a brush pile made with smaller branches in one or two winters. Usually about 3 years out its hard to find much left. If on the other hand I leave bigger diameter wood that is strong enough to resist the crushing force of the snow so that it stays up off the ground, its takes a lot longer for the pile to go away.

The other thing I try to do with mixed success is cut before trees leaf out. In general the brush piles and amount of work is lot less if leaves aren't out.

 

[johneh]

3 inch for me anything less is a lot of work for little gain

 

[Kevin Weis]

Nothing under 3" for me.

 

[hickoryhoarder]

I like having plenty of two and three inch branches in the stacks. I always seem to use them up by January, so I'll probably start saving more. Lots of dead red maple around me that can be used.

 

[Dabster13]

I have like a 30 gallon bucket that i just fill in with sticks/branches after a storm hits. And i'll just throw a few pieces into the stove when loading logs in. Keeps the yard clean and provides heat for the house.

Depending on how high the winds are, and what size branches are falling, I've used just the bucket to heat the house for a day (during shoulder season)


When i stop burning all together, i'll create a branch pile that i will save for fall and just fill up the bucket every few days as i replenish the wood inside.

 

[Woody5506]

probably 4-5" or basically whatever I can split in half and not have it be a piece of kindling.

 

[firefighterjake]

2-3 inches.

 

[Firewood Bandit]

8-10". I just don't cut small stuff, too much effort for not a lot of wood. I very seldom cut tops.

Yes I am a firewood snob, Red & White oak plus hickory.

 

[Sodbuster]

8-10". I just don't cut small stuff, too much effort for not a lot of wood. I very seldom cut tops.

Yes I am a firewood snob, Red & White oak plus hickory.

Well, I know from reading some of your earlier posts, that you cut a lot of wood. I go down to 3" for shoulder season, and the smaller rounds help to fill the stove on the cold winter days, when a half split won't fit.

 

[Wiess]

I go down to 2", similar to Sodbuster I find the mixture of sizes good when loading the stove. Also useful during the shoulder seasons when a quick fire is required, I am burning mostly spruce and fir.

 

[SuperSpy]

For me it depends on how much bark is on the wood. If it's thin, I'll tolerate smaller bits of wood down to like the 2-3" range, but if the bark is thick it's not worth the hassle and extra ash for so little energy, so I stick to 4" or more.

 

[EPS]

There's always room in the stove for small pieces of wood. Waste not, want not.

That being said, I use the tire method when splitting (several rounds grouped together at once, sort of like a wack a mole thing) and if a small piece doesn't get split after a few attempts it gets added to the stack intact.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

If it’s straight I will go down to 2”. Makes for good kindling which I use a lot in the shoulder season. I also don’t like busting down my big splits to make kindling so the small stuff is a keeper for me.

 

[Grizzerbear]

If it is bigger around than my wrist and I can wrap my hand around my wrist lol. I really hate wasting wood. It all burns....some just faster than other.

 

[HisTreeNut]

Depends how much wood is in my stacks. The less wood I have in my stacks, the smaller pieces I am willing to keep. I have been keeping the house pretty warm with small stuff as the daytime highs do not warrant a raging fire.

Sent from my Mobile Interwebbery Thingy

 

[CountryBoy19]

My minimum is sort of floating based upon cost vs benefit. We all know the small stuff comes from brushing out a tree. Usually when I'm brushing out a tree I have to pick-up and move that brush one way or another. So it comes down to how much more cutting do I have to do to get at that next piece of firewood? If it's a straight piece I'll take it right up until it branches out a lot etc, even if that means the pieces are down to 1.5".

The reality is, that small stuff is some of the easiest firewood you'll get in many cases. No splitting, it's easy to handle, it can fit in the gaps in between the large pieces in the stack so doesn't take up anymore room. What's not to love about it?

 

[EODMSgt]

Depends on what mood I'm in and where the work is being done. If I'm cutting up trees on my property, I try not to waste anything. So unless I'm short on time, anything 2" and up gets saved and the rest goes in the wood chipper. If I'm out in the forest and have to haul timber back home, unless it's a rough year finding dead & down, I pretty much don't bother with anything under 3-4".

 

[Ashful]

A vote for our most boring thread, ever: this, or “what’s in your stove”?

Both were played out after the first half dozen responses.