Nor'Easter in the mid atlantic! Should be some wet wood down soon.

[tickbitty]

We are having another epic flood in tidewater VA. Lots of rain, fair amount of wind, and flooding. My power just blinked out and then came back on a few secs later. Hope I can at least get another load of wash done, PULEEZ

This looks to be getting potentially pretty close to the flood level that Isabelle did here about 6 yrs ago. Major damage.

Well, the bright side is there will be a bunch of oaks and poplars down regardless. It doesn't have to be from the wind, these tend to go down when the ground is saturated. Gated community near here is full of poplars. Are they real good for burning? Cause I really dislike those trash trees. The oaks make me sad though. Especially when they are coming through people's roofs.

My stove is not yet installed so we will have fireplace only if the power goes out, boo! And a flooded utility cellar. (I have an inverter and a battery for that which will work for a little bit.)

Also no chainsaw yet. Oy. Downed wood soon and no chainsaw. Have truck though!

 

[CowboyAndy]

poplar isnt the greatest. but if you can get it easily and in abundance, i say go for it. it wont burn nearly as long as oak, but for spring and fall and times when you are around to feed the stove all day they will burn...

 

[zzr7ky]

Maybe a a trip to the local saw shop is in order. Perhaps a good used saw and some protective chaps are in order. Just to 'get your feet wet'...

Oak or Poplar will take a year to season. However I've had some luck separating any larger dead limbs and burning them sooner. First year is hand to mouth...

Good Luck,
Mike

 

[smokinj]

Maybe a a trip to the local saw shop is in order. Perhaps a good used saw and some protective chaps are in order. Just to 'get your feet wet'...

Oak or Poplar will take a year to season. However I've had some luck separating any larger dead limbs and burning them sooner. First year is hand to mouth...

Good Luck,
Mike

+1

heck why your there grab a 880 and 460,361,and a 200t And get buzy!

 

[Wet1]

Jay,

I doubt he's that into it yet, me thinks he might be able to get along with just a 660, 361, and a 200t.

 

[smokinj]

Jay,

I doubt he's that into it yet, me thinks he might be able to get along with just a 660, 361, and a 200t.

well I was thinking if those oaks where that nice then milling would be much easier with a 880 and a 60in. cannon bar!

 

[Wet1]

:cheese: :cheese: :cheese:

 

[tickbitty]

Me's a she, and I don't know what all these numbers you are throwing around are!

 

[Fuelmaker]

Now you tell us! Damn, now I have to put some pants on.

 

[smokinj]

Me's a she, and I don't know what all these numbers you are throwing around are!

the 880 is a 120 cc saw the 660 is a 90cc 460 76.5cc 361 is a 59cc and the 200 t is a 35 cc top handle saw

 

[tickbitty]

Thanks! (Still lost though, but learning!) :red:

 

[Joey]

Blowin about 50 mph on my wind meter right now in coastal NJ. Have the stove crusin at around 500 degrees and puttin out some heat. The wind is howlin, big time, but I guess ya just get used to it. Gonna check on the boat in a bit, tidal surge is supposed to be 5 ft above normal. Gonna hunker down for the night, get the flashlights ready, pack the stove, and enjoy a week ending cocktail,,,i'm off tomorrow,,thank God. All my wood is covered, just hope it will make it thru the night.

 

[Joey]

Tick...that was a great reply...."he's a she"............lololol...love it........good luck with the storm....!!

 

[bigtall]

My experience with poplar has been pretty good, considering I always heard that it wasn't good firewood. It is not too hard to split, burns good (long) and really hot. Not as long as oak or hickory, but a lot longer than pine. It may not be "premium" firewood, but it aint bad.

 

[Cedrusdeodara]

Wow, harvesters of standing dead trees like me should be looking forward to a "safe" harvest next week, as the noreaster takes out the widowmakers (I hope).

I visited my boat on the Delaware Bay today, in Money Island, the tide went from super high to middle, then came back in. No low tide. This could get really nasty.

My stove is humming at 550 degrees.. Toasty.

Brian

 

[geardoc]

We are having another epic flood in tidewater VA. Lots of rain, fair amount of wind, and flooding. My power just blinked out and then came back on a few secs later. Hope I can at least get another load of wash done, PULEEZ

This looks to be getting potentially pretty close to the flood level that Isabelle did here about 6 yrs ago. Major damage.

Well, the bright side is there will be a bunch of oaks and poplars down regardless. It doesn't have to be from the wind, these tend to go down when the ground is saturated. Gated community near here is full of poplars. Are they real good for burning? Cause I really dislike those trash trees. The oaks make me sad though. Especially when they are coming through people's roofs.

My stove is not yet installed so we will have fireplace only if the power goes out, boo! And a flooded utility cellar. (I have an inverter and a battery for that which will work for a little bit.)

Also no chainsaw yet. Oy. Downed wood soon and no chainsaw. Have truck though!

Where in the Tidewater area are you? I'm in Yorktown. Pretty nasty here, power blink a few times but stayed on. I was hoping to use my transfer switch set up I installed 2 years ago but since I have installed it the power has never gone off. Before that it would go off every time it rain or the wind blew.

 

[firefighterjake]

Now you tell us! Damn, now I have to put some pants on.

Still laughing a bit on the "Me's a she" statement as well.

Poplar . . . not the best wood, but every wood burns (well except for fossilized wood). Easy cutting and easy splitting . . . doesn't burn for a wicked long time, but once seasoned you'll still get heat from the wood. Good for the shoulder season fires.

Chainsaw . . . if you're starting out you'll want to go on the small to medium sized . . . any good shop should be able to set you up with a decent homeowner saw . . . something that would work well for scrounging and be light enough to handle easily for most of the wood you would be grabbing. No need to go with a monster saw with a huge bar or cc engine . . . plus these tend to cost a bit more.

 

[tickbitty]

I'm in Williamsburg and our power has been out since about 6:30 pm and will be out till some time this afternoon. Transformer went, but also apparently a maple down the street. My little utility cellar is indeed full of water. The inverter system we worked out with the pump only worked as long as the battery lasted and has been filling up since then. Oy. We need a generator. AND a chainsaw!

With news of the maple tree down the road which took down a power line, our elderly neighbors gathered in their driveway, pointing at my half dead maple that is on our property line, hanging over their driveway/garage as well as OUR new roof. Now that we will be woodburners, I won't be quite as sad about cutting it down so we can burn it. I really don't want to cut that nice tree but it isn't bouncing back and has those powder post beetles now. Because of where it is we need a professional to take it down though, and the two estimates we have gotten were for $1300 each. Yipes.

I can't believe we have power here at work because this whole place is under water - we are closed today but I came in to check on stuff. THe building here in the background is where I am right now, the water in the foreground is all supposed to be dry ground, and I took the pic while standing on the seawall with the James River behind me. This looks like it was about where the '96 or '98 storms (Ernesto?) ended up, but it's nowhere near Isabelle, thank goodness.

It's the field in this pic here

Thanks for the chainsaw info. I was checking craigslist but when you don't really know what you are looking for that's not necessarily a good way to go. ALso thanks for the info on poplar. So it doesn't burn long, but it's not all creosotey is it?
Have to leave here and go home to my cold damp no powered house. Wish we had the stove up, but I guess the fireplace will have to do. The power just blinked here so looks like we may lose it out here again after all. See y'all later!

 

[firefighterjake]

I'm in Williamsburg and our power has been out since about 6:30 pm and will be out till some time this afternoon. Transformer went, but also apparently a maple down the street. My little utility cellar is indeed full of water. The inverter system we worked out with the pump only worked as long as the battery lasted and has been filling up since then. Oy. We need a generator. AND a chainsaw!

With news of the maple tree down the road which took down a power line, our elderly neighbors gathered in their driveway, pointing at my half dead maple that is on our property line, hanging over their driveway/garage as well as OUR new roof. Now that we will be woodburners, I won't be quite as sad about cutting it down so we can burn it. I really don't want to cut that nice tree but it isn't bouncing back and has those powder post beetles now. Because of where it is we need a professional to take it down though, and the two estimates we have gotten were for $1300 each. Yipes.

I can't believe we have power here at work because this whole place is under water - we are closed today but I came in to check on stuff. THe building here in the background is where I am right now, the water in the foreground is all supposed to be dry ground, and I took the pic while standing on the seawall with the James River behind me. This looks like it was about where the '96 or '98 storms (Ernesto?) ended up, but it's nowhere near Isabelle, thank goodness.

It's the field in this pic here

Thanks for the chainsaw info. I was checking craigslist but when you don't really know what you are looking for that's not necessarily a good way to go. ALso thanks for the info on poplar. So it doesn't burn long, but it's not all creosotey is it?
Have to leave here and go home to my cold damp no powered house. Wish we had the stove up, but I guess the fireplace will have to do. The power just blinked here so looks like we may lose it out here again after all. See y'all later!

Hang in there Tickbitty . . . we're pulling for you . . . having been in a similar situation before in the Blizzard of '98 . . . lost power for 14 days.

Just keep thinking warm thoughts about that future stove and all that prospective future firewood which will soon be available.

Also, in regards to poplar and creosote . . . any wood can produce creosote . . . just make sure it's well seasoned before you burn it and burn at the appropriate (ie. hot enough) temps.

 

[tickbitty]

Power is back on, has been since about noon, earlier than expected! Basement is pumped and drying out without too much damage (just wet and dirty.)
Saw the tree that took the power out. It was a big maple, looked healthy but MAN was it rotten inside. Still a ton of good wood in it if one could go for it. The standing portion has to come down, you can see right out the other side of it in holes and it's heading toward more lines and their house! Yikes. Guy was trying to talk power company into taking it down for him but it didn't look like they went for it at least not yet.

Hey speaking of wet wood, is it bad to cut it when it's wet? How about REAL wet? These storms always bring UFLs (unidentified floating logs) up on the site where I work. They are usually bald. Could they be cut wet, dried for a year, and make good wood or is this kind of thing considered too wet forever?

 

[bigtall]

I don't think that they can be "too wet" to cut, just so long as they are not rotten. Cut, split, season, enjoy!

 

[SmokinPiney]

We're gettin hammered in southern NJ and the coast is gettin it even worse. The wind and rain aint stopped in three days and today it's been howlin! We were supposed to be duck huntin near AC in the AM but half the island's already under water so the ramp's pretty much inaccesible.

 

[bigtall]

There just isn't any excuse for cancelling a duck trip. The only one I could think of is "hospitalization." Other than that, you gotta go!

 

[gibson]

Weather is so crazy. In Rhode Island, I have seen the front line come and go over the past few days. The high pressure over us is what has caused the hammering to the mid-atlantic and my favorite summer vacation area OBX, North Carolina. The beach erosion and flooding is stunning. The media is not hyping it because it is not a "named" storm. We are getting rain now and the it is said that this will be a typical nor-easter that we get frequently from October thru May. We are getting big surf at the coast, but as long as it moves out as fast as predicted (24 hrs), we will be fine and wait for the next one, which will probably bring a foot of snow. Good luck to all of you down there. After traveling down thru NJ and Tidewater to the OBX for the past several years, I feel for you all and hope that all goes well from here.

 

[firefighterjake]

Power is back on, has been since about noon, earlier than expected! Basement is pumped and drying out without too much damage (just wet and dirty.)
Saw the tree that took the power out. It was a big maple, looked healthy but MAN was it rotten inside. Still a ton of good wood in it if one could go for it. The standing portion has to come down, you can see right out the other side of it in holes and it's heading toward more lines and their house! Yikes. Guy was trying to talk power company into taking it down for him but it didn't look like they went for it at least not yet.

Hey speaking of wet wood, is it bad to cut it when it's wet? How about REAL wet? These storms always bring UFLs (unidentified floating logs) up on the site where I work. They are usually bald. Could they be cut wet, dried for a year, and make good wood or is this kind of thing considered too wet forever?

Good news all around.

Wet wood: If you're asking about cutting up unseasoned wood (i.e. wood that came down with the storm) . . . no issues cutting it right away. If you're asking about cutting up wood that is wet from the rain . . . see the first answer . . . again no issues. If you're asking about logs that come floating up to you (a gift so to speak) and they're wet from being in a river, stream, lake, etc. . . . again, see the first answer . . . no issues . . . just cut them up, split them up and stack them and let them season for a year or so before burning. Heck, there is a pretty decent business with some loggers who salvage logs buried in lakes and rivers . . . many of these logs are left over from old river drives and the wood is particularly valued . . . and if this wood can be used after being in the water for years, then a floating log can also be used . . . providing of course it is not all rotten or punky.