Oak reigns supreme

[basswidow]

Usually my wood supply is a cocktail of various woods. I move it all into the garage in october and it's usually stacked in no particular order.

This year - I've got maple, black locust, cherry, and some oak.

Mostly I've been burning the black locust. With the blizzard and winds that went thru - it was brutal cold. I dug around and pulled some oak out of the stacks. The difference in heat output is amazing. Well seasoned oak REALLY puts out the heat. The black locust, cherry, and maple can't hold a candle to it. Makes me wish I had more of it. I manage to get some every year, but it's tough to scrounge up.

I usually try to manage my wood. Meaning - if I know it's gonna be mild, I'll fill the box by the stove with maple or some poplar. Get rid of the lower BTU wood on an easy day. If it's gonna be cold, I fill the box with locust and cherry. I'm gonna conserve the oak for the Brutal days when I can get the most of it.

Just an observation about burning OAK. I love the stuff and wish I had a boat load of it. I've never burned Osage - maybe I'll get lucky and score some of that too.

So - what wood are you burning this season that's really putting out the most heat for you?

 

[oldspark]

Well this ought to be an interesting post, I burn mostly Oak and it does put out a lot of heat, white ash is very good also, you are the first to claim Oak is better than BL, it is supposed to get below zero this weekend and I have about 6 pieces of BL so I might just try it out to compare.

 

[smokinj]

Oak hickory ash mulberry hedge beech.....Doesn't get much better. Beech will bring my water temp.s up the best.

 

[thewoodlands]

Oak hickory ash mulberry hedge beech.....Doesn't get much better. Beech will bring my water temp.s up the best.

Add Ironwood in that mix.


zap

 

[Backwoods Savage]

We don't have much oak here but I finally did cut some this year. It seems the ash is not quite as good after it dies so I plan on having some oak in 2-3 years and I'll burn that during the coldest nights.

 

[blujacket]

The only difference I've noticed when burning different species of wood is burn times. I don't notice any temp differences.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

blujacket, you are absolutely correct. One only wants the stove so hot no matter what he is burning. But the long burn times makes night fires much better.

 

[NH_Wood]

Basswidow: I've been working around this issue too. I have a LOT of white ash for the season, but also quite a bit of red maple, cherry, and white, yellow, and black birch. I've been pulling out the cherry, white birch and red maple for daytime burns, when temps are a little warmer and the stove can be worked as often as need be. I've been saving the white ash, yellow and black birch for night time burns to extend the burn time and for the higher amount of BTU's in the load. Pretty soon I'll need to go 100% ash for the rest of the season (probably in about 3 weeks). I do have a limited amount of red oak - nicely seasoned. The oak is set aside for night time burns only AND only when we have very cold nights - single digits. I only have enough oak to do about one week of night time burns, but the few oak nights I've done so far, I LOVE the oak. As you said, it pours out the heat over a much longer time than any other wood I have. But, looking at my stacks, 2011/2012 I'll have about 1/3 of my wood as 2.5 year seasoned red oak, 2012/2013 I'll have about 3/4 of my wood as 3.5 year seasoned red oak, 2013/2014 about 1/2 of my wood as 3 year seasoned red oak, and lastly, I've been working on 2014/2015 and have about 1.5 cord red oak and 1 cord white ash so far. I really can wait to have a good year with very well season oak and plenty of it. I'm guessing I'll be using quite a bit less wood - we'll see! We don't have much black locust around here (hardly any), but I've heard that is great stuff too! Cheers!

 

[thewoodlands]

[quote author="basswidow" date="1293652965"]Usually my wood supply is a cocktail of various woods. I move it all into the garage in october and it's usually stacked in no particular order.

This year - I've got maple, black locust, cherry, and some oak.

Mostly I've been burning the black locust. With the blizzard and winds that went thru - it was brutal cold. I dug around and pulled some oak out of the stacks. The difference in heat output is amazing. Well seasoned oak REALLY puts out the heat. The black locust, cherry, and maple can't hold a candle to it. Makes me wish I had more of it. I manage to get some every year, but it's tough to scrounge up.

So far this heating season we burn cherry during the day then at night we will burn some sugar maple for the overnight burns, better btu's with the sugar maple compared with the cherry plus longer burn cycles with the sugar maple.

Three splits of sugar maple on the bottom with two cherry splits on top and we are getting 8-9 hours and that is not closed down all the way, I'll take all the sugar maple and beech I can find.

Oak would be nice but I would have to buy it.


zap

 

[Thistle]

Oak hickory ash mulberry hedge beech.....Doesn't get much better. Beech will bring my water temp.s up the best.

Add Ironwood in that mix.


zap

+1 Absolutely. It dont get real big around here - 7"-8" is biggest I found,State record is only around 12" diameter,40' tall max.I havent cut much for fuel,mainly mallets,chisel & tool handles,makes awesome felling wedges,much better than those damn plastic ones.But it does burn with intense heat,leaves almost no ash.

Eastern Hophornbeam aka Ironwood

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

If I get my hands on Sugar Maple, I set that aside for upsidedown Fahrenheit nights. I do get white oak though, so that is my usual go-to wood when it gets cold.

It might be a different dynamic for guys with stoves. But with a boiler, I don't think it's a question of how much she puts out, it's more will she put out all night?

I'm getting confused though on this ironwood issue. To me, Ironwood has always been that smooth, muscled, dark{er than Beach} barked tree that grows almost like a bush, and dies before it gets very big. But some of you show something completely different for Ironwood? Explanation please :cheese:

 

[Thistle]

There are 2 small trees in midwest/eastern US commonly referred to as Ironwood.One is Hophornbeam,pic of with the thin shaggy bark.The other one is a distant cousin,generally a bit smaller with smooth bark,commonly fluted or 'muscled' trunk that is American Hornbeam,aka known sometimes as Blue Beech or Musclewood because the trunk can resemble the muscles in a flexed arm.They are closely related to Birch/Alder,in the same botanical family.Both woods are very hard & dense,just as much as most Hickory,yet not quite as Osage Orange/Hedge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpinus_caroliniana American Hornbeam

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrya_virginiana Eastern Hophornbeam

 

[thewoodlands]

If I get my hands on Sugar Maple, I set that aside for upsidedown Fahrenheit nights. I do get white oak though, so that is my usual go-to wood when it gets cold.

It might be a different dynamic for guys with stoves. But with a boiler, I don't think it's a question of how much she puts out, it's more will she put out all night?

I'm getting confused though on this ironwood issue. To me, Ironwood has always been that smooth, muscled, dark{er than Beach} barked tree that grows almost like a bush, and dies before it gets very big. But some of you show something completely different for Ironwood? Explanation please :cheese:

Official Name, Eastern Hophornbeam

http://www.google.com/search?source...lz=1T4DELA_enUS308US308&q=eastern+hophornbeam




zap

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

Rue the day I shall, when a new something I learn not.

 

[fishingpol]

Burning oak and maple now, used locust during the blizzard. I Have 1/2 cord of locust for Jan- Feb. Oak is the all around go to wood. Locust burns hot, it will get stove top over 600 without even trying if damper is not put down. I usually monitor locust burning more closely due to the high temps. Locust likes to burn hot. If dampered down too much, it does not seem to burn as cleanly. I do enjoy the few pieces of Elm even more, just a pain to split. Doesn't have the stink like locust. Between me and my neighbor, we can tell what is burning in the stoves from the smell when the wind pushes start-up smoke down into the yards.

 

[basswidow]

I also am concerned about burn times - mostly when I load up for the night. The locust, cherry, and maple all seem to make it through to a pile of coals come morning.

During the blizzard, temps were 9 degrees and sub zero with the wind chill. I had put plastic on my windows - all of which popped and came lose from the wind that howled thru! My living room was 66 and upstairs was 60 degrees. We actually had to crank on our propane heat which we haven't needed to do in quite some time. (We had company and didn't want them to freeze). Usually the wood stove will heat the house up nicely, but it struggled on Sunday. When I loaded in some oak though - I noticed an immediate heat output difference. Must be some really good stuff.

I know oak takes awhile to season - but once it's ready, it's hard to beat it.

Someday, I hope to build my own house and make the features and qualities I want in a home. Best windows, best insulation, etc. Until that day comes, I'll be burning the heck out of scrounged wood.

 

[Troutchaser]

Sounds like there is a bigger question here of if these woods burn longer and hotter, or just longer.

I was always under the assumption that red maple burned as hot as osage orange, just not as long.
Guy told me a month ago that he burned some Osage stumps and that they were giving off some unreal heat. Would red maple stumps not give off as much heat? Just burn faster?

 

[krex1010]

Since we are throwing out our favorite cold weather woods, I will throw a nod towards dogwood. I know it's not a common wood to run across when processing firewood but it is a great firewood, I have a good mix of ash, oak, maple, poplar and brad pear but my got to wood on the cold nights recently has been the dogwood. Burns long and throws a ton of heat and coals like a dream. I was lucky to have a few large dogwoods that were ivy choked and needed to be cut when I moved into my home. I'll be sad when i run out of it.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Sounds like there is a bigger question here of if these woods burn longer and hotter, or just longer.

I was always under the assumption that red maple burned as hot as osage orange, just not as long.
Guy told me a month ago that he burned some Osage stumps and that they were giving off some unreal heat. Would red maple stumps not give off as much heat? Just burn faster?

Indeed red maple does burn hot but does not last as long as hard maple or that osage. I like to burn it during the daytime hours but also tend to usually place one in the night burns. I place it front bottom where it will burn quick and help everything else get ignited and bring the flue temperature up. Once I turn the cat on though things slow down a lot....and I go to sleep. Last night I put wood in around 7:30 which is earlier than normal but we goofed and it needed wood so I just stocked it up for the night. At 9:00 this morning I put another load of wood in. Slept good too.

 

[CTYank]

If I get my hands on Sugar Maple, I set that aside for upsidedown Fahrenheit nights. I do get white oak though, so that is my usual go-to wood when it gets cold.

It might be a different dynamic for guys with stoves. But with a boiler, I don't think it's a question of how much she puts out, it's more will she put out all night?

I'm getting confused though on this ironwood issue. To me, Ironwood has always been that smooth, muscled, dark{er than Beach} barked tree that grows almost like a bush, and dies before it gets very big. But some of you show something completely different for Ironwood? Explanation please :cheese:

Definite ditto on the sugar maple. When a storm last March blew down a big-un right next to pavement near me, all else stopped until that was cut, loaded and hauled home. Only about a mile away. Five serious, riding-on-the-stops pickup loads.

That's sitting in an open mini-shed, facing south, ready to go. No rush, it's reassuring to look at.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

I have alot of Oak, I have been waiting to burn it as long as I could. It was dead for probably 20 years (killed by the gypsy moths in 1990) and I was not positive it was thoroughly seasoned as I cut it this summer. Most of it was less than 20 percent on the MM as soon as it was cut and split. To my delight it is burning great (especially the white Oak), no sizzle at all. It does burn for a long sustained time. I also have locust that is burning great, but saving most of that for next month. Next year I will try the Beech and Hickory and I will have enough Oak for several years.

 

[oldspark]

I dug out my 8 good size splits of Black Locust for last night (30 below wind chill south wind) and used it for over night, the difference between BL and Oak is not that noticeable for me, both are great woods that burn for a long time and have good coals.

 

[Dune]

I'm getting confused though on this ironwood issue. To me, Ironwood has always been that smooth, muscled, dark{er than Beach} barked tree that grows almost like a bush, and dies before it gets very big. But some of you show something completely different for Ironwood? Explanation please :cheese:

There could also be other species known by locale as ironwood, since it seems the locals in a given area simply name the hardest local wood ironwood.
Traditionaly, ironwood has been used for sheaves (pulleys) on ships, due to it's long wearing properties.

 

[Thistle]

I'm getting confused though on this ironwood issue. To me, Ironwood has always been that smooth, muscled, dark{er than Beach} barked tree that grows almost like a bush, and dies before it gets very big. But some of you show something completely different for Ironwood? Explanation please :cheese:

There could also be other species known by locale as ironwood, since it seems the locals in a given area simply name the hardest local wood ironwood.
Traditionaly, ironwood has been used for sheaves (pulleys) on ships, due to it's long wearing properties.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lignum_vitae One of the main woods that used to be called Ironwood,Lignum Vitae is the world's densest wood,at 83lbs/cubic foot & specific gravity at 1.32.Its main use until after WW II was bearings for propellors on ships.Also pulleys & blocks used in rigging on wooden ships.Self-lubricating,with a waxy resin that lasts decades underwater.

 

[Dune]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lignum_vitae One of the main woods that used to be called Ironwood,Lignum Vitae is the world's densest wood,at 83lbs/cubic foot & specific gravity at 1.32.Its main use until after WW II was bearings for propellors on ships.Also pulleys & blocks used in rigging on wooden ships.Self-lubricating,with a waxy resin that lasts decades underwater.

Nice link, thanks. I once owned a 60' steel workboat. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it had WOOD propeller shaft bearings! They lasted so long that when one finaly did need to be replaced, I used lignum vitae again, only because some of the old hands around the dock knew what it was and the whereabouts of the stock. (Flyer's Shipyard, Provincetown Mass). Flyer supplied the material and shaped the bearing himself, and IIRC was over 80 years old at the time, many years ago.