Red alder score

[mar13]

I came home today to find a tree service working away two doors down. My neighbor, despite a burner, didn't want to hassle with cutting and splitting, so the tree service was hauling it away. That was a surprise to me, so they gladly dropped a truck load off for me. I was too late for the first truck load, but still a fortunate score. ( I told the tree service they can drop more good off from the neighborhood in the future... You gotta work on your connections!).

Red alder. Easy to split. I consider it a "soft" hardwood. It'll burn well in 2020-2021, but I think it loses noticeable btu after more than a couple of years.

 

[SeanBB]

Alder makes great charcoal.

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[SpaceBus]

Those are huge Alder! Around here we have speckled Alder, but it's not very conducive to stove use. I have cut and split some larger specimens though.

 

[Highbeam]

We burn lots of red alder. It is a hardwood but less dense than some other hardwoods. Thin bark, easy to process, and enough ash to keep coals for a long time. Many of us prefer it do Doug fir even.

They get very large. Not uncommon to cut 18” diameter trees that are very tall. Straight with few knots when they are mature.

That red sap will stain your hands. Careful.