First off let me say thank you ! You all have been so helpful . You have opened my eyes to the correct way to burn wood . About my wood problem , I've been thinkin about going to the saw mill and getting slab wood that they saw off of the tree to get it square .a lot of it is hard wood 2 - 3 " thick . It's already cut on one side and it would be super easy to split . It would probably dry a lot quicker to if stacked right . And it's cheap 10$ a truck load . Does this sound feasible to you all ? Big wood is going to be super hard to get with the way people think around here .
Saw mill wood
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Ashful
Minister of Fire
There have been many slab wood burning members here in the past. Keep in mind, it's mostly sapwood, so not the same BTU rating as regular cordwood of the same species, but it still burns just fine.
paul bunion
Minister of Fire
Need to be a little cautious on the claim that sapwood with bark has less btu's than heartwood. In fact, it may have more or about the same, depending on the species. Some pines in particular have quite a bit more btu's in the sapwood and also in the bark due to accumulated sap. As a general rule though, all wood and other cellulose material has the same btu/lb when dried to the same moisture content. With cord wood the variation comes mostly in relation to the sap/resins and other volatiles in the different parts of the bark, sapwood and heartwood, as well as the amount of non-cellulose in the bark. I wouldn't be concerned about any differences.
You may see claims that heartwood has more btu's because it is denser - a bogus claim. Pound for pound, same moisture content, all wood has about the same btu's. Yes, a particular volume of heartwood may have more btu's than the same volume of sapwood/bark, but that's only because it is heavier.
I regularly burn pine slab wood in my Tarm gasification boiler. Works great. But be aware that due to the large surface area of slab wood compared to heartwood splits, the slab wood may tend to burn faster and hotter and you may need to do an intake air adjustment on your boiler.
You may see claims that heartwood has more btu's because it is denser - a bogus claim. Pound for pound, same moisture content, all wood has about the same btu's. Yes, a particular volume of heartwood may have more btu's than the same volume of sapwood/bark, but that's only because it is heavier.
I regularly burn pine slab wood in my Tarm gasification boiler. Works great. But be aware that due to the large surface area of slab wood compared to heartwood splits, the slab wood may tend to burn faster and hotter and you may need to do an intake air adjustment on your boiler.
brant2000
Feeling the Heat
I've gotten some in the past and was thinking about trying to figure out how to get a triaxle load of some this spring. It's hit or miss on how much the nearby mill happens to have laying around at any given time. Obviously depends on what species they've got, but I have found that it dries much quicker than your regular splits.
Jon1270
Minister of Fire
If the slabs are of good firewood species, go for it. Last year when I had to buy firewood, a seller slipped a bunch of sapwood into what was supposed to be a load of split cordwood. Most of what he gave me was basswood, which wasn't worth the space it took to store it, but the few slabs of denser, thinner-barked species were just fine. If you buy directly from a mill then it will probably need to be cut to length so a sawbuck might come in handy.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
I'm glad you qualified the first two sentences with the third. Speaking of hardwoods, sapwood generally has lower BTU's per cubic foot. Who cares about BTU's per pound? I'm limited by the cubic footage of my firebox, not the load bearing capability of the stove.
Either way, anything that you can load into the stove and convert to heat for $10 / truckload isn't a bad deal.
This is my first full winter of burning and I was going to be short of dry wood so I have gotten about 1.5 cords of slab wood. It has worked out pretty well. It dries fast so that is a big bonus. However, as people pointed out, it burns much hotter and faster than cord wood so you have to be attentive when you burn it. I burn it when I am home during the day and I don't mind thowing more wood in every couple of hours. I save my bigger cord wood for overnight burns and for when I'm at work. Over all it has worked out well. In the future even though I wont need it I might still get some just have to get fires going quick or to use in the shoulder seasons.
I'm paying $30 for 2/3 of a cord and it is already cut to stove length. Pretty good deal.
I'm paying $30 for 2/3 of a cord and it is already cut to stove length. Pretty good deal.
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Get yourself at least a 10" chop saw .IT will make short work of the slabwood . That will be the best $10 you ever spent.
You may care only about the volume when burning the wood, not the weight, but you might consider caring a whole lot about the weight when you are buying wood. Wood is sold by the cord, a volume amount, not by weight, and equal volumes of wood vary considerably in weight. Buying hard wood by cord volume may be penny wise but very much pound foolish.
mstoelton
Feeling the Heat
Jon1270
Minister of Fire
Well yeah, but by volume is the only way it's legal to sell firewood in most places. That's why density matters. I don't think you and Joful disagree on that point at all.
My best understanding (from quite a lot of reading on the topic) is that the supposed heartwood/sapwood density difference is pretty much a myth, or at least a wash if you're trying to arrive at a useful rule of thumb. In some species heartwood is a bit denser, but not many species and not much denser. In most cases it's pretty similar. But, the differences between wood and bark can be dramatic, and are of course especially important when dealing with slabwood. Take black locust, for example: the bark is thick and soft, with less than half the density of the wood and deep furrows and voids that just take up space in a stack and deliver no heat at all.
The question, I think, ought to be whether we can come up with simple guidelines that are correct often enough to be beneficial for those just getting their bearings. Of course it helps to remember that they're just shorthand rules of thumb, not laws of nature; it pays to learn about the exceptions.
Very on point. Nothing wrong with burning slab wood just be aware that it may act different than cord wood. Generally being thinner with more surface area than cord wood.
You will produce a bit more ash than cord wood, also.
At 10 bucks a truck - I would grab some up - even if it were for the shoulder seasons.
I used to get oak slabwood for $0.00 from someone building custom shipping pallets.
Just throwing it in a pile didn't do much for keeping the bottom of the pile dry.
Cutting as if they were rounds/splits and stacking didn't work.
We made layers, a couple thwrtswide, then a layer of three or four the width of the thwartsides and then anothr layer of a bunch - just enough to keep some air going thru the heap - and it was a fairly ugly heap. Actually, several ugly heaps.
only had a table saw so that's what we used to cut to needed length when they were dry enough to use.
Any time it was nice in the Winter - sometimes after work , with a drop light in the back yard.
By then a lot of the bark was falling off and man oh man was there a lot of bark.
All raked into the woods and there is some nice grass growing there now.
Also burned pallets.
I'd rather burn dry slabwood .
Would also rather buy dry wood than the above.
When you're trying to save money or don't have any, you do what you gotta do.
Just throwing it in a pile didn't do much for keeping the bottom of the pile dry.
Cutting as if they were rounds/splits and stacking didn't work.
We made layers, a couple thwrtswide, then a layer of three or four the width of the thwartsides and then anothr layer of a bunch - just enough to keep some air going thru the heap - and it was a fairly ugly heap. Actually, several ugly heaps.
only had a table saw so that's what we used to cut to needed length when they were dry enough to use.
Any time it was nice in the Winter - sometimes after work , with a drop light in the back yard.
By then a lot of the bark was falling off and man oh man was there a lot of bark.
All raked into the woods and there is some nice grass growing there now.
Also burned pallets.
I'd rather burn dry slabwood .
Would also rather buy dry wood than the above.
When you're trying to save money or don't have any, you do what you gotta do.
paul bunion
Minister of Fire
How can you say that? Unless the wood is kilned to 0% moisture content you are also buying quite a bit of water and you have no way of knowing how much. If I were selling to you I would be sure to store your wood in a swimming pool before delivery. When sold by volume all you need is a little bit of experience to tell what species you are getting and the condition it is in along with a tape measure.
Pulp mills on the other hand do buy by weight, but they know what they are doing.
Fred Wright
Minister of Fire
Yup... for $10.00 a load, get it. You didn't say if the mill loads it for you or if you'll have to load it yourself. If it's a self-load scenario, pick through to get the best stuff. Often, that's gonna be buried under the junk. 
There's a sawmill down the road a piece with a mountain of slab wood they sell cheap. We haven't gotten any but our Amish neighbor gets a trailer load of it every year. According to him it's time-consuming work since they have to paw through it and load it themselves. But they take only what they want, not the junk.
There's a sawmill down the road a piece with a mountain of slab wood they sell cheap. We haven't gotten any but our Amish neighbor gets a trailer load of it every year. According to him it's time-consuming work since they have to paw through it and load it themselves. But they take only what they want, not the junk.
Welcome to the forum Firecattr1.
We used to sell slab wood and many were happy to get it. My suggestion is usually to burn it but mix it with your regular firewood. Also realize that it will still be dependent upon the type of wood it is as to how well it will burn and how much heat you will get. If it is softer wood, you have to be very careful lest you overheat the stove. Usually when folks burn slabs, they will not fill their stoves because of the risk of overfire.
You are correct that the slabs can and will dry faster. The two best ways we found for cutting up the slabwood is with a buzz saw or with an H sawbuck. If you build the H sawbuck, build it so that you can put in about 10 or more slabs at a time as this will shorten the time it takes to cut it up. Also, how far apart the horns of the H is should be dependent upon the length of your bar. If you have a 20" or a 25", make the sawbuck so you can maximize the cutting.
A couple years ago a neighbor had some but because of an injury asked if I'd cut it for him. There was only about a cord so I just took the saw and started cutting. No sorting or separating; I just cut wherever I could. It did not take long to get the job done.
Paulywalnut
Minister of Fire
Make sure it's real dry. It burns good. Depends on kind of wood. 10.00 bucks is very good. Get as much as you can.
Yup... for $10.00 a load, get it. You didn't say if the mill loads it for you or if you'll have to load it yourself. If it's a self-load scenario, pick through to get the best stuff. Often, that's gonna be buried under the junk.
There's a sawmill down the road a piece with a mountain of slab wood they sell cheap. We haven't gotten any but our Amish neighbor gets a trailer load of it every year. According to him it's time-consuming work since they have to paw through it and load it themselves. But they take only what they want, not the junk.
Fred, what would you consider to be the better pieces, and what's the junk?
paul bunion
Minister of Fire
Amish sawmills up here sell slab wood, its usually Oak and Maple 3" thick in the middle. They sell them in bundles that are 2/3 cord for $35, so I have been told... and delivered <35 miles if you buy 10 bundles. I've seen the Oak and it was nice stuff! I'd be loading up $10 truck loads no problem!
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