Slab wood for heating

[Thundermonkey]

Hi Gang!

I recently connected with a logging company that has tons and tons of slab wood that I was told they would give me for only shipping cost. with my log yard set up I could buy around 5,000-10,000 lbs at a time. where I am in Ohio It's mostly hardwood that people cut down (80/20 Hardwood/Softwood).

Does anyone here use Slab wood to heat? when dried how does it do?

I have two cords of two-year seasoned maple, so I'm planning for 24/25 and 25/26 season (currently have a Jotul F 100, I will use probably a chord a year to supplement current heating cost, and in the 25/26 season, upgrade to a Jotul F 45 to heat the entire house)

Thanks!

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

Hi Gang!

I recently connected with a logging company that has tons and tons of slab wood that I was told they would give me for only shipping cost. with my log yard set up I could buy around 5,000-10,000 lbs at a time. where I am in Ohio It's mostly hardwood that people cut down (80/20 Hardwood/Softwood).

Does anyone here use Slab wood to heat? when dried how does it do?

I have two cords of two-year seasoned maple, so I'm planning for 24/25 and 25/26 season (currently have a Jotul F 100, I will use probably a chord a year to supplement current heating cost, and in the 25/26 season, upgrade to a Jotul F 45 to heat the entire house)

Thanks!

Lots of folks use slab wood especially first year burners as it usually is easier to dry being thinner. However, thin can sometimes come at a cost of decreased burn times when compared to larger splits.

 

[Thundermonkey]

Lots of folks use slab wood especially first year burners as it usually is easier to dry being thinner. However, thin can sometimes come at a cost of decreased burn times when compared to larger splits.

If that's all I'm losing, that seems okay to me for drastic price savings by buying in bulk.

 

[DonTee]

If you can get some nice thick slab wood it isn’t bad at all.

If you have a really easy breathing stove it might burn up quicker, but if you have a stove you can really turn down then it doesn’t matter as much. I’m pretty sure I could burn toothpicks in my BK stove and still get 20 hour burn times

 

[bholler]

The problem I have seen customers have with slab wood is that it's hard to stack so it gets airflow so many times it doesn't dry well

 

[peakbagger]

IMHO you need to see it. Some slab wood has been on the ground for so long that its half rotted. The bark retains a lot of moisture and as discussed it tends to stack tightly without enough air to let it dry. If you are getting green slabs you can stack each row in alternating directions to get the air to it. That means more space required. The other trade off is more ash compated to rounds and depending on how the mill handles it more dirt in the wood which means shorter chain life. I do see a of places cut it and bundle it for campfire wood but I think its basically that they get it for free so if they do not sell it they have to dump it.

 

[Kevin Weis]

I ordered some one year many years ago. Never again. Mostly bark and sap wood. Stove didn't like it at all either.

 

[johneh]

Many years ago (first married ) we had no money for firewood.
A mill close by gave away slab wood tied in 1 cord bundles. There
logs were debarked so all you got was the slab of maple or oak.
We burnt this wood for 5 years without a problem. Because it
was cheap we were able to save enough to buy our bush lot
and farm. If you stack the first row flat side down next row flat
side up alternating rows it drys very fast. If I needed firewood
cheap I sure would not hesitate to buy it

 

[peakbagger]

I would probably hop in on that deal for debarked slabs. Get the bark out of the picture and a lot of issues I had stated go away. Debarking takes a lot of power so most mills just get rid of the entire slab, bark and all.

 

[Thundermonkey]

Many years ago (first married ) we had no money for firewood.
A mill close by gave away slab wood tied in 1 cord bundles. There
logs were debarked so all you got was the slab of maple or oak.
We burnt this wood for 5 years without a problem. Because it
was cheap we were able to save enough to buy our bush lot
and farm. If you stack the first row flat side down next row flat
side up alternating rows it drys very fast. If I needed firewood
cheap I sure would not hesitate to buy it

Awesome info, (from everybody too)

I'm hearing it's only good if it's debarked, and hard wood and recently cut so that it's not rotten.

I'm in the same situation as you, I could afford more, but am trying to find alternatives, to save up as well wherever I can.