Take a long-dead silver maple?

[dreezon]

I'm facing a shortage of properly seasoned wood because I didn't decide to buy a wood stove until about mid summer. I have access to a lot with about 25 trees, mostly walnuts, a few apple & pear trees, a couple oaks and a bunch of silver maples if I want them. (took a pear yesterday, half of which was dead and quite dry, but only half a truckload all told.)

There is one tree of pretty good size that has been dead a long time. It's silver from exposure, missing most of its bark & smaller branches, and I'm pretty sure by the bark that it's a silver maple. Could this be a partial answer to my wood shortage?

Is it worth taking, or should I move on to a half-dead apple or a mostly dead walnut? I also have access to some large hickory trees and sugar maples that I know I would like for future years but didn't think would be much help for this year. Also note, that I am running out of places to store it on my .25-acre lot.

 

[burntime]

I have burned long standing dead in my pre epa insert before I knew better. It does not throw the heat it should, gumms up the chimney, and makes for a miserable experience. If your that far behind and can not buy decent wood then mix in some dry scap wood and pallets... Apple will hold even more moisture... not sure about walnut. Either way its free wood, stack it for next year...

 

[smokinj]

silver maple is 20 btu's so pretty good stuff imo

 

[dreezon]

I have burned long standing dead in my pre epa insert before I knew better. It does not throw the heat it should, gumms up the chimney, and makes for a miserable experience. If your that far behind and can not buy decent wood then mix in some dry scap wood and pallets... Apple will hold even more moisture... not sure about walnut. Either way its free wood, stack it for next year...

So, are you saying that being dead for a long time doesn't really make it dry, but it would be OK for later... or are you saying there's something bad about wood from a tree that's been dead a long time. I have access to more trees (oak, pecan, hickory, sugar maple, locast & mulberry) than I could use in several years, so I don't need the wood ...UNLESS it's ready to burn this year.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I'd take it; Silver Maple doesn't take a real long time to dry. Take it down, split it up and stack it in the wind/sun and see what happens. But do it soon....

 

[firefighterjake]

Answer: There is dead and then there is dead-dead. From the sounds of it, I think you should take this tree down as it may be good enough to burn as it is . . . or with a few minimal months of seasoning depending on what the inside is like . . . but that said . . . I think I would also take the half dead apple and mostly dead walnut . . . they may not be ready to go now, but perhaps with a few months of seasoning . . . at the very least you would be getting a jump on next year's wood if you don't burn these trees.

 

[branchburner]

I have to disagree with Burntime. It really depends on the type and condition of the wood and how you treat it. Standing dead got me through last winter in great shape.
First, the wood has to still be solid, not punky or mushy. Oak and ash can stay sound for a long time, maple less so. You will know that as soon as the saw goes in - like a hot knife in butter is a bad sign. Once you cut a length and split it, you'll get the full picture. Even dead wood on the ground can be salvaged sometimes. I recently gathered some long-down oak and cherry, no bark. A half inch of punk on the outside, hard as a rock inside.
Second, it needs to dry. That outer layer, and sometimes the core wood, can hold a lot of moisture. But even though the wood is wet, it is usually seasoned. My experience last year (and I'm doing it again now) is that if i split and stack it loosely criss-crossed in full sun, it dries up in a few weeks, more or less. (Assuming no rain - cover and uncover accordingly. You are drying, not seasoning, so sun and air is essential. If it gets wet, you're starting from scratch.) Once dry, I move it into the barn.
A lot of times part of the tree is trash and part is good. There's a chance that maple is rotten to the core, but unless you're saving it for the woodpeckers, drop it and see.

 

[dreezon]

Yeah, by the looks of this thing, I would think it's bone dry, but it could be pretty rotten inside too.

The dead branches from the pear I just took of the same property were dry as a bone—looked, felt and sounded dry... so I was hoping most or all of the maple would be the same way.

 

[dreezon]

... There's a chance that maple is rotten to the core, but unless you're saving it for the woodpeckers, drop it and see.

Thanks. Yeah, I think that's what I'll do... drop it and see. Only trouble is, the property owner will want me to dispose of it one way or another, and the city he's in does not allow open burning.

 

[wendell]

dreezon,

Depending on how long they've been dead, it is most likely that if you need wood for this year that you are going to do best to drop what you can and take the 2-4" stuff for now (best if you have a moisture meter so as you start cutting to length, you can measure and see at what point you start hitting the 23-24% range, it might be a lot larger diameter before you get there). It is unlikely the trunks will be ready to burn so don't mix them in with the dry stuff and then get it stacked (and split if it needs to be) in the best location possible ASAP.

I just took down a dead elm and until I got to about 6" diameter rounds, the wood was at 19-20%, and at 8" they finally got up to 23% and then I put the rest of the wood in my 2011/12 stacks. I won't be burning this wood until later in the winter so I am quite confident it will drop 3-4% by then.

Will you be able to leave some wood stacked at this guy's place for a year? If so, buck up the rest of the trunks and stack them off the ground and worry about dealing with them after you've gotten as much dry wood as possible.

Good luck!

 

[CTburning]

The maple i burn dries fast. 6 months and it is hovering around 20% mc. Split them to 3" or so and you'll be good to go. I would totally stay away from oak then and use walnut and sugar maple for next year. my opinion

 

[dreezon]

dreezon,

Depending on how long they've been dead, it is most likely that if you need wood for this year that you are going to do best to drop what you can and take the 2-4" stuff for now (best if you have a moisture meter so as you start cutting to length, you can measure and see at what point you start hitting the 23-24% range, it might be a lot larger diameter before you get there). It is unlikely the trunks will be ready to burn so don't mix them in with the dry stuff and then get it stacked (and split if it needs to be) in the best location possible ASAP.

I just took down a dead elm and until I got to about 6" diameter rounds, the wood was at 19-20%, and at 8" they finally got up to 23% and then I put the rest of the wood in my 2011/12 stacks. I won't be burning this wood until later in the winter so I am quite confident it will drop 3-4% by then.

Will you be able to leave some wood stacked at this guy's place for a year? If so, buck up the rest of the trunks and stack them off the ground and worry about dealing with them after you've gotten as much dry wood as possible.

Good luck!

Unfortunately, I cannot leave anything on his property, but that makes sense about the smaller diameter stuff being more usable.

 

[burntime]

I can tell you that it is unlikely for it to be prime 20% moisture content. With that said, take it, split it small, stack it in the wind in a criss cross pattern. Hopefully when you dry stuff is gone this will be closer to ready. You usually have wet dead standing, and rotted dead standing. Rare in my parts to find something dry and ready to burn. Anything is possible, I am saying its just not probable... Either way you have more wood for next season...

 

[Diabel]

A guy down the street was cutting a walnut tree (nothing big... 12" round) dead for about three years. I grabbed it ALL (all 10 rounds). As I split one of the smaller rounds from he top of the trunk the moisture was 27% mid way down the trunk it was 35%, the bottom round once split read 43%.

 

[burntime]

Yep, thats what I have found as well...

 

[dreezon]

Makes sense when you think about it, the water would collect toward the bottom. Good point. What moisture meters are you guys using, and where do you get them?

 

[savageactor7]

The top 3/4 of the dead tree should be good to burn. Closer to the ground the wood is iffy when it come to burning it right away. Anythng porous will wick moisture from the ground. But that dead wood from the bottom will still season faster than any leafed tree harvested for firewood. Most of you have noticed how fast drift wood dries out...same thing.

 

[Wood Duck]

There is nothing wrong with the wood from a standing dead tree, but it isn't necessarily dry enough to burn. I think parts of the tree - probably including the upper half and smaller branches, will be pretty dry. The main trunk, especially the lower half, could be thoroughly dead but not very dry. Silver Maple should dry pretty fast if split and stacked, but it is already September, so there really isn't much time left to season before this winter.

 

[Dune]

Take the maple, cover the top enough to keep the rain off, burn it by midwinter, no problem. There is a huge difference between seasoning(aging) and drying(keeping dry).