White Birch for Outdoor Wood Boiler?

[MNBobcat]

2 years ago I bought oak for $85 a cord in 8 foot lengths. Last year it was about $100 a cord.

I found a guy this year who will deliver 10 cords, 8 foot lengths, of a 50/50 mix of oak and white birch for $100 a cord. I've never burned white birch in an outdoor boiler and I don't know if it will go 12 hours like the oak or not. It is smaller diameter than the average oak log.

I want to make sure I'm not buying lousy wood. If I hold out for all oak, I'm not sure of this year's prices and I could end up finding nothing. What would you do? What is your experience with white oak?

The birch was recently cut. Not seasoned.

 

[LocustPocust]

White Birch is no Oak, but at $100 a cord I don't think that's a bad deal at all. You could use the White Birch during the day when you're around to refill your boiler and save the Oak for overnights and the very cold days. White Birch is like a Black Cherry or an Elm, not bad on the BTU scale.

 

[peakbagger]

As long a white birch is split its a good intermediate wood, it dries faster than oak but is not going to burn as long. If its not split it will rot in the pile in a matter of months.

 

[Shane Collins]

I'd be all over it for 100 cord.

 

[Applesister]

Yeah, but thats log length and 100.00 cord is the going price. No deals there.

 

[Seanm]

Did anyone see a recent Yukon men where Tanana brought in a massive amount of birch to feed the boilers? Its from a massive road building project into Tanana and put the guy who used to supply wood to them out of business. They didn't go into detail but I was thinking man that's a big pile of birch but it will be rotten by next year.

 

[TheAardvark]

Did anyone see a recent Yukon men where Tanana brought in a massive amount of birch to feed the boilers? Its from a massive road building project into Tanana and put the guy who used to supply wood to them out of business. They didn't go into detail but I was thinking man that's a big pile of birch but it will be rotten by next year.

Yep. I love that show.

 

[peakbagger]

It doesn't have to rot, just run a saw lengthwise up the length of the trunks and it will survive. (but it was a big pile of wood).

 

[Seanm]

It doesn't have to rot, just run a saw lengthwise up the length of the trunks and it will survive. (but it was a big pile of wood).

I agree. Thats what I do on my birch rounds that I dont split. I was yelling at the TV " You have to zip it! You have to zip it"! Maybe buddies firewood business will come back and he can add his new business as lumber mill and multi task!

 

[Toomb]

It doesn't have to rot, just run a saw lengthwise up the length of the trunks and it will survive. (but it was a big pile of wood).

Can you explain this technique?

 

[MNBobcat]

So I just got 10 cords delivered and another 10 coming. Half oak and half birch. We'll see how it goes. I won't be cutting the bark to dry the wood or anything like that. I hope to burn it all this winter.

I don't split wood unless its too big to handle. I don't stack wood. I pick a load of logs up with the grapple on my skid steer, carry them over to the boiler building and then I jump out and cut them to length and let them fall into a pile. I can cut enough in an hour to last a whole week. Then the next week I do it again. My goal is to not handle the wood.

If I have really big stuff, I have a 30 ton splitter that I built for the skid steer. I let the skid do all the work.

One thing with the birch is its going to be really easy to handle!

 

[Seanm]

Can you explain this technique?

Score the bark from one end of the tree to the other with your saw so that you penetrate the bark. The theory is that it allows the wood to breath since birch bark is very non porous.

 

[Toomb]

Huh.......Thanks. I learned something. Never heard of that before.

 

[aansorge]

So I just got 10 cords delivered and another 10 coming. Half oak and half birch. We'll see how it goes. I won't be cutting the bark to dry the wood or anything like that. I hope to burn it all this winter.

I don't split wood unless its too big to handle. I don't stack wood. I pick a load of logs up with the grapple on my skid steer, carry them over to the boiler building and then I jump out and cut them to length and let them fall into a pile. I can cut enough in an hour to last a whole week. Then the next week I do it again. My goal is to not handle the wood.

If I have really big stuff, I have a 30 ton splitter that I built for the skid steer. I let the skid do all the work.

One thing with the birch is its going to be really easy to handle!

I know that there are some outdoor wood boilers that don't require super dry wood, but that stuff has to be in the 30% and higher range and must burn like crap.

 

[MNBobcat]

I know that there are some outdoor wood boilers that don't require super dry wood, but that stuff has to be in the 30% and higher range and must burn like crap.

All my wood has burned fine. I've cut green oak and burned it the same day un-split. I have a theory on this. When the damper shuts down to stop the burn, the wood sits there on the bed of hot coals and cooks. I suspect a good bit of the moisture is baked out.

I've never had a fire not restart, due to green or wet wood, after the damper opens. I know I lose some heat value with not using well seasoned wood but my goal is to make this whole thing the least amount of work possible. Some guys are all into cutting, splitting and stacking wood for the fun of it. Not me. I have more important things to do. So this works for me!

 

[BCC_Burner]

I'm really glad I don't live downwind of you. You're the kind of person who gives conscientious wood burners a bad reputation.

 

[MNBobcat]

I'm really glad I don't live downwind of you. You're the kind of person who gives conscientious wood burners a bad reputation.

LOL! You have no clue how close homes are to me so you come off rather foolish making a comment like that.

 

[Rebelduckman]

Yep. I love that show.

Ditto! The new season of bush people starts tonight as well.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

LOL! You have no clue how close homes are to me so you come off rather foolish making a comment like that.

You have no clue how little that has to do with the issue.

 

[MNBobcat]

You have no clue how little that has to do with the issue.

Depends on the issue. If you're talking pollution then you're correct. If you're talking bothering the neighbors...all the neighbors have boilers or fireplaces and you can always smell smoke in the winter. Smoke from my boiler doesn't bother my neighbor a mile away. Smoke from his boiler is what he'll be smelling anyway.

Do you have winter in Virginia? I'm talking -20F below. Anything less doesn't qualify.

 

[BrotherBart]

Do you have winter in Virginia? I'm talking -20F below. Anything less doesn't qualify.

Don't they have moving vans in Minnesota?

 

[MNBobcat]

Don't they have moving vans in Minnesota?

I hear you! I tried to get my wife to move someplace where we don't get snow but she wouldn't budge. Me...I'd rather be living on the ocean somewhere.

 

[BrotherBart]

Our best forecaster around here has us figured for 50 inches in Jan. and Feb. this season.

 

[Rebelduckman]

-20 up there feels like about 20 here. When it gets in the teens down here it's COLD. Southern Wet cold is a lot different than northern dry cold. A buddy of mine left an oil rig in Colorado where it was single digits and he said he was fine. When he got home it was 30 here and he was freezing to death

 

[ElmBurner]

I've never had a fire not restart, due to green or wet wood, after the damper opens. I know I lose some heat value with not using well seasoned wood but my goal is to make this whole thing the least amount of work possible. Some guys are all into cutting, splitting and stacking wood for the fun of it. Not me. I have more important things to do. So this works for me!

There's two ways to look at it.

Using dry wood means you have less wood to cut, because you don't waste a bunch of energy boiling off the water.

With your method, you don't have to store the stacks for a couple years.

As long as you are OK with the tradeoff, it's really a six or half-dozen deal. I wouldn't want to process all that wood though...