wood that requires extra caution

[4fire]

Of course, burning any wood in your home requires caution. But I have some year-old Douglas Fir that requires a bit of extra planning. It has about a 1" layer of pitch on all the splits and it gets really hot really fast.
Any of this near the top of the fire box gets fed by the secondaries and it's game on.


High octane chit.
I cut this stuff a year ago. The center was punk, with a thick layer of pitch between the rot and the solid wood. I ended up using a shovel on the rounds to hollow the rot out before splitting.

 

[mass_burner]

Is that a regency insert back there?

 

[David.Ervin]

During last years "polar vortex" debacle, I found some osage in my woodstack that had been seasoning for two or three years. Figuring, "hey, it'll never be this cold again, might as well load 'er up!" turned out to be a mistake. Between the sparks it throws with the door open and the heat it makes with the door closed, I got several hours of toasty sleeplessness.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Hey Blacktail, have taken a moisture meter to that Fir? The ends of those splits don't look very checked.
As to the Fir pitch being high octane I can relate to that, although I always rather enjoyed the show. What I didn't like about doug fir was the way the splits would ooze and drip pitch when they warm up or dry out and shrink, which meant that I'd inevitably get it on my hand when loading the stove. I disliked that the most when reloading just before going to sleep, and I'd often have to deal with a bunch of sticky sap on my hands before going to bed. Also the sap would often drip on the floor somewhere and I'd pick it up on my socks and it would get tracked around the house,,, Grrrr... I quit cutting doug fir for that very reason. I now stick with lodgepole pine which has none of that sticky mess associated with douglas fir.

 

[MrWhoopee]

I'd be looking into splitting off that layer, cutting it in half lengths and splitting it very small for fat-wood starters. It's too flammable (and therefore valuable) to use the way you have it.

 

[TradEddie]

I've had a similar experience with well-seasoned Hickory this Winter. It's hard to light, and once it does take off, it gives off so much smoke, that it can't be controlled by regulating the air supply. A full load of hickory on a single-digit night isn't a mistake I'll make again. I was watching it every moment, the air was fully closed at 400F, yet I watched it roar all the way into the scary zone, even with the jacket fan on full speed.

TE

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Hey Blacktail, have taken a moisture meter to that Fir? The ends of those splits don't look very checked.

Douglas Fir doesn't check.

 

[jatoxico]

During last years "polar vortex" debacle, I found some osage in my woodstack that had been seasoning for two or three years. Figuring, "hey, it'll never be this cold again, might as well load 'er up!" turned out to be a mistake. Between the sparks it throws with the door open and the heat it makes with the door closed, I got several hours of toasty sleeplessness.

Pretty funny...from my computer anyway.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Douglas Fir doesn't check.

I wish that were true, then I wouldn't have all the checking and cracking I've been having on the outside fir doors I made.

 

[CRE10]

I wish that were true, then I wouldn't have all the checking and cracking I've been having on the outside fir doors I made.

That's beautiful!

 

[English BoB]

I wish that were true, then I wouldn't have all the checking and cracking I've been having on the outside fir doors I made.

Very nice.

bob

 

[4fire]

Hey Blacktail, have taken a moisture meter to that Fir? The ends of those splits don't look very checked.

Haven't put the meter to it. It's been stacked for exactly a year but I've only burned a chunk here and there for entertainment value. Most of what I'm burning this season is older than this stuff. I only cut 5 or 6 rounds of this pitchy Fir so I can just burn a piece at random times.
And I also have two shoe boxes of pitch that I pryed off with a knife.

 

[iluvjazznjava]

Hey Blacktail, have taken a moisture meter to that Fir? The ends of those splits don't look very checked.
As to the Fir pitch being high octane I can relate to that, although I always rather enjoyed the show. What I didn't like about doug fir was the way the splits would ooze and drip pitch when they warm up or dry out and shrink, which meant that I'd inevitably get it on my hand when loading the stove. I disliked that the most when reloading just before going to sleep, and I'd often have to deal with a bunch of sticky sap on my hands before going to bed. Also the sap would often drip on the floor somewhere and I'd pick it up on my socks and it would get tracked around the house,,, Grrrr... I quit cutting doug fir for that very reason. I now stick with lodgepole pine which has none of that sticky mess associated with douglas fir.

Interesting - I have had the opposite experience as you. I rather like the fir that I have been able to find and it's had a lot less pitch than any pine I have ever had. I burned a bit of pine early in the season and there is still a big sticky patch in the bottom of my firewood rack next to my stove from the (supposedly) seasoned pine I burned.

 

[Paulywalnut]

Won't that pitch clog up pipes or chimney flue? I know it burns hot but be careful of that stuff

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Interesting - I have had the opposite experience as you. I rather like the fir that I have been able to find and it's had a lot less pitch than any pine I have ever had. I burned a bit of pine early in the season and there is still a big sticky patch in the bottom of my firewood rack next to my stove from the (supposedly) seasoned pine I burned.

Where in BC do you live,and what type of pine are you burning? Was it cut green?
I generally cut beetle kill lodgepole pine that have been standing dead for a long time. There is no running sap in them because of the way they die from the blue bacteria the beetle introduces, it basically plugs the cells that carry the sap and strangles the life out of the tree and it desiccates in the sun and wind so badly that the trees develop long vertical splits that run the length of the trunk. Any sap that might be present seems to dry up and crystallize. On the other hand I've cut down 25 year old standing dead douglas fir trees and watched water gush out of the trunk as the fibers in the hinge twisted and compressed as it fell over. The trunks of douglas fir trees seem to hold a lot of water even when they've been dead for a long long time.

 

[Seanm]

As to the Fir pitch being high octane I can relate to that, although I always rather enjoyed the show. What I didn't like about doug fir was the way the splits would ooze and drip pitch when they warm up or dry out and shrink, which meant that I'd inevitably get it on my hand when loading the stove. I disliked that the most when reloading just before going to sleep, and I'd often have to deal with a bunch of sticky sap on my hands before going to bed. Also the sap would often drip on the floor somewhere and I'd pick it up on my socks and it would get tracked around the house,,, Grrrr... I quit cutting doug fir for that very reason. I now stick with lodgepole pine which has none of that sticky mess associated with douglas fir

I remember you saying awhile back that you didn't like fir for various reasons and I thought about asking you why but never got around to it..... I guess now I know. I have just under a cord of green fir in my yard that I c,s,s 6 weeks ago. Also due to the biblical low snow pack in southern BC I will be able to access the back country soon to drop 3 or 4 very dead firs. It will be interesting to see how the wood is close to the base of the tree. Like you say our beetle kill pine has very little sap to worry about which is also the same I find for the standing dead larch I process.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I wish that were true

For the purposes of woodworking of course it cracks/checks. For the purposes of wood burning (checking on the ends like deciduous species) it is virtually non-existent

 

[Lumber-Jack]

I remember you saying awhile back that you didn't like fir for various reasons and I thought about asking you why but never got around to it..... I guess now I know. I have just under a cord of green fir in my yard that I c,s,s 6 weeks ago. Also due to the biblical low snow pack in southern BC I will be able to access the back country soon to drop 3 or 4 very dead firs. It will be interesting to see how the wood is close to the base of the tree. Like you say our beetle kill pine has very little sap to worry about which is also the same I find for the standing dead larch I process.

Fir burn fine, and if a dead one happen to be in the middle of the lodgepoles trees I was dropping I would take it too (reluctantly), but I won't go out of my way for it. We have very little birch in these parts, I think it's too dry for them around here, what little we do have grows very close to rivers and streams, and BC firewood permits say we aren't suppose cut close to rivers or streams, and that's one of the rules I wholeheartedly agree with.

For the purposes of woodworking of course it cracks/checks. For the purposes of wood burning (checking on the ends like deciduous species) it is virtually non-existent

I wish I could go out and take a picture of some seasoned Fir splits for ya Redd, but alas, I have none. So we'll have to agree to disagree, unless maybe Sean can get a picture for us of some of his seasoned Fir splits and see if they have any checking or not. I can get a picture of some pine splits if that will do, or is it just Fir you think doesn't check at all?

 

[Seanm]

Fir burn fine, and if a dead one happen to be in the middle of the lodgepoles trees I was dropping I would take it too (reluctantly), but I won't go out of my way for it. We have very little birch in these parts, I think it's too dry for them around here, what little we do have grows very close to rivers and streams, and BC firewood permits say we aren't suppose cut close to rivers or streams, and that's one of the rules I wholeheartedly agree with.


I wish I could go out and take a picture of some seasoned Fir splits for ya Redd, but alas, I have none. So we'll have to agree to disagree, unless maybe Sean can get a picture for us of some of his seasoned Fir splits and see if they have any checking or not. I can get a picture of some pine splits if that will do, or is it just Fir you think doesn't check at all?

I was just putting tundra to bed (avatar) and was looking at the 6 week c,s,s fir I mentioned and its checked but very green,,, thinking it will be ready by November. Ill snap one tomorrow. The seasoned stuff is buried but Ill see what I can find. Im with you about the stream regs. We have some birch here but we likely get more precip than you. Since we cant take down live trees its hard to get since its often punk by the time it falls over. I was fortunate enough to come across some in November that was cleared by the power line crews. I notice it grows well in rocky canyons.

 

[wardk]

Of course, burning any wood in your home requires caution. But I have some year-old Douglas Fir that requires a bit of extra planning. It has about a 1" layer of pitch on all the splits and it gets really hot really fast. View attachment 155308
Any of this near the top of the fire box gets fed by the secondaries and it's game on.
View attachment 155309

High octane chit.
I cut this stuff a year ago. The center was punk, with a thick layer of pitch between the rot and the solid wood. I ended up using a shovel on the rounds to hollow the rot out before splitting. View attachment 155310

You would have to be sure your chimney was clean before putting that wood in your stove, it will burn like gasoline.

 

[wardk]

I wish that were true, then I wouldn't have all the checking and cracking I've been having on the outside fir doors I made.

They look great, I think checking and cracking is called patina as hot and dry as it gets where you live it would be hard to avoid. When I turn birch on the lathe I roughly turn it round when its green and paint it with antifreeze and put it away for a year stops the checking.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

They look great, I think checking and cracking is called patina as hot and dry as it gets where you live it would be hard to avoid. When I turn birch on the lathe I roughly turn it round when its green and paint it with antifreeze and put it away for a year stops the checking.

The curved archway door jam you see in the picture on the rounded door was made from one solid block of fir, it was a race against time to get it stained after I cut it because it was so actively splitting and cracking once it was cut out of the block that I could hear and feel it cracking in my hands. Once I got a coat of stain on it it immediately settled down. What you can't see in the pictures are the big cracks that had already developed because I filled them with wood filler and re-stained it. The doors themselves keep shrinking in the summer and swelling in the winter, especially the bigger rounded door. Last summer I had to modify it because it shrunk so much and pulled away from the door catch it didn't catch properly and wouldn't stay closed. Currently the door is so swollen I can't even open it. LOL
The other door has split vertically in several spots, but again I just keep filling the cracks with wood filler and re-staining it, so you don't notice it very much. They may look nice, but they have been way more upkeep then I had ever expected.
Interestingly the wood furniture you see in the pictures is made from white cedar and has the exact same finish as the doors (Sikkens, Cetol 1,2,3), but they have had absolutely no checking or cracking.

Well I was out by the woodshed this morning and something caught my eye that I wouldn't normally had paid much attention to. I found a lonely left over Douglas fir split at the back of the stack, surrounded by some pine and walnut. And yes, it had some obvious checking.
It's the reddish colored split in the middle.

And in case you can't see the checking in above photo, here is a close up.

And a direct link to the picture. http://i1353.photobucket.com/albums/q678/Mucky_Waters/Douglas Fir checking_zpskd08z734.jpg

Glad we can finally put that matter to rest.

 

[Seanm]

So the top picture is of the one I c,s,s 6 weeks ago (although I think it was more like 3) and was checked within days of processing. The second one I harvested two summers ago and will be used in the stove hopefully this year if I get to that part of the stacks. Also just for fun I added a picture of birch that I harvested in November. Most on here know this but Ill say it anyways, checking in no way indicates that firewood is any where near dry. I also noticed in my stack a piece hidden behind a row that didnt have any checking that was difficult to snap so go figure.

 

[Seanm]

to the op, your picture is some neat looking fir!

 

[Lumber-Jack]

It was a warm sunny day here today so I went for a motorcycle ride up the mountain, on the way I rode by a place down the street where they had dropped a big Douglas fir tree about a month ago and left it bucked up into some big rounds. Had a quick look at the rounds,,,, yes you guessed it,,, lots of checks in the ends. Then up along the mountain road I came to where somebody had cut the middle out of a smaller diameter Douglas fir tree that had fallen across the road, so I stopped and had a look at the butt ends of the left over trunks on either side of the road,,,,, yep more checking. Didn't bring my camera, but I can go get pictures if anybody is still in doubt. ???

Anyway, perhaps there is so much resin in the OP fir that it is somehow inhibiting shrink checks from occurring, but a lack of checking is an oddity rather then the norm, for any fir that's been cut and drying for more then a couple weeks that is.