# can i burn dead standing tree



## bohawg1 (Feb 15, 2009)

Well we had a good wind storm that blew down couple of trees in my back yard that died several years back cause of the dozer work i did around my house. I was wondering what would be wrong to burn some of this stuff? THe outer part is sawdusty but the innter is still good. What do you all think? its been dead for years and the tree is a read oak. I threw a piece last night when the fire was good and hot and noticed it was the last thing that was in there. It did burn up but do you all think there would be anything wrong with throwing a piece in or two to save on some of my other stuff.


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## ShoerFast (Feb 15, 2009)

You can get a 'sort of' idea of the moister content of any wood by cutting a bunch of curly-ques (by ripping with the chain) and burning them. 

From the hip (SWAG) if it burns with out any smoke or steam, it may be about 10% moister content?

If it has a little smoke or steam that re burns in the top of the flame, it may be about 15% MC. 

If it just plain smokes, it may be above that 15% and just needs to be split and stacked to season?

Again nothing scientific, but can sure tell you if it's worth hauling to the house.


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## Dan_IN_MN (Feb 15, 2009)

*That is what I'm burning.....*

That is what I'm burning.....

All of the wood that I'm burning is either dead fall or dead standing. In my opinion, this makes the *BEST* fire wood.

Was there a reason why you were questioning if it could be okay to burn?


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## freemind (Feb 15, 2009)

When you say "the outer part is saw dusty", you don't mean soft and breaks apart do you? If so, I would say it is punky, and I won't burn wet punky wood. Makes too much creasote. I would split, pile, and cover that wood until next winter, and then burn it IF it is dry.


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## jburlingham (Feb 15, 2009)

Dead standing is my favorite wood, because it usually doesn't need to season very much. For the most part it's good to go as soon as you split it.


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## Austin1 (Feb 15, 2009)

I have often eyed a tree in passing, Dead Pine Standing! They last a long time I was driving down one road for 4 years and saw the same tree it was bigger than my 20'' bar on my 7900 was 2'' shy of making it through. I should add I live in the land of plenty trees but they are small.But with a thought out approach and careful face and back cut and two wedges I was able to drop it out of the ravine it was leaning over!Bone dry and ready to burn too!
Dead standing is better than rotting on the ground once they hit the ground nature takes over. But I often cut blow downs as they are resting on other tree's on the ground saves drying time!
P.S I have a 28'' bar also for the 7900 running full square ground.Just normally 20'' is all it takes here.


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## 046 (Feb 15, 2009)

dead standing oak makes some of the best firewood anywhere! 

dead wood can hold an incredible amount of water. measured right after cutting moisture meter can read like green wood. 

but difference is how fast that dead wood will dry out. after cutting and splitting down to firewood size... in 3-4 weeks, good enough to burn well.


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## mowoodchopper (Feb 15, 2009)

Thats all I burn ever! Why cut down live trees if you have dead standing all over. I do, I know alot of you guys dont though. As far as the punky outside I wouldnt worry about that at all as long as its dry burn it! If most of the center is hard there is still alot of good wood there. A couple more yrs itll all be punky.


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## woodbooga (Feb 15, 2009)

046 said:


> dead standing oak makes some of the best firewood anywhere!
> 
> dead wood can hold an incredible amount of water. measured right after cutting moisture meter can read like green wood.
> 
> but difference is how fast that dead wood will dry out. after cutting and splitting down to firewood size... in 3-4 weeks, good enough to burn well.



Good point. A lot is determined by which species you're dealing with. Red oak snags are quite enduring but retain lots of moisture. 

In November, I cut up some standing dead red oak. Tree'd been dead for a while but it still had that distinctive green oak odor. So it went into the 2009-10 pile.


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## Techstuf (Feb 15, 2009)

One can go along time on dead elm too. Mine got wet this year and I stack a few days worth by the stove and let the stove 'kiln dry' the stuff. The wet dead elm takes 3 days to dry thoroughly sitting by the stove. In that time, the wood loses quite a bit of water weight! Dry it out next to the stove and it burns like rocket fuel.


TS


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## mowoodchopper (Feb 15, 2009)

Techstuf said:


> One can go along time on dead elm too. Mine got wet this year and I stack a few days worth by the stove and let the stove 'kiln dry' the stuff. The wet dead elm takes 3 days to dry thoroughly sitting by the stove. In that time, the wood loses quite a bit of water weight! Dry it out next to the stove and it burns like rocket fuel.
> 
> 
> TS



Its my favorite if I can find it!!


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## John D (Feb 15, 2009)

Dead standiing is the best.Only thing as good is dead,and paying off the ground on the small branches or another tree. They gi right in the OWB within weeks at the most.


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## ngzcaz (Feb 15, 2009)

Well there's always an oddball :monkey: but I've found that in my NE Pa woods, dead standing doesn't always translate to dry wood. Make no mistake, I've burned it this year w/decent results but the juice was squirting on the few that I split.. Seems you just have to open up that wood to get it nice and dry inside..unless you want to stack it up off the ground and wait a year or two. The surface area on split wood is much greater then rounds. 

test : take 3 to 5 inch rounds and bang them together. If it thuds its wet. If it rings ( maple wood ) or makes anything other than a thud smile and throw it in.

** and take the bark off if possible, that just promotes rot.


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## Nuzzy (Feb 15, 2009)

Well sure you can burn it. Any tree can burn. 


That's my answer and I'm sticking to it!


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## BryanSchamber (Feb 15, 2009)

I second the dead elm. It is everywhere around here. I' just glad most of mine is 6-12" around. That stuff is a PITA to split. It's what I call standing storage.


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## getwood (Feb 15, 2009)

Most of the wood I burned has been dead standing (6 to 8 cords). Last year I read that seasoned wood improves efficiency about 30%. I used to split wood to make it fit. I now spit everything over 6 inches in diameter. I would guess that I have used about 15% less wood. I do not have a shed so that is where I am losing the other 15% (if the 30% number is correct).


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## Joshlaugh (Feb 15, 2009)

I look for dead standing elm and ash this time of year. I got a little bit about a week ago that I have burned already. If I am not sure about moisture content I throw it in the fire and see how it does. If it burns well, great but if I see water and hear it cooking than I throw the rest into next years wood.


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## Sweeter (Feb 15, 2009)

I'm with you guys on the dead elm and ash. I'm not sure what has happened to the elm here in Ohio but we have several dead elm on our farm.


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## mtfallsmikey (Feb 16, 2009)

Talkin' about standing dead pine....when jack/bull pine has been standing/dead for a few years, bark falls off, wood turns greyish in color...hard as a rock, burns almost as well as oak.


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## AIM (Feb 16, 2009)

I burn a ton of dead elm, a 1/2ton of dead ash and a 1/4 ton of dead whatever.
I love the stuff. We have mountains of dead elm in these parts. Anything above 6' off the ground is usually dry as a bone and hard as a rock. Seems like the first 6' or so is usually wet. (I think it's sucking moisture from the ground)
Many times that first 6' will be punky and not worth loading anyways. I've also noticed that if the tree has retained most of it's bark it has a better chance of being punky.(I presume it holds in the moisture)
Nothing gets seasoned here. It goes from standing to burning in the same day. Not that I think that it's better. It's just that I'm almost out.:censored:
Anyways the stuff still burns great!


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## K7NUT (Feb 16, 2009)

If you need wood to heat and you have ANY wood that burns, burn it!

My .02!:spam:


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## Zodiac45 (Feb 16, 2009)

Based on your post it sounds like the tree is a little punky? My rule of thumb is, if it splits ok without chunking off pieces and it still has good mass (weight) then it goes into the burn pile. Standing dead other then ash will still usually need some seasoning though but not always. I have some dead Hatmatack (Eastern larch) that is quite stout and will stand for more then 10 years dead. That was good too burn as was.


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## CrappieKeith (Feb 16, 2009)

Think of the trunk of a tree like a bunch of long tubes.They were full of water when the tree was alive and in fact will retain that water unless cut up and split.
Limbs can be dryer but the main trunk will not be dry.
Treat it like any other wood you should season.


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## mantis (Feb 16, 2009)

IF it burns burn it


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## 371groundie (Feb 16, 2009)

you CAN burn it, but you MAY not. you are not allowed. if there is a dead tree on this continent im sure somone on this forum has laid claim to it. better find out who or you might face


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## Mike PA (Feb 16, 2009)

bohawg1 said:


> Well we had a good wind storm that blew down couple of trees in my back yard that died several years back cause of the dozer work i did around my house. I was wondering what would be wrong to burn some of this stuff? THe outer part is sawdusty but the innter is still good. What do you all think? its been dead for years and the tree is a read oak. I threw a piece last night when the fire was good and hot and noticed it was the last thing that was in there. It did burn up but do you all think there would be anything wrong with throwing a piece in or two to save on some of my other stuff.



If it steams or hisses when you throw it in, it is wet. It will still burn, just mix with drier wood. If it does not stream or hiss, it is good. There is no rule concerning standing dead and how long you must wait to burn. Sometimes they are very dry, sometimes they are very wet. I have found that most standing dead is good to burn right away. Others needs to wait a little, but not nearly as long as live. I just cut some dead red oak last weekend. It still had the bark on, but was loose. This allowed water to get in between the bark and the wood. Made for very wet wood, but mostly just the outer layers. Stacked it up in the basement, put a fan on it, and it is burning right now. Mostly doesn't hiss anymore. 

If it burns and you need it, go for it.


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## JONSEREDFAN6069 (Feb 16, 2009)

i have about 100 cords of dead standing pine i hafta cut and split yet, all i burn i dont cut live wood.


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## CrappieKeith (Feb 16, 2009)

The point I was making is this.
Kiln dried wood makes 12,000 btu's per lb.
20% wet wood makes 8000 btu's per lb.
The wetter the wood the less heat you are capable of making.

So burning wet wood will cause you to work twice as hard to make the same heat dryer wood will make.
Burning wet wood also burns at cooler temps causing more flue gas temps to drop allowing more creosote to form which as I mentioned earlier is an insulator.
So not only do you get less heat ,that heat is harder to exchange and now you've got to do more cleanings on top of the extra work you'll do in putting more wood in your furnace.

If you want to burn wet wood it's your tierd back you get to live with.


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## ngzcaz (Feb 16, 2009)

Exactly the point I was trying to make. Standing doesnt mean dry, especially
if the barks on. If the barks off for a while you can probably burn it w/ reasonably good results. If the barks on you're just making more work for yourself, yes it will burn but at reduced efficiently. If anyone thinks standing wood can be as dry as cut and split wood...well have I got business properties
for you......... Now I'm going down back and cut some wood thats been standing for 5 to 10 years, split it and probably throw it in the OWB cause I'm almost out of wood : - )

:greenchainsaw:


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## Austin1 (Feb 16, 2009)

mtfallsmikey said:


> Talkin' about standing dead pine....when jack/bull pine has been standing/dead for a few years, bark falls off, wood turns greyish in color...hard as a rock, burns almost as well as oak.


+1, have to love the no bark no mess tooBut one thing I find keep it out of the rain or wet snow you can actually see how deep the water has soaked into the wood.


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## Edmccabe (Feb 16, 2009)

woodbooga said:


> Good point. A lot is determined by which species you're dealing with. Red oak snags are quite enduring but retain lots of moisture.
> 
> In November, I cut up some standing dead red oak. Tree'd been dead for a while but it still had that distinctive green oak odor. So it went into the 2009-10 pile.



I sure miss my Glenwood C with warming oven. Nothing better to raise bread than that warming oven - or its oven to bake bread. My kids loved it and daily made toast on its lids. The thanksgiving turkey was cooked in the Glenwood as long as I had it. I couldn't get it to burn all night - except with coal - but it was worth getting up.


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## bore_pig (Feb 16, 2009)

> Dead standiing is the best.Only thing as good is dead,and paying off the ground on the small branches or another tree. They gi right in the OWB within weeks at the most.



:agree2:
Except mine will be in the stove within hours!


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## climber17 (Feb 16, 2009)

*dead oak*

If it has been standing dead and recently blew down id say burn it. If it is punky or doughty on the ouside maybe cut and split it and mix it in with your already seasoned wood. I feel if you let it sit around for to long you spent alot of time on compost.


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## mowoodchopper (Feb 16, 2009)

AIM said:


> I burn a ton of dead elm, a 1/2ton of dead ash and a 1/4 ton of dead whatever.
> I love the stuff. We have mountains of dead elm in these parts. Anything above 6' off the ground is usually dry as a bone and hard as a rock. Seems like the first 6' or so is usually wet. (I think it's sucking moisture from the ground)
> Many times that first 6' will be punky and not worth loading anyways. I've also noticed that if the tree has retained most of it's bark it has a better chance of being punky.(I presume it holds in the moisture)
> Nothing gets seasoned here. It goes from standing to burning in the same day. Not that I think that it's better. It's just that I'm almost out.:censored:
> Anyways the stuff still burns great!



:agree2:
I know what you mean by hard as rock the elm can be :censored: on chains to! But when you get it home its worth it , really puts out the heat!


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## bore_pig (Feb 16, 2009)

The only bad thing about the punky stuff is not as much heat for the amount of ash you make.


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## rmihalek (Mar 27, 2009)

*24 inch White Oak*

I just scored a 24 inch diameter white oak from a neighbor. The town tree crew took it down with a bucket truck and left the wood for me (at my gracious neighbor's request). It splits great and burns pretty well. There's still some moisture left in it, but the days and nights are getting milder now, so I don't need maximum heat. I'm just psyched that I don't have to dip into next year's wood to finish heating this year.


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