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greengiant

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Nov 9, 2008
Messages
114
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11
Location
Tioga County, NY
Got two nice loads of white birch Tuesday. Ya, I know it's not the best, but it will be perfect for March-May 2012 heating if I can get it processed and covered soon. So how far do you go (not in miles)?
I am out of wood to process at the house, and called an arborist buddy. He hooked me up 3 days later. The wood was down a narrow driveway, all on the ground, but some cutting needed to move the big pieces. I was told the wood was mine if I could clean up the debris left after I was done. I also needed to save about a 2 dozen 2-6"x 18" pieces for the arborist.

When I got there, I couldn't fit the trailer down the driveway-I mean physically, it would not fit the wheel base ( 6x10 utility trailer). I had the two kids in the truck, so wheeling the stuff down the drive to the street was not an option. I ended up parking the trailer on the street, unloading all my tools from the truck, backing down the driveway with about 4" clearance on each side of my mirrors to a fence and a house. I then loaded wood into the truck, moved it out the trailer in the street and back to the pile for more of the same (3 dakota loads to fill the trailer). Two full trailer loads total.

On top of this, there was a nice layer of ice and snow on top of everything. I cleaned up the best I coudl after with the leaf rake, and took out 6 buckets of debris and branches, but I wasn't about to shovel another 6 buckets of 'sawdusty' snow and remove it. Hopefully it was enough to keep my buddy from calling when I need wood.

So now its home, but far from done. From where it is in the pics, it will get moved by hand to the back yard, split and stacked, then next year, moved to the back porch, then to the inside by the stove, then in the stove. So I only touch each piece 8 times. All in all, glad to have the wood, but it was a bit of extra work involved, which without the 2 kids, would probably not seem too bad at all.

Gotta go now, coincidentally, just got another call on a load of maple, cut near the street from the same guy. Hope this load is easier :laugh:


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I've never burnt white birch. What other hardwood is it comparable to? I see it's rated around 20M BTU. Is it a long slow release? Or give it all it's got fast igniter?:angry2:
 
birch, is a great wood to burn seasoned or dead dry... its a lot like hard maple, sugar or big leaf heavy when green/wet ... and light as a feather when good an dry. birch bark works well for starting a new fire with 1 match!! only concern with birch is having the bark curl off a 1/2 or 1/4 round split an possibly block the outlet of an end exhaust stove!! i like to strip all my birch of its bark for starting fires rather than have it come lose and smoke up the house!! ?????
 
birch, is a great wood to burn seasoned or dead dry... its a lot like hard maple, sugar or big leaf heavy when green/wet ... and light as a feather when good an dry. birch bark works well for starting a new fire with 1 match!! only concern with birch is having the bark curl off a 1/2 or 1/4 round split an possibly block the outlet of an end exhaust stove!! i like to strip all my birch of its bark for starting fires rather than have it come lose and smoke up the house!! ?????

Thank you Chucker... I'll file that info into the "wood traits" Portion of the brain for later use... :msp_wink:
 
birch, is a great wood to burn seasoned or dead dry... its a lot like hard maple, sugar or big leaf heavy when green/wet ... and light as a feather when good an dry. birch bark works well for starting a new fire with 1 match!! only concern with birch is having the bark curl off a 1/2 or 1/4 round split an possibly block the outlet of an end exhaust stove!! i like to strip all my birch of its bark for starting fires rather than have it come lose and smoke up the house!! ?????

I forgot about the bark! I burnt about 4 face cord of white birch last winter. It does burn up pretty fast, but if you keep some of the paper bark aside, it is excellent starter. I would also agree that it is way too heavy when wet, and very light when dry (more-so than others).
 
keep it off the ground , it rots out real quick

this is true especially if you leave the bark attched to the wood! if birch is left in pole lengths or blocks and on the ground, or without splitting the bark apart for the woods moisture to escape it rots within 2 years... the 3rd year you end up with birch straws for extra sized drinks!!!! lol
 
Paper/White Birch is easily 1/2 of our firewood ( ~ 6-7 cords/year total ).
If you leave butts hanging around for months before splitting, be sure to SCORE THE BARK. Birches rot ( "pooch"--another northern New England word for Booga) fast since the bark is waterproof.

The bark is scored along the wood when felled and limbed.

In any case, Birches don't store well even after splitting, butt: "you dance with the one that brung ya".
 
Paper/White Birch is easily 1/2 of our firewood ( ~ 6-7 cords/year total ).
If you leave butts hanging around for months before splitting, be sure to SCORE THE BARK. Birches rot ( "pooch"--another northern New England word for Booga) fast since the bark is waterproof.

The bark is scored along the wood when felled and limbed.

In any case, Birches don't store well even after splitting, butt: "you dance with the one that brung ya".

If it's split and stacked right away in a dry storage area, about what kind of shelf life would you give it? Do the bugs get after it hard?
 
dried an covered for as long as 6 years is as long a time that ive had it stored in my wood shed! stored on fir 2x6,s the only part of the wood that showed any sign of rot was the bottom layer.... the shed floor is bare ground with a slope on the back side for drainage... spiders a few ants and mice nests were all that had creeped into the stacked pile... so with birch keeping it dry is the hole key to longevity.....
 
Nice score..I like burning the birch too..not an overly long burner but throws heat and its free..
 
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