Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[Ambull01]

That is a much better idea, seeing as how you are just now accumulating wood. Even split, most will be too wet to burn now.

You could get by this year to some extent with a mixture of dead ash and tulip poplar and various small crispy dry branches of whatnot species, if the logs are split, debarked as much as possible, criss cross stacked for max sun and airflow. Both of those will dry pretty fast. Also keep several days inside and give the splits a few days near the fire so they can get some good inside drying. Just rotate a day in and burned, stay ahead that way. I do about three days here on the wall behind the stove, gives all the wood a last little bit good drying. All my bundle wood is also dried inside a few days before it is bundled or bagged. Not much, I only do a little of that, but it helps.

I'm going to be forced to pay you guys soon for all the help you're giving me. Much appreciated.

I have about 3-4 cords waiting for me at my in-laws. Some kind of poplar and a oak. Poplar has been down and laying in in-laws field for about 2-3 years. They said it will be good to burn this year. Not so sure I really trust them though. I've cut up about 4 logs already and split them. Water was coming out of the logs as the splitter pushed down on them. I still have about 8 or so big logs to cut.

Speaking of the oak, I cut it the other weekend. That thing can't possibly be ready to burn. As I was bucking it, a little river of water gushed out. I thought I broke my saw for a second. Found out there was a pocket of water inside the oak. You guys ever see that? Thought I found the fountain of youth at first.

I was planning on mainly burning the poplar with some pallets as kindling. Hopefully the pallets can get the fire hot enough to compensate for moisture content of the poplar.

I'll build/buy a wood rack to keep near the fire.

 

[svk]

Wood that squirts water of any type definitely needs more time. A lot more time for the oak.

Although you could probably burn for years with that unlined chimney provided there arent any unnoticed cracks in the bricks/mortar you'd be much safer with the insert and stainless chimney.

 

[Ambull01]

Wood that squirts water of any type definitely needs more time. A lot more time for the oak.

Although you could probably burn for years with that unlined chimney provided there arent any unnoticed cracks in the bricks/mortar you'd be much safer with the insert and stainless chimney.

Well that just killed some of my scrounging motivation, not going to lie. On the other hand it will give me time to take things slow and read/learn about bucking, felling, etc. I'm reading the USFS pdf documents and watching BC Faller videos. Lots of good info.

 

[svk]

Well that just killed some of my scrounging motivation, not going to lie. On the other hand it will give me time to take things slow and read/learn about bucking, felling, etc. I'm reading the USFS pdf documents and watching BC Faller videos. Lots of good info.

Don't be discouraged, there's tons of standing dead timber out there that is ready to burn immediately. According to some, standing dead is the very best firewood out there. I cut some spruce this weekend and tamarack a few weeks ago that was ready to burn.

Despite what some say, a moisture meter is a good way to gauge where the wood is at. Below 20% are you are clear. Above 20% a little bit will burn too but if it's much higher save it for next year.

Look for dead trees where the bark is partially or completely off of the tree, then its definitely ready.

 

[Ambull01]

Would any of you scrounge for Leyland Cypress? A guy contacted me about several downed trees and a few more standing dead. Heard it's not the greatest firewood but was wondering if it is worth my time

 

[dancan]

Popple , cyprus , aspen all are sure better than burnin pallets , just sayin ..... LOL
Last year I sure burnt a lot of wood in the furnace the same day that I cut it , split small and a hot fire .
I also burn't a lot of dead standing spruce and pine last winter , sure made a difference from being cold or warm and I'll still cut and stack it for burning if I come across more even though I have a bit of wood ready this year and for next year .
I've given a couple of cord of wood away before and if someone needs wood I'll give some of the spf away because I know it will keep them warm .

 

[Philbert]

Popple , cyprus , aspen all are sure better than burnin pallets , just sayin ..... LOL

Depends on your pallets. Some of the ones I burn are kiln dried hardwoods. Pre-cut to stove size chunks.

Philbert

 

[dancan]

I can see pallets working well in a stove but a furnace is a different animal , it burns kiln dried pallets at a very fast rate . You have to feed it constantly with a small fire because if you fill it be ready for lotsa heat because it all wants to go at once , even with the draft closed and then you're back to feeding it in a short period of time as compared to the large block of softwood that I just jimmied through the 12"x12" furnace door which will last a long time with the draft closed

 

[mainewoods]

Maybe I missed it, but are you checking CL daily? Might find some pine that's been down a while just looking for a home. Get yourself that log rack and bring some of the popple inside and put a fan on it. I've reduced the mc of many a cord of wood, with a box fan, that wasn't quite "there" yet. Ran the fan 24/7 in the basement, and within 3-4 weeks the splits were already cracking on the ends. Burned it all winter and kept us plenty warm.

 

[zogger]

I'm going to be forced to pay you guys soon for all the help you're giving me. Much appreciated.

I have about 3-4 cords waiting for me at my in-laws. Some kind of poplar and a oak. Poplar has been down and laying in in-laws field for about 2-3 years. They said it will be good to burn this year. Not so sure I really trust them though. I've cut up about 4 logs already and split them. Water was coming out of the logs as the splitter pushed down on them. I still have about 8 or so big logs to cut.

Speaking of the oak, I cut it the other weekend. That thing can't possibly be ready to burn. As I was bucking it, a little river of water gushed out. I thought I broke my saw for a second. Found out there was a pocket of water inside the oak. You guys ever see that? Thought I found the fountain of youth at first.

I was planning on mainly burning the poplar with some pallets as kindling. Hopefully the pallets can get the fire hot enough to compensate for moisture content of the poplar.

I'll build/buy a wood rack to keep near the fire.

If that is tulip poplar and that old, the bark should be falling off easily. Once split, it will dry fast.

Water in oak..I cut into a big rotten on the inside branch once while standing in an excavator bucket and got drenched. It wasn't a pocket, it was a bathtub full HAHAHAHAHA

The last of that tree is getting slowly cut up in my yard, burning some of that right this second.

 

[Ambull01]

Depends on your pallets. Some of the ones I burn are kiln dried hardwoods. Pre-cut to stove size chunks.

Philbert

How can you tell hardwood from softwood pallets? Probably the weight right?

 

[Ambull01]

Maybe I missed it, but are you checking CL daily? Might find some pine that's been down a while just looking for a home. Get yourself that log rack and bring some of the popple inside and put a fan on it. I've reduced the mc of many a cord of wood, with a box fan, that wasn't quite "there" yet. Ran the fan 24/7 in the basement, and within 3-4 weeks the splits were already cracking on the ends. Burned it all winter and kept us plenty warm.

Yep I am. Seeing lots of free wood offers near DC but not much near me. I just have to be patient I guess.
I'm going to buy a digital moisture reader and store some wood inside. I should make some kind of firewood clothes line.

If that is tulip poplar and that old, the bark should be falling off easily. Once split, it will dry fast.

Water in oak..I cut into a big rotten on the inside branch once while standing in an excavator bucket and got drenched. It wasn't a pocket, it was a bathtub full HAHAHAHAHA

The last of that tree is getting slowly cut up in my yard, burning some of that right this second.

Hmm, don't recall the bark falling off. Most of the logs are really big. I was only able to cut up the smaller logs. The other logs are too big for my 16" chainsaw, even after rolling them.

You need a fire tonight? Only about 60 or so here.

 

[zogger]

How can you tell hardwood from softwood pallets? Probably the weight right?

That's most of it. Some have boards that are quite thick and spaced close together, to hold something *heavy*. You can look at the grain, too.

I would have a hard time cutting one of those up, those I use to store wood on when I find them, which isn't very often anymore. Economy not too great around here, hard to scrounge free heavy duty pallets. Lot of guys scrounge them and there are two places in the next little town where guys rebuild them and resell them, they done scrounged em up I think. I mostly get oddballs. You can buy the heavy duty regular ones, but free, not so much. I take any size or weight pallet I can find anymore, use them all for wood. I need like 50 more this winter. I still have a lot of used RxR ties, but pallets I am short on. About this time of year my regular work slows down to the point I can go cut a lot, trying to double my production over last year, maybe more. Just as much for the exercise as to get the wood, older ya get, the more ya need to workout.

 

[Ambull01]

That's most of it. Some have boards that are quite thick and spaced close together, to hold something *heavy*. You can look at the grain, too.

I would have a hard time cutting one of those up, those I use to store wood on when I find them, which isn't very often anymore. Economy not too great around here, hard to scrounge free heavy duty pallets. Lot of guys scrounge them and there are two places in the next little town where guys rebuild them and resell them, they done scrounged em up I think. I mostly get oddballs. You can buy the heavy duty regular ones, but free, not so much. I take any size or weight pallet I can find anymore, use them all for wood. I need like 50 more this winter. I still have a lot of used RxR ties, but pallets I am short on. About this time of year my regular work slows down to the point I can go cut a lot, trying to double my production over last year, maybe more. Just as much for the exercise as to get the wood, older ya get, the more ya need to workout.

I've picked up some of those heavy pallets. They weigh a ton!

I have a place that's about a 5 minute walk away from me and another right up the street. They give pallets away. My job may have some too but I can't fit those things in my caddy unless I strap them on my roof. I have a really stupid question. How do you stack the cut up pallets? Stack them just like firewood? Cut up a 55 gallon plastic barrel into sections and stand the boards up in them?

 

[zogger]

Yep I am. Seeing lots of free wood offers near DC but not much near me. I just have to be patient I guess.
I'm going to buy a digital moisture reader and store some wood inside. I should make some kind of firewood clothes line.



Hmm, don't recall the bark falling off. Most of the logs are really big. I was only able to cut up the smaller logs. The other logs are too big for my 16" chainsaw, even after rolling them.

You need a fire tonight? Only about 60 or so here.

Ya, small fire. Oddball pine splits/knots and oak uglies. This cabin is not leaky, it is a sieve. This is an old evolved started as a one room sharecropper cabin in ye aulden days, now three rooms, wooden slat walls, single pane windows, all old. Doesn't hold heat very well, it hits single digits around here, a coupla three times a winter, the smogger is a cookin! Been doing evening and morning fires for ..hmm..at least two weeks or so now and burned off and on from late september until mid october. Had two hard frosts last week.

 

[Circle B MN]

After a long dry spell of scrounging I was just about to buy a load of logs when I got an email from a local homeowner. Five acres of standing and down trees plus a dozen live trees around the yard he wants gone. Drop em, top em, and push the junk into piles

 

[Ambull01]

Ya, small fire. Oddball pine splits/knots and oak uglies. This cabin is not leaky, it is a sieve. This is an old evolved started as a one room sharecropper cabin in ye aulden days, now three rooms, wooden slat walls, single pane windows, all old. Doesn't hold heat very well, it hits single digits around here, a coupla three times a winter, the smogger is a cookin! Been doing evening and morning fires for ..hmm..at least two weeks or so now and burned off and on from late september until mid october. Had two hard frosts last week.

My house will probably be the same. Built in 1891 lol. Windows are ancient.

Well I totally had the wrong picture of GA. I didn't think it would get that cold down there. I lived in NC for a while and it wasn't as cold as MD. They usually have a little more ice down there.

 

[zogger]

I've picked up some of those heavy pallets. They weigh a ton!

I have a place that's about a 5 minute walk away from me and another right up the street. They give pallets away. My job may have some too but I can't fit those things in my caddy unless I strap them on my roof. I have a really stupid question. How do you stack the cut up pallets? Stack them just like firewood? Cut up a 55 gallon plastic barrel into sections and stand the boards up in them?

Sure, stack em up like splits, mix them in with your driest splits for that matter. Get a big magnet to pull the nails out of the ash later, home despot sells them precisely for dragging around a jobsite to get loose nails. Or just scrounge an old big busted speaker magnet.

You can technically still get those larger big poplar logs, just have to noodle from the recent cut ends, then bust chunks out with a maul. Just noodle a few slices to as far as you can reach cutting, bust it out, do it again. Gives ya more room, to get in and saw deeper. Cut a bunch like that with my old baby homie tophandle when that was my one saw plan.

 

[spike60]

Zogger, you're welcome to all of the pallets out back of my store! Actually they don't last too long this time of year as people grab them for stacking wood. Guys also take them all year long for burning in backyard firepits.

I did a little experiment 2 years ago with burning pallets. Just wondered if that's all you had, or needed to stretch the wood supply, what it would be like to deal with them. It works of course, but IMO not worth the hassle unless that was literally all you had. Lots of cutting to get them to stove size. You WILL hit nails occasionally. And of course, short burn times. OK for early and late season fires to take the chill out, but no good for overnights and such.

 

[zogger]

My house will probably be the same. Built in 1891 lol. Windows are ancient.

Well I totally had the wrong picture of GA. I didn't think it would get that cold down there. I lived in NC for a while and it wasn't as cold as MD. They usually have a little more ice down there.

Georgia is pretty spiffy for an eastern state. We got from swamps/palm trees alligators in the southern and coastal parts of the state to decent enough at least cross country skiing in the winter in the mountains. We get a few to several snows a winter up in the northern part of the state every year, and plenty of teens and twenties days, and some single digits. Below zero I have only seen I think three times here. Any snowfall past two inches is just knee slapping hysterical funny, everyone still tries to go everyplace and it just plain doesn't work! HAHAHAHA! Every winter, never fails, just watch, it will be on TV again this winter.

I am way way way more used to the heat than the cold. When I was younger and lived up north, it was the opposite. Now, I call it "southern fried wuss"! HAHAHAHAHA

That's why I recommended to you heated handles saw for cold hands, cuz I want one meself for cutting in the winter!