Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[John_Mc]

American Beech is one of my favorites. It packs a lot of BTUs (a bit higher than Red Oak, similar to Sugar Maple, not qite as high as White Oak). It's also easy drying: second only to Ash as far as how little excess moisture it holds when freshly cut.

 

[CalG]

btu by weight.

Dry status can easily account for variation. that is, the error bar is quite large.

Biomass Fuels | Heat Values of Wood | Hurst Boiler, Inc.

Heat Values of Wood Listed in BTU/Pound. Find your Biomass Fuel Heat Value.

www.hurstboiler.com

 

[shooterdon]

I want the most BTU per cord of wood. How much it weighs does not matter because I have no constraints on how much weight I can move or store. I am limited by volume...number of cords.

This is what I found. Numbers are millions of BTU's per cord.
Ash 20
Birch 20
Beech 28
Maple 24
Red Oak 25
Poplar 16
White Pine 14

Other factors like drying time, processing effort, ease of procurement, cost, amount of ash, and rate/duration of burn are considerations. For me, maple and oak are the best choices.

One size does not fit all. What makes sense for me is not likely to be the best choice for you.

In my business, many people I sell to are cost driven. One of my competitors sells ash for $75/face cord ($225/cord). I could charge $85/FC ($255/cord) and offer better value. 14% higher price for 25% more BTUs but many people buy on price. So, I charge $225 as that is what the market price is.

 

[Duds13]

I want the most BTU per cord of wood. How much it weighs does not matter because I have no constraints on how much weight I can move or store. I am limited by volume...number of cords.

This is what I found. Numbers are millions of BTU's per cord.
Ash 20
Birch 20
Beech 28
Maple 24
Red Oak 25
Poplar 16
White Pine 14

Other factors like drying time, processing effort, ease of procurement, cost, amount of ash, and rate/duration of burn are considerations. For me, maple and oak are the best choices.

One size does not fit all. What makes sense for me is not likely to be the best choice for you.

In my business, many people I sell to are cost driven. One of my competitors sells ash for $75/face cord ($225/cord). I could charge $85/FC ($255/cord) and offer better value. 14% higher price for 25% more BTUs but many people buy on price. So, I charge $225 as that is what the market price is.

I think my "pound for pound" was misinterpreted. It was like asking who is the best pound for pound boxer. Weight of the wood didn't even cross my mind.

 

[CalG]

I think my "pound for pound" was misinterpreted. It was like asking who is the best pound for pound boxer. Weight of the wood didn't even cross my mind.

coal or wheat straw?

how to measure?

 

[shooterdon]

I think my "pound for pound" was misinterpreted. It was like asking who is the best pound for pound boxer. Weight of the wood didn't even cross my mind.

You are correct. I misinterpreted what you meant by "pound for pound".

For the right price I will burn any wood. IMO most people on this thread take that approach. If they have dead trees and blowdowns to deal with, they either make burn piles or turn it into firewood even if it is not their ideal firewood. Hard to beat "free".

 

[CalG]

You are correct. I misinterpreted what you meant by "pound for pound".

For the right price I will burn any wood. IMO most people on this thread take that approach. If they have dead trees and blowdowns to deal with, they either make burn piles or turn it into firewood even if it is not their ideal firewood. Hard to beat "free".

I burn a lot of hemlock. It just falls down and gets in the way. I've got a couple of 100 footers out front that NEED to come down safely. I'll get a couple of saw logs out of each, and the rest will find it's way into the fire box.

Great for spring mornings and fall evenings...

 

[dodge man]

I cut some up into rounds this morning with my Stihl MS261. It hadn’t been started in several months and took about 10 pulls but was then good. I burned a little less than 2 tanks through it.

 

[Jstpssng]

I burn a lot of hemlock. It just falls down and gets in the way. I've got a couple of 100 footers out front that NEED to come down safely. I'll get a couple of saw logs out of each, and the rest will find it's way into the fire box.

Great for spring mornings and fall evenings...

The best kind of wood is what's in your back yard. I like to use a little hemlock when I come home at night, as quick heat between kindling and hardwood. It's also nice in spring and fall to take the morning chill and dampness, without cooking yourself out of the house.

 

[wolc123]

I was deer hunting in a tree stand about 10 ft up a big poplar in a hedgerow on Friday and there was a dead ash leaning against it. I tried rocking it down from up there but it was too tangled on the upper branches. I

was watching for widowmakers the whole time I was rocking it.

I went back today with a snatch block, some hemp roap, my MS 280 with 20” bar (the tree looked about 18” at the base), and a few short chains.

It pulled down very easily with my tractor. The only glitch was I ran out of gas with the saw (blade was much duller than I remembered), so I had to make another trip back there with my sharp smaller saw (42 cc Poulan pro with 14” bar and razor sharp blade).

No big deal as it would have been a real heavy load to squeeze all the chunks in one bucketload only. The wood all looked very solid and well seasoned. I put the smaller stuff up on the porch and it will get burned in the next few days.

I stacked the big stuff in my splitter shed to work on before Christmas, when we get a week off of deer hunting.