firewood question

[sal64]

hello all, after sandy i have a lot of down trees in my woods most red oaks,ive cutup about 10 cords already for fire wood for 2014 and 2015. my question is how long will down trees last before they rot and cant burn them? tu

 

[ovrszd]

Totally depends on variety. I've blocked and burned some large oak trees that have been down for decades. On the other hand, Ash isn't good for more than three years tops. Hickory also rots very fast, two or three years.

I try to always burn second year cuttings. The wood I'll burn this Winter was blocked last Fall. I've got next year's wood laying topped in log form now.

 

[Lloyd_E]

Can't really add more to ovrszd answer - good advice - only that the btu's lower with the dryness of the wood. If the wood is really dry you will find it will burn quickly thus adding more wood to maintain heat levels is needed. If you have an outside fireplace/fire-pit you could use it there where the quality of the wood is not so critical.

 

[IndyIan]

hello all, after sandy i have a lot of down trees in my woods most red oaks,ive cutup about 10 cords already for fire wood for 2014 and 2015. my question is how long will down trees last before they rot and cant burn them? tu

If you are bringing it inside, I'd do all you can this winter. You'll probably have punky bark and sap wood by the end of spring. The heart wood will be decent for a little longer but I hate bringing in more messy wood than I have too.

 

[oosik]

When I used firewood(Ponderosa pine) it could be expected to last 5-8 years if stored under cover - a wood shed.

 

[Buckgnarly]

Can't really add more to ovrszd answer - good advice - only that the btu's lower with the dryness of the wood. If the wood is really dry you will find it will burn quickly thus adding more wood to maintain heat levels is needed. If you have an outside fireplace/fire-pit you could use it there where the quality of the wood is not so critical.

Dry wood has better BTUs because you are no longer wasting heat to burn off moisture in the wood. How would old wood lose BTUs? Might burn faster, but not less efficiently.

 

[Grn mtn boy]

+1

Dry wood has better BTUs because you are no longer wasting heat to burn off moisture in the wood. How would old wood lose BTUs? Might burn faster, but not less efficiently.

Water doesn't burn so you're wasting BTUs drying wet wood out so that it'll burn. Wet wood will give you the sense that it lasts longer but it's only because you're having to dry it out first. I cut, split and stack my wood 2 summers before I burn it.

 

[sal64]

tu all ,that answers my question, its sad though to see oaks 100yrs old or more 3 to 4 foot at the base down on the ground.

 

[troutsqueezer]

If the trees are down and not cut up, the thinner the branch, the quicker it rots. I just cut up some large oaks that fell 5 years ago and the trunks/branches larger than 5" diameter are still ok. If you are talking about firewood cut but not split, I think the same thing applies. If you have already split it, I think after about 4 years or so it starts to lose mass and BTU's. My theory anyway...

 

[SpringHollow]

It surprises me since wood rots pretty quickly here but I am burning oak tops from the 1991 ice storm. These were huge oaks, >4' at the base so the tops were also quite big. Some 2' diameter tops are almost all rotted away because they were on the ground but those that were mostly off the ground still have 6 - 8" of wood left. I am burning them in an outside wood boiler. I agree about ash - some trees are still partially alive and the wood is already rotting.

 

[tractchores]

If you get it off the ground it will last a lot longer. I normally cut things to 4' or 8' lengths and stack them and then burn them a couple years later, or if they get in danger of actually rotting sell them.

 

[TerryR]

Your oak will last for years, especially if you keep it covered to keep most of the rain off it. It's better if you can keep it off the ground, say with pallets, but if not you may loose the bottom layer.

When we were in NJ we left it out uncovered, cut to length but not split, and found no rot in the couple of years it took us to use it.

In NC, we are now burning oak cut 17 years ago when our driveway was cleared. I've tried to keep a tarp on it, but that's only partly successful, as it develops holes and the wood gets wet. But a new tarp lets it dry, and most of it can be saved. As a reply above said, some other varieties don't last as long - some of them go from the woodpile to the compost pile.

Terry

 

[Dutch445]

i had access to a bunch of maple logs that were cut in feb 2012. a few weeks after the trees were cut
i brought a bunch of the trunk logs home and soon after cut them into rounds. i stacked them against
my pole barn, on the south side, and they sat there till this year when i started splitting them, and i noticed
that much of it has black streaks in the wood, and some started getting punky. i only use it for campwood
but hate the thought that it started deteriorating so quickly. i would have thought it would have been
good in rounds for a while.

 

[mikehaugen]

I have a large maple across the street from me that was struck by lightening about 4 years ago. It had a large split down the middle of it and the bark had blown off. I have been contemplating cutting it for a while, but it was on the edge of a field that wasn't mine. I finally got to talk to the farmer that owned it and he said I was free to have it. I have been out their planning the cutting, and have realized it has already started rotting on the outside. It is about 3-1/2' at the trunk. It is still standing and was perfectly healthy before the lightening, I can't believe it is already rotting. I am guessing it is the big split down the middle?

 

[hacleme]

hello all, after sandy i have a lot of down trees in my woods most red oaks,ive cutup about 10 cords already for fire wood for 2014 and 2015. my question is how long will down trees last before they rot and cant burn them? tu

Red Oak, 3 years if left down in the woods. 5 plus if stacked and cut. (In south GA.)

 

[pat32rf]

Here in cold Ontario, things must last longer, especially red oak. We have a lot of 6-14' oaks that die and stay standing while the bark falls off many years later. As long as it is not actually touching the ground it can stay good for well over ten years. Once it falls, it seems to depend on the type of bacteria present. Standing maple on the other hand is often too rotten to bother bringing home after 2-3 years, the same with poplar and basswood.
Wood starts to loose its BTU content when it starts to rot as the bacteria actually uses the energy from the cells.

 

[Lloyd_E]

Dry wood has better BTUs because you are no longer wasting heat to burn off moisture in the wood. How would old wood lose BTUs? Might burn faster, but not less efficiently.

Old wood - really dry wood burns quickly and does not coke or convert to coal. Coked wood is where the btu's are. Gives the highest and longest heat run. Seasoned "dry" wood is when the wood moisture reaches the surrounding air moisture or equilibrium. Depending on your location "dry" could have a moisture content of 20% more or less and still give you the best burn. You are correct dry wood gives you the best burn as compared to wood that has a high moisture content. I usually season mine for at least 1.5 years if possible. But I do see folks up here chunking and splitting 8' lengths for the present winter season now. Maybe the 8 footers have been stacked for a year or two. I hope so. We just recently chunked and stacked wood for the mother in law. The wood was stacked in 8' pieces(6-7 cord) for about year in her yard and maybe more at the roadside wood lot. It was easy to chunk and split like a dream even with one of those electric splitters.

If you haven't tried an electric splitter - you will be amazed at what they can do. I thought they were a toy but my neighbour has one, now my brother and as mentioned my mother in law. They have split through green oak, apple, poplar with ease. The odd chunk could not be split but I have run into this problem with my gas splitter. I am now considering one. Less noise and less maintenance. The drawback is the extension-cord length...

 

[LD1]

When we cut tops from a logged woods, we try to get the maple and ash first. Cause in 2 years or less, they are too rotten to be worth the trouble.

After that, hickory and cherry is the focus.

Last is the oaks. White oak last a very long time, and red oak only seems to loose the outer sap wood over 5 years. But the denser "red" part of the wood is still very solid.

It dont always work out perfect, cause sometimes you have to cut up an oak to get to a maple, and try not to bounce around too much, but if you dont get that maple and ash in the first year or two, its worthless.

 

[Egon]

Longevity is all about how it is stored. Just think of all the old buildings and the solid wood in them.:thumbsup:

Coking results from insufficient combustion air.

 

[Dingeryote]

i had access to a bunch of maple logs that were cut in feb 2012. a few weeks after the trees were cut
i brought a bunch of the trunk logs home and soon after cut them into rounds. i stacked them against
my pole barn, on the south side, and they sat there till this year when i started splitting them, and i noticed
that much of it has black streaks in the wood, and some started getting punky. i only use it for campwood
but hate the thought that it started deteriorating so quickly. i would have thought it would have been
good in rounds for a while.

Silver Maple does that.
It goes to pooch real quick if left in ground contact, or constantly damp.
Given good airflow and kept dry, it holds up for 2-3 years here, where the humidty is akin to a Louisianna swamp.
Give it a year to season, and burn it soon after.