Using dead falls for fire wood??

[jil101ca]

The new to us farm house has a wood stove and oil furnace. the furnace is a high efficiency one, the hot water from the hot water heater goes into a radiator and then a blower blows the heat from the rad through the heat ducts. To keep cost down we plan on using the wood stove, it will heat the main floor and some of the upstairs. We have noticed that no one cuts the dead falls or the standing dead trees for fire wood. Is there a reason no one burns these trees? it seems a shame to cut living trees down when there are a ton of dead ones around just lying or standing there.

[Bearfootfarm]

Dead trees on the ground for a while start to rot quickly. They are also much harder on a chainsaw than green wood

Cutting standing dead trees is VERY dangerous, since you cant really predict how they might fall

[edcopp]

Standing dead wood and trees that are down are a good source of firewood, in some cases. All timber cutting is dangerous so take the proper precautions. Dead wood will be well seasoned as a rule, or well on its way. So this is helpful.

The specie of wood may have some bearing on why nobody has been burning the wood. Some kinds burn better than others. For example oak is very good and pine is not so good as far as keeping you warm. Find out what kind of wood you have and read up on how it burns heatwise. By all means keep it dry.

[Hooligan]

Most of my wood is from fallen trees or standing dead trees. Not every fallen tree is good though. If it has been laying to long in a wet area with full ground contact I don't bother.

If you walked around my place and didn't know much about the finer points of wood burning you might wonder why I don't use the many standing dead trees you might see.

That's because most of them are basswood and poplar and not worth the time and gas to take them down or cut them up. Although I do burn some poplar early and late in the season but only cherry pick the easy ones.

[big rockpile]

I was living on one place that all they would let me cut was Standing Dead Trees or Blowdowns.Lots of Public Land you can get Permits to cut Dead wood.

On my place I leave most standing Dead trees for Den Trees.Been years since there has been so many.With the fires I use to get they would get in the Den Trees and sound like Train coming through the woods.

big rockpile

[Ramblin Wreck]

I try always to use fallen limbs/trees or cut dead standing timber. It does need to be harvested timely or rot will set in. If you are new to wood cutting/working in the woods, always keep an eye out for what's above you. Often times there are "widow makers" (dead limbs/trunks) hanging in the trees above.

[Ravenlost]

We only use dead or blown down trees for firewood. No way will I let hubby cut down a living tree.

[jil101ca]

Thanks or the input, we have cut wood for the firepit at the old cottage but not on this level. The house is 3,000 sq ' and Hubby guesses we will need about 15 crds to get us through the winter... Is that not alot of wood??? we plan on getting some Maple in for night time burning but will burn the softer woods, like Popular and birch during the day. Most of what we see standing dead are those 2.

[highlands]

We use standing dead and hung dead wood all the time. It dries out beautifully while standing. Limbs are also a great source of kitchen wood.

Do be careful as someone pointed out the cutting can be tricky but even live trees can have dead limbs. Don't cut until you know which end of the saw to grab, and a whole lot more...

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://HollyGraphicArt.com/
http://NoNAIS.org

[diane]

Well, I am older than dirt and heated with wood my whole life. We never had to cut down a live tree because we needed wood. I agree with Wind In Her Hair, part of my wood lot management is to always leave some standing dead wood for the woodpeckers and other wildlife. I do keep a close eye on the woods with frequent walks etc. and make note of downed trees after storms so I don't waste wood.

[CowgirlGloria]

If it is oak or another hardwood, then it will make FINE firewood so long as it isn't old and rotten. Just use a bit of common sense in evaluating the wood, and you'll be fine. As others say, use safety precautions. There is no reason to leave high quality wood on the ground to rot, or standing to fall and rot later. I've used a fair amount of dead trees for firewood. Put the resources you have to good use.

[Cabin Fever]

Originally Posted by jil101ca

Thanks or the input, we have cut wood for the firepit at the old cottage but not on this level. The house is 3,000 sq ' and Hubby guesses we will need about 15 crds to get us through the winter... Is that not alot of wood??? we plan on getting some Maple in for night time burning but will burn the softer woods, like Popular and birch during the day. Most of what we see standing dead are those 2.

15 cords! You better get busy! We live in northcentral Minnesota and I've never know anyone to burn more than 6 cords in an indoor woodstove.

[Old Vet]

Originally Posted by jil101ca

Thanks or the input, we have cut wood for the firepit at the old cottage but not on this level. The house is 3,000 sq ' and Hubby guesses we will need about 15 crds to get us through the winter... Is that not alot of wood??? we plan on getting some Maple in for night time burning but will burn the softer woods, like Popular and birch during the day. Most of what we see standing dead are those 2.

A cord of wood is 4ftx4ftx8ft tightly stacked 15 cords would be 4ftx4ftx120ft. All that I have to say about that is get busy.

[missourimelodie]

We commonly use down or storm trees to burn. Free wood for the taking is the best kind. Consider it sweat equity. Though I have dulled the heck out of the chains cutting downed hedge. It gets hard as a rock and burns crazy hot. I would burn almost anything except cedar. Like others said some is better than others but I found that it all produce heat of some sort. We burn about 3-4 cords here in central Mo. 15 would last a long time. Whoo that would be a lot of work. Think the kids would give me the evil eye for sure after that much stacking. Funny, I just hauled home a good bit of a tree here in town the other day. It is amazing what you can fit in the back of an Excursion if you take out the back seat. It is maple. Not the best but it smells like maple syrup when you burn it.

[hunter63]

The term "wind fall" was from the practice of the peasants being allow to harvest only "wind fall" wood, on the owners estate.

Find out what kind of trees they are, that will tell you if it's worth it or not.

I have been cutting up dead fall elms for a couple of years now,(had about 200 dead ones), as well as taking down the dead standing trees.
Burns very well and the standing dead elms are already "seasoned".

Seems that if the bark is off and standing, good wood, bark still on, punky and rotted.

I may cut them anyway as the are on a fence line and tend to fall into the fields, but if they are out of the way, let them stand/fall on their own.
I also cut downed oak, black walnut.
Box elder is left to habitat. It will burn, let season one year, burn the second year, it will be like paper on the third year.

[blufford]

Originally Posted by big rockpile

I was living on one place that all they would let me cut was Standing Dead Trees or Blowdowns.Lots of Public Land you can get Permits to cut Dead wood.

On my place I leave most standing Dead trees for Den Trees.Been years since there has been so many.With the fires I use to get they would get in the Den Trees and sound like Train coming through the woods.

big rockpile

I didn't know what den trees were so I looked it up.


" Den trees are those large, standing trees that are used by animals for nesting, roosting, cover, food supply and other critical functions."


http://washtenawcd.org/you/dentrees.php

[hunter63]

Originally Posted by blufford

I didn't know what den trees were so I looked it up.


" Den trees are those large, standing trees that are used by animals for nesting, roosting, cover, food supply and other critical functions."


http://washtenawcd.org/you/dentrees.php

Thanks for clearing that up, I was wondering if it was a miss print:
"Dem" trees; as in "Dem trees ov'r yonder be needen to come down"

[CowgirlGloria]

Northern Ontario is a tad further north than I've ever been, so I'll leave it to those in your area to comment on whether 15 cords is reasonable. It sounds like a vast amount of fuel for heating a home, but I live in the Midwest, far, far to the south by comparison to you.

If I were you, and IF the tree is even available up north, I would look for the highest BTU wood available to me. Around here, it is hedge (aka osage orange, hedge apple and probably a lot of other names). That stuff burns so hot it will ruin some stoves, but it takes a lot less hedge to heat a house than some of the other woods. So, I'd go with the highest BTU wood available to you, whatever the species. Avoid gopher wood (put in one load and go 'fer another load because it'll burn so fast).

~ Cowgirl

[big rockpile]

We will cut live trees to let in more light so we will have thicker browse.I got 5 acres of mature trees my wife won't touch.Advisor from the Conservation Department agreed with her.

I was thinking of having a Dozer come in and push out for Food Plots,but I'm rethinking this because of gas prices.

big rockpile

[DaleK]

Dead oak, maple, elm and ash can make some pretty good burning but you're not going to find many of them that far north. Dead poplar and birch don't give you enough heat to bother with in southern Ontario, never mind the north, plus you'll be constantly feeding the stove to try to get some heat out of it.