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.