Burning White Pine

[scdeerslayer]

The problem with elm (besides being the hardest to split) is even standing dead trees......the trunks rot. By the time the bark starts falling off, if that trunk is 15" or bigger, its already starting to rot.

If the bark is starting to fall off of a standing tree, I would think that there wouldn't be anything left worth making fire wood out of it, no matter the species. Don't know about elm rotting (never bothered with it for firewood) but oak and hickory are really bad about the trunk rotting while the tree is even still living. Cut down plenty of dying but not dead yet oaks and hickories that weren't worth cutting up. Hickories always seem to have rot if they are showing signs of dying, but oaks can be solid even though the tree looks bad or be rotten even if it still looks good.

 

[LD1]

If the bark is starting to fall off of a standing tree, I would think that there wouldn't be anything left worth making fire wood out of it, no matter the species. Don't know about elm rotting (never bothered with it for firewood) but oak and hickory are really bad about the trunk rotting while the tree is even still living. Cut down plenty of dying but not dead yet oaks and hickories that weren't worth cutting up. Hickories always seem to have rot if they are showing signs of dying, but oaks can be solid even though the tree looks bad or be rotten even if it still looks good.

Elm can be a live healthy tree one year, and next year be dead and never leaf out. By that fall the bark is falling to the ground. By that time, the trunk is pretty punky. The limb wood dries fast and stays hard for awhile. But almost gotta cut them down when they are alive if you want the trunkwood.

Ash on the other hand, standing dead and its still good for a few years. After a few years, the base rots and it falls down. But then you only lose a few chunks of wood up from the base before its solid again.

Never really cut down any other species that were "dead". Just tops from logging operations, and live trees clearing fencerows. But there are alot of standing dead elm (dutch elm disease) and lot of standing dead ash (ash borer). Not so much with the other species

 

[Egon]

It all depends on your local climate. Dry the tree may not rot. Wet the tree may be rotted and still growing.

 

[ruffdog]

Sometimes we have the roadside elms that are barkless for years. When they fall, just the bottom is rotten and the rest is hard as iron. I'll take that wood anyday as it is easy to get to and no bark to mess with. It splits hard but keep them big for all nighters.

 

[turnkey4099]

If the bark is starting to fall off of a standing tree, I would think that there wouldn't be anything left worth making fire wood out of it, no matter the species. Don't know about elm rotting (never bothered with it for firewood) but oak and hickory are really bad about the trunk rotting while the tree is even still living. Cut down plenty of dying but not dead yet oaks and hickories that weren't worth cutting up. Hickories always seem to have rot if they are showing signs of dying, but oaks can be solid even though the tree looks bad or be rotten even if it still looks good.

Depends on species. Tamarack is rather rot resostamt and a buckskin one is a prize!! Fir? Not bad, did a red fir last summer. It wasn't bare yet but the bark was coming off as I processed it.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

If the bark is starting to fall off of a standing tree, I would think that there wouldn't be anything left worth making fire wood out of it, no matter the species.

Not even close. It's entirely dependent on the species and the conditions. Many oaks around me are great firewood when standing dead with the bark falling off. Cherry is the same.

All? No, it's dependent on many factors.

 

[ruffdog]

True. I cut up a 43" dia oak that fell down and all the bark was off. The first branch was 30ft off the ground and it was straight. It was solid from about 2ft up to the top. It was near a wetland and just the bottom rotted. It was a shame I cut it for firewood as I could have put hardwood floors in my house with that thing. I had just bought a MS460 and let it eat it up.

 

[4570Man]

If the bark is starting to fall off of a standing tree, I would think that there wouldn't be anything left worth making fire wood out of it, no matter the species. Don't know about elm rotting (never bothered with it for firewood) but oak and hickory are really bad about the trunk rotting while the tree is even still living. Cut down plenty of dying but not dead yet oaks and hickories that weren't worth cutting up. Hickories always seem to have rot if they are showing signs of dying, but oaks can be solid even though the tree looks bad or be rotten even if it still looks good.

The bark falls off pretty quick. I've burned a bunch of wood that is solid with the bark missing.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I cut down several dead white pine on my place, they have been dead standing 3 years,

I skidded them out,

put them on my BSM and milled them into lumber,

And built myself a nice post/beam deer blind,

It's big enough that two people can camp in it, and it's heated for those cold days.

SR

 

[jimmyj]

Soft wood for the soft times and hard wood for the hard times!