Sunday, December 7, 2014

Sunday Reading - Trash Trees





I cut and burn a fair amount of trees most people who cut would completely ignore. To be honest though if I burned in an open fireplace or used a smaller wood stove I might think twice before chucking some types of logs into the fire. I know Cedar particularly likes to pop and throw burning embers several feet sometimes. For my purposes though trash trees provide a very useful benefit. They burn fast, flame under lower oxygen levels and produce a bit more ash than the premium woods like Oak, Hickory or Locust but the flame quality alone helps unlock the higher BTUs trapped inside the denser woods. Oak particularly seems to need a bit more oxygen flow than my outside furnace is able to produce sometimes. Under normal temperatures this is a good thing but when that North wind is blowing and the temps drop into the low teens or single digits the hardwoods need that extra flame boost to really keep up.

Another good thing about trash trees are when I start cutting them it is usually because they are in a  problem spot. After several days of rain on and off the ground around here is so saturated getting off the beaten path right now requires 4WD and is guaranteed to leave ruts. I hate ruts. So on a day like today it becomes trash tree day. With such a long driveway over at the old farm it gets many problem trees that die over hanging the roadway and thinning them out is simply made for days like today.

 Pound for pound of course spending time cutting smaller trees no bigger around than my calf or thigh is not the most efficient way to cut. These sections of wood consist of trees like ancient Redbuds, small Elms that succumbed to disease, Persimmons and who knows what else. There are also a number of dead branches that overhang the driveway ready to come down during a storm. It takes a lot of effort to remove em from the tangle and pull away all the wild rose and grape vine holding em up, but I try and get a few loads of these trash trees each season.


Nothing gets a fire going from dying embers quite as fast as some dried out old light wood. If the bed of coals isn't quite enough to kick the large split Oak pieces going just open the door and toss a couple of these old Redbud logs in and the flames will start roaring.

One of my readers once commented on here that when he was a kid no stick was wasted. It all had a purpose and a use keeping the house warm or the food cooked. A pickup load of trash trees may not have the overall heating potential but if used properly it certainly hits above it's weight class before Winter is done.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!


8 comments:

  1. I usually have three wheelbarrows of wood in the furnace room and one of them holds stuff similar to your trash trees. They put out a lot of heat quickly and can be mixed with fresh cut wood to bring it up to burning temperature. It works good in the traditional wood stoves as well. I waste very little wood here as blending different types is kind of an art that you get a feel for.

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    1. blending different types is kind of an art that you get a feel for.

      You're right Sf and so many people just don't even know that. I hear it all the time down at work people will be wanting trees removed and make comments like it isn't good for anything or something. They are usually surprised when I tell them I burn any and every type of wood imaginable. Most people seem to think Oak is all there is.

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  2. Had a "Barrel Stove" that I used to heat a two car garage and almost exclusively burned discarded Pallets that I collected at work. Added to that eclectic mix was the windfall that I obtained from the woods across from my back yard. My motto was "Split the Ashes!" (Ashes that contained an enormous amount of recyclable nails and staples which I fished out with a magnet.)

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    1. Phil - I have known more than a few people around here that burned pallet wood and the like. It only makes good sense if you can get it. Your salvaging of the metal bits is thrifty and ingenious too :)

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  3. I like to cut small trees and limbs 4 inches in diameter or less. Those pieces don't need to be split so less work is involved. Plus I can save my good healthy trees for the future. Helping to save the planet one tree at a time!

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    1. SD - I am lucky in the fact I have never had to fell trees for the purpose of burning. I have enough of an area to cut in that I can just drop dead trees and still not have enough time to get em all. However my experiments with cutting firewood without fuel and chainsaws showed me that in a grid down situation those smaller trees you mention would be my first choice.

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  4. I'm planting willow to burn even though others say its not worth it, with a high efficiency stove it burns well, you just have to get up a few more times to stoke it! I also have popular from my brother as he can't sell it, still makes a good fire.

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    1. Kev - I am of the opinion that if it burns it's good wood. I have burned about everything that grows around my area and the only two types of wood I have seen that were what I call useless was Cottonwood and some variety of Pine that simply smoldered. Neither one burned enough to put out any heat at all. I bet though that if I had some nice hardwood coals going they would have been fine too.

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