I live in Iowa and most of the wood i cut for burning is Hackberry,Oak, and Elm. In the area i am cutting now, I am finding quite a bit of dead Black Walnut. I have always thought it to be a good hard wood to burn, but a few of my friends tell me it takes longer to dry. I did try burning a couple of pieces from a log I had found on the ground(only 10"). It had been there quite a while because I was able to remove the bark before i cut it up. I did get some popping noise when it burned. All of the other trees i split and dry for about a year. Should I keep the Black Walnut separate and dry it longer?
If it is split, it will dry as fast (or faster) as the other woods. Being on the ground unsplit, it will not dry.
Are you finding dead walnut standing on the stump, or laying on the ground (of course dead) ?
Dang, is there no justice in this world? Here I am begging, bribing, and scheeming just to get one old dead walnut yard tree, and then read about folks burning it for fire wood :(
I have a bunch of black walnut trees on my property, and have used the downed trees for firewood. My recollection is that the wood dried pretty well once split, stacked, and left alone for a year, which is pretty standard for me except with oak and locust (I give them at least 2 summers). It burned pretty well, but I remember thinking that it didn't last quite as long in my OWB as the "premier" hardwoods. I don't have any more, so I can't test the WC on it.
Sorry Piney. How bad do you want one? The next decent sized BW tree that comes down can be yours for the taking.
Quote from: doctorb on January 16, 2013, 11:08:01 AM
Sorry Piney. How bad do you want one? The next decent sized BW tree that comes down can be yours for the taking.
Thanks DocB, the scheeming paid off, I got a 7 ft 30 inch walnut last week, delivered. But it did have nails in it. :(
Thanks guys for the reply. I would love to find someone who would use it for boards. There is one in there about 20"-22" 12'. I hate to think about cutting it up for firewood.
Thanks Beenthere. You also answered another question I have always had. Do dead logs still have to go through a drying period before burning? I have a friend who burns nothing but standing dead Elm. He cuts it in the fall and burns it that winter. He says he has no problems with it.
You are welcome.
QuoteHe cuts it in the fall and burns it that winter. He says he has no problems with it.
Oh, it will burn, but not as hot and give the best heat as it would if split and dried.
Thanks Doc. I have a 2yr supply split ahead, so the BW will be nice and dry when i use it. :)
proteus
Id take it off your hands, but your a bit too far to drive for me.
Id look into having someone mill it out if it was mine! 20-22 in dia is nice!
I frequently mill out 10 to 12 in dia logs on my slabber I built.
I used to sell hundreds of loads of firewood a year At the time we were getting paid to clear
Some was walnut never noticed it took longer to dry
Did have afew customers didn't want it but had more that liked it
Actually had several customers by lake that I think used it for bragging rights
Kind of we are so rich we use walnut for firewood
I doubt the standing dead elm needs to be dried but I would be interested in some moisture readings on it. My father burnt dead elm for many years in an indoor furnace that had a box the size of most OWBs. I don't recall any creosote problems with it and he would cut and burn almost immediately sometimes.
Shellby- I have a sister in N.Minneapolis(Ramsey). My wife and I visit a couple of times a year on our way up to Ely, but i don't think it would fit in the back of the pick-up. :D
R-MAN
Same senerio with my friend. That is what his father burned and so that is what he has burned all of his life. He has 100 acres of timber that he cuts from and has plenty of hard wood to choose from. I was able to talk him into trying some Red Oak. He liked it and thought it split real nice.
I took down a live slippery elm over a year ago, cut it into rounds and let it sit, elevated off the ground. I split it this fall, 16 months later. Inside MC of most rounds was about 22-24%. So, while this was not standing dead elm, these rounds were "drying" for a decent period and the MC was still above the 20% level. The smaller rounds (10-12 inches) approached 20% and I have been burning them this year. The larger rounds are now split and stacked outside for next winter's use. I am sure you can burn green elm, or elm that has been standing dead for awhile, but, from seeing the MC of this elm that has been dead for 16 months, I do not think that native green elm is any better to burn than any other green wood. Just my thoughts.
On a side note, the wood was very light, almost white in color when split, with the standard cross grain that makes elm fun to split. I do not know what the appearance of split green elm looks like, but this was strikingly different than most wood I have split.
About a tear ago I had 9 walnut logs 8-12 ft long and 12-18 in dia. took them to a log buyer and got a check for $109. I think I could have 2 times that much for firewood. splitwood_smiley
Doc-
What do you use to test the MC in wood? If it is not too expensive it might be handy to have one around.
I use a moisture meter made by Extech ( I think). As in many technical items, you can spend as much or as little on a moisture meter as you like. I would not suggest that you spend too much money on this item, becaause the degree of accuracy that you pay for in the high priced models is sort of wasted on firewood. I bought mine online years ago, and my recollection is that it cost about $60. Check out Baileys (FF sponsor). You can click on them in the Lucas Mills box in the left hand column of your screen. I recollect from other posts about this subject in the past that they offer a selection at differeing costs.
What , you dont like haulin a 12 foot log in the back of a truck?
I hauled a 15 footer , it was 2 foot dia at the big end, about 14 at the small end, my truck has a 8 foot bed.
it might damage my fishing poles :D
Thanks Doc. I checked online and you are right. The price ranged from $25-$400.