What to burn.

[stihly dan]

I have a lot of wood, and species. I have 6 to 10 yrs of wood stacked and covered. I was planning on burning cherry and soft maple for nov and dec. Then BL for jan and feb. But now I am thinking white birch and black for the mid winter. I have ash, maple, cherry, birch, bl birch, beech, lots of oak, hard maple, locust and a bit of hickory. Should I burn the birch before it punks? I don't know how long that is when split and stacked. Don't want to find out either.

 

[scotvl]

I'd probably burn the birch first after the shoulder season, and since the BL will last forever use it sparingly on the coldest nights.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Even birch lasts a long time if kept dry and out of ground contact.

I burn a lot of different woods, and just grab whatever will be enough to keep the house warm. Last non-winter, that was lots of junk wood and not much of the good stuff. This year will probably be different, but I've got the variety covered again. "Oak snobs" don't know what they're missing.

Off to split some cottonwood that might get used next spring.

 

[Fred Wright]

No harm in starting with the birch early in the season. You'll probably use less of it in milder weather anyway. As the temps drop, mix it with the BL and other harder woods.

Since we've been burning wood I always use the oldest stuff we have, starting (and ending) the season with red maple and gum. The oak we save for colder weather.

Pull a few splits of birch and see how they're doing. If they appear to be nearing the end of their shelf life I say burn away.

 

[NDtreehugger]

Even birch lasts a long time if kept dry and out of ground contact.

I burn a lot of different woods, and just grab whatever will be enough to keep the house warm. Last non-winter, that was lots of junk wood and not much of the good stuff. This year will probably be different, but I've got the variety covered again. "Oak snobs" don't know what they're missing.

Off to split some cottonwood that might get used next spring.

I like cottonwood for this time of year, a bit of box when the cold last longer, then as the cold gets real cold and last weks or months pull out the good wood, elm, ash, oak, apple, plum and now olive.

I aggree wood snobs pass a lot of good wood.

 

[ss~zoso~ss]

post pic of said 6-10 year supply, must be a massive pile!

I'd keep it simple, lower btu material when its not so cold, and burn the stuff thats gonna be punky / rotted in 6-10 years

 

[jh35]

Boxelder and cottonwood keep my family warm when it needs to. I don't turn my nose up at much. Btu's is btu's anyway you look at it.

Jeff

 

[ponyexpress976]

my piles are all mixed together. wasn't until last non-winter that i started to separate the stacks...got a little smarter. burn the crap first....but in the end it all goes up better than snowballs

 

[dave_dj1]

two winters ago all I had was oak ends so that is what i burned. This year I am more prepared and have some poplar, cherry and a couple of loads of white and red oak. I get 90% of my wood from log yards, mostly butt ends so I can't be fussy. The poplar i got from a wind fall last winter. I'm a scrounge! I will burn that this fall and on days that are above freezing. For those of you that don't know I don't heat my house with wood, only my garage and then usually only on an as needed basis. I have an outside hot air wood furnace that I built. I do have a loop built that I want to install so I can run it to my house through a modine that I have. I just need someone to come by with a backhoe and dig me 40' of ditch.
It's nice to have options.

 

[stihly dan]

post pic of said 6-10 year supply, must be a massive pile!

I'd keep it simple, lower btu material when its not so cold, and burn the stuff thats gonna be punky / rotted in 6-10 years

I have 31 cord split and stacked, I use about 5 cord a yr. Installing a new wood furnace, that says I'll be using less wood, I will be heating 1000 sq ft less with the furnace. More wood opportunities coming this fall.

 

[woodguy105]

I'd just start at the oldest end of the pile....