Yesterday got a small score of Beech at the compost site; have burned it before and really like it but it isn't very common for me to get much although it is here in Eastern PA. Just wondering if any of you fellas have lots of access to it and burn it on a regular basis. I certainly grab it when it's available!
How many get Beech on a regular basis?
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I've got plenty, much of it from downed tree tops and large limbs during the October Snow Storm. I find it kind of tough to split by hand, and I find that customers always prefer oak. So, I've got about a half cord of split beech that I'll probably use in outdoor fire pits.
The beech wood keeps a very clean pile, so I'll keep some on the deck. I don't have much experience with it in a woodstove, so I can't comment on how long it burns compared to oak and hickory.
The beech wood keeps a very clean pile, so I'll keep some on the deck. I don't have much experience with it in a woodstove, so I can't comment on how long it burns compared to oak and hickory.
Beech is great in the stove, right up with oak ,hickory, rock maple. Had to pass on nearly a cord last fall , no good way to get it out short of bucking it all up into pieces small enough to hand carry up hill to truck about a 40 yard hike one way. I just can,t do that anymore, or maybe I am just getting lazy. ( I did pass the 61 mile marker a bit ago.)
zogger
Tree Freak
Burns real well in the stove, excellent, but sucks to split, so I don't cut any down. I only take big branches that fall. There's a fair selection here down in the swamp monstah wood area.
i get share from time to time. i'm told it dries qiuckly and is nice to burn.i find i gotta get it in and out of the yard the same year it arrives or it start's to go bad if left in log length.once you get it split & stacked,best to keep rain and snow off from it too or it goes bad from being out in the weather un-protected. other than that it's a nice wood.
i've gotten to really like my oak,as it can stay here in the yard and get better with time....not so with beech(which is being off loaded) :yoyo:
i've gotten to really like my oak,as it can stay here in the yard and get better with time....not so with beech(which is being off loaded) :yoyo:
russhd1997
Innocent By Stander
Beech is good wood but it has a lot of limbs. It dries fairly fast and coals up good. It does have to be used fairly quickly because it does tend to rot faster than oak and other hard woods.
When I got beech, It like almost ruined my chain because it seemed like there was dirt in the wood and making my chain dull. Other then that though, It split fairly easy and dried out good and it burned nice in the stove too! I would give it a try if I was you.
Less than 5%...
... of all firewood collectors have ever cut American Beech. That's my honest opinion. Take a look at this original oil painting that I have hanging on a wall in my house. Dad bought it in 1952. I am proud to own this painting today. Bryan Tarlton was a fabulous artist.
... of all firewood collectors have ever cut American Beech. That's my honest opinion. Take a look at this original oil painting that I have hanging on a wall in my house. Dad bought it in 1952. I am proud to own this painting today. Bryan Tarlton was a fabulous artist.
Big L
ArboristSite Operative
Don't know if I would say "on a regular basis", but do come across it occasionally. Would say on my acreage Beech is less than 5% of the standing hardwood ... took down about a 16" tree a couple months ago, cuts nice, splitter handled it well, and if I remember correctly from past burns, it does well in the stove but may pop and spark a bit more than oak (my primary firewood) One thing I did notice is that the stump bled like a bastard ... and still is two months later.
Well, I think what happened was that the American beech and chestnut trees at one time were both prized for furniture making, and the stands shrank rapidly. They then became somewhat protected. Brown County, IN has some of the largest beech trees growing. Chestnuts are still scarce as hens teeth.
I recall the gigantic beech tree growing in my grandfather's front yard, located on a farm in Kokomo, IN. It looked like one of those in the Pic above. The crown and the trunk were both rather massive. However, there are eastern cottonwood trees growing in Nebraska that have reached 9' in diameter at the trunk and solid to the core. Cutting large cottonwood trees down will often shower the sawyer with water.
Stihl Wielder
ArboristSite Member
I've cut several very large beech down over the years, the most recent was the week before Christmas. It was a 70 footer. Cut her up and ran it through the splitter a day later. One of my favorites, burns good and hot but man is it ever a water-laden wood when green. I would say it loses half of its weight when it seasons....
Great stuff guys...thanks for the replies!
Danxtro
ArboristSite Lurker
I really like to put beech wood in the stove. It gives good heat and coal that stays very hot. But here it is hard to dry well. I cut beech around November and December, then take it out right away of the forest and cut it to 16 inches. That way it starts drying during the winter. I split it in April the most possible.
Good day!
Good day!
4seasons
ArboristSite Guru
I burn a bit of it. Just cut a big one up a few months ago that a storm took down. Very wet when green, very hard to split green too. Acts like a sponge just absorbing the blow from the maul. Once it dries a little though pops right open. One of those woods that will rot rather than dry if it isn't split though. Once it is dry it is right up there with oak as firewood.
beech wood is nice really,but like all the others......you gotta take the good that comes with the bad.
here's one comming down in south sweden with a 7900 dolmar. the european forest's are well taken care of,that i've seen.enjoy!
dolmar trial video by WILLIAMFGREENE - Photobucket
here's one comming down in south sweden with a 7900 dolmar. the european forest's are well taken care of,that i've seen.enjoy!
dolmar trial video by WILLIAMFGREENE - Photobucket
We cut quite a bit of it and like it. Gets doody fairly quickly if left on the ground but we try to keep up with what blows down. Our main woods has old growth trees and most over 3 ft in diameter.
Some of it splits nice and some gets what I call a wavy grain. even the straights will split with waves and is a hydro only job. Maul will bounce right off of it and wedges will pop out.
That painting is beautiful but sure can tell it's a fantasy shot. You can't have that many beeches in one spot with all their tops intact!
Some of it splits nice and some gets what I call a wavy grain. even the straights will split with waves and is a hydro only job. Maul will bounce right off of it and wedges will pop out.
That painting is beautiful but sure can tell it's a fantasy shot. You can't have that many beeches in one spot with all their tops intact!
I burn lots of it, hundreds of acres of it near where I live. Dozens of trees in my few acres. Beech bark blight is a serious problem here so many of the mature trees lose their bark, then lose their tops, break, etc. The October snowstorm did great damage as well. Burns great, hydro is a great help splitting it.
