Noslo65
ArboristSite Lurker
I have about ten acres to clear that is full of hedge. There is also plenty of locust and cherry. How safe is it burn hedge? Say throw in a log with every load?
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Who burns hedge?
- Thread starter Noslo65
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wkpoor
Addicted to ArboristSite
Safe??? heck that is one of the best woods to burn. Good/hot/and long lasting.
Hedge is all I have burned for the last 20 years. More btu's then oak. The most important thing is a good sealed stove. If you have 10 acers of it you are sitting on a gold mine of fire wood. To avoid the sparks shut the draft down about 10 minutes be for you load more in or let it burn down to coals. I don't do either, I use the sparks to thin down my overly thick hair on my head and arms.
JLROOT
ArboristSite Operative
Do you have a splitter? Isn't it horrible to split?
ropensaddle
Feel Lucky
No osage splits good except knots I get confused when people call it
hedge as I call hedge a different thing a shrub. Osage does burn hot
but with many sparklers not for a fireplace. I sure wish I had some
good clean straight logs of it for bow staves, it is the best bow wood.
aandabooks
Addicted to ArboristSite
If you split it green, it splits really good. Once it has dried, splitting can become a problem. Same with cutting it. I use it for camping. Take a couple of 8-10" rounds and throw them on late at night and when I get up in the morning I've still got good coal to get the morning cook fire going.
Noslo65
ArboristSite Lurker
I have a splitter, 20 ton. I have heard people say that a stove needs to be built like a coal burner to stand up to the heat. We call it hedge around here because farmers around here had hedge rows. It blocked wind, kept in cattle or just defined property lines.
boostnut
ArboristSite Guru
"How safe is it burn hedge?"
Not safe at all, stop where you're at, put down the saw. Call me, let me know where this 10 acre plot is and I'll get to work on clearing it for ya. All kidding aside, make sure you've got a good stovetop and/or pipe thermometer and keep an eye on it when you're burning hedge.
Not safe at all, stop where you're at, put down the saw. Call me, let me know where this 10 acre plot is and I'll get to work on clearing it for ya. All kidding aside, make sure you've got a good stovetop and/or pipe thermometer and keep an eye on it when you're burning hedge.
Countrybois
ArboristSite Member
I would sure like to know from someone who has ACTUALLY burned hedge(osage orange) if this is an old wives tale or not.
It sounds crazy to me. I mean, it's wood for pete's sake. Sure it is very dense, but every every time you mention burning hedge, someone has the opinion that it burns too hot??!?!?!? "Make sure you mix it with other wood", "keep an eye on it, and use a thermometer", "make sure you have a good stove" .........and on and on. Sure, if you are use to burning a lesser wood, something of high density is going to give you a different burn, but you would think this stuff instantly turns your stove into a forge.
Sounds like crap to me. I'm still waiting on a call from a local excavator that is getting ready to clear some hedge rows out. I'll find out on my own, and I guess I'll have to keep an eye on it for the first few hours. I'd sure feel like an idiot if I came back to my sunroom to find my stove had turned into a molten pile of steel.
Someone enlighten me!!!!
It sounds crazy to me. I mean, it's wood for pete's sake. Sure it is very dense, but every every time you mention burning hedge, someone has the opinion that it burns too hot??!?!?!? "Make sure you mix it with other wood", "keep an eye on it, and use a thermometer", "make sure you have a good stove" .........and on and on. Sure, if you are use to burning a lesser wood, something of high density is going to give you a different burn, but you would think this stuff instantly turns your stove into a forge.
Sounds like crap to me. I'm still waiting on a call from a local excavator that is getting ready to clear some hedge rows out. I'll find out on my own, and I guess I'll have to keep an eye on it for the first few hours. I'd sure feel like an idiot if I came back to my sunroom to find my stove had turned into a molten pile of steel.
Someone enlighten me!!!!
BlackCatBone
ArboristSite Guru
It's great stuff. We call it bois-d'arc (bo-dark) around here, and in southern AR. You can make a hell of a pole barn that will outlast your children from hedge/osage orange/bois-d'arc, or whatever you like to call it!
haoleboy99
ArboristSite Member
I save the limited "hedge" I gather for those near 0 degree days. I usually take the time to gather around a cord or two. I does burn hot and sparks!
fletcher0780
ArboristSite Operative
Off topic: Haoleboy99 I'm guessing your married to a Hawaiian? Your screen name caught my eye as I hear that term often from the inlaws
boostnut
ArboristSite Guru
I have burned it on occasion and also seen what it can do to a cheap stove if not burned carefully. Its no wives tale, the $hit burns HOT! Be careful and keep an eye on your stove temps before you walk away. Its like nothing else I've ever burned but sure warms the house up on those 0 degree nights.
ddhlakebound
Addicted to ArboristSite
I've burned lots of osage orange. 90% of the stories are TRUE. If you have a questionable system, loading it up with hedge could overheat your stove or flue to a failure point, or ignite a flue fire which could burn your house down.
It's great firewood, but it dries very slowly, and wet hedge produces alot of creosote. Definately experiment for yourself, but know going in that it doesn't burn like any wood you've burned before.
I've never considered trying to forge anything on my woodburner, but I have seen the stove pipe glowing bright red from burning hedge.
Noslo65
ArboristSite Lurker
Well I will start to pile some up next fall. Burning one log at a time , mixed with some other hard wood sounds like a safe way to dispose of it.
It's great stuff. We call it bois-d'arc (bo-dark) around here, and in southern AR. You can make a hell of a pole barn that will outlast your children from hedge/osage orange/bois-d'arc, or whatever you like to call it!
Yeah BlackCatBone that's what we call it down here in Texas. It also makes awesome fence posts, last forever. Like they said watch out for the sparklers when you burn it. If you burn it in a fireplace they will try to jump out and sit in your lap. Don't ask me how I know that.:monkey:
J.Gordon
ArboristSite Operative
Hedge is great firewood! Like said earlier you definitely need to control the amount of air that the flame gets.
I wouldn’t want to burn hedge in an open fireplace without constant supervision.(Sparks pop out a lot.)
If you can get some decent size logs out of the trees you can sell them for post, and they will bring top dollar!
Great firewood but the thorns can be a pain!
