6 cords out of one tree, 6 to go! Big one!

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StihltheOne

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I have been working on a big ol cottonwood, 8' dbh, I now have 6 cords out, ond there is still about 6 to go! What a monster!!
 
LOL!!!

PICS!!

I hate dragging an expensive camera out amoung the saws, dirt, grit, and abuse as well though.;)

Stay safe!
Dingeryote
 
Come to realize that out there, that's about like red oak around here.

Stick to it, that cottonwood can grab and pinch a bar like nobodys business.


:rockn:
 
Why on earth are you cord wooding swamp wood? That wood is only good for toilet paper oh yea they don't use it for that anymore it's too crappy.
 
We burn cottonwood because it is the only tree that grows here except for russian olive, any volunteers to come and cut olive? (blood wood), blood will leak out of yer body if you cut this stuff. I seem to manage to heat my 2400 sf house and detail shop just fine with cottonwood. The thing is, we have MAN sized stoves, not the puny little baby stoves, I tried one, the Ashiling Waterford, POS for burning this wood. The trick is big fireboxes, non epa blaze king, king models are the ones! I also supply wood for my buddy who heats his repair shop with giant stove with a water heat exchanger in it. I have a pic or two of this tree, but am not able to post it, I can send them to someone that would though.
 
We burn cottonwood because it is the only tree that grows here

Keep burnin' yer cottonwood and don't listen to those 'hardwood snobs'. :D

The best wood is whatever you have the most of and is easiest to get.

My old King sheet metal really can crank out heat when she's fired up. Wouldn't trade it in.
 
No insult to you intended if that's all you got blaze away. My condolences though. Do you live in swamp land?
I don't prefer birch I like fir ( non hardwood ) less ashes to clean up. I throw a couple super knotty birch chunks in at night if it's super cold and we don't want to get up at 4 in the morning!
We have swamp wood here too but only by water courses.
 
Many people do not realize how big that a cottonwood tree can get. Green, the wood is surprisingly heavy as well. I usually make no attempt to split it until after it dries for 3 to 5 months, depending on the size of the round. Once dry, it splits rather well.

At "only" 30 inches in average diameter, it only takes about 8 rounds to yield a stacked cord.
 
This tree has been actually quite easy so far, we just cut and noodle it right there on site, no splitting, just nice squares and 1/2 rounds. It is faster to just noodle it and be done, rather than offloading and then handle it again across the splitter. Noodling is fast with the 660 cranking and 1-2 guys setting em up and gettin rid of them for me! It is kinda like eating an elephant, just one bite at a time! I ran 1.5 gal of gas through the 660 Sat am!
We pulled a little more thatn 2 full cords out in about 2 hours, ready for the stove, after it dries.
 
No insult to you intended if that's all you got blaze away. My condolences though. Do you live in swamp land?
I don't prefer birch I like fir ( non hardwood ) less ashes to clean up. I throw a couple super knotty birch chunks in at night if it's super cold and we don't want to get up at 4 in the morning!
We have swamp wood here too but only by water courses.

Swamp land??? LOL that is really funny!!! We get about 9 inches of moisture per year. It is possable to go 50 or more miles and not see a single tree!!!
 
This tree has been actually quite easy so far, we just cut and noodle it right there on site, no splitting, just nice squares and 1/2 rounds. It is faster to just noodle it and be done, rather than offloading and then handle it again across the splitter. Noodling is fast with the 660 cranking and 1-2 guys setting em up and gettin rid of them for me! It is kinda like eating an elephant, just one bite at a time! I ran 1.5 gal of gas through the 660 Sat am!
We pulled a little more thatn 2 full cords out in about 2 hours, ready for the stove, after it dries.
That's exactly how I would have proccessed rounds that big. My personal limit for the splitter is 26" to 28" dia. After that, I noodle it, usually into fourths and especially when cut green. My back appreciates that.
 
All wood produces the same BTU per pound.

You just get 2-2.5 times more heat from Oak/Hickory per cord because it weighs 200%-250% more than Cottonwood dry.

Burn that stuff up bro', like my buddy Howdy says, "beats tryin' to burn snowballs"
 
'Cause it's what they have.

Damn right. I'll burn car tires if thats what it takes to survive. My family burnt nothing but cottonwood when this part of Kansas was settled, because thats one of the only trees that was here then.

I'll admit i go for the hardwoods because i have access to them, but I'd burn cottonwood in a New York minute if thats what I had.

And yes, Cottonwood grows very fast and very large. There is a cottonwood 2 miles from my house where I cut wood at that is at least 60" DBH, and it kind of spooks me because there is a branch that fell in the past that is 24". That would do bad damage, lol!
 
Yeah, if a 24 incher decides to bean you, a hard had isn't going to do much good! :dizzy:



Funny how huge those buggers can grow in dry climates. We had an area in Ft. Carson, Colorado, that was known as "Cottonwood Junction". Some big trees there, growing along a dry creek bed.

6% humidity was pretty normal there. It's just on the south side of Colorado Springs, at the foot of the Rockies.
 
This tree has been actually quite easy so far, we just cut and noodle it right there on site, no splitting, just nice squares and 1/2 rounds. It is faster to just noodle it and be done, rather than offloading and then handle it again across the splitter. Noodling is fast with the 660 cranking and 1-2 guys setting em up and gettin rid of them for me! It is kinda like eating an elephant, just one bite at a time! I ran 1.5 gal of gas through the 660 Sat am!
We pulled a little more thatn 2 full cords out in about 2 hours, ready for the stove, after it dries.

Here's what to do with the bark. On a tree that large, I expect the bark to be 4"+ thick at the bottom.

attachment.php
 
Swamp land??? LOL that is really funny!!! We get about 9 inches of moisture per year. It is possable to go 50 or more miles and not see a single tree!!!

I laughed at that one as well. I'm from Billings. For the rest of you, pull out your US Atlas and look at Wyoming. You don't see many towns there, and that's not because the map makers didn't want to bother with the smaller towns - there just aren't any. Make sure you fill your gas tank whenever you can when driving through WY!

And I hear you on the blood wood - those Russian Olives are really something. Taking over Billings like the plague, but I still think they're pretty trees - dark bark with pale leaves. Too bad they have those stinkin' thorns!
 

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