Box Elder, your thoughts

[turnkey4099]

Thats what I hate about yard trees (besides the nails). You need to haul away every darn twig!

At the cabin I try to fell them away from the lawn and cut the crown branches up nice and small and they kind of just sink into the leaves after a year or two.

I've been working on a row of willows about 1/2 mile long. lower end now has stacks of brush 6' high and 8' diameter about every 20 feet. He wanted them gone because they were falling into his field, so motivatged that I can drive through his crops. When I started I assumed (yes I know) that the farmer would at least burn the brush. Nope. Now he is stuck with it. County put in a new ordinance. No burning of pile bigger than 3x3x3.

Harry K

 

[svk]

No burning of pile bigger than 3x3x3.

Harry K

Is that due to your dry conditions currently or a permanent law?

I never knew you were in Washington. Do you mind if people move there?

 

[Woody912]

I guess that's better than lady beetles. Those bass turds stink. Our old farmhouse would load up with them if you had a warm fall.

Actually most of them and the ones that bite are Asian lady bird beetles ( pale faded spots) Undocumented guest insects.

 

[turnkey4099]

Is that due to your dry conditions currently or a permanent law?

I never knew you were in Washington. Do you mind if people move there?

No it is an ongoing plan to do away with all burning it looks like. Started with a ban on burn barrels (that included a bounty to paid topeople ratting the neighbors out). Up until the current 3x3x3 thing I could build a pile of brush right next to the burn barrel and torch it off but couldn't burn one stick IN the barrel. Didn't matter that my burn barrel had both ends cut out and set up on a grid. Burned like a torch with no smoke. Small piles smoke for time of starting until they go out. Also burning scrap lumbr of any kind is now banned. Used be be treated or painted only.

Plenty of open spaces out here and empty pockets paying high gas taxes. Governor has a proposal on the table to raise them another dollar.

Harry K

 

[svk]

No it is an ongoing plan to do away with all burning it looks like. Started with a ban on burn barrels (that included a bounty to paid topeople ratting the neighbors out). Up until the current 3x3x3 thing I could build a pile of brush right next to the burn barrel and torch it off but couldn't burn one stick IN the barrel. Didn't matter that my burn barrel had both ends cut out and set up on a grid. Burned like a torch with no smoke. Small piles smoke for time of starting until they go out. Also burning scrap lumbr of any kind is now banned. Used be be treated or painted only.

Plenty of open spaces out here and empty pockets paying high gas taxes. Governor has a proposal on the table to raise them another dollar.

Harry K

I can understand cracking down on burn barrels as I have been downwind of people burning plastic and it isn't a good thing. However stuff like banning dimensional lumber burning is stupid. Clean lumber (non PT) is almost perfectly pure wood.

I guess chipper sales will increase.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Box Elder, your thoughts

My thoughts are, I put it in my stove, it burns and heats my house and THAT puts a smile on my face...

SR

 

[1 stihl nut]

We burn quite a bit of box elder just because we have so many box elder trees that need to be cut down.

It seems that if the wood has the red in it, the quality of the wood has either diminished, or is about to start. Clean white box elder seems like decent quality wood. Faster burning, but we're burning it in our shop so feeding more frequently is a non issue.

Straight grained box elder splits easy, but good luck finding straight grained box elder. It tends to have lots of branches, so knots aplenty, and a the wood tends to take a lot of direction changes, so the grain is a little sqirrelly. It makes hand splitting a little less agreeable.

I like the wood better than cotton wood, but a cotton wood tree is easier to process.


1SN

 

[WoodTick007]

Received a call from a landowner looking to clear the borders of his property. Sounds like a lot of box elder, what are your though
I plan on using it for firewood in the wood furnace in the basement.

What personal observations does anyone have from burning it?

It will probably be split, stacked as it comes home, this for the 08-09 burning season, as day-wood, like the soft maple/elm I use now.

Thanks.

Box elder is total and absolute garbage. . .personally I wouldn't take it if someone paid me to take it. . . stores like garbage, splits like garbage, burns like garbage.

 

[mathewsdxt75]

If I have a box elder to cut, I'll cut it, buck it small, and use my spliter to break it down. I usually leave it season for 4 years minimum. I've burned it after 2 years, and its dirty. If its free, that's free heat.
I do know it stinks when burning. Even with secondary burn, it smell bad.
I consider it a good filler wood for not so cold days. Thats my opinion.

 

[lindnova]

I burn a lot of box elder cut from tree lines. I use the easy stuff and burn the rest in piles. We are cleaning tree lines anyway, so use some of the wood. If it is split soon and dry it is good the next year. If let to sit in rounds too long it will get black mold under the bark and smell bad when burned. It burns fine, but fast. Good for shoulder season or if you are around all day to feed the stove.

 

[Fubar]

Edit: didn't even realize I ressurected a 9 year old thread. Gypo Logger would be proud.

LOL



i burn it all , if its on the ground or someone wants it gone its fair game .

 

[tla100]

Was finally getting all the junk rounds I have been putting off that were on the ground since about last May. Had some 2' diameter boxelder that was in the mix. Wetter than ever yet, loaded with black ants, but the odd thing was, there was a lot of green color with mixed in with the red. Was spongy in the middle also. Looked neat, but the ants made a few trails in it. Anybody run across this ever? I was going to take a couple pics, but phone was not close. Will try and grab some tomorrow.