Cut when felled, or let 'em sit?

[ValleyForge]

In no way am I trying to start an argument. I just have never seen a moisture meter that can read moisture in firewood. They may be out there but I am not sure where. I looked at the Lignomat website and all the meters they had listed were just as I suspected only accurate to 3/4'' which is fine for lumber but in my opinion says nothing for firewood.. Take a 30" round and half split it. Take a wet reading. Let it dry then take another reading. Now half split that piece and take a reading. I suspect you will see a vastly different reading. If it works for you that is great but I just cannot grasp it being useful for me.

Here is the website https://www.lignomatusa.com/product/overview-pinless-meters/?_vsrefdom=adwords&AdGroup=Lignomat&AdGroupId=1167681429933884&AdId=72980101002352&Campaign=**LP Branding - A&CampaignId=271523882&Network=o&campaign=271523882&device=c&identifiers=kwd-72980162387725:loc-190&keyword=lignomat moisture meter&msclkid=837f95e2831e16733e73f725968bc367&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=**LP Branding - A&utm_term=lignomat moisture meter&utm_content=Lignomat

No argument…just chatting…

your not going to get a pocket pyrolizing mass spectrometer that runs on AA batteries..lol

seriously, you can take the moisture at anywhere you want in the wood. Your just looking for the highest number and jotting that down. Then come back after some time and grab another piece and split it and take a reading. I make a pocket of what I think is the greenest wood in the stack and draw pieces from there.

 

[ValleyForge]

Another way to check moisture, is just throw a split in a fire and see if any moisture comes out the ends.

Last thing I want to do when it’s 100 degrees and 100% humidity is watch snakewood burn…lol

 

[Bill G]

What species of trees?

I'd consider girdling them and drop them in the fall......................

I have never girdled a tree but I always thought that had the reverse effect. I know some girdle fruit trees to increase fruit set. It makes the tree think it is dying and wants to put on more fruit.

 

[Bill G]

Last thing I want to do when it’s 100 degrees and 100% humidity is watch snakewood burn…lol

I considered keeping my boiler going this summer but the thought of loading a fire when it is 100 degrees did not appeal to me

 

[Mad Professor]

Last thing I want to do when it’s 100 degrees and 100% humidity is watch snakewood burn…lol

If it's maple, cherry or hickory, throw some on the barbecue. I cut a stash of cherry into 1' chunks just for that purpose. Smoke keeps skeeters away too.

 

[sean donato]

This is what I do if I have the option. Typically I'll stack logs for a year or so, off the ground. Then buck and split, then into the shed. If I'm at a spot where loading log lengths isn't possible it's buck then split and stack when I get home.

 

[Mad Professor]

I have never girdled a tree but I always thought that had the reverse effect. I know some girdle fruit trees to increase fruit set. It makes the tree think it is dying and wants to put on more fruit.

Never heard of girdling an orchard fruit tree, except for by rabbits and voles, and that sometimes kills them.

 

[Lionsfan]

Another way to check moisture, is just throw a split in a fire and see if any moisture comes out the ends.

I usually whack myself in the shins with a piece or two. If it goes thud, and sounds dull, not ready. If it goes ping with a ringing sound, she's good to go.

 

[TRTermite]

I usually whack myself in the shins with a piece or two. If it goes thud, and sounds dull, not ready. If it goes ping with a ringing sound, she's good to go.

I wouldn't hear the "THUD" or "Ringing Ping" over My self deprecating cursing fer trying "YOUR WAY". Just sayin'

 

[TRTermite]

I

Never heard of girdling an orchard fruit tree, except for by rabbits and voles, and that sometimes kills them.

always thought if you "Girdled" a tree properly it was a dead tree standing. IT just didn't realize it for a while.

 

[Mad Professor]

I
always thought if you "Girdled" a tree properly it was a dead tree standing. IT just didn't realize it for a while.

Yes, two cuts through cambium all the way around, spaced a few inches apart.

 

[Mad Professor]

I wouldn't hear the "THUD" or "Ringing Ping" over My self deprecating cursing fer trying "YOUR WAY". Just sayin'

I usually whack myself in the shins with a piece or two. If it goes thud, and sounds dull, not ready. If it goes ping with a ringing sound, she's good to go.

I think banging two pieces together, would work better than using your shin.

 

[Bill G]

Never heard of girdling an orchard fruit tree, except for by rabbits and voles, and that sometimes kills them.

I do not claim to know much about it. I just know that is what we were taught in HORT:387 Commercial Fruit Production in college. Now that was nearly 30 years ago. Our professor was Dr. Tom Green. It was his first year teaching as he had worked in the horticulture industry up to that point. The last I knew he was still at the university but he would really be up there in age as he was not real young 30 years ago.

He told us commercial growers would cut a small groove around the base of the trunk. I thought the term was girdling but heck I may be wrong. He said they cut the groove around the base of the trunk. That would make the tree think it was dying and want to reproduce thus having a heavier fruit set. I know I have seen well aged fruit trees with massive scarring at the base.

 

[Bill G]

Here is an article..https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/peach/tree-girdling-for-fruit-production.htm

Looks like I may have had some of the specifics wrong but the basics were right

 

[Joseph Acquisto]

To keep the firewood talk going, looking for comments on what is the smallest diameter to bother splitting?

Some people prefer to burn "rounds", claiming longer burn time and will not split anything under 8" across. Others say 6". I'm starting to drop trees in an area I'm clearing, so it's of current interest.

 

[Bill G]

To keep the firewood talk going, looking for comments on what is the smallest diameter to bother splitting?

Some people prefer to burn "rounds", claiming longer burn time and will not split anything under 8" across. Others say 6". I'm starting to drop trees in an area I'm clearing, so it's of current interest.

Well my experience is going to be different than most. I know people will argue with me and that is fine. Most of my burning is in a outdoor boiler. To be honest I split as little as possible. If I am physically able to pick it up and get it in the door then I do not split it at all. It also depends on my work schedule. If I am around I can just toss a big round or two in every once in awhile. If not I have to split it so that I can pack the stove.

Now to answer your exact question. I never split anything under 10". I am also weird in that I burn a lot of 4'-10" rounds. Others would pass by. I cut a lot of small trees during the winter and cut them into 6-10' long "logs". I cut them at the longest length I can pick them up and pile them on the hayrack. I then take them home and pile them to be bucked later. I cannot waste time cutting them into firewood during the winter as I have to cut, spray and burn as much brush as I can

 

[Hermio]

It is interesting the different experiences folks have. I would never consider ever using a moisture meter on firewood. I am not even sure I have seen one that can accurately read moisture in firewood. I think a good measure of suitability to burn is based on two simple things. Your chimney condition and your ash pile. I burned strictly dry locust for 14 of 15 years. The one off year was dry Red Oak. This was in a cheap steel stove with a black pipe chimney. In the years that I burned Locust I really did not need to clean the chimney. I would brush it and there was zero soot. The ashes were very, very fine with a 100% burn. The year I burned Oak was horrible, It sooted the pipe and left a coarse ash with un-burned wood.

I don't use a wood stove. I use a heat exchange/thermal storage masonry fireplace by Tulikivi. The fire is very hot: 50 lb of wood burned in 90 minutes, with the heat released from the stone in about 24 hours. I have never cleaned the chimney in 27 years. There is no need to. No creosote is formed. I do have to clean out the cleanout ports and ash pit yearly. I burn 6 cords/year and that produces 5-5 wheelbarrow loads of ash.

 

[Bill G]

I don't use a wood stove. I use a heat exchange/thermal storage masonry fireplace by Tulikivi. The fire is very hot: 50 lb of wood burned in 90 minutes, with the heat released from the stone in about 24 hours. I have never cleaned the chimney in 27 years. There is no need to. No creosote is formed. I do have to clean out the cleanout ports and ash pit yearly. I burn 6 cords/year and that produces 5-5 wheelbarrow loads of ash.

So you burn for 90 minutes a day then it sits idle for 1350 minutes a day. This is something I have not heard of. So you have to light a fire every day then?

 

[sean donato]

So you burn for 90 minutes a day then it sits idle for 1350 minutes a day. This is something I have not heard of. So you have to light a fire every day then?

You never heard of a mass rocket stove/heater?

 

[sean donato]

To the question of when I stop splitting, typically anything 8 inches and under. Just not worth the effort. I can fit much larger through the feed door of the furnace, but it doesn't stack well inside the furnace. When I'm splitting I try to go for a 4-6 inch square, or wedge with the large end no wider then 4 inches. This is also dependent on several factors, some of which is species and if we need more kindling at that specific time. I burn about anything and try to keep shoulder season wood separate from burn season wood, so I tend to keep my solder season wood a bit smaller as I'm typically after a short hot fire that starts easy.