RR tie cut offs
- Thread starter ajr
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ropensaddle
Feel Lucky
how do you get a RR tie to be partly oak and partly sweetgum? :msp_tongue:
ropensaddle
Feel Lucky
Gorilla glue :hmm3grin2orange:
indiansprings
Firewood Purveyor
There a many people in this area that burn them, they are just the excess length that is removed from the tie before it is shipped to the creosote plant. My late father used to buy them, back then (76-80) the local mill sold them for 10.00 for all you could stack on a pickup. They were easy to spit, no bark, no mess, easy to stack up being rectangular, and were mostly white oak. Great fuel supply for the money. Back then there wasn't the demand for them and they were easy to get, now there are more folks burning wood and I'm told it is tough to get any, as it is first come first serve, and they are hard to accquire. The biggest competition here for wood sellers is debarked oak slabs, they sell bundles for 10.00 which are very easy for the home owner to process with a little saw.
indiansprings
Firewood Purveyor
Most of the time the ties ends you get are somewhat green and not fully seasoned, if that is the case you have to be careful about creosote build up in your flue and keep it cleaned out, tie ends need to season like any other wood source. They burn like any other seasoned piece of oak, not hot and fast like a pallet. You didn't clarify if they have been treated yet or not, I would steer clear of any treated tie ends in a indoor wood stove, I would only burn them in a Outdoor wood furnace and then if I didn't have any close neighbors,lol. The smoke and smell would deter most.
old_soul
ArboristSite Operative
around here the railroad has a backhoe with some kind of attachment that breaks the old ties up when they pull them out from under the rails. Into 18 - 24 inch pieces. They just shove them off to the side and move on.
I always see people loading them up for firewood. Guy down the street must have 4, 5 cord stacked along his garage. You can tell when he's burning them too. Can't imagine what it smells like in that house. But I bet it is W A R M...... At the shop, sometimes a few get mixed in with the stump (burn) piles. Wow do they burn hot!!!
RR ties are soaked in creosote for days. I suggest perhaps using them for campfires at parties. Then get ready to clean your chain saw. They gum up everything and smell like tar sands oil that we are getting ready to import from Canada in mass quantities using the forthcoming Keystone Pipleline.
zogger
Tree Freak
Id grab as much of those oak ends as I could get if it was free or cheap. Its thick oak, short, but oak, thats all you need to know.
Rsquared
ArboristSite Operative
I get them from a local mill. They are white oak, untreated chunks around 10 x10. They charge 15 bucks for all you can load in your pick up, trailer, etc. I have spent 45 bucks the last two years on 3 loads. Once they have seasoned for a bit, they burn great. I will keep some of it on hand as long as I can get it. I am planning a trip out to the mill next week to get another load that will be ready for next burning season...
Perk
ArboristSite Member
Used to be able to get them here at the Salem, Va. plant, but they wised up and converted their treatment plant boiler from natural gas to a big wood burning boiler. Now they burn them all themselves. Oh well!!!
Canton
ArboristSite Member
I've burned several loads of them in my OWB this winter with no problems. In my area they sell them in two sizes - smalls and bigs. They're very technical about it.... The "smalls" are anywhere from a sliver to about a foot long. The "bigs" are anywhere from 10" or so to about 2 ft. I watched my neighbor split a couple of the larger pieces for his wood stove and decided it was not for me. I just throw them in the boiler whole, they burn fine. Around here they cut almost exclusively white oak, but once in a great while the cut pine. Not sure what they do with the pine, but the cuts are usually loaded for free.
shelbythedog
ArboristSite Operative
I'm north of you 20 miles or so, and would be interested in grabbing a load of these for myself. Where are you getting these from if you don't mind me asking?
Rsquared
ArboristSite Operative
Shelby, PM sent.. R2
mga
wandering
the ties are not treated until they are cut to size.
it's a cost measure....why treat ends that will just be cut off?
i've read where quite a few people grab these and have used them for fire wood for years with out any complaints. if you have a lead on them, grab all you can. it's cheap good fire wood with very little effort.
it's a cost measure....why treat ends that will just be cut off?
i've read where quite a few people grab these and have used them for fire wood for years with out any complaints. if you have a lead on them, grab all you can. it's cheap good fire wood with very little effort.
