No Profanity *** No Flaming *** No Advertising *** No Anti Trappers ***NO POLITICS
No Non-Target Catches *** No Links to Anti-trapping Sites *** No Avoiding Profanity Filter


Home~Trap Talk~ADC Forum~Trap Shed~Wilderness Trapping~International Trappers~Fur Handling

Auction Forum~Trapper Tips~Links~Gallery~Basic Sets~Convention Calendar~Chat~ Trap Collecting Forum

Trapper's Humor~Strictly Trapping~Fur Buyers Directory~Mugshots~Fur Sale Directory~Wildcrafting~The Pen and Quill

Trapper's Tales~Words From The Past~Legends~Archives~Kids Forum~Lure Formulators Forum~ Fermenter's Forum


~~~ Dobbins' Products Catalog ~~~


Minnesota Trapline Products
Please support our sponsor for the Trappers Talk Page - Minnesota Trapline Products


Print Thread
Hop To
Page 4 of 5 1 2 3 4 5
Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: grapestomper] #6723024
01/10/20 12:45 AM
01/10/20 12:45 AM
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 1,482
Ne pa
J
Jerry Jr. Offline OP
trapper
Jerry Jr.  Offline OP
trapper
J

Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 1,482
Ne pa
Originally Posted by grapestomper
I burn wood in an outdoor burner.
This year i turned my water temp down some to see the result.
My blower on my furnace runs longer but the house stays at 70 easy enough.
I have been getting up to 24 hours on a full load.
My kids and i get wood in a loader. We go and cut one bucket or more at a time. Takes a little over an hour to fill the bucket.
One bucket lasts about a week. We don't split anything. Cut it and dump next to the burner. I'm not one of those guys that has to have a pretty wood pile.
We try and cut at least one load a week in the winter so our pile never gets to small. Better than cutting wood when it is 75 outside.
I still chew my kids out when they leave the door open. We prefer getting some exercise rather than paying the gas man.


What did you turn your temp down to? Mine kicks on at ~155 and shuts off at 180. My temp coming in is 150-160. That is assuming all gauges are reading correctly.

I also like to burn logs 6" or less. We cut them 3-4' depending on the diameter. As long as I can pick it up and throw it in it does not get split. I can fit a 5' piece in my burner. It seems that I get a better burn with the longer smaller stuff (tops of trees). It last longer, burns down even and doesn't bridge like I get with split wood. The only thing I did better with was seasoned oak. We cut a bunch of standing dead oak and that stuff was great. The only wood I had a problem with was wet pine. That just did not want to burn. Let it dry and it burned fine, just not wet. Everything else, just throw it in.

The draw back is I am burning more with the outdoor burner. I was burning about 6 cords inside and about 9 with the outside burner (old and way bigger than I need). The plus is I can put the wood close to the burner and I don't have to worry about throwing wood down in the basement. All of the mess is outside (bugs included). We also use more of the trees we take. We cut them right down to about 1". Not bad when you can cut them 3-4' in length.

I figure we have offset the extra wood we burn with the extra wood we now take from the trees we cut. The stuff we would have just pushed up in a pile most of that come home with me.


Time is more precious than gold if you know how to spend it
.... but what do I know, I'm just a dumb farmer.~My Dad
NRA LIFE MEMBER, Endowment Member
Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: Northof50] #6723029
01/10/20 12:53 AM
01/10/20 12:53 AM
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 11,194
Maine, Aroostook
Posco Offline
trapper
Posco  Offline
trapper

Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 11,194
Maine, Aroostook
Originally Posted by Northof50
Originally Posted by white17
The trouble is tamarack doesn't get bigger than 3-4 inches diameter


And my I note; Is a hundred years old in your region.

Note that the northern wood grows slower and the dark winter ring is much denser


Here is a piece of black spruce I cut in North Pole, Alaska. There are at least fifty years of growth rings represented. [Linked Image]
[Linked Image]

Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: Jerry Jr.] #6723034
01/10/20 01:01 AM
01/10/20 01:01 AM
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 45,263
james bay frontierOnt.
B
Boco Offline
trapper
Boco  Offline
trapper
B

Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 45,263
james bay frontierOnt.
They like our northern wood here.The tight fibre makes the best paper.


Forget that fear of gravity-get a little savagery in your life.
Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: Jerry Jr.] #6723049
01/10/20 01:23 AM
01/10/20 01:23 AM
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,623
alaska
3
3 Fingers Offline
trapper
3 Fingers  Offline
trapper
3

Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,623
alaska
Visiting the wife’s family in Kentucky a couple years ago I saw this ad in the paper. Heat is energy and energy costs money. That simple.

11BFB9D4-1850-419C-8F0D-1068A828BFBB.jpeg
Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: Jerry Jr.] #6723313
01/10/20 10:55 AM
01/10/20 10:55 AM
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 16,150
Tennessee
Scuba1 Offline
"color blind Kraut"
Scuba1  Offline
"color blind Kraut"

Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 16,150
Tennessee
If ya look around here, they sell firewood in those little nets at the grocery stores for 5 bucks per net. It would cost me 20+ bucks a day if I used that. Looking at the dead standing oak I have around me, I am a pretty wealthy guy lol


Let's go Brandon

"Shall not comply" with morons who don't understand "shall not infringe."
Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: Jerry Jr.] #6723324
01/10/20 11:01 AM
01/10/20 11:01 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 19,930
SEPA
L
Lugnut Online content
trapper
Lugnut  Online Content
trapper
L

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 19,930
SEPA
That stuff is for folks wanting campfires when they go to a state park or similar. Folks that don't normally burn wood.


Eh...wot?

Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: Jerry Jr.] #6723332
01/10/20 11:06 AM
01/10/20 11:06 AM
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 1,862
Northeast Wisconsin
N
NE Wildlife Offline
trapper
NE Wildlife  Offline
trapper
N

Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 1,862
Northeast Wisconsin
Actually around here that was the price a lot of folks were getting for dry split firewood
Now it’s around 90.00 with price of propane so low



Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: Jerry Jr.] #6723369
01/10/20 11:49 AM
01/10/20 11:49 AM
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 1,252
mi. u.p
grapestomper Offline
trapper
grapestomper  Offline
trapper

Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 1,252
mi. u.p
Originally Posted by Jerry Jr.
Originally Posted by grapestomper
I burn wood in an outdoor burner.
This year i turned my water temp down some to see the result.
My blower on my furnace runs longer but the house stays at 70 easy enough.
I have been getting up to 24 hours on a full load.
My kids and i get wood in a loader. We go and cut one bucket or more at a time. Takes a little over an hour to fill the bucket.
One bucket lasts about a week. We don't split anything. Cut it and dump next to the burner. I'm not one of those guys that has to have a pretty wood pile.
We try and cut at least one load a week in the winter so our pile never gets to small. Better than cutting wood when it is 75 outside.
I still chew my kids out when they leave the door open. We prefer getting some exercise rather than paying the gas man.


What did you turn your temp down to? Mine kicks on at ~155 and shuts off at 180. My temp coming in is 150-160. That is assuming all gauges are reading correctly.


I also like to burn logs 6" or less. We cut them 3-4' depending on the diameter. As long as I can pick it up and throw it in it does not get split. I can fit a 5' piece in my burner. It seems that I get a better burn with the longer smaller stuff (tops of trees). It last longer, burns down even and doesn't bridge like I get with split wood. The only thing I did better with was seasoned oak. We cut a bunch of standing dead oak and that stuff was great. The only wood I had a problem with was wet pine. That just did not want to burn. Let it dry and it burned fine, just not wet. Everything else, just throw it in.

The draw back is I am burning more with the outdoor burner. I was burning about 6 cords inside and about 9 with the outside burner (old and way bigger than I need). The plus is I can put the wood close to the burner and I don't have to worry about throwing wood down in the basement. All of the mess is outside (bugs included). We also use more of the trees we take. We cut them right down to about 1". Not bad when you can cut them 3-4' in length.

I figure we have offset the extra wood we burn with the extra wood we now take from the trees we cut. The stuff we would have just pushed up in a pile most of that come home with me.


My high temp now is 130. When it gets below zero i usually turn it up. We had a week below zero here a few weeks back and I left it at 130 and the house was fine. Didn't get 24 hrs but still good.
I cut most everything about 2'. I keep whatever will fit thru my door. I refuse to split wood anymore. I don't burn pine. I burn everything else. We burn quite a bit of poplar. Also lots of oak and maple. Oak works the best in the cold weather for length of burn time. The best wood is the free wood. I get calls all the time to grab a tree from someone's yard. We also have a big chunk of property to get all of our wood from. I like the mess outside also. Way nicer than in the basement or living room. I have burned about 10 cords per year for the last several years. My guess this year will be 8 unless we get lots of cold the rest of the winter.

Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: Jerry Jr.] #6723520
01/10/20 02:29 PM
01/10/20 02:29 PM
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 4,515
Nebraska
Trapset Offline
trapper
Trapset  Offline
trapper

Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 4,515
Nebraska
In Nebraska I burn a lot of Cottonwood in spring and fall when weather is mild. We don't need an all night/all day fire then. Its easy to light, burns fast and hot. Perfect for warming up the house quick but not lasting long enough to run ya out. Also very plentiful along the river we live on.

One of my favorite heating woods is actually a Cottonwood that falls in the river live, then the ice peels the bark off during ice out. The next year the wood is so hard, its almost like its pickled or something, the sap must get locked in or something. Burns a long time with not as much ash as normal Cottonwood. Does not even split stringy like regular Cottonwood, actually "pops" like frozen hard wood when splitting.

Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: Jerry Jr.] #6723605
01/10/20 03:44 PM
01/10/20 03:44 PM
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 2,740
Wisconsin
B
Bear Tracker Offline
trapper
Bear Tracker  Offline
trapper
B

Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 2,740
Wisconsin
I have good friends in northwest Ontario , they burn pine and popple. I could not imagine burning that for firewood. I only burn seasoned Oak, Ash, Maple, Hickory here in WI. Around 13 to 15 cord a year. My brothers outdoor wood burner 25 cord but he does throw in some popple and birch.

Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: Jerry Jr.] #6723609
01/10/20 03:46 PM
01/10/20 03:46 PM
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 6,518
MB
J
Jurassic Park Offline
trapper
Jurassic Park  Offline
trapper
J

Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 6,518
MB
I’m with you Jerry!

Poplar seems to be the firewood of choice here.


Cold as ice!
Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: Jerry Jr.] #6723618
01/10/20 03:51 PM
01/10/20 03:51 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 19,930
SEPA
L
Lugnut Online content
trapper
Lugnut  Online Content
trapper
L

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 19,930
SEPA
Is that an availability thing JP?


Eh...wot?

Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: Jerry Jr.] #6723632
01/10/20 03:57 PM
01/10/20 03:57 PM
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 4,515
Nebraska
Trapset Offline
trapper
Trapset  Offline
trapper

Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 4,515
Nebraska
I burn a lot of Pine while in Canada (NW Ont.) I make sure to let her rip for half hour or so every couple days to clean out the chimney. I am always surprised how well it heats, and lasts.

Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: Jerry Jr.] #6723636
01/10/20 03:59 PM
01/10/20 03:59 PM
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 45,263
james bay frontierOnt.
B
Boco Offline
trapper
Boco  Offline
trapper
B

Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 45,263
james bay frontierOnt.
You just have to burn a little more of the lower btu wood that's all.
In 80 cubic feet of dry wood you have the following values in millions of btu's
So 2 sticks of balsam,(the poorest wood to burn in the north)would be equal to one stick of oak.
Most oaks-29
ash- 23.5
birch- 23.5
tamarack-22.5
Jack pine-18.5
Most spruce-17
aspen-16.5
balsam-15.5
At camp I burn dry spruce and birch and keep a bit of green poplar to mix to regulate the fire in the fall.
When its 40 below you want the birch and tamarack in the wood box.

Last edited by Boco; 01/10/20 04:01 PM.

Forget that fear of gravity-get a little savagery in your life.
Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: Jerry Jr.] #6723653
01/10/20 04:13 PM
01/10/20 04:13 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,835
Pa
W
Wright Brothers Offline
trapper
Wright Brothers  Offline
trapper
W

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,835
Pa
Have a poplar on my place I'm sure I couldn't give away.
It is Tulip. Some that grow on the steep river hills (maybe Yellow?) are not good burning either.
Like I said earlier, probably whole different animals than the ones farther North.

If youns want those or pine, come on over.





Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: Jerry Jr.] #6723688
01/10/20 04:49 PM
01/10/20 04:49 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 19,930
SEPA
L
Lugnut Online content
trapper
Lugnut  Online Content
trapper
L

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 19,930
SEPA
I took down some big tulip poplar at my place a couple of yeas ago. Couldn't see wasting it so I processed it and use it campfire wood and making scrapple.


Eh...wot?

Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: Jerry Jr.] #6723689
01/10/20 04:51 PM
01/10/20 04:51 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 19,930
SEPA
L
Lugnut Online content
trapper
Lugnut  Online Content
trapper
L

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 19,930
SEPA
To me it ain't worth putting in the woodstove. You throw a chunk in and by the time you sit down it's burnt up, ready for more. grin


Eh...wot?

Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: Jerry Jr.] #6725241
01/11/20 09:30 PM
01/11/20 09:30 PM
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 295
NY
T
trappermac NY Offline
trapper
trappermac NY  Offline
trapper
T

Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 295
NY
Heat the home with woodstove only, most of the wood from my land. Ash or cherry early in the season, then when colder I go to the hickory, maple, and beech. When well below zero I save the ironwood for that. Have never had kreosote in my stack, the wood burner has never seen any pine or softwood.
Leave the door open, the breeze feels good.

Last edited by trappermac NY; 01/11/20 09:32 PM.

Member NYSTA, NTA, FBU, ECTA
Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: trappermac NY] #6726856
01/13/20 12:15 AM
01/13/20 12:15 AM
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 1,482
Ne pa
J
Jerry Jr. Offline OP
trapper
Jerry Jr.  Offline OP
trapper
J

Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 1,482
Ne pa
Originally Posted by trappermac NY
Heat the home with woodstove only, most of the wood from my land. Ash or cherry early in the season, then when colder I go to the hickory, maple, and beech. When well below zero I save the ironwood for that. Have never had kreosote in my stack, the wood burner has never seen any pine or softwood.
Leave the door open, the breeze feels good.


I thought about separating the wood. But, we either collect it from out here in the swamp or we get it by the truck / trailer load. That just ain't gonna happen. I do set some cherry and hickory to the side for smoking. We make three piles. One is the one I use for smoking. That is pretty much what gets thrown to the side. The next is what we split early. It gets stacked and ready to burn the following year. The last pile is the ash that we cut and split to burn. The rest is what I use in the outdoor burner. Limbs and garbage wood works just fine.

I did heat with a wood stove in the basement for a few years. It worked... I just needed seasoned wood and needed to load the stove several times a day. I burn a few cords more a year with the outdoor burner but I can load some in it in the morning and some in the evening. I can also use more of the tops of the trees, right down to an inch or so. We cut them to 3-4 FOOT in length. Seasoned oak is better but I can load mine with enough limbs to last a couple days in our coldest weather, tho I strive for 12 hours.

I have thought about turning the temp down, but, my ole lady likes to take a shower with the devil. Hot water heater is set ~150 (heated by the outdoor burner), not sure how she can take that heat. Maybe it is just to keep me out.


Time is more precious than gold if you know how to spend it
.... but what do I know, I'm just a dumb farmer.~My Dad
NRA LIFE MEMBER, Endowment Member
Re: The problem with burning firewood. [Re: Jerry Jr.] #6726867
01/13/20 12:32 AM
01/13/20 12:32 AM
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 2,220
SE NEBRASKA
NebrCatMan Offline
trapper
NebrCatMan  Offline
trapper

Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 2,220
SE NEBRASKA
Here something pretty true... if you have a small cabin !! [Linked Image]


Remember "Forbidden Fruit makes many Jams"
Page 4 of 5 1 2 3 4 5
Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread