Growing your own firewood

slowburner

eatmedrinkme wrote: »

I do mean Buxus, Buxus Sempervirens, UK boxwood. Was used to make cogs for wheels, and hard tough tools. Hardest of the European hardwoods apparently.

On my land, any ash will have to be plamted carefully if I want to have fast growing healthy trees. I had tought Sweet Chesnut needed well drained soil. In the sunny South of England, it coppices well apparently. Ben Law, the coppicing guru in the UK, has a sweet chestnut forest. Splits well, worls well outdoors untreated - lasts for a long time apparently. But I think my land is unsuited to it. I did want to try some experimental planting of it however. And you may need better summers than we get in the Northwest for good sweet chesnuts...

Fabulous timber boxwood, much sought after by wood turners, me included. Are you planning to plant it as a 'cash crop' or firewood :eek: You'll be waiting a while for either, methinks.
I have sweet chestnut growing here with their roots in a stream - I heard too (maybe here) that they are a tree of well drained calcareous soil. They are absolutely thriving here in the wet ground which is extremely acidic but mineral rich. I would chance planting them but maybe professional advice would be wise.

johngalway

slowburner wrote: »

So it seems from JG's thread, that furze/gorse/whins actually burn fairly well if not too dry or too small.
I'll try some and report back.

I can report directly

You can burn them fresh, but it's better to season them - for a while. Too long and they'll dry out and burn out quicker, it's a judgement call.

The small bits are excellent kindling, and SFA use for anything else. You could burn a truckload in a night, that is if your manservant didn't mind drawing them in all night, because no one in their right mind would bother.

The bigger pieces are good for heat. I give most to the girlfriend who burns them in an open fire place, much to my lament. But when the TV and cooker give out, well, a stove is a long way down the list.

Now, the parents, they have a stove and I think furze is great for it. It's the gift that keeps on giving once you warm the stove up. While the furze will burn quickly, if it goes out, it can be lit quickly again.

I'm positively sure there's much better firewood in lastability terms. But, if you've a farmer on your doorstep that has mature furze, it's worth the ask does he want them cleared.

I use a top handle chainsaw, which is much more nimble for the job than the standard type. I cut off the trash, then pretty much dissect the bigger branches then and there, doing as much as I can in the time I have. It IS a job to clear the trash from the firewood mind.

I've set up a frame on the farm made from weldmesh. It means I can sit the cut furze up off the ground and stack two rows deeps (OK, it's a small frame ), this means there's very good airflow, and a bit of polythene on top keeps the water off.

There are better woods, but the price is right for me. Got to get buzzing again soon as supplies are dwindling!

slowburner

Great info from the original source . I use a single handed saw too, you just can't beat them for handiness. The furze I am looking at is mostly dead and nature has stripped most of the spindly stuff. I'll cut some as soon as it's defrosted (-3ºc atm)

eatmedrinkme

slowburner wrote: »

Fabulous timber boxwood, much sought after by wood turners, me included. Are you planning to plant it as a 'cash crop' or firewood :eek: You'll be waiting a while for either, methinks.
I have sweet chestnut growing here with their roots in a stream - I heard too (maybe here) that they are a tree of well drained calcareous soil. They are absolutely thriving here in the wet ground which is extremely acidic but mineral rich. I would chance planting them but maybe professional advice would be wise.

I'm planning to plant the Boxwood just for the hell of it. There's no commercial aspect to anything I put in, apart from supply me with firewood, and, in the case of some specialist trees, giving me useful timber.

Good to hear about the sweet chestnut. I'll try some in a corner somewhere, or as part of a nursery screen for something else. Again, it's not commercial, and if the first few take, I'll put in more somewhere. If not, no major loss.

We've grown a couple of trees from seed and nut, so, I guess we might do the same with these.

goat2

which is the fastest growing tree,

slowburner

Would it be too early to put an order in for a cube of boxwood?

slowburner

goat2 wrote: »

which is the fastest growing tree,

Do you mean out of the trees mentioned here, or in general?

goat2

slowburner wrote: »

Do you mean out of the trees mentioned here, or in general?

in general

mountainy man

Interesting list of species and uses and conditions needed.

http://www.ifa.ie/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=LzbhnlWMVaw%3D&tabid=703

slowburner

goat2 wrote: »

which is the fastest growing tree,

My guess is Leylandii.

goat2

slowburner wrote: »

My guess is Leylandii.

i would be hoping to get decedious, so that the little bit of sun we get in winter would shine through

clonmahon

goat2 wrote: »

i would be hoping to get decedious, so that the little bit of sun we get in winter would shine through

Then your looking at willow or poplar

clonmahon

mountainy man wrote: »

Interesting list of species and uses and conditions needed.

http://www.ifa.ie/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=LzbhnlWMVaw%3D&tabid=703

It says that birch "Not regarded as a timber tree in Ireland. Is used for pulp in Scandinavia"

This is true in that we Irish do not grow it for timber but this is a major mistake as birch is very good hardwood timber. It will grow on very poor ground, it will grow very quick, if well managed it will make very clean and straight grained timber, is very hardy, will stand exposure, will self seed freely and coppices very well. At the risk of repeating myself one of the largest aircraft that ever flew was made from birch, this is first class construction timber.

slowburner

goat2 wrote: »

i would be hoping to get decedious, so that the little bit of sun we get in winter would shine through

Personally, I would plum for Birch. Not as fast growing as willow or poplar but the light comes through even in the summer when it is beautifully dappled.
Don't plant Poplar near any form of structure whatever you choose. Their roots get under foundations.

eatmedrinkme

I'd be happy to take an order for some bpxwood, slowburner.

You can pay me now, and then my descendants will send your descendants the wood.

Bargain!

johngalway

slowburner wrote: »

Great info from the original source . I use a single handed saw too, you just can't beat them for handiness. The furze I am looking at is mostly dead and nature has stripped most of the spindly stuff. I'll cut some as soon as it's defrosted (-3ºc atm)

I just wonder if you will be disappointed with furze that's already dead, it may end up being a lot lighter than the healthy (unhealthily thorny for you) stuff.

slowburner

eatmedrinkme wrote: »

I'd be happy to take an order for some bpxwood, slowburner.

You can pay me now, and then my descendants will send your descendants the wood.

Bargain!

Cheque's in the post.

slowburner

johngalway wrote: »

I just wonder if you will be disappointed with furze that's already dead, it may end up being a lot lighter than the healthy (unhealthily thorny for you) stuff.

Most of the Furze around here was killed over last winter. I probably should have harvested it over the summer because it's nearly all too rotten now.

slowburner

mountainy man wrote: »

Interesting list of species and uses and conditions needed.

http://www.ifa.ie/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=LzbhnlWMVaw%3D&tabid=703

An informative and useful link as a reference point but it is a bit misleading about the durability of timber.
The word 'durable' is a precise term used to describe timber which is resistant to decay and/or insect attack.
Oak, Yew and to a lesser extent, Cherry are the only native, durable species. The document states that Sycamore is 'a tough durable timber' - it is neither. It also states that Alder is a durable timber - not in the open air but it may be durable under water.

slowburner

clonmahon wrote: »

It says that birch "Not regarded as a timber tree in Ireland. Is used for pulp in Scandinavia"

This is true in that we Irish do not grow it for timber but this is a major mistake as birch is very good hardwood timber. It will grow on very poor ground, it will grow very quick, if well managed it will make very clean and straight grained timber, is very hardy, will stand exposure, will self seed freely and coppices very well. At the risk of repeating myself one of the largest aircraft that ever flew was made from birch, this is first class construction timber.

Methinks we need to start a campaign for nationwide birch plantations.
In addition to all the above, birch forests are stunningly beautiful and build great ecosystems for native biodiversity. They are also a 'pioneer species' that is, they are usually the first species to inhabit waste ground. I could be wrong, but I think they have an ability to absorb heavy metals too. Around here, there are vast spoil heaps of waste from mine workings which contain considerable quantities of all sorts of nasty stuff and a 'soil' structure which you wouldn't think would support bacteria, let alone trees. And yet, they are colonising the spoil heaps and as they do so, they create a humus which allows other organisms to develop.
Wonders of nature really.

I didn't know that Birch could be coppiced. That's good news. All I've managed to do is kill a few saplings

johngalway

slowburner wrote: »

Most of the Furze around here was killed over last winter. I probably should have harvested it over the summer because it's nearly all too rotten now.

I had feared as much when I read your post above. It goes to crumbly light junk when like that.

slowburner

I get the impression that wood left out in frosty or snowy conditions seems to soak in much more water than if left out under rainfall and it seems to soak in to a greater depth. Has anyone else experienced this?

Rovi

slowburner wrote: »

I get the impression that wood left out in frosty or snowy conditions seems to soak in much more water than if left out under rainfall and it seems to soak in to a greater depth. Has anyone else experienced this?

It certainly looks that way all right, but I sometimes wonder if it's just the added misery of handling wet/frozen timber in the snow that makes it appear so?

eatmedrinkme

Coford did a study on this. It's available here, and it's fairly straightforward. The conclusion section is interesting, and fairly short.

They've got lots of useful stuff at the Coford.ie website to do with setting up and harvesting from forestry.

And it talks about the differenbce in drying between ash and spruce.

That said, it doesn't cover the frost and snow issue. Though, I'm guessing, freezing conditions cause the log to expand even more, and crack it open a little, as ice initially expands.

They say, based on a study of drying times on test piles, that in Ireland, wood for burning must be dried under a roof or other cover. Specifically they state that woods under cover, and not under cover (outside) dry equally well to begin witn, but the ones out of cover soak up the wet in wet weather, and finish off at 30% moisture content at the end of the drying poeriod, and the ojnes under cover wind up at 20%.

They figure the stuff that finished at 30% would have gone up even more if it had gone though winter. That extra 10% was just from summer and autumn weather.

They also say that, for short logs with a less than 10cm diameter, they dry equally well split or unsplit over the full drying time. Don't have to split em. (3m long ash logs dried faster when cut and split, but it looks like shorter than that and it's fine...)

slowburner

Rovi wrote: »

It certainly looks that way all right, but I sometimes wonder if it's just the added misery of handling wet/frozen timber in the snow that makes it appear so?

Could be the added misery alright but I think it could be that frozen water sits on the wood for longer than rain - if that makes sense. I wonder if the action of freezing opens the pores in the wood too?

slowburner

eatmedrinkme wrote: »

Coford did a study on this. It's available here, and it's fairly straightforward. The conclusion section is interesting, and fairly short.

They've got lots of useful stuff at the Coford.ie website to do with setting up and harvesting from forestry.

And it talks about the differenbce in drying between ash and spruce.

That said, it doesn't cover the frost and snow issue. Though, I'm guessing, freezing conditions cause the log to expand even more, and crack it open a little, as ice initially expands.

They say, based on a study of drying times on test piles, that in Ireland, wood for burning must be dried under a roof or other cover. Specifically they state that woods under cover, and not under cover (outside) dry equally well to begin witn, but the ones out of cover soak up the wet in wet weather, and finish off at 30% moisture content at the end of the drying poeriod, and the ojnes under cover wind up at 20%.

They figure the stuff that finished at 30% would have gone up even more if it had gone though winter. That extra 10% was just from summer and autumn weather.

They also say that, for short logs with a less than 10cm diameter, they dry equally well split or unsplit over the full drying time. Don't have to split em. (3m long ash logs dried faster when cut and split, but it looks like shorter than that and it's fine...)

Great PDF from Coford - very interesting. Especially this bit:

Natural drying can achieve a moisture content of about 18-20%. At this moisture
content, the moisture between and within the cells has evaporated, only the water
chemically bound to the cell wall remains. It is not possible to dry wood below
this level in the Irish climate. Artificial drying can reduce moisture content to 8-
10%, for example in sawn timber that is dried in a kiln. If wood is dried below
8% it will reabsorb moisture from the air.

Apologies for the overlap in posting above.

eatmedrinkme

Thanks slowburner.

I wonder if something like this would work here.

This is in Maryland in the US, I think, with cold winters, and the guy claims to get 11% and less moisture content in his wood.

It's a solar wood drier, basically, a framework, like the skin of a shed, with a clear plastic roof, and tarps for walls ( and two solid side walls).

I don't know what the wood is, but he claims the wood was collected in spring and summer, and moisture tested in winter. Kinda like kiln drying...which would get rid of the bound moisture.

Catch it here. (Ignore the intro bit)

slowburner

eatmedrinkme wrote: »

Thanks slowburner.

I wonder if something like this would work here.

This is in Maryland in the US, I think, with cold winters, and the guy claims to get 11% and less moisture content in his wood.

It's a solar wood drier, basically, a framework, like the skin of a shed, with a clear plastic roof, and tarps for walls ( and two solid side walls).

I don't know what the wood is, but he claims the wood was collected in spring and summer, and moisture tested in winter. Kinda like kiln drying...which would get rid of the bound moisture.

Catch it here. (Ignore the intro bit)

I tried a similar project on a small scale once - it worked grand in the summer but the problems start with the first frosts when you get condensation and drips from the interior of the roof.
The report seems to conclude that 30% MC is about as good as you'll get with air dried wood on this soggy isle. Very interesting that S.Spruce took twice as long as Ash to dry.

eatmedrinkme

slowburner wrote: »

I tried a similar project on a small scale once - it worked grand in the summer but the problems start with the first frosts when you get condensation and drips from the interior of the roof.
The report seems to conclude that 30% MC is about as good as you'll get with air dried wood on this soggy isle. Very interesting that S.Spruce took twice as long as Ash to dry.

Yeah. I hadn't figured in the condensation.

I might try building one for quick summer and early autumn drying, and then splitting and transferring to my woodshed. I could use the solar shed for overwintering plants then.

Could try a bay of spruce, and a bay of ash, and weigh logs before and after.

I knew ash would dry in a year, and that spruce could take two, but good to have hearsay confirmed. Guessing alder takes the 18 months/ two years too.

Must mention it to herself.

slowburner

eatmedrinkme wrote: »

Yeah. I hadn't figured in the condensation.

I might try building one for quick summer and early autumn drying, and then splitting and transferring to my woodshed. I could use the solar shed for overwintering plants then.

Could try a bay of spruce, and a bay of ash, and weigh logs before and after.

I knew ash would dry in a year, and that spruce could take two, but good to have hearsay confirmed. Guessing alder takes the 18 months/ two years too.

Must mention it to herself.

I'd guess Alder might follow the same route as Ash, it being a hardwood and all. The paper doesn't offer an explanation as to why the Spruce takes so long to dry - my guess is that the open nature of the grain allows the wood to absorb as much free moisture from the air as it lets out and conversely the tighter grain of hardwood lets less free moisture back in.