Firewood question

I've got a hemlock tree that fell about 1.5 years ago. I'm not the best with a chainsaw, but the thing fell right on its side with the branches holding it perfectly horizontal at about chest height, so it was easy and fun to cut. Last year I cut about a cord from it, and the wood dried super quick. Now I've got myself a brand new hobby-sized wood fired evaporator, and wondering if I'll run short of wood. Which comes to my question:

What are the chances that the hemlock that's been there for the 1.5 years, completely suspended in air by the branches but otherwise uncut, could be cut up now and used as firewood soon after? Or, like most wood, would I need to cut and season it for months before even trying?

I only even ask because a) it's not laying on the ground and it's been exposed to air on all sides (albeit still as a full log with bark on), b) it's hemlock so it dried much faster than any other wood I've ever used.

Thanks...

I think it would be ok, but it won't be as seasoned as cut and split. Cut some and try it, that's the best stest

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Originally Posted by stimyg

I've got a hemlock tree that fell about 1.5 years ago. I'm not the best with a chainsaw, but the thing fell right on its side with the branches holding it perfectly horizontal at about chest height, so it was easy and fun to cut....

What are the chances that the hemlock that's been there for the 1.5 years, completely suspended in air by the branches but otherwise uncut, could be cut up now and used as firewood soon after? Or, like most wood, would I need to cut and season it for months before even trying? Thanks...

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All of the wood I've cut for the past 14 years has been either dead standing or fallen. I'm sure your hemlock is dry and fairly well seasoned by now.

But..For what it's worth...when you say you're not the best with a chainsaw and cutting a fallen and suspended tree at chest height was fun, I think you should keep a few things in mind.
1. Using a chain saw at anything above waist high is extremely dangerous. One slip and it's coming at your head or neck.
2. Cutting a tree that's partially held off the ground by branches also has inherent dangers. You don;t know what pressure will be relieved when you cut and where what you're cutting is going to spring to...

Just a word of caution.

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Originally Posted by johnallin

All of the wood I've cut for the past 14 years has been either dead standing or fallen. I'm sure your hemlock is dry and fairly well seasoned by now.

But..For what it's worth...when you say you're not the best with a chainsaw and cutting a fallen and suspended tree at chest height was fun, I think you should keep a few things in mind.
1. Using a chain saw at anything above waist high is extremely dangerous. One slip and it's coming at your head or neck.
2. Cutting a tree that's partially held off the ground by branches also has inherent dangers. You don;t know what pressure will be relieved when you cut and where what you're cutting is going to spring to...

Just a word of caution.

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I second this. When I saw chest height I thought oh boy.

Cut it up and see what it looks like. Definitely be a season ahead if you can help it


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It will burn fine, but you must split even the smaller wood, the bark on hemlocks as with all pines has a fire retardant in the bark, to protect it in a forest fire.
Several years ago I had some scotch pines I cut to burn. I did not split them if they were over 4" diameter. When I put some into a roaring fire every other thing burnt up and at the end of the day, I still had a 4" chunk (Scotch Pine), blackened but still full size.

Definitely it should be decent. In fact i'd say cut it as soon as possible. In my experience hemlock rots pretty fast.

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Originally Posted by Mead Maple

I second this. When I saw chest height I thought oh boy.

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Thanks for the words of caution. Maybe it’s waist height. I’m pretty careful. Very careful really. But can never be too careful.

Go for it. I cut standing dead softwood all the time and everything above the first 5 or 6 feet fires well.

As the other noted, please, chaps, facemask/helmet and caution. We want to chat with you on the forum about fun stuff, not chainsaw wounds!

Please be careful. The smaller branches are often the more dangerous. It would be best if you could pull it with equipment and get it on the ground. Split it down to to 2” to 4” sticks.

On blow downs I usually start as close to the top as possible and cut towards the trunk. That way your letting it down a little at a time. Watch fore what way a limb is pinching and cut a small release cut then cut from the other side.

good tips provided on safety. You might be able to burn that hemlock if you split it real small as Maple Flats suggested, some species require time for seasoning even if they've been snapped or cut off the stump for quite some time but as you say this species does dry faster than others so you'll probably be ok here. I was offered a downed hemlock last fall, about 18" dia, got two nice logs out of it, got them home and was going to mill them and build an entry door for our log sugar shack but the logs were a little too far gone for milling, so I'm going to burn it in the syrup stove this spring. There is another larger hemlock on the same property and the owner said I could have that one as well so we'll see what shape that one's in......around this part of the country, hemlock is one of the best species for anything outdoors, we have an outhouse at deer camp made from hemlock, it's pushing 100 years old and still standing. Most has been logged off over the years so not too common to come across nice hemlock logs anymore.....if that other hemlock doesn't pan out, I can always use cedar as that's just as good if not better for outdoor projects.

I burn a lot of hemlock in my 2x5 so I have some experience that may help. We have a ton of it on my property, so much that I’ve given quite a bit away. I mix it with hardwoods in my evaporator. I’ve found it dries much faster than our hardwoods, but it still needs some drying time after splitting, to run well. Like most have said in these forums, make sure your wood is dry and split to wrist size. Bark in is no problem as long as it’s split. I’ve dried it as little as 4 months with good results, but I can tell you when I split a downed hemlock that’s been sitting a year or more I’ve found it to be pretty wet inside. Have you tried a moisture meter - $25 or so at a hardware store or on amazon.

Tom

I have all of the normal split wood of maple, white birch, poplar and even some ironwood for the evaporator. I just got a whole bunch of cedar posts that were from a lot of bunk beds. It is very dry, but is stained and likely has some sort of veneer on it.

Cedar will burn like pine I suspect, hot, but can cause a creosote problem, but my concern is for the stain and veneer on it and if that would affect the syrup. I had no plan to use this, but I have a fair amount of it and will be getting more.

Any thoughts if I can use this, or totally stay away from it? My gut says totally stay away from it.

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hardwoods create coals which will lengthen your shutdown times between stopping firing and being able to walk away from the pan. Just sharing my experience. YMMV.

It will make great campfire wood. Don't use it in the evaporator. That coating could cause an off flavor in your syrup.

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Originally Posted by Pdiamond

It will make great campfire wood. Don't use it in the evaporator. That coating could cause an off flavor in your syrup.

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That was my thinking and my fear as well. Some of it will be headed for the ice hut.

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HOLY COW! How many bunk beds did you have?

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Originally Posted by Pdiamond

It will make great campfire wood. Don't use it in the evaporator. That coating could cause an off flavor in your syrup.

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I think there are several environmental reasons not to burn it in the evaporator, although I don't think it would create an off flavor since the smoke shouldn't be passing near your pan. As for burning it as campfire wood - that creates the same environmental impacts and would be even worse since any toxic fumes from the coatings would be more likely to be inhaled.

The best solution is to repurpose the stuff.

Ken

Probably the best idea. We will likely make some flower boxes and other outdoor boxes with them. They came from a place that had many bedrooms and they are replacing the furniture.

Maybe I can make some walls out of them for my next sugar shack!

I been thinking about this thread and I could agrue both ways, burn or not burn. I think it comes down to one simple rule, "if there is any doubt about safety then don't do it".

If you make a flower garden out of it make sure to not plant anything you would eat near it. There could be lead or worse in the stain which can leach into the ground. Repurposing for a sugar shack seems like the best idea.

With having now built an RO and hopefully reaping the benefits of it, I figured I only needed to steal 2 face cords from my house fireplace stockpile. Today was a rare day, where the temperatures finally and barely went above freezing. I dug out by hand, my log splitter, which was buried 40’ away in knee high snow.

I had a covered wood shed that was emptied so I had a place to put the wood.

I resplit the 2 face cords originally destined for the house into wrist sized or smaller pieces and stacked it in a cover shed. This wood is my off season wood so consisted of white and yellow birch, maple, and a little oak and ironwood.

I then started to move the 3 face cords already split wrist sized from a wood pile only covered on top with some poly, to the covered shed. I will try and move it all to the covered shed, so that it will be as dry as possible when it comes time to burn. That 3 face cords has poplar, birch, a lot of maple and some iron wood.

I also have 10 bins worth of scrap construction pine pieces for start up and an occasional boost. The ironwood I will use sporadically for a boost as well.

I have a bunch of seasoned maple held in reserve in case I need more, but it is not wrist size.