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My fireplace insert burns about four-and-a-half pounds of wood an hour or about 2kg. The pile of wood on that pallet will weigh about 600 pounds after drying which pencils out to 130 hours of burn-time.
Green Wood
I cut a wedge out of a 6" diameter round and dried it in the microwave. I learned that freshly cut, October Black Locust is 37% water-by-weight.
According to the internet, that means that I can expect 10.6 MJ/kg of wood in heat if I burned it "green". If I dry it down to 12% moisture, the net heat jumps up to 15.8 MJ/kg which is almost 50% higher. 20% moisture is about 14 MJ/kg.
The real issue with green wood isn't the loss of heating value, it is condensate in the chimney and incomplete combustion. Those two combine to create flammable deposits inside of the chimney and, in time, chimney fires.
Other almost-useless information
The technique for using a microwave to determine the dry-matter content of pasture grasses or the moisture content of wood is to place a weighed sample in a ceramic or corelle ware bowl and microwave it for a short period. My sample started out at 372 gargoyles so I microwaved it for 4 minutes.
Then I weighed it. After that, I microwaved it in 2 minute increments and weighed it each time. The weight of the sample dropped 36g, 22g, 36g, 27g and then 17g. The hot wood filled the kitchen with the smell of Mexican street corn.
I started to microwave it one more time but I could smell scorching and I terminated the dehydration.
Wind
My plan had been to drop another Black Locust today but the wind was gusting in the mid-20 mph range. The tree is easily twice as big as the one I cut yesterday.
Discretion is the better part of valor so I postponed the mission.
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| It looks like Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday will be excellent days to drop trees based on the predicted winds |
They are all on the Eaton Rapids property. Given the fact that Saturday will be both not windy and Quicksilver will not be here, it makes sense to just drop the trees and buck-them to size some other day.
Some of the Black Locust are leaning over a fence, so I will drop the fence from the fence-posts before I cut those trees.
I really miss having cows, but it is much easier to do this kind of maintenance when they are not on the property.
Burning green wood is not just hard on the chimney. It's real pain in the arse to get it lit and keep it burning. Not to mention the amount of smoke produced. Living in the Great Basin desert makes it easy to get my firewood dry and it's generally less than 10% moisture levels. So I can burn as much as 3 cords a season and only need to clean the chimney at the start of the season.
ReplyDeleteYeah, if I haven't dropped it by Spring, its 'next years' firewood. I clean up the winter blow downs and take 1 or 2, and its usually enough. If not, I buy a load before burning green wood. I had 1 chimney fire, that was enough fun for me. Dry wood and annual cleanings from now on. No excuses.
DeleteJoe, a few yrs ago when you were cutting locust, I had asked if you save any for woodworkers. I do not remember your answer, if any.
ReplyDeleteSo I ask again. Plus the black walnut. That may command a very good price, if you are so inclined.
Please be careful felling those trees especially when you are out there alone. I've known a lot of older guys who have been badly hurt because they are not as spry as they used to be. I have a younger neighbor who fells them for me and we share the wood.---ken
ReplyDeleteWill do.
DeleteInjuries when working with medium-to-large trees and when cutting with a chainsaw are NOT little boo-boos that heal quickly.
Does anyone still make charcoal or is it a lost art?
ReplyDeleteYes small batches for my blacksmithing.
DeleteGreat way to use up junk wood.
Michael
Do you mill any of it into lumber? I bought a Granberg chainsaw mill in 22. I've built two barn additions and chicken coop with lumber I milled. I haven't bought a stick of lumber in 3 1/2 years. Depending on the log diameter and length I've cut 2x4 studs for a dime a piece and sixteen foot 2x12s for 60 cents a piece. People give me trees just to cut them down and I get all my lumber and firewood for free. Look into it Joe, it's easy to do and you'll recoup your investment very quickly.
ReplyDelete