Stalker62
Well-Known Member
That is all well and good, but my therapist says that having an axe to grind, is beneficial to my mental health...
Splitting axe or maul
- Thread starter pj1
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That is all well and good, but my therapist says that having an axe to grind, is beneficial to my mental health...
merlin
Well-Known Member
....just make sure that seat is secured, you wouldn't want that sliding forward
Freeforester
Well-Known Member
The calorific value of the softwoods like spruce and pine is slightly greater than hardwood, which, when used in a log burner linked to the whole heating system means that a barrowful per day keeps the cold wind at bay, underfloor, hot water and radiators all. OTOH the density of hardwood means when burnt in a stove or open fire you’ve longer times between refills (we save the hardwood for the occasions the Jetmaster open fire or one of the in house stoves are in use). Otherwise, it’s fill, fire, forget. The X25 comes out for a little ‘nostalgic fun’ now and again, but there is exercise in converting lengths into logs too.
For winter season 2024 and beyond;
A couple of years worth, waiting, and drying further.
Some of the best firewood I've ever had was three year old Leylandii. Burnt clean, bright, hot and lasted as long as most medium density hardwoods.
The secret is to log it and split it then forget about it for a least a couple of years and it turns into lovely fuel.
The secret is to log it and split it then forget about it for a least a couple of years and it turns into lovely fuel.
merlin
Well-Known Member
Glad you said that, I've recently sawn, split n stacked about 2.5 tons of Leylandii I got for free.... drying away, should be getting to it in about, ooh, 3 years...
Horrible sticky stuff to handle when fresh!
countrryboy
Well-Known Member
Must admit i tend to save the leyandi for kindlering as i have heaps of hard wood split and logged.
1 thing i will say is once timber is split it does not keep well at all unless under cover, i made a big mistake years ago splitting a lot after all my sheds were full and just dumping big heaps out of my 6T dumper, 5 or 6 dumper loads to a heap and a few heaps scattered about the place with deer stabs and herris fencing used to retain it a bit
Originally had the great intention of neatly stacking a log igloo like in that book, but do u know how long it takes to stack timber like that?
F##king ages!!
If wet leaves get in about ur split logs even if in dumpy bags uncovered they soon start to rot.
Still burn when dry but as light as a feather and ur not getting the same heat of them u should do.
As an aside has anyone adapted a cheaper log splitter with a different blade/knife to make kindlers?
I do quit enjoy splitting normal logs, but splitting kindlers gets old fairly quick,
1 thing i will say is once timber is split it does not keep well at all unless under cover, i made a big mistake years ago splitting a lot after all my sheds were full and just dumping big heaps out of my 6T dumper, 5 or 6 dumper loads to a heap and a few heaps scattered about the place with deer stabs and herris fencing used to retain it a bit
Originally had the great intention of neatly stacking a log igloo like in that book, but do u know how long it takes to stack timber like that?
F##king ages!!
If wet leaves get in about ur split logs even if in dumpy bags uncovered they soon start to rot.
Still burn when dry but as light as a feather and ur not getting the same heat of them u should do.
As an aside has anyone adapted a cheaper log splitter with a different blade/knife to make kindlers?
I do quit enjoy splitting normal logs, but splitting kindlers gets old fairly quick,
It's great to see so many people are burning wood to heat their homes. It makes a lot of sense, long may it continue. It seems though that my comment about softwood seemed to have raised a few questions. No problem everyone has their own point of view. If softwood hits your price point then go for it. But please read the following to understand some of the risks involved in burning high sap content wood.
Another type of wood that should not be in your fireplace, (specifically fireplaces with a chimney), are sap-saturated timbers.
Wood types that have a lot of tree sap or pitch in them, such as Cedar and Spruce, can increase the risk of a chimney fire. That’s because that thick resinous tree sap can collect in the soot lining your chimney flue. This can cause chimney blockages, which in turn can cause a fire.
But, this alone should be a good enough reason to skip over using this particular tree for firewood. Nevertheless, if that isn’t a good enough reason, then the fire hazard Leylandii poses should be.
Burning this tree in a fireplace is not a good idea. And why is that? Well, because this tree’s lumber has a lot of sap in it.
In fact, it has enough thick tree resin in it to make it unsuitable for an indoor fireplace. What’s more, that excess sap will also produce a lot of extra thick smoke (as the sap evaporates).
Still, another reason to skip over Leylandii firewood, is the fact that it doesn’t produce that much heat.
The BTU (British Thermal Unit) rating of a wood species refers to how much energy it takes for fire to burn that wood.
The higher the BTU, then the more energy it takes. And the more energy it takes, then the longer that wood will burn.
And if wood takes a long while to burn, that means it will produce heat for a lot longer too.
Now, when it comes to Leylandii, (also known as the Leyland Cypress), this wood has a decent 21.7 BTU. And to be perfectly honest, for a fairly soft timber, that BTU level is actually not too bad. It certainly isn’t low enough to dismiss Leylandii softwood as merely kindling.
Still, Leylandii doesn’t compare to traditional hardwood firewood. For example, White Oak has a BTU of 25.7, and Birch wood has a 23.6 BTU rating.
I'm just trying to help. If you are invested in softwood go for it. But having had chimney fires and having had to replace a chimney once in Canada, although not through softwood burning but rather not having access to chimney sweeps in a very rural area, I can tell you when you hear the sound of a jet airplane /blast furnace taking off in your chimney late at
night get ready and hold on. A tip, block off the oxygen.
I have also gone through this discussion with friends about using eucalyptus, which I have a lot of here. Slightly different problem, but although when properly seasoned you do lose the sap unfortunately the oil stays. It's another tree that will never burn in my home.
Another type of wood that should not be in your fireplace, (specifically fireplaces with a chimney), are sap-saturated timbers.
Wood types that have a lot of tree sap or pitch in them, such as Cedar and Spruce, can increase the risk of a chimney fire. That’s because that thick resinous tree sap can collect in the soot lining your chimney flue. This can cause chimney blockages, which in turn can cause a fire.
What About Leylandii? This Wood Is Safe To Burn In A Fireplace, Right?
Leylandii tree sap can sometimes cause severe skin irritation. But, you’d have to burn a lot of Leylandii lumber (all at once) for heat-vaporised sap to become a real problem for you.But, this alone should be a good enough reason to skip over using this particular tree for firewood. Nevertheless, if that isn’t a good enough reason, then the fire hazard Leylandii poses should be.
Burning this tree in a fireplace is not a good idea. And why is that? Well, because this tree’s lumber has a lot of sap in it.
In fact, it has enough thick tree resin in it to make it unsuitable for an indoor fireplace. What’s more, that excess sap will also produce a lot of extra thick smoke (as the sap evaporates).
Still, another reason to skip over Leylandii firewood, is the fact that it doesn’t produce that much heat.
And How Much Heat Does Leylandii Produce?
When it comes to firewood, if you want to know how much heat it produces, you need to check it’s BTU.The BTU (British Thermal Unit) rating of a wood species refers to how much energy it takes for fire to burn that wood.
The higher the BTU, then the more energy it takes. And the more energy it takes, then the longer that wood will burn.
And if wood takes a long while to burn, that means it will produce heat for a lot longer too.
Now, when it comes to Leylandii, (also known as the Leyland Cypress), this wood has a decent 21.7 BTU. And to be perfectly honest, for a fairly soft timber, that BTU level is actually not too bad. It certainly isn’t low enough to dismiss Leylandii softwood as merely kindling.
Still, Leylandii doesn’t compare to traditional hardwood firewood. For example, White Oak has a BTU of 25.7, and Birch wood has a 23.6 BTU rating.
I'm just trying to help. If you are invested in softwood go for it. But having had chimney fires and having had to replace a chimney once in Canada, although not through softwood burning but rather not having access to chimney sweeps in a very rural area, I can tell you when you hear the sound of a jet airplane /blast furnace taking off in your chimney late at
night get ready and hold on. A tip, block off the oxygen.
I have also gone through this discussion with friends about using eucalyptus, which I have a lot of here. Slightly different problem, but although when properly seasoned you do lose the sap unfortunately the oil stays. It's another tree that will never burn in my home.
I found that when thoroughly seasoned, leylandii doesn't have much of a smell and certainly no sticky resin. You catch a scent of it when burning but not as much as spruce or Scots pine. If the wood has that pungent leyandii smell, it isn't seasoned enough.
Best kindling wood I know is western cedar. It full of natural oil which is why it's such a durable timber and that oil makes it brilliant for fire lighting. Can spit a bit but you can get a piece of cedar alight just with a match. I don't worry about pitch in the chimney when it's only a few sticks to kindle the fire.
I used to get cedar flitches from a sawmill for kindling. It was fantastic, especially when it still had the stringy bark still attached.
Leylandii is usually free. Either people have cut down an overgrown tree in their own garden or a neighbour has and will often welcome someone taking the wood off their hands so they don't have to pay for it to be chipped and removed. If you can get a load of free leylandii and you've got the space to store it while it seasons, it's well worth having.
I would say, it's fine to cut the logs to length when green but better to leave them at least a year before attempting to split them, especially if you're doing it by hand. It splits much easier after a year drying out. Then leave the split logs for another year before burning.
When I first tried it, not knowing how it would perform, I made a separate stack of it in the woodshed and I mixed a few in with each barrow full of hardwood logs to eke out my main supply. That worked extremely well.
pj1
Well-Known Member
Thank you for all the replies. Still looking for my splitting axe. Haven’t been able to pick up a fiskars yet to see how it feels.
Would be interested in peoples views on other woods that would be found when tidying up a small estate head in the south east. Thing like birch, hawthorn and alder. How do they burn?
Would be interested in peoples views on other woods that would be found when tidying up a small estate head in the south east. Thing like birch, hawthorn and alder. How do they burn?
countrryboy
Well-Known Member
All woods burn fine, the key is letting them dry out enough.
Buy a moisture meter usually sub 20 quid, but once u get ur eye in can almost tell if a log is dry enough by the look and weight of it. another trick u can do but needs to be sub 15-20% moisture ( which is about the limit in my area southern scotland at this time of year) is put some washing up liquid on 1 end of log and blow from the other, if dry enough the washing up liquid will bubble up. I take it with real dry wood enough air space in the log for ur breath to pass throu?
Key id building plenty of dry storage ( ideally split/divided into sections) for ur split logs with a decent overhang on the roof right round it
Is it in a log burner or open fire? Some timber may spit a bit more than others but if in a log burner makes no odds.
All these wood chip biomass boilers will mainly run on soft wood wood chip, althou soft wood burn quicker it is also lighter so T for T might not be much in the engery difference as u get more softwood volume in a T
A lot of the internet adverts for kiln dried wood u see for sale is imported birch from the baltics, and comes over in containers already bagged and crated.
Buy a moisture meter usually sub 20 quid, but once u get ur eye in can almost tell if a log is dry enough by the look and weight of it. another trick u can do but needs to be sub 15-20% moisture ( which is about the limit in my area southern scotland at this time of year) is put some washing up liquid on 1 end of log and blow from the other, if dry enough the washing up liquid will bubble up. I take it with real dry wood enough air space in the log for ur breath to pass throu?
Key id building plenty of dry storage ( ideally split/divided into sections) for ur split logs with a decent overhang on the roof right round it
Is it in a log burner or open fire? Some timber may spit a bit more than others but if in a log burner makes no odds.
All these wood chip biomass boilers will mainly run on soft wood wood chip, althou soft wood burn quicker it is also lighter so T for T might not be much in the engery difference as u get more softwood volume in a T
A lot of the internet adverts for kiln dried wood u see for sale is imported birch from the baltics, and comes over in containers already bagged and crated.
Hawthorn is great. An old estate worker used to burn thorn and almost nothing else. He once had an old pig sty stuffed full of thorn. When he started to use them as soon he loaded the ones at the wee doorway into the wheelbarrow he was shocked to find there were no more logs left beyond the first row. Another worker had pinched them all. There was a hell of a feuding after that
shakey jake
Well-Known Member
the only type of wood i dont like to use is, stuff i have to buy
enfieldspares
Well-Known Member
Is it too late to resurrect this old "gem" from You Tube of "dangerous wood splitting machines"? Some seem hardly dangerous at all. Others? You might ask if any of the previous owner of the one shown from 4:48 onwards (now being operated by the man in the blue check shirt) was called "Lefty" for a reason!
Freeforester
Well-Known Member
Just an opinion, but alder is more or less ‘hardwood’ in name, but doesn’t last any time when being burned, ie if the choice was between buying beech and alder, I’d go for the beech. Not all hardwoods, (nor indeed softwoods) are equal!
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Freeforester
Well-Known Member
Ideal size for logs split for an enclosed log burner (’log boiler’) are roughly thickness of forearm/wrist, ie fairly small, according to manufacturers of the machinery, the reasoning is that these fan-assisted machines operate on a ‘fast and furious’ burning principle, in which pyrolysis takes place and consumes almost all the matter, leaving minimal ash, and converting the rest into heat, which in turn heats the water contained in and circulating round and between the jacket of the boiler and the storage tank. Maximising the temperature of the consumed logs/sticks is achieved when there aren’t too many large logs, which of course take a little more burning before being thoroughly burned through and consumed, and which is of course rather the opposite of what people tend to want in a stove or open fire, ie a longer/slower burning of the fuel. Whilst it is indeed lovely to have the denser woods such as beech, oak, ash, etc for the house hearth, the ease of production of and greater volume of properly seasoned softwood makes it very much suited to a log boiler system.
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Our central heating is wood fired, so we get through a lot of logs. Although I've got a hydraulic log splitter it's a relatively recent acquisition, and has hardly been used. The bulk of our firewood is split by my wife wielding an axe. She enjoys it.
Today I offered her a maul to try instead. After 5 minutes she'd thrown it aside and was happily splitting logs with her trusty old axe. The maul - which was given to me by a neighbour - is back in the tool shed, and I doubt it'll ever see the light of day again.
Today I offered her a maul to try instead. After 5 minutes she'd thrown it aside and was happily splitting logs with her trusty old axe. The maul - which was given to me by a neighbour - is back in the tool shed, and I doubt it'll ever see the light of day again.
shakey jake
Well-Known Member
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