In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Possible Sticky forBurning Green Wood?

Discussion in 'Suggestions & Support' started by LodgedTree, Sep 30, 2017.

  1. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    This is a touchy subject I know because we all should be burning seasoned wood, however we are also supposed to be promoting the burning of firewood. Yes burning seasoned firewood is best, but life does not always work out that way. I would love to start a thread on burning green wood, as on a side thread, a lot of FHC members jumped in and added how in the past they got by by burning green wood through a winter by using different methods; going after ash, bringing it in the house, burning cedar fencing that was dry in layers, etc

    You guys and gals know me; I know what it is like to be up against it and my heart goes out to people who have it tough. To me anyway, if they are willing to do firewood, they are willing to work, and a willingness to work in this day and age means more to me them someone getting behind, or installing a wood stove before they have seasoned wood for it.

    Just an idea...
     
  2. Grizzly Adam

    Grizzly Adam null

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    If you want to start a thread on burning green wood, go ahead but it will not be stickied. FHC is not just about burning firewood-- we are qbout burning it safely and responsibly.
     
  3. HDRock

    HDRock

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    My suggestion is , change the title to , How To Keep Warm When Your Wood Is Not So Good something like that .

    My definition of Green wood is a fresh cut live tree and your not going get heat out of that.
    Yes there are ways help Burn What You Got better
     
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  4. brenndatomu

    brenndatomu

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  5. saskwoodburner

    saskwoodburner

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    I'd like to see where this goes, if nothing more than a mental exercise. I think straight up "green" wood (had leaves yesterday) would be a no win situation. I know poorly seasoned or dodgy wood is doable, but at a great loss of efficiency, and way off the reservation when it comes to normal burn characteristics. Not saying it's a good idea even, just that it can be done.
     
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  6. Horkn

    Horkn

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    Right there with you HDRock. There's ways to get by without having to burn green, unseasoned wood.

    Eco bricks, dead standing trees, cutoffs from mills, etc. Also if you go this route, and don't buy eco bricks, you absolutely need to have and understand how to use a moisture meter. A MM is an indispensable tool for those in this situation. Without one you are flying blind.
     
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  7. HDRock

    HDRock

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    Yeah there's lots of ways to deal with not so perfect wood, mixing it with dry stuff and so on, but if you have nothing but Green wood you have to go find some that's not green, or buy something you know is good to go.
    I agree a thousand percent with the last part:yes:
     
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  8. Rowerwet

    Rowerwet

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    Baking the wood on a hearth grate on top of the stove dried out my green wood enough to make it through the winter a few years ago.
    I probably burned an extra cord though.
    I also got double the ash when I swept the chimney.
    THIS WILL ONLY WORK IN A PRE EPA STOVE!
    the season before this we ran out of wood a month before winter finally broke.
    We managed to get a green cord from a friend and burn it by adding a layer of old dry cedar fence staves befor each reload.
    We had to run the draft almost full open, and reload very two hours.
    THIS WILL ONLY WORK WITH A PRE EPA STOVE and it took a full cord for that month.
     
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  9. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    That is unfortunate. To me this was like when I worked for the railroad where they refused to place first aid kits in the locomotives. Their premise was, "if workers worked safe they would not get hurt." Welllllllllllll....................that is true, but that is also not reality, people unfortunately do get hurt and its better to have something to stop the blood loss then call the dispatcher who calls an ambulance. And so it is with burning green wood. It does happen, and people are going to burn green wood whether we agree with the practice or not. Just as Rowerwet pointed out, unforeseen events happen, like a lingering winter.

    There are ways and means to burn green wood, and if we do not point out tips and techniques so that they can do so safety, then the people are going to to do so in unsafe ways. For instance a person can bring green wood into the house and dry it down, or they can seek white ash since its moisture content is so low right off the stump, or they can mix it with dry wood gleaned from other sources. They can also be told to clean their chimneys a lot, use a moisture meter, etc.

    I think having that as a sticky would be ideal because they would not have to wade through other posts to get to critical information they can use now. That would make the people quickly scanning the forum have safe information on burning less than ideal wood right up front where they could see it. It would be a lot like the seat belt buzzer on a car, it tells you to do something safe every time you get in the car, where as most people took a defensive driver class back in high school and have never refreshed it. Driving defensively is a lot better plan then driving recklessly and relying on a seat belt to save you, but my car does not have a "take a defensive drivers class buzzer and flashing dash light (yet).

    I know, I know...:deadhorse::deadhorse::deadhorse:
     
  10. Grizzly Adam

    Grizzly Adam null

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    It's all about context, and as a group the staff of the site have to protect ourselves from any potential liability. Also, like it or not we are basically a group of pro-firewood lobbyists and we can not be promoting a dirty, polluting method of burning wood. This is the reason wood-burners (both the appliances and the persons operating them) have a bad reputation and the practice of wood burning is being fought against and even outlawed in some areas.
     
  11. brenndatomu

    brenndatomu

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    Yeah to me this is a little like telling your kid to not text and drive, its a really bad idea...but, if you hafta do it, then here is how I have gotten away with texting and driving...
    If someone really is up against it and only has green wood to heat with, a quick google search will bring up thousands (I tried it, 80,900,000 results) of threads that talk about ways of getting by without killing anybody...I'm sure some of those links are from here, and I know there are plenty on a couple other wood heater sites too.
     
    Last edited: Oct 1, 2017
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  12. SKEETER McCLUSKEY

    SKEETER McCLUSKEY

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    people are lazy and ignorant,they would love a shortcut to do anything.