So a neighbor of mine just cut down a pretty big Cottonwood tree. I know that cottonwood isn't really that great for burning in a wood stove, but it is free and already laying on the ground. All that I have to do is cut it into manageable pieces and haul away back to my house. The other thing is that I know, being a living cottonwood, it would be 2 years or more to get it seasoned properly. I'm not really hurting for wood right now but the wood hoarder in me says go get it just in case. What do you guys think? What might you do?
No doubt in your area it is worth it; lots of folks use it for firewood. Also you may be pleasantly surprised that it should not take 2 years to dry so long as you get it split soon. For sure there is lots of sap in cottonwood but it dries super fast.
Yep Dennis is right. I burn cottonwood every year. It does produce a lot of ash but it is good BTU's and when dry it has no smell to it. Here in my area I take it when I can get it. I have about a cord right now that I split and stacked last year. Since I am on the 3 year plan ( thanks Dennis) it will have plenty of time to dry out.
It can help you get ahead on you 3 year plan and quickly get the chill out of the air during the shoulder season. It's close and free, grab it!
If it's right next door, then yeah, why not? I look at cottonwood like poplar or basswood. If it's convenient I'll grab it.
Good to hear from you SD Steve ! I have a bunch of Cotton wood that I will be burning next fall. It’s great for shoulder season and fast restarts, it burns hot and fast. I always like having some around to get a cold stove up to temp real fast. it should be ready to burn in 1 year as long as it’s split and stacked!
All the above comments prompted me to save a bunch of the cottonwoods that I had to clear behind the shop I work at. Cleaned out a bunch in December (I think) and saved probably 40 logs anywhere from 10’ to probably close to 20’. I’m not really sure that they are going to be ready to burn next season. The ends are checking pretty good already. But 2 weeks ago some of the first rounds I bucked up were terrible stringy to split. My plan is to try and get them all bucked into rounds this spring and then split in the fall and hopefully the bark will have come loose and will split easier. At the very least they should be considerably lighter.https://firewoodhoardersclub.com/forums/threads/if-it-was-anything-else.35209/ I guess I deleted the other picture of the logs
I’m sure there’s no way to have it ready for burning in the upcoming season. I’m just hoping that the rounds shrink enough so the bark falls off when splitting it this fall. Hope to burn it in 21/22 season
So, I couldn't wait. It was nice to get out of the house and just run my chainsaw again. It's getting dark here, not a great picture, but the 4 large ones in the forefront are actually Ash. I'm going to get everything ready tonight, and after church tomorrow, I'm going to get back to cutting Ash again. The Ash trunks I'm cutting have to be about 2 feet in diameter. Tough work for my 16 inch saw.
Nice job Steve. Some nice looking rounds! I used to cut an occasional big uns with my 16" bar as it was all i had. Takes some time but can be done.
Nothing wrong with cottonwood in the spring and fall. I've got two by where the wife parks her truck I plan on taking down soon. I'll split them right away and put them in the barn and they'll be ready to burn this fall.
The story on my saw....... it only has a 16 inch bar on it, but I picked up cheap at an auction. It's a Stihl so I still thought it was a good buy. It came with 4 chains which I keep sharp. I like having extra chains, so when i run out of gas, I fill up with gas and chain oil and change the chain if needed. Took it in to get overhauled at the implement shop here in my small town. Runs pretty good, but I figure I'll run the heck out of it and when she quits I'll get myself a brand new 20 inch Stihl Farm Boss
I cut a lot of wood with my 029super Stihl with 16" bar. If you find yourself cutting bigger stuff like that ash, you'll want a 20" bar and chain. I got the 20" on my Makita 6421, and until I started limbing a lot of trees recently, I used the 6421 exclusively. I really could use the 015l top handle for limbing, but I think it needs a carb.
SD Steve you might find it hard to believe how much wood I've cut with just a 16" bar. I had a Stihl 290 with a 16" bar and cut tons of 24" diameter and larger. It is amazing how many 30" and some a bit larger with it. Most of it was ash but some was red oak and pin oak too. A couple of elm mixed in for good measure and a pastel of maple.
Even if it's a farm boss, I'm super impressed with mine. It sat for 2 years, filled the tank with fresh fuel and it was running perfectly in 10-15 pulls.
