Normally I wouldn’t go out of my way to get so much pine but when a family friend took down his 70 foot Ponderosa Pine yard tree and offered to give me a dump trailer full all bucked up and delivered to 20 feet away from my splitter for free I couldn’t say no! Some of the rounds will still need a little work with the chainsaw but the hydraulic will be put to good use, especially with the size of some of those knots. These suckers are HEAVY. A tractor was needed to load them on his trailer. Steel toe boots to roll them around! Yes, there is some sap but nothing a year or two in our dry air won’t take care of once its cut, split, and stacked.
Easier is gooder in my book. Im getting lazy in my old age and have taken less than desirable species (cottonwood, elm) when easy. Does Ponderosa have a strong pine smell to it? How nice does it split?
Not a bad haul! Your hydraulic splitter should make quick work of them. I like Ponderosa pine, it starts quick and puts out heat fast, I need a little more of it in my stacks.
The best kind of firewood, bucked and delivered! If only he could have split it too. Ponderosa is the most prevalent species around here, it's what they replant after harvests. Rounds are very heavy when green. It gets a lot lighter after it dries. Splits easily, though the big knots can cause some problems. I aim the splitter wedge directly at the center of the knot. It usually detours around the knot, but sometimes you get lucky and it splits the knot. It has a slightly higher pitch content than lodgepole or white fir, but not enough to be visible or make stuff sticky. I use the bark as part of my fire starting procedure, lights easily.
Pound for pound, it's a lot of BTU's! We finished up around a half cord in the last week. I'll probably get another good pile from my supplier. I help him clean up his property in return for the wood. I cut it & he often helps haul it. The Split-Fire slices through the knots easily.
Pine is fine! great score and delivered too! Those rounds with limbs will have a lot more BTU's than straight trunks. Only downside is some sap on the splitter but that will prevent rust.
Yes, very pine like smell when it’s green but dissipates as it dries. The straight parts split fairly easily, but the knots can be a place along the shoreline. If you aim your splitter wedge right in the middle of it, though, you can usually get them to split down the center.
I would have taken it as well! Good haul. Its a popular tree for firewood. Those are some big knots!! We dont have any where I live but if I were to drive 45 minutes south west we get into a lot of them. Out there its also in mixed stands of doug fir and larch so if I go that way I dont harvest any as it is lower btu than the others I get. I just assume there aren't any in my immediate area because we are colder and higher elevation. I think they are a pretty tree. I sold a house for a client a few years back in town who had a big one in his back yard. I commented that it was an odd place to find a Ponderosa Pine. He was surprised I picked up on that. He said his parents who owned the house before him had planted it. It was quite big and very healthy looking.
