I had the top 15 or so blow off a Tamarack last fall. Waste not, want not so I felled it Last December then the snow and ice came so i just got out to buck and split it today. A couple of the splits had a crazy amount of sap on them. Besides the sticky mess any worry in burning them in my furnace? I won’t be based on the mess. I thought I read something a while back about it burning very hot. I guess I will find out when we toss them in the outdoor fire pit but figured I would ask.
Looks like Fat Wood.... Sap will dry and burn like a champ.... or you could split small and use as fire starters... I wouldn’t even think about wasting them in the outdoor fire pit...
If it’s fat wood would it burn really hot? Maybe I will keep them in the indoor stacks if it’s good and the sap will dry out. Thanks for the replies guys.
It burns hot from a conversation I had with a person who has burned plenty of it, the conversation was about five or six years ago.
Split it small and let it dry. Makes great firestarters. You can light it with a match even when wet. I would think a stove full would burn very hot so I wouldn't recommend it.
I'll take it! Split it small, dry it good, and it will be the best fire starter/kindling you can get. You will be so glad you didn't burn it outside.
Wow! Never seen so much pitch in a top off a tamarack/ larch. There are are different sub-species of tamarack, but i believe it all burns about the same. Its probly the longest burn time of any of the softwoods, and tamarack is a lot harder and heavier than pine.
Guessing that the splits were from near the base of the tree... the limited knowledge I have of fatwood is that it can form in standing dead softwoods as the pitch/sap gets more dense with evaporation of the water content and the pitch settles toward the base of the tree...
The splits were from the bottom 10 feet or so of the tree. I think I will split them a bit smaller and use as fire starter. I wouldn’t want to be not thinking and fill the firebox with them. Thanks for the advice guys!
Split it in smaller pieces and let it dry. You can use a forstner bit on the knotty stuff and just light a pile of shavings. It just smokes more if you have big pieces. I make firestarters out of this stuff amd those paper cups you see at fast food for ketchup etcs. The smell is intoxicating Isn’t it?. Douglas fir smells of limes, amazing.
you hit the nail on the head there bud. Lots of old forests would be cut up here and you can take walks in these places and find the spires of stumps. The rest of the wood has rotted away leaving this amazing starter for fires. Find a stick of this long enough and people will carve out a walking stick. Others have been able to carve out chess pieces because they find old pine stumps perfectly sized. The sap makes it soft, like a woody carmel.
I may have known it. I have a 4 year old that I spend a lot time goofing around with. Reading a lot of Dr Seuss books lately.
