Finishing up CSS my Mulberry from last summer. Finally almost got it done. Just a few minutes left, then on to more honey locust. Question? How small of branches do you not split? I put my ear muffs for size comparision. How do they burn in round form?
I try to split them all, even if the splitter is just opening them up and I don't actually pop them apart. It really helps with the drying.
Oh my gosh, I love Mulberry. That is one of my woods that I never pass on. Out of the rounds that you have there, I personally would split the bigger ones in half and leave the small ones. I'd say that if they are 4" or larger then split them up. It's surprising how much moisture they have. It will take about two years before they are ready, but they will throw a blue flame when dry. I'm almost done with my Mulberry too.
Looking good! 6" is the thickest I'll leave rounds, and I scatter them throughout the stacks. There's nothing better for extending a burn time then putting a round in the back of the stove, leaving plenty of hot coals for a restart.
Ok... Good information... Since I'm approaching 5 years ahead, they should have plenty of time to dry.
Won't dry with us drooling on it. If its to small to stand or I miss on the 1st swing with the x27 it doesn't get split.
I have a decent amount of mulberry that I snagged from the ditch across the street - my first gibir before I even knew what gibir meant..lol.. Mine was all big rounds so I split it all but there are some branches I'm gonna snag this fall. Everyone says it's primo stuff and I can't wait to use it next year. The color change as it dries is pretty neat too.
No idea on the Mulberry, but since you're 5 years out, I'd not split anything 6" and under. You could always check a couple/few in 2 years or so to see how they're doing. Then, you'll know, and if they aren't dry, you still have plenty of time to split and dry 'em up.
As Well Seasoned stated, it is good to have some larger rounds to put in the bottom rear of the stove for those overnight burns. It helps keep the fire longer and have some nice coals to get the next one going good. In the picture below, the wood on the right side will not be split. The rounds you see here will all go into the stack that way; not split. If you blow this picture up and look you'll find some rounds scattered through the pile. That btw is a neighbor who came after some wood last fall. He had hurt his back so we helped him out with the wood last winter. We just brought this load home yesterday but won't split any of it. Some might think it is overloaded but there is still air in the tires.
