Never realized how good well seasoned oak firewood is. I put in two small pieces of heavy dense oak and they burned on slow for almost 8 hours. Outside temps are were in the mid 30's. I'm talking small pieces.

 

I scored because I got a cord of old oak firewood for 140.00, had been seasoning for a very very long time. The seller never needed it and because it's so well seasoned I can damper down the intake very low and still not get creosote build up. I never experienced using such old seasoned hardwood like that. Only bad thing was much it was cut too long, so had to cut 4 inches off the ends to fit in the stove so the two pieces were about that size together for almost 8 hours in the stove.

 

 

Hard wood is always better than soft woods. Should try coal, one time in the stove it will burn for a very long time too. Burns clean in a wood stove as well. Like Myself I've got that maple limb that broke off and it dry and we having be burning it as well. 

all Aspen and ash here,  a cord of oak is about 3x what softwood is.  I am burning about 1/4 cord a week currently

My wife and I were selling our home in the Willamette Valley on the west side of the Cascade Mountains in 2019.  I had a 12' x 24' wood shed full of split well seasoned oak firewood (seasoned well over 2 years).  By then, we had purchased a 5 acre parcel of land near Baker City in eastern Oregon.  I used my dump trailer to haul firewood from the Willamette Valley home to the eastern Oregon property when we traveled there to work on the property.  Ended up hauling over six cords of firewood. 

 

In February of 2021, the Willamette Valley had a very destructive ice storm.  It especially hit hard where I used to live.  My neighbor there had two mature oak trees that went down.  The following spring I took my 14,000 GVW equipment trailer and tractor there to help clean up my old neighbor's yard.  Each of the three loads I brought backnetted over 10,000 lbs. - so well over six cords of firewood, again.

 

We moved into our newly constructed house near Baker City in October of 2020.  It is a 2200 sq ft home that is heated solely with the wood stove - propane furnace backup.  We are in the middle of our third winter now and I have lots of oak firewood left.  I just finished insulating the 30' x 36' shop that I am building and I am now heating the shop with a wood stove, as well. 

 

I am really going to miss burning the oak when it finally runs out.   The firewood source around Baker City is red fir and tamarack - good firewood, just not the same as oak.

 

- John

2 hours ago, Tractorman said:

am really going to miss burning the oak when it finally runs out

Maybe it's the Kansas City in me, but if oak is rare around there I'd be holding back a face cord - at minimum - for barbecuing!

I tried it once, but to me, oak just doesn't taste that good.

 

- John

5 hours ago, Me78569 said:

all Aspen and ash here,  a cord of oak is about 3x what softwood is.  I am burning about 1/4 cord a week currently

I know it's colder up there and is a lot of wood each week. You probably find much of it doesn't have to be split cause they're smaller trees ?

its a open fireplace,  I am planning a wood stove in the spring.

1 hour ago, Me78569 said:

its a open fireplace,  I am planning a wood stove in the spring.

Watch the door hinges some have too thin of a gauge of steel holding the pins so the door gets out of wack. Thick and beefy steel stoves holds more heat and lasts a long time. If you ever have to replace the glass do not listen to glass shops just go to a place that sells ceramic glass. That is the correct type even for oven doors (not safety glass). It can be cut while you wait, just bring the old pieces and they can match it perfectly even ones with a curve top.

Update; I rake up all the Oak sawdust and wood chips from the woodshed floor and from where I was cutting. I filled around 30 paper grocery bags and stack them up for later when I need to start a fire quick, I light the grocery bag and works most of the time to get a fire started. Man... oak wood chips and bark strips burn HOT!

On 12/14/2022 at 5:08 PM, Tractorman said:

I tried it once, but to me, oak just doesn't taste that good.

 

- John

?!?! Blasphemy!

What's really good is regular ole' charcoal bricketts (sp. Like Dan's buddy at camp who does everything with them and everything is really good.

If you think oak burns hot, try some Osage Orange, aka hedge, aka about 100 other names. And it's zero fun to spit, very tough. BTU/lb is really up there, and I believe I read the most dense wood native to North America at 60#/cubic foot.

No hardwood up here really. Mostly all soft wood like pine, spruce, white fir, red fir, apline fir, lodge pole pine, Etc. Tamarack is one of the most hunted for trees. It has the highest BTUs and burns clean Next would be Red Fir. Either way I don't care  what I burn I just gather what I can get and burn it. When you have 2 building and 3 wood stoves to feed yeah it goes up in smoke rather quickly.

If you had a load of mesquite youd be set right. That gets so hot it can get dangerous.

If I had a load of mesquite I'd be barbecuing a pig.

2 hours ago, IBMobile said:

If I had a load of mesquite I'd be barbecuing a pig.

An I'd do a feast fly in.

I cooked some steaks over apple wood once. It really didn't add much flavor. IBMobile has a friend Dave the comes up camping. He cooks only with charcoal brickets when hot and glowing. Every time he does the Tri Tip it comes out like a million bucks. The guy knows how in ways that seem impossible to me. I want to eat the whole roast but, I try to be a nice guy and hold back so they don't roast me for being a pig.