What Chainsaw do you run?

Creosote can be so dangerous. One particularly cold winter when I was burning a great deal of wood, and despite cleaning the chimney out, my neighbor casually came over to my house and said, your roof is on fire. I walked off my porch and looked up at my shingled roof. Sure enough, flames were jumping out of the chimney like a 4th of July display. I ran into the basement and poured in the stuff you use to snuff out a fire. Then I climbed up on my roof to assess the damage. Fortunately - because it was covered with about 6 inches of snow, none of the flame or embers had got to the roof.

 

That's why I run my stove full throttle for at least one hour everyday. That, and insulated pipes, keeps the creosote way down.

 

Mine was a wood burner, with a short flue to a brick chimney. I used to put this stick in the wood burner every so often to supposedly clean the chimney, then would get up on the roof and try to clean the chimney about once a year, usually in the Fall. I guess that was not enough.

 

This is a GREAT way to burn off any creosote that has built up.
Better idea? - Why not burn wood that has been drying (after it has been split and stacked - into Burnable pieces-for at least a year? After burning wood to heat our home for at least 35 years , I have learned this is the only way to go. Sure you will go through more wood -but who cares -- no creosote build up. We still drag a brush through the chimney at least once a year , but all we get out is coal black "rice krispies"

 

I would assume that anybody with any experienced burning wood, would burn seasoned wood.

Seasoned wood can and will create creosote, so burn your stove at full throttle for at least one hour a day.

 

It's a great idea. That means fully prepping long in advance. I'll admit that I may have taken some wood that I had cut in the summer and tried to burn it in the winter, simply because I had nothing else.

 

It can be done, but you need to be careful.

The best way to check if wood is ready to burn, is to pick up one of these:

$30 General Tools MMD4E Digital Moisture Meter, Water Leak Detector, Moisture Tester, Pin Type, Backlit LCD Display With Audible and Visual High-Medium-Low Moisture Content Alerts, Grays

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00275F5O2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

To properly check the wood, make a fresh split and check the inside.

Aim for 20% or lower moisture content. I try to wait until it's at 15%.

 

I just saw your location, you aren't far from me. The Emerald Ash Borer has decimated the ash tree population around us. I have dead ash trees all over my property.

Any dead ash that you cut in the summer, can definitely be used that same winter.

If you aren't sure about species identification, there is an app you can get called Picture This.

You can take a picture of any plant or tree, and it will tell you the species. It's awesome for trees that are down in the wood with no leaves on them.

 

I log in to Craigslist and go into the “free” section... Iv been busy this winter grabbing wood from people who have had their trees down already... i have one to look at Sunday depending on weather... fella took down 5 large ash trees cut into 10ft lengths... I just gotta come up with a game plan to haul the wood away

 

Now entering the drool phase...

 

Brother joe works for a kubota and case store. He says if we have room I’ll drop off a mini excavator and load the wood on the trailer... may take several trips... I just gotta go check it out and see if the fella is ok with this. If not, we cut logs to size of our trailers and do it that way

 

I’m ready to fire up the saws!!

 

LOL yes probably I bit more that I can chew BUT “free” is hard to pass up.... plus brother joe and I do this And the following season we give most it out to whoever is in need to heat there homes... some we sell for the upkeep of maintaining what we use to do this

None of us burn wood :-/

 

I see this thread pop up every morning so I better get in on it .

I ran Huskys and Stlll all my life . Even had a massive Pioneer .

Now I drive a baby Poulan piece of junk lol

 

Whatever works!

 

You know what they say about "assume" ?

 

Great --lucky you!

 

looks like ash -- is it?

 

Yes