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Incipient decay and BTUs

PETDOC

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I've got quite a few large ash trees that have been killed by the emerald ash borer. Fantastic firewood; already partially dried and easy to split. The trees have been dead at least 3 years now. When I cut them down early incipient decay is obvious, but wood still provides excellent heat. I'm curious if anyone knows at what age a standing dead tree is no longer worth harvesting for firewood, i.e., what percent do the potential BTUs decrease/year?
 

Rob Stafari

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Way too many variables to put a number on. Took down a bunch this spring on a a property I manage in preparation for a wedding. These were all 100% dead at least three to four years ago. Well over 50% went straight to the burn pile and not the firewood log pile. A lot of that could have still been burnt, but I know even the good ones will likely end up rotting where they sit. Some of it was in real good shape still. Same thing in the way they fell. No real rhyme or reason I could surmise. Some would loose their bark and split off quickly, some would just keep holding on. Either way, with all the borer holes it is not a good firewood to store in a dead standing trunk, it will eventually rot. Cut, split, and properly sheltered it should be good to go for years.
 

Dustin4185

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If they don't have small limbs/twigs in the top, be very careful cutting them down.

At that point they're too far gone to piss with IMO, unless they're a hazard.
I use this method as well. If they have started loosing small limbs, let them stand unless they are a hazard. We burn quite a bit of it at the shop because they are always falling around here. We take the good and shove the rest in a pile.
 

Lightning Performance

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I'm finding the red oak to last and stand if the bark peels off. Strange as it may seem the storms are helping the tree do that with switch back winds. They stand for years solid. But, if the bark stays they break at that soft point with the fungus. More rain faster the rot. Last summer many roots broke in the three dry weeks of August and they fell all criscrossed hung up with the stumps intact.

So much wood to harvest and no one wants to do it. Standing dead in the realm of 100+ cords on 60 acres of private lands to 15 acre pieces and smaller. Most red or white oak.
 
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