standing deadwood

hoot gibson

was just wondering how dry is a standing dead tree . had a man tell me that standing dead wood is half dry , laying on the ground it is all dry. or should i just shut up and buy a moisture meter h

treevet

Depends on how long it has been dead, type of tree and bark on/off, rainfall, etc etc. Nice to be able to store wood in form of seasoning standing deadwood if you got the room and no targets IMO , then harvest when you need it if not too decayed.

hoot gibson

i ment to say . laying on the ground , all wet . i think im gonna have to go get a loisture meter and start playing with this stuff .

slabmaster

It will be close to green wood in dryness and will have to be stickered when milled.If useing for firewood, the same applies,it will have to be put up to dry. That's the only way to get rid of the moisture in it.

windthrown

When I was living on the sheep ranch I saved standing snags as dry fuel for backup firewood in winter if needed. Genereally they were oaks or alders there, and they were dead from a year to three years before they would fall on their own. Typically the wood near the base and up about 12 feet had a lot of water in it. It runs up the tree from the roots even after the trees are dead, by capillary action. Above that the wood was usually dry and well seasoned, and that did not take up any rainwater or root water. Just wet on the outside of the wood maybe a half an inch. So that was the stuff I would cut if we needed another cord at the end of a fire heating season. Harder on the saw to cut; it is not soft and green any more. But instant seasoned firewood after about a week of drying if it was wet.

Downed snags were variable where we were. The oaks rotted out really fast once they were on the ground. They became pithy. I hunted up pith wood for using on warm days in the boiler as well. Gives less flame but coals up fast and burns long and low.

Bruce Hopf

I don't think that it really matters if it were Standing, or Laying on the Ground. It is still going to take in Moisture irregardless.
I had a guy try and tell me, that he has Fire Wood Stacked out side for two years, without a Cover is well Seasoned Wood. It is outside in all Weather Elimates, and will take on Moisture, if Snow, or Rain falls on it.
I might be wrong, about this. Bruce.

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