If I've learned anything about firewood this winter, it's that I don't want to be dealing with bark if I can help it.
I'm burning (1) nice, dry locust that I found on Craig's List -- yes, it's possible to score good stuff from honest folks... If the locust has bark, it's bone dry and burns well without making lots of ash. Most of it has no bark.
BUT, singing the first-timer blues, I'm also burning (2) oak from my property that has been lying around bucked for two to five years, and which I split only in November, when I got my stove...
I do my best to get the oak as dry as I can, but I'm dealing with splits that still have bark on them, and they're wet under the bark. Sometimes there are white grubs in there (yuck!). Most of the bark will come off rather easily with bare hands or a few simple tools. Then I hang the naked splits in wire baskets near my stove, and they seem to dry rather well.
Looking forward to cutting/splitting/stacking more oak from my property this year, how and when can I get rid of the bark? Will it come off when it's first bucked or split? Does it come off easier after it's dried for a while?
I tried searching for a thread on this, and so far have not found what I'm looking for.
What do you folks do about bark? I've never seen a post in which someone said, "Well, I tore apart my stacks this week and debarked the wood, and put them back together..."
I'm burning (1) nice, dry locust that I found on Craig's List -- yes, it's possible to score good stuff from honest folks... If the locust has bark, it's bone dry and burns well without making lots of ash. Most of it has no bark.
BUT, singing the first-timer blues, I'm also burning (2) oak from my property that has been lying around bucked for two to five years, and which I split only in November, when I got my stove...
I do my best to get the oak as dry as I can, but I'm dealing with splits that still have bark on them, and they're wet under the bark. Sometimes there are white grubs in there (yuck!). Most of the bark will come off rather easily with bare hands or a few simple tools. Then I hang the naked splits in wire baskets near my stove, and they seem to dry rather well.
Looking forward to cutting/splitting/stacking more oak from my property this year, how and when can I get rid of the bark? Will it come off when it's first bucked or split? Does it come off easier after it's dried for a while?
I tried searching for a thread on this, and so far have not found what I'm looking for.
What do you folks do about bark? I've never seen a post in which someone said, "Well, I tore apart my stacks this week and debarked the wood, and put them back together..."