Burning Punky Wood. Do You?

[golfandwoodnut]

I am lucky that i can be pretty picky about my wood. But inevitably I get some punky wood. I sometimes just toss it and sometimes I dry it out and burn it. Not sure what I really think. I almost feel like it is firewood overripe. Is it safe to burn? I do find it seems to burn slowly for a long time. I would not think it is full of cresote since it seems very light. What are your thoughts? Is it better tossed or burn in the shoulder season?

 

[thewoodlands]

GolfandWoodNut I burned some in the shoulder season this fall, it was holding down our tarps covering the wood last winter and the two things I did in the spring was split it then stacked it.

zap

 

[golfandwoodnut]

Interesting ZAP, if anyone can be picky it is you.

 

[thewoodlands]

Interesting ZAP, if anyone can be picky it is you.

I left it big the year before because it was gnarly so it needed splitting but yes I guess I'm picky, cooling off here how about for you.


zap

 

[golfandwoodnut]

Going down in the 30's and a nice fire going. But one big punky piece that has been in there awhile.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Perfect time of year for burnin punk and chunks.

 

[ansehnlich1]

Yep, I took down a maple this summer, had a limb that was punky. I put that stuff in a nice dryin' place for a couple months, and just got done burnin' the last of it.

Now I'll move on to the chunks and little stuff.

 

[savageactor7]

I burn quite a bit of it in shoulder season. Tell you one thing it doesn't take long for it to dry once it's elevated off the ground either.

 

[maplewood]

I don't seek it out, but I'll burn it if it's dry.

 

[uggabugga]

If its not too punky I'll generally go ahead and burn it in the stove; if it' fairly punky, it gets burned outdoors; if it's 'punky brewster'-level punky, it's left on the ground to feed the worms and fungi

 

[kenny chaos]

I moved four truck loads over to the house today. Looks like I'll be filling the stove a little more often than I like. A lot of it was punky.

 

[CTYank]

I am lucky that i can be pretty picky about my wood. But inevitably I get some punky wood. I sometimes just toss it and sometimes I dry it out and burn it. Not sure what I really think. I almost feel like it is firewood overripe. Is it safe to burn? I do find it seems to burn slowly for a long time. I would not think it is full of cresote since it seems very light. What are your thoughts? Is it better tossed or burn in the shoulder season?

If it's potentially burnable, it gets time in the sun before & after splitting. Then, as soon as reasonably possible, it goes into the stove- on established fire, with extra air, slowly. Depending, I burn the worst stuff that might be suitable for the moment. Punky poo does not get prime storage location.

If beyond hope, it becomes compost. Works so far (~35 years.)

Creosote is not a component of wood. It's unburnt distillate that precipitates when temps are low enough. Moisture tends to depress temps.

 

[aaronl41]

I burn lots of cottonwood that was dead standing because the lake it was buy came up several feet. All of the cottonwood I cut is completely dry and ready to burn (a lot of it has been standing dead for 10 to 15 years). The bottom 5 to 10 feet of the tree is almost always punky. The property owner wants me to cut it off as close to the ice as I can so I wind up taking it home to satisfy him. I split and stack it on the smaller part of my shed and let it sit for a year. Then I burn it in the fall, in fact I'm burning it right now. I've got 2.5 to 3 cord left of it and I'm going to burn it all up I hope. Only problem I have is it burns up pretty fast, and seems to leave clumps in the ashes. As someone else stated I do only put it on a well established fire or bed of coals. If I didn't have to take it I wouldn't burn it, but if I have to haul it home by god it's going through the stove!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

If only a little punk I'll burn it. If the whole thing is punky, around here it get thrown on a brush pile.

 

[ChrisNJ]

I burn quite a bit of it in shoulder season. Tell you one thing it doesn't take long for it to dry once it's elevated off the ground either.

I have been surprised at how well my load of punk has dried atop my stacks, and it burned well enough that I am sorry I didn't grab more, was a huge pile of Silver Maple I passed on with the exception of a few pieces.

 

[firefighterjake]

Just a little punky and dry . . . I'll save it for burning in the shoulder season with my chunks and uglies.

Just a little punky and wet . . . I'll often hack off the offending punkiness and burn the rest of the wood.

All punky . . . dry or wet . . . I'll leave it in the woods to fertilize the other trees.