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optimistic
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# Posted: 11 Aug 2020 05:11pm
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hey
I need to start preparing for winter fire... I have quite a few dead trees that are standing up still. Some have their bark started to pill off... I was once told that dead once like that you can split and burn and don't need to wait... not sure if that is true?
If it is not - then how long is good to wait until I can split? I know I need to know species but I do not know haha.. so let's assume it has been dead for at least 5-6 years like that and add a margin of error...
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ICC
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# Posted: 11 Aug 2020 06:11pm
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You can probably cut now and burn this winter if it has been dead and standing that long. Cut into stove lengths now and try splitting right away. It will in all liklihood pop apart nicely.
Felling a dry dead tree is different from cutting green. When green the tree slowly starts to lean after you've cut out the wedge and started the back cut. A dry dead tree will not do that as the wood is not green and flexible. Some dry dead trees will stand there until the back cut is virtually complete and then snap. Be careful. When the back cut is getting close to looking like it should be enough stop a moment and try to push the tree. If it does not move cut a little more and push again.
Some dead trees will have started to rot inside in the lower 4 feet or so. Aspen are bad for that and I hate those because they can really surprise you by snapping or falling unpredictably. I hate those.
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optimistic
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# Posted: 11 Aug 2020 06:45pm
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yeah I am not sure I will do this myself haha. I will bring this guy who is the local pro. I will slice and split them myself though... Thank you ICC
Another question...
We have a love hate relationship with our stove. We love the fire, smell, and heat but... Since it is an EPA approved stove. I cannot get it to hold through the night. Waking up to feed it is a nightmare and doesn't even guarantee it will work well...
Any other solution? maybe those condensed blocks of wood? just fro the night?
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old243
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# Posted: 11 Aug 2020 08:49pm
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It all depends what variety you have. We have a lot of dead elm and ash . There is abug killing them. some will burn soon, others are wet and punky., they all need to be split and piled to dry. Covered if possible. I try to cut my wood a year ahead, so it is nice and dry. Perhaps you need to get a good quality air tight stove. Our air tight will hold fire all night. old243
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Brettny
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# Posted: 11 Aug 2020 08:57pm
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Standing dead dosnt always mean standing dry. It can mean standing rotted or wet. If it's not ash and/or I didnt need the wood this winter I would stack it and cover the top.
Quality of wood can help with re lighting a stove. However if your not getting a night burn time out of the stove I would say the fire box is to small.
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Shadyacres
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# Posted: 11 Aug 2020 09:39pm
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Dead standing trees are I think the best firewood there is, especially when the bark had already peeled off.
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Nobadays
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# Posted: 11 Aug 2020 11:02pm
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We are currently gathering the rest of our firewood for the winter.... all dead standing. As ICC said, standing dead Aspen can be tricky. Today I fell 8 dead Aspen, 2 ended up hollow for the first few feet, three were punky 3 were solid and dry, ready to burn. If you have fell a lot of trees, you will see by the chips coming out, and the speed of the cut what you are dealing with.
In our area there area lot of dead standing spruce and some white fir, they both make okay firewood. Where we used to live in eastern Oregon we burned dead standing lodgepole pine and western larch. I'm a fan of dead standing firewood.
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hueyjazz
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# Posted: 12 Aug 2020 11:32am
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I hate cutting down dead Aspen. My experience is they can be riddled with hollows and punky wood changing the characteristic of the center of gravity.
Worse yet they snap before you thought they were anywhere close to be ready to drop. A clear escape path in multiple direction is a must.
You would swear it would drop in one direction and then it moves in a totally unexpected direction. I never have this problem with pine, maple and oak
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 15 Aug 2020 11:51am
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Quoting: hueyjazz I hate cutting down dead Aspen....
Cutting dead trees is a risk, the longer they have been dead, the more dangerous. Drop them, they will burn just fine.
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ICC
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# Posted: 15 Aug 2020 01:31pm
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If you have a skidsteer and have space pushing trees over works great. I do that with live ones too when I want to remove the root ball too.
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jsahara24
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# Posted: 17 Aug 2020 09:31am
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Quoting: ICC If you have a skidsteer and have space pushing trees over works great. I do that with live ones too when I want to remove the root ball too.
What method do you use? We have a bunch of standing dead ash trees in PA that are losing limbs weekly. I'm afraid to cut them down, but I have a skidsteer.
My concern is there is one area where there are about 7 dead ash all within close proximity, i'm afraid cutting down one would result in a branch from another coming down, or something I wouldn't even be expecting.
I really want to get the trees down because they look like crap from the house, and I could certainly use the firewood.....Just want to do it safely..
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Brettny
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# Posted: 17 Aug 2020 12:26pm - Edited by: Brettny
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When I need to remove any tree my preferred method is digging around the tree a bit then pushing it over. This is way easier than trying to dig up the roots later.
Ash makes good boards and looks like white oak and isnt as hard. Very nice stuff to work with. Try making lumber from it before its firewood as the species will prob not be around in 10yrs. Just like the american chestnut has been gone for decades and the lumber is pretty valuable.
I cut most of my dieing Ash 2 winters ago. Il be making all the flooring for our cabin as well as the exposed collar ties from ash.
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ICC
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# Posted: 17 Aug 2020 01:19pm
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Quoting: jsahara24 What method do you use?
Raise the bucket quite high. Then drive forward slowly and push on the trunk. When the tree is live that always rips the root bal out of the ground. If it is dead it usually falls over ripping the roots too. But if it is an old aspen, even if not all dead, there is a chance the lower portion may be punky and it might break off. This all assumes you can wiggle into a position to get right up to the tree with the bucket up. It also dependds on having a good complete driver cage with sturdy roof. Don't try this with a tractor and front end loader bucket. It's too easy to damage those lift arms and the roll structure roof may not be up to falling trees.
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jsahara24
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# Posted: 17 Aug 2020 01:41pm
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Thanks for the advice guys, my wife's dad had a really bad tree felling accident that left him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life......so i'm a bit apprehensive as I don't have a lot of experience.....and the trees i'm after are dead ash....
Ever try to throw/shoot a cable up higher into the tree and pull it over with a skid steer from good distance?? I guess the cable could snap and cause trouble...
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ICC
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# Posted: 17 Aug 2020 02:31pm
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Quoting: jsahara24 I guess the cable could snap and cause trouble...
Snapping cables can be devastating which is one reason I never use a winch unless everyone can be off to the side of the line of pull. I would not want to be in the skidsteer if using it to apply tension to a line if the drivers position was inline with the cable, which it would be.
I have used a cable attached to upper branches or trunk to apply some tension and help give a tree a reason to fall where I wanted in an iffy situation while the trunk was severed with a chain saw. Never tried that with a dead tree though, only live where we could see the trunk curve with the tension.
Have any access to explosives. Many years ago we took down a half dozen trees at once with primacord. But the neighbor had a license. Sort of. 
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Nobadays
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# Posted: 17 Aug 2020 03:01pm
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Just got in from out cutting dead spruce and fir... about 4 years dead, still standing, some have begun to fall but the majority are still standing. Cut up two down trees and only about 3 feet at the butt showed any rot.. nice wood. The spruce reminds me a lot of lodge pole pine we used to cut in eastern oregon.
I have pulled trees in a direction I wanted... against their wishes... using cable, but always used a snatch block on another tree in the direction I wanted to pull the tree, that puts the pulling vehicle at right angle and usually not within reach of the falling tree. We have 100' of cable, tree protector and a good snatch block. Without those items.... don't try to pull it directly toward you!
My nemesis this year seems to be trees hanging up! Man I hate that! These spruce are so "bushy" that if there is another tree near where it's falling, it hangs up. Hung one in a live Aspen this morning then realized I could possibly knock it out by falling another across it. Well the second one wasn't naturally going to fall across the first so I put a good undercut in it in the proposed direction, started my cut, got pretty well in and tried to wedge it in the right direction. Well since I was moving it by wedge it went over slow, rotated just enough to hang itself in another Aspen! I cut about 3 feet off the butt of that one and it buckled and fell.... hit the first hung tree only about 3 inches up the butt... so didn't bring it down. I ended up cutting the first hung tree three times before I could pull it by hand and get it to fall. I hate hung trees.... i won't leave one hung up but cutting them down is just flat dangerous! I always know my escape route and have it clear but hung trees are a crap shoot!
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jsahara24
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# Posted: 17 Aug 2020 09:40pm
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This is the one spot I'm dealing with near the house. 2 of them have already broken off halfway up and are hung up in the other trees.
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Nobadays
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# Posted: 17 Aug 2020 10:34pm
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Some times it's best just to cut them how they want to fall then wrap a cable/ chain around the butt and just pull them out. Take care, but if they have at least fallen part way you can figure out how to pull them out safely. Nice trees will make great lumber or firewood!
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