Identifying firewood and cutting.

[chirpy]

I  have some old wood which i am trying to cut with a chainsaw.It is old trees probably 3-5 years old and in 1-2mlength.

I am finding some incredibly tough-is this likely to be oak,fruit  such as pear  or lime(tilia)which was 80 feet high with hollow trunk due to birds hollowing it out over the last 100 years.

I have been here 5 years and managed to cut some of it with my Stihl 026 but I would like to know if eventually the very old wood is  suitable for houseold fires.I do not want to cut it all up and find it is unsuitable-either i am getting too old to keep sawing or i  need a work bench!!!+saw .I bought an electric saw (Stihl 180) but is not man enough in my opinion.

There are also several trees which came down in the storm in 2000december and I wonder whether these will still be ok.

Finally how long should chestnut 6inch diameter be left to dry before using after cutting down.

Thanks.

[oliveau]

Ab

In general, the older the better for burning, so the 2000 trees should be good, unless totally rotten.

The 026 should be fine, but try getting the chain professionally sharpened with an electric grinder. Possibly even treat it to a new bar & chain! When the bar wears it allows the chain to run at a side angle, and then the cutters and rakers attack the wood at the wrong angle, and it don't cut too well!

Chestnut - Open fire: It will spit and pop like mad and you'll set the house on fire. Stove with doors shut, no problem.

In general for any wood 1 year old is just OK, 2 years plus is fine.

You could of course do what the French do & treat yourself to a circular saw log bench from Bricomarché.

Happy sawing, Peter

[Deimos]

No expert but I've been told to avoid burning pine (high resin content) as the resin can coat the chimney (some say quite quickly) and cause a chimney fire (after time). Some people have said that f you leave it long enough its OK, others have said its no good ever. I and just repeating so cannot say who is correct. However, I do avoid it as the woodburner and chimney tube are fairly new and I don't want to mess them up.

Ian

[Dick Smith]

I've been told to avoid pine at all costs - but in Manche it all seems to be oak anyway.

[Anton Redman]

Assuming it has been cut to size for your stove after between two and three years the heat out put starts to decline.

Pine is OK provided you burn Oak or other woods to burn off the soot regularly