I have been told for years by many people that alder is a very poor fire wood A dead standing alder tree came down in the wind last night so i saw my oppurtunity to test the new chainsaw out Ive only burnt a wheel barrow full since dinner time and its been one of the best woods ive burnt I was taliking to an old guy in the village whist out with the dog about it and he told me alder was the charcoal burners choice wood when the end product was going to be used in gunpowder manafacture It is really true that everyday is a school day Its also true that im going to be shatterd tmw when i limb and round the whole tree lol
Its proved to me that some times its worth trying somthing new and some times it not a bad thing to be proved wrong Im also glad i can now pass on the knowledge that well seasoned alder is a great fire wood
Ooo you can't bet a real log fire. We don't have one but when we were in France over the last half term we did, we spent many a happy day scabbing the local beaches of their drift wood using my Swiss army knife saw cutting down to smaller sizes. We had bad winds while there and on the way back to the gite one day we saw a tree blown down couldn't resist that opportunity. The problem was we only had our new beetle cab but that didn't stop up from filling up the boot and spare space in the back with the boys. The strange looks we used to get.
I cut a elm tree down a couple of years ago and my next door said its too sappy to burn ,2 years on I have built a fence and replaced lots of shovel handles with the wood and on my fire it burns lovely... I did plant another 2 trees..... we also have a tree and every 3 years we cut all the branches off so it`s just a meter and a half high,then the tree just starts again ,across this region you see thousands of these trees ,substainable wood for the fire and no death.... 8)
I reckon the reason people say alder doesn't burn is that it tends to grow in more boggy areas and on river banks and so the wood itself tends to be quite wet. (If you want the boring scientific reason for why it grows there it's cos it has a symbiotic relationship with a micro organism which grows on its root nodules and helps it fix atmospheric nitrogen and makes it available to the tree in areas where soil nitrogen is poor). But it has always been used for gunpowder/charcoal because its wood is dense and good for burning slowly. The best logs you can get, is from a dead tree where the wood has seasoned standing and is sap free. ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz............sorry - I can bore for England when you get me talking about trees :-[ And here you go - A poem I learnt years ago when I was a trainee tree surgeon on YTS!.... Logs to burn! Logs to burn! Logs to save the coal a turn! Here’s a word to make you wise When you hear the woodsman’s cries. Beechwood fires burn bright and clear, Hornbeam blazes too, If the logs are kept a year And seasoned through and through. Oak logs will warm you well If they’re old and dry, Large logs of pinewood smell But the sparks will fly. Pine is good and so is yew For warmth through wintry days But poplar and willow, too Take long to dry and blaze. Birch logs will burn too fast, Alder scarce at all. Chestnut logs are good to last If cut in the fall. Holly logs will burn like wax, You should burn them green, Elm logs like smouldering flax, No flame is seen. Pear logs and apple logs, They will scent your room. Cherry logs across the dogs Smell like flowers in bloom. But ash logs, all smooth and grey, Burn them green or old, Buy up all that come your way, They’re worth their weight in gold.
One of the best woods for burning i found was a big old rhododen i found in the woods :-X it burned for hours. this time of year i carry a chainsaw in the van as you find all sorts blown down and if i take it i see it as a public service.
We went rhodi bashing with the national trust one weekend and it was a fantastic laugh, rhodi wood spits like hell and my fleece was like a colander when we had finished ;D
We had some big trees in the garden once. It's all gone now though - last winter saw off the remains.
