Cutting firewood

 
  From the October 15, 2018 issue of Agri-News
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 While hard work, preparing firewood for winter use can be very rewarding for those who use wood as a source of main or supplemental home heating.

“Depending on the cost of current competitive energy sources - mainly natural gas - firewood can provide some savings if you are using dry wood and an efficient wood stove,” says Toso Bozic, bioenergy and agroforestry specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.

For those not in the commercial firewood business, there are few things to consider - including firewood source, harvesting, drying/seasoning, storage, and use. “Even if you decide to just cut trees for your own use, you must be prepared for hard work that will last several hours. You will be working outside in colder weather conditions, and you must have equipment for cutting, splitting and transporting firewood,” adds Bozic.

Bozic says that the first trees to choose are those that have already fallen, are laying on the ground, and are very dry. “You will probably need to remove the tree limbs before taking them to where you want cut them for firewood. If you are planning to make a trail through the trees, the ones you cut for the trail are the next in line to use for firewood. Your last choice are trees that are healthy and green. There is no need to use those trees for firewood unless you have to. Another source of firewood could be slabs and scrap lumber from local sawmills or even wood from landfill facilities if they are clean and free of contamination. Never use pressure treated wood or any other chemically contaminated wood such as plywood, oriental strand board (OSB), or rotten wood.”

Safety is the most important factor when harvesting trees. “If you have never used a chainsaw, split wood, or used other harvesting equipment, I would strongly suggest taking a safety course,” says Bozic. “As using a chainsaw and working in a forest is very dangerous work, you can always hire a professional timber harvester to do the job for you. Using a chainsaw is a major cause of accidents among professional loggers as well as hobby loggers.”

Safety steps when cutting trees include assessing the hazards, identifying where the tree will fall, cutting and clearing around the tree, determining an escape route, deciding what cuts to make, and always remembering to look up. All equipment used must be set up properly and will often require more than one person to operate.

“Once you cut those trees, you will need to transport them to an area where you will cut the trees to firewood length,” says Bozic. “Please keep your logs off the ground as they can get dirty or freeze in winter time.”

When splitting by hand, it is not uncommon to run across twisted pieces of wood that defy splitting. Bozic says to consider leaving these pieces as they are also hard to split by maul. “There are many different types of mechanical log splitters – run with electricity, gasoline, or powered by a tractor or skids. Depending how much firewood you may use annually, a mechanical log splitter could be the most important piece of equipment that you need to purchase. Don’t buy larger and bigger equipment then you really need. Firewood processors are for people who are in firewood as a business.”

Bozic adds that it is vital to avoid bringing firewood from outside Alberta into the province to prevent the spread of insects and disease.

Contact:
Toso Bozic
780-415-2681

 
 
 
 
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For more information about the content of this document, contact Toso Bozic.
This document is maintained by Christine Chomiak.
This information published to the web on October 1, 2018.