# Q Fuel



## CraigC (Dec 5, 2011)

I was just in Home Depot over the weekend and saw they are carrying bags of mixed split logs (hickory, oak and pecan) for $4.47 each. I believe they are 20lb bags. For me in south Florida, split logs are not an everyday thing.

Craig


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## Timothy (Dec 5, 2011)

CraigC said:


> I was just in Home Depot over the weekend and saw they are carrying bags of mixed split logs (hickory, oak and pecan) for $4.47 each. I believe they are 20lb bags. For me in south Florida, split logs are not an everyday thing.
> 
> Craig


 
Man, I just gave away an entire cut up Oak tree to one of my neighbors who has a wood heater.

I still have about 10 trees to take out. All oak.


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## CraigC (Dec 5, 2011)

Timothy said:


> Man, I just gave away an entire cut up Oak tree to one of my neighbors who has a wood heater.
> 
> I still have about 10 trees to take out. All oak.


 
This stuff is seasoned (dried) which I'm used to cooking with. I've never tried just cut stuff. Anybody ever use "green" logs/sticks? If it works well, you could make some folks real happy!

Craig


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## Timothy (Dec 5, 2011)

CraigC said:


> This stuff is seasoned (dried) which I'm used to cooking with. I've never tried just cut stuff. Anybody ever use "green" logs/sticks? If it works well, you could make some folks real happy!
> 
> Craig


 
Yep, the guy who got the wood stacks it until the following year. Green wood burns cooler and faster than dried wood.


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## Andy M. (Dec 5, 2011)

I believe green wood burns cooler and slower.  Most of the heat value in green wood goes to evaporating the moisture in the wood.  Once that happens, the wood burns to ash.


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## taxlady (Dec 5, 2011)

Andy M. said:


> I believe green wood burns cooler and slower.  Most of the heat value in green wood goes to evaporating the moisture in the wood.  Once that happens, the wood burns to ash.



That is what I understand. I think you get more creosote in your chimney with green wood, as well.


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## CraigC (Dec 5, 2011)

taxlady said:


> That is what I understand. I think you get more creosote in your chimney with green wood, as well.


 
I thought that you only got creosote from conifirs (evergreens) and not from hard or fruit woods?

Craig


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## taxlady (Dec 5, 2011)

CraigC said:


> I thought that you only got creosote from conifirs (evergreens) and not from hard or fruit woods?
> 
> Craig



You get more creosote from conifers. Technically, it's cresote and carbon black, the stuff that coats the inside of chimneys.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Dec 5, 2011)

Just make sure that when using oak for a Q-fire, you use white oak.  Red oak produces a bitter flavor due to the high amount of tannic acid in the wood.  Think of biting into a red oak acorn.  It's so bitter that it's inedible, at least until you boil the tannins out of it.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Andy M. (Dec 5, 2011)

Creosote is a product of incomplete combustion of all woods.  Burning green wood promotes the formation of creosote.  Evergreen wood that is thoroughly dried will burn safely.


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## Timothy (Dec 5, 2011)

Here's a good page on the subject:

Best burning wood firewood


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## Timothy (Dec 5, 2011)

Andy M. said:


> I believe green wood burns cooler and slower. Most of the heat value in green wood goes to evaporating the moisture in the wood. Once that happens, the wood burns to ash.


I believe you're compleately correct Andy. Thank you.


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## Andy M. (Dec 5, 2011)

For 10 years in the 70s and 80s, I heated my home with a wood stove.  I learned a lot about the best woods and how to cut, split and burn them.  I also almost killed myself more than once cutting trees down then up.


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## Andy M. (Dec 5, 2011)

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> ...Red oak produces a bitter flavor due to the high amount of tannic acid in the wood...



That may be true but I really like the smell of freshly split red oak.


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## Timothy (Dec 5, 2011)

Andy M. said:


> For 10 years in the 70s and 80s, I heated my home with a wood stove. I learned a lot about the best woods and how to cut, split and burn them. I also almost killed myself more than once cutting trees down then up.


 
The icing on the cake as far as my trees are concerned is that all of them are covered in poison oak vines and leaves.

That's the tree companies problem. They know how to deal with that I imagine, after all these years.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Dec 5, 2011)

Andy M. said:


> That may be true but I really like the smell of freshly split red oak.


 
Red oak is not a bad wood for heating your home.  It's dense, and when seasoned properly, burns a long time.  The same is true of maple, birch, and tamarak, all deciduous hardwoods.  Though why someone would rather burn sugar maple than tap it is beyond my understanding.

I used to use an eight lb. splitting mall, with a star wedge.  First swing would make the initial split.  We were felling tamarack, live trees.  My partner would drag them out of the woods and cut them into 8 foot lengths.  I had to buck them and split them.  I was just a cup back then at 26 years of age.  I could swing that mall all day long, and often did.

I tell you what, lumberjacking with a chainsaw, and a splitting mall will trim you right down, and make you downright muscular.  I miss those days of unrivaled, and infinite stamina.  To look at me now, you'd think I spent all of my hours in front of video games.  But I can take solace in the fact that I was still out working people half my age when I was in my mid 40's.

Lesson for all of you who are under 40;  The human body is made to work, run, and play hard.  If you aren't taking advantage of it, right now, you are missing out on a great life, IMHO.  The experiences you have with gaming pale in comparison to the experiences you can have by actually doing things.

If you think I'm exagerating, ask Sprout, or Purple Alien Giraffe about my exploits.  They got to witness them first hand.

Ok, I'll climb off of my soapbox now.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## GLC (Dec 5, 2011)

One of the barbecue outfits here uses a few sticks of oak.


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## roadfix (Dec 5, 2011)

Red oak is pretty popular around these parts.  A few restaurants use them.


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