Alder as firewood again !!

[Mr. Ed]

I read somewhere that alder was favoured for watery uses, such as the pilings that Venice is built on, and water pipes and conduits, which is odd given everyone's experience of it rotting quickly. 

There's obviously more to this wood business than common sense . . .

[doobin]

37 minutes ago, Mr. Ed said:

I read somewhere that alder was favoured for watery uses, such as the pilings that Venice is built on, and water pipes and conduits, which is odd given everyone's experience of it rotting quickly. 

There's obviously more to this wood business than common sense . . .

Oxygen can't get to it underwater. Different environment.

[Stubby]

34 minutes ago, doobin said:

Oxygen can't get to it underwater. Different environment.

 

34 minutes ago, doobin said:

Oxygen can't get to it underwater. Different environment.

fish manage to get O2 out of water ......

Edited February 3, 2020 by Stubby

[tree_beard]

5 minutes ago, Stubby said:

 

fish manage to get O2 out of water ......

One of the reasons they make for very poor firewood...

[HertsWood]

You would hope so given the extra work and energy required to produce charcoal.

Actually making charcoal with a retort is a lot easier and more efficient than using a ring kiln. A burn takes 8 - 10 hrs and a day to cool, but you can be doing other things while a burn is underway..for example I’m processing Apple today.

[Stere]

But for the price of one retort you could just get say get 5 kilns etc, and heard of retorts that wear out & distort etc after several yrs....

 

Retort is more efficient % yield  and shorter burn time....

 

But as the main % of the job is the loading unloading and sorting of fines,  bagging up, retort desn't help with any of that?

 

So  is the price & profit of on  the product, worth the extra investment of a retort?

[doobin]

1 hour ago, Stubby said:

 

fish manage to get O2 out of water ......

Meh. Aeorobic/anerobic (i think), thats what I was getting at. Basically it's different underwater.

[Stere]

Don't piles stick up out  above water lvl you think the tops would rot off as any alder outside rots really fast?

 

Maybe if seasoned for yrs inside than put outside its properties change?

[Stubby]

2 hours ago, doobin said:

Meh. Aeorobic/anerobic (i think), thats what I was getting at. Basically it's different underwater.

I know what you meant doobs , I was just being a twat  . Some of the most sort after timber is that which is pulled out of a swamp .

[Squaredy]

6 hours ago, Stubby said:

I know what you meant doobs , I was just being a twat  . Some of the most sort after timber is that which is pulled out of a swamp .

Most timber will last well under water especially if submerged in mud.  I think I read that one of New York’s famous old bridges uses huge pine pilings as foundations, and that they are still in perfect condition.