OK I did a search an didn’t find the answer I was needing. I have an opportunity to cut a bunch of locust and some other hard wood of unknown type (maybe Hack berry or Linden) , but it is green at the local tree dump. My question is, if cut and split this will it be ready by next October? Or should I concentrate on the downed elm (4 years ago) I have available at a grater distance. I only have storage for 3 1/2 cord here at the house. I’m hoping it will be enough for next season. what do you think, cut local and save gas or drive 25 miles, (or a bit more, I’m guessing) and get the downed elm?
Elm is pretty notorious for providing little heat - there’s an old rhyme about types of firewood that contains the line that “even the flames of elm are cold.” Properly split, sited and stacked in a dryish climate the other wood should be burnable by October if not as ideal as a year’s worth of seasoning.
Black locust is one of the best firewoods. You can help it season by cutting it shorter and splitting it into smaller splits and stacking it so that it gets plenty of air.
Elm, OTOH, is generally a mess to split, it may take four times the effort for each piece :(
Downed wood does not equal dry wood unless it’s a bucked to smaller length. Locust sounds easier and will dry just fine. Sun and wind, cover the top if rainy.
Ed
I split some Elm last year early spring. I started to burn it last Feb and to tell you the truth I did not care for the heat output much. I decided to let it season one more year and work it in with some Hickory or Ash.
My recomendation is go for the Locust. That stuff burns like coal. But I would season it at least one year.
I burned locust last fall. It was split and dry for basically 6 months. It dries really well. Mine was honey locust
Honey locust....good thing you didn’t get stuck with it <g,d&r;>
I cut a big one down last fall but didn’t buck and split it until recently. Still quite wet (it was on the ground). Hopefully it will be in good shape this fall.
I have a lot more that I’d like to cut, but they are really loaded with thorns. Nasty.
Tough question. I would find a way to get both. Get the Locust first, cut and split small so it has a better chance to dry out. Then work on the Elm if you have the room. I’ve burned Elm and have had good results. It coals up good and I can get an overnight burn with it. It’s just a pita to split.
We burned the elm this last season and it burned wonderfully! I had to buy a splitter because like was said it is tough to split, but I haven’t found much that will even slow down the 28 ton Swisher! Some of the stuff at the tree dump is way bigger then the 20 inch bar on the saw, so it takes some doing to cut, but it is already cut to shorter pieces, three to four foot. That makes it bit easier to cut all the way through. (cut and roll) I bet some of that stuff is 36 inches (some much bigger) across the round. I get allot of splits from the bigger stuff!
I fallow the belief that free wood is good wood regardless what it is! Does this mean that I am becoming a wood snob? Trying to decide which free wood to cut first? This type over that type? I guess it good to have options.
Another one here that burns elm and has for many years. But we cut only dead standing elm. When the bark falls off then we cut it. It still has to season but is definitely good burning wood. However, that elm which has fallen might not be as good. Part of that depends upon whether it is right on the ground or mostly off the ground, like leaning on another tree or anything holding it up off the ground.
As Todd stated, the only drawback to elm is the splitting part but with a good splitter that becomes a non issue.
It should be ok if you mix it together. The oak may be a little green yet but would bun ok on a hot fire with some of the other wood mixed in.
We have burned elm for quite some time and like it. No problems with it and if already dead it will surely dry by fall. Stack and split all your wood as soon as possible.
The Elm I have available to me is on some of my aunt and uncle’s ground.(Part of an old army air base) 3-4 years ago a bunch trees were taken down and piled in large pits. I have been using log chains and the Dodge to pull the trunks out and cut it up. We burned this last season strait from the pits, but I plan on cutting and splitting most, if not all, of next season’s wood this spring. I know that the elm will be ready for sure I have some questions about the truly green stuff at the local tree dump.
My biggest problem there is trying to figure out what it is. The brush is piled up, and the trunk and large branches are spread out for wood cutters to cut and take. The only way to ID the wood is by the bark, and the wood itself. I am just not that good at identifying trees just by the bark yet. Example, how do you tell the difference between say elm, cottonwood, hack-berry, and linden by only seeing the bark? Ash is easy, and the honey locust was a snap, but as I look around at local trees I know the trees are different, by looking at the leaves and structure, but the bark looks the same, or so similar that I can’t tell by just using the bark. I have also noticed that the bark of a “young” tree is often very different the that of an 80 year old tree. Any suggestions?
Some of the stuff at the tree dump is way bigger then the 20 inch bar on the saw, so it takes some doing to cut, but it is already cut to shorter pieces, three to four foot. That makes it bit easier to cut all the way through. (cut and roll) I bet some of that stuff is 36 inches (some much bigger) across the round. I get allot of splits from the bigger stuff!
