Ash, Elm & Poplar

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rijim

Feeling the Heat
Jan 19, 2009
300
RI
Had a chance to grab about 3 cord of free wood that had already been limbed and was on the ground. I know from the green/yellow color in the center that about 1/4 cord is Poplar I got 1/2 cord of red oak and maple. The remainder is what I cannot identify it is very blond in color and I believe it is Ash or Elm; how can I tell from the bark or the wood? Without leaves I have trouble with Ash, Elm and Poplar.

Thanks,
Jim
 
Can you post a pic? I guarantee someone will identify it.
 
Good score.
It's all BTUs :)
 
if the splts have a corse grain close to oak it could be ash. Most elm Ive scrounged has a tighter single shaded grain. Post some pics if you can.
 
I'm better at IDing trees by the leafs as well, but there are a few ways to tell.

Perhaps the easiest way to tell what is elm is if you are splitting with an ax or maul . . . I can almost guarantee you that the elm will be the most miserable wood of the three to split by hand unless the elm has been standing dead for several years.

The relative weight of comparatively sized pieces might help too . . . I suspect the poplar would be the lightest in weight, followed by the ash and then the elm.

As for the bark . . . if the poplar is young this would be the easiest ID as young poplars tend to have a smooth, white or gray bark and when you rub it there is almost a talcum-like powder that may come off on your hand . . . older poplar changes though with a bark that retains the whitish- or whitish-gray color, but it may be more furrowed. When I see ash I tend to think of a tree with gray to gray-brown bark that is furrowed with ridges . . . not as much as black locust, but it can have a fair amount of bark on it compared to other species. Elm's bark is gray and can have some furrows as well . . . but around here most of the elm never gets to be that old and instead the bark is on the thinner side . . . it is more scaly than furrowed and is not very thick.

As others have said . . . posting pics will help.
 
Here is some ash bark. There are a couple elm without bark in the lower right of the picture but all else is ash. Sorry I don't have any pictures for you of elm with the bark.

3-23-09b.jpg
 
Thanks scotvl, we'll be burning some of that wood this year. Well, we've already burned quite a bit this fall.
 
firefighterjake said:
I'm better at IDing trees by the leafs as well, but there are a few ways to tell.

Perhaps the easiest way to tell what is elm is if you are splitting with an ax or maul . . . I can almost guarantee you that the elm will be the most miserable wood of the three to split by hand unless the elm has been standing dead for several years.

The relative weight of comparatively sized pieces might help too . . . I suspect the poplar would be the lightest in weight, followed by the ash and then the elm.

As for the bark . . . if the poplar is young this would be the easiest ID as young poplars tend to have a smooth, white or gray bark and when you rub it there is almost a talcum-like powder that may come off on your hand . . . older poplar changes though with a bark that retains the whitish- or whitish-gray color, but it may be more furrowed. When I see ash I tend to think of a tree with gray to gray-brown bark that is furrowed with ridges . . . not as much as black locust, but it can have a fair amount of bark on it compared to other species. Elm's bark is gray and can have some furrows as well . . . but around here most of the elm never gets to be that old and instead the bark is on the thinner side . . . it is more scaly than furrowed and is not very thick.

As others have said . . . posting pics will help.

++ Great descriptions. I burn some of all three in shoulder season, and you're spot on with the distinctions. Elm looks just remarkably ordinary and innocent in log form. Then you bury a maul in it and find out what an SOB it really is. It is a lot easier to deal with when it's been hanging around for a year or so, but even then I use the splitter on it and don't even try to smack it open myself.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
Here is some ash bark. There are a couple elm without bark in the lower right of the picture but all else is ash. Sorry I don't have any pictures for you of elm with the bark.

3-23-09b.jpg

I see the infamous milk crate and cushion there but what is that thing standing up behind it. Is that a maul? Dennis, do you own manual tools for spliting wood vertically? :p
 
WoodpileOCD said:
Backwoods Savage said:
Here is some ash bark. There are a couple elm without bark in the lower right of the picture but all else is ash. Sorry I don't have any pictures for you of elm with the bark.

I see the infamous milk crate and cushion there but what is that thing standing up behind it. Is that a maul? Dennis, do you own manual tools for spliting wood vertically? :p

I bet he splits with the maul sitting on the milk crate :p
 
Here are the 2 types I am having trouble identifying, type 1 splits so easy it has to be Ash.
Thanks,
Jim
 

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Wood Duck said:
Both types are Ash.

+1 . . . specificially white ash . . . one of my favorite wood species . . . easy to process even with an ax or maul . . . decent burn . . . seasons relatively quickly . . . an all around decent wood . . .
 
WoodpileOCD said:
Backwoods Savage said:
Here is some ash bark. There are a couple elm without bark in the lower right of the picture but all else is ash. Sorry I don't have any pictures for you of elm with the bark.

I see the infamous milk crate and cushion there but what is that thing standing up behind it. Is that a maul? Dennis, do you own manual tools for spliting wood vertically? :p

What you see is a splitting maul. I had to use it to break some of the wood free from ice. The bottom row can be a problem that way in April. And yes, I do occasionally split one or two with a splitting maul or an axe just for the heck of it. Problem is, I usually put myself out of commission for a week or two because it hurts my back so bad. But, sometimes one just has to do dumb things like that.


As for those other pictures, indeed it is ash. Nice wood; easy splitting.
 
I see the infamous milk crate and cushion there but what is that thing standing up behind it. Is that a maul? Dennis, do you own manual tools for spliting wood vertically? :p[/quote]

What you see is a splitting maul. I had to use it to break some of the wood free from ice. The bottom row can be a problem that way in April. And yes, I do occasionally split one or two with a splitting maul or an axe just for the heck of it. Problem is, I usually put myself out of commission for a week or two because it hurts my back so bad. But, sometimes one just has to do dumb things like that. [/quote]



Yea, I hear ya. Whats the line.... I'm not as good as I once was but I'm as good once as I ever was. Getting old ain't for sissy's
 
Wood Duck said:
Both types are Ash.
Bark sure looks like it. My White Ash doesn't have that dark center, though. Green, perhaps?
 
Woody Stover said:
Wood Duck said:
Both types are Ash.
Bark sure looks like it. My White Ash doesn't have that dark center, though. Green, perhaps?

Some will have the dark center and others won't. This stack is all white ash.

Splittingpile12-29a.jpg
 
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