basswood vs ash... i know the answer and dont like it

[CowboyAndy]

after much debate over what kind of wood i have, ash or basswood, i think i have decided that its basswood. and i dont like it. its been okay for daytime fires, but im not even getting through an overnight at 25 degrees. it sucks. last night i packed the furnace to the gills with a mix of the basswood, aspen and a few smaller maple logs at 10:30 last night. reduced the air to half, set the tstat at 72 and got up at 5:30 to the house 64 and almost no coals. this time last year we were sweatin our behinds off in bed and having a nice bed of coals with wet maple and cherry.


i wont make the mistake of cutting that stuff again, now i have to limp through till january when we start in on the maple and hickory stash.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Is this the stuff you are getting from the farm? Its not that surprising...the farmers have probably been cutting the good and easy stuff for a long time leaving a lot of stuff that "isn't good for firewood". Consider it a community service to thin out the basswood. It will help preserve your maple and hickory.

 

[JustWood]

MayB install damper to slow down dry wood burn= more heat stays in house.

 

[CowboyAndy]

Is this the stuff you are getting from the farm? Its not that surprising...the farmers have probably been cutting the good and easy stuff for a long time leaving a lot of stuff that "isn't good for firewood". Consider it a community service to thin out the basswood. It will help preserve your maple and hickory.

well, not really, as it was on the very outer edge of a field. the woods behind where we cut it have been basterdized for years now, between my father in laws firewood cutting and having it logged a few years back. i went for it because it was big, plentiful and easily accessable. my problem is i am limited to where i can cut based on where i can get a vehicle to. theres another guy who cuts out there, and he has a tractor, so he can get deeper into the woods where there are nice big straight maples with almost no branches. i am stuck with the younger smaller crooked stuff.


but dont get me wrong, it still beats paying for fuel oil!

 

[smokinj]

should be able to reduce the air all the way

 

[Duetech]

Basswood has some pretty big leaves and is easily discernible regarding ash. Though basswwod doesn't have the desired btu content of ash basswood is an old favorite when it comes to making furniture as it has little tendancy to warp. Sorry about the short nights reloading the stove but thanks for the information. I have a couple of basswood, one is very large with multipl trunks, that I now know I need to look for a logger to remove as firewood is ouit.

 

[CowboyAndy]

Basswood has some pretty big leaves and is easily discernible regarding ash. Though basswwod doesn't have the desired btu content of ash basswood is an old favorite when it comes to making furniture as it has little tendancy to warp. Sorry about the short nights reloading the stove but thanks for the information. I have a couple of basswood, one is very large with multipl trunks, that I now know I need to look for a logger to remove as firewood is ouit.

problem was when we cut there were no leaves, so i was trying to figure out what it was by bark and grain alone...

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Andy, maybe there are some old farmers in the area who could tell which trees are which.

On the good side, like on said, it makes good furniture, not only because of less warpage but it is also very light and works easy. Model airplane guys love it as do any wood carvers. But for firewood.... Usually when you cut some logs, if they seem light to handle, they are not going to burn really great.

 

[SolarAndWood]

problem was when we cut there were no leaves, so i was trying to figure out what it was by bark and grain alone...

That is the best time for gathering...especially if you can hit the window when the ground is frozen and there isn't much snow on it.

 

[CowboyAndy]

MayB install damper to slow down dry wood burn= more heat stays in house.

i have a furnace, not a stove. and a tall, outside chimney. i cant install a damper.

 

[Danno77]

for the past few years i've been marking trees during the end of summer, because as they start to lose their leaves you can't tell what's dead and what's not.

I'm doing some more cleanup in the timber lately, so even some live trees get taken down if it's better for the timber as a whole to see them gone. when that's the case, I definitely like to mark them while they have leaves so I know what I'm getting. In general, though, it's more like "hmmm, that tree needs to go, it's a(n) ______" then when fall comes i don't remember and it gets cut down and thrown into the mix. Since I stack and restack and move and mix and split, etc. they all get mixed so much that it doesn't really matter to me.

This is the reason you just need to have more wood than you'd ever need in one year, just in case your wood doesn't burn as expected you can run into the stuff for next year.

(geesh, would ya listen to me? I talk like I know, but in reality I've only been burning in a fireplace for, uh, going into the fourth season now. WhatdoIknow about anything, lol....)

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Correction: that is only one reason. There are others, like seasoning time or what happens if you get injured or sick and can't cut, etc.

 

[Danno77]

Correction: that is only one reason. There are others, like seasoning time or what happens if you get injured or sick and can't cut, etc.

I totally agree.....lol, you apparently missed my diatribe yesterday about wood being like money in the bank.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I fully agree about the money in the bank. We have several thousand $ sitting here all ready to burn. Much better than the $ in the bank.

 

[firefighterjake]

Oh, not good . . . there is definitely a difference between bass and ash . . . bass is much lighter and will burn up quicker. As noted, bass has large, distinctive looking leaves vs. the multi-leaf of ash . . . but as you noted, it can be hard to tell the difference when no leaves are on the tree. On the flip side, at least you have good, seasoned wood this Fall.

 

[DaveBP]

If it's basswood it will have almost no perceptible grain pattern, very homogeneous light soft wood, almost white colored. Often has an odd mildew smell, at least to my nose.

Ash has a very noticeable grain pattern, similar to oak. Especially when split or cut parallel to the rings.

If it's something else....

It all burns when dry.

 

[ikessky]

Around here, a mature ash's bark has deeper fissures than a basswood. Basswood also has a little different color, almost greyish. Younger, smaller ashs do look a lot like basswood though.

 

[Duetech]

the basswood I have has multiple trunks when it gets the chance to spread out and since they are generally in a fence row they get the opportunity to spread out. I have never had any ash firewood except a mountain ash that died (and I read somewhere that the mountain variety is not really an ash) so I have never had the two woods to compare. If you have never seen the two at one time or know one specifically it would be hard to know. Since reading and participating in this forum I have begun to appreciate how little I know about the trees I have always taken for granted. But I am learning the ones that keep me warmest with the fewest trips to the boiler.

 

[315Rob]

I fell for the basswood once... ONCE!

Here are the telltale signs of basswood:

1. If a Poulan "Wild Thing" with a dull 5 year old chain falls through it, it's basswood.
2. If the cut wood looks "fuzzy", it's basswood.
3. If you can palm a 12 x 18 log, it's basswood.
4. Look for large heart-shaped leaves.

Unfortunately, when standing dead, it looks very much like ash. In one of my cutting areas, they are mixed in with one another... have to really read the bark.

Oh yeah... and the bark is usually full of holes from woodpeckers because it is easy. I have seen some cool symmetrical patterns from them searching for food.

Nice site, BTW!

 

[LLigetfa]

I have seen some cool symmetrical patterns from them searching for food.

Those are usually from a Sapsucker. While they will also go after insects, they like to drink the sap.

 

[315Rob]

Hmmm always just called them woodpeckers. Figured they were after bugs. Learned something new!

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-bellied_Sapsucker/id