Catalpa Wood

[Henz]

Just curious if anyone has ever tried burning this type of wood in their indoor woodstove??

 

[tw40x81]

I don't have any to try, but according to the Washington post:

The varieties of wood you can buy or cut in the mid-Atlantic region are mostly oak mixed with maple, hickory, ash, locust and walnut. All make excellent firewood. You do not want tulip poplar, catalpa, willow or box elder. They smolder. I also consider mulberry worthless as firewood. The yellow-green wood is difficult to season and burn, and it's somewhat malodorous when it catches fire. Reputable dealers should not sell these. Conifers or softwoods, such as pines, firs, spruces and hemlocks, can be burned, but they burn fast, pop and throw more sparks than hardwoods.

I've burned an old dead mulberry without problems so take it for what its worth. It looks like a better use for Catalpa wood is to make pretty bowls.

 

[hookspacken]

If it is wood, if it is dry, I would light it and burn it.......

 

[DiscoInferno]

I live in the DC area; what a clearly ill-informed quote from the Post on mulberry. It seasons at least as fast as any other dense hardwood, splits easily, burns great, and I've never noticed any odd smells. The only real or potential drawbacks are that mulberry grows crooked with a lot of branches and pops and sparks a lot.

I've never got my hands on any catalpa. I don't think the problem is smoldering so much as the fact that it's a very light wood.