FREE wood - Do you know what it is???

[BillLion]

I got a small score today due to the fact that I'm driving a minivan:

I can go back with a chainsaw and van and get plenty more. I'm excited for the white birch mostly because I've never burned any before, but I'm also eager to know what the other wood is? Red oak?

Thanks and Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[Hogwildz]

Not Red Oak. The rings are too far apart, bark is wrong, everything about it is not red oak.
Not sure what it is. What does it smell like? Pungent, sweet?

 

[BillLion]

Not Red Oak. The rings are too far apart, bark is wrong, everything about it is not red oak.
Not sure what it is. What does it smell like? Pungent, sweet?

Not exceptionally sweet. I just cut and split one in hopes it might help with the ID:

 

[BillLion]

BTW: soaking wet inside!

 

[peakbagger]

Second wood Norway or Silver maple? I agree the rings are enormous.

With the white birch, cut and split it as soon as possible, otherwise run the saw down through the bark lengthwise. If split it dries fairly quickly, in pinch I can burn it in less than a year. It not super high btu wood definitely not an all nighter, About 1/2 my firewood is birch as I am north of the "Oak" line. Save the bark that comes off, it makes great fire starter.

 

[Hogwildz]

I only know mostly of what I burn.
I have seen that before, but just can't place it. Something in me wants to say poplar, but honestly, I just don't know.
I do seem to think I had a couple poles of it once. If it is the same, and I remember correctly, it is very wet, but dries fast and becomes very light.
Burns fast if I remember correctly.
But again, I just don't know. Take my thoughts with a grain of salt.
Free wood is free fuel, take it, split it, stack it, burn it(when it is ready).

 

[SKIN052]

Second wood Norway or Silver maple? I agree the rings are enormous.

With the white birch, cut and split it as soon as possible, otherwise run the saw down through the bark lengthwise. If split it dries fairly quickly, in pinch I can burn it in less than a year. It not super high btu wood definitely not an all nighter, About 1/2 my firewood is birch as I am north of the "Oak" line. Save the bark that comes off, it makes great fire starter.

You are spot on with the birch, unfortunately it is the best wood we can get around here. It will certainly pull off an overnight burn, i do that with spruce. You guys are just spoiled with your stinking Oak and Hickory garbage, lol.

 

[Chimney Smoke]

Is the wood fairly light? I think it's poplar. Poplar has the tendency to get the sawtooth edges like that when split instead of a nice clean split.

 

[duff0369]

I don't know what the one is but that's not white birch either, it's grey birch. Similar in appearance but grey birch isn't as good of a firewood so don't judge white birch based upon how the stuff you've got burns.

 

[peakbagger]

Sure looks to me like white birch

 

[duff0369]

Sure looks to me like white birch

It may be but it looks much more like grey birch to me.

 

[duff0369]

This is white birch:

Grey birch:

Subtle difference but a lot of people confuse grey birch for white birch. Heck, a lot of people don't even know there's such a thing as grey birch.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Birch and elm. But it does not look like it split like most elm does.

 

[tsquini]

Birch and elm. But it does not look like it split like most elm does.

+1 for birch and elm

 

[BillLion]

Interesting. So, the current consensus is that the white birch may actually be gray birch?

And the 2nd wood may be poplar or elm? I've never dealt with poplar so I wouldn't know.

However I've split a bunch of elm and. Can tell you this was way easier than what I split. As evidenced by Savage's comments about it not looking like split elm.

Would it be a different variety of elm? Definitely not the same as the American elm I had before.

If it's poplar or elm (and gray instead of white) I might just leave re rest alone.

 

[duff0369]

The unknown: could it be ash maple(aka box elder)?

 

[Woody Stover]

Ithe 2nd wood may be poplar or elm?

Not Tulip Poplar....I'm not familiar with the northern 'Aspen Poplar.'

 

[nrford]

Paper(white) Birch and Grey Elm. Not grey birch... note the peeling bark in the photos, grey birch would not have this much peeling.

 

[Applesister]

I think the second wood is Elm as well. Not sure if the birch is paper or gray. I need seeds and leaves tell.

 

[Arnoldnorth]

Tell me where that score is so I can get at it.

 

[Applesister]

They both dry well within a year. So if you havent reached the three year goal they are both good woods to have in the pile.

 

[Hogwildz]

Free wood, is free wood. Grab it, split it, stack it, burn it.

 

[bmblank]

Sure doesn't look like any poplar to me. It looks like some sort of evergreen to me.
But I agree with hog. Even crappy wood produces SOME heat.

 

[Flamestead]

Another vote for not Aspen/Poplar. Bark reminded me of Elm, but the split wood less so - I remember American Elm as being very stringy when split, but it has been many a moon since I last split any. No experience with Grey Elm.

 

[BillLion]

Paper(white) Birch and Grey Elm. Not grey birch... note the peeling bark in the photos, grey birch would not have this much peeling.

That's good news to me on the birch!

Another vote for not Aspen/Poplar. Bark reminded me of Elm, but the split wood less so - I remember American Elm as being very stringy when split, but it has been many a moon since I last split any. No experience with Grey Elm.

I have no experience with grey elm either. If that's what this is, it splits like a dream compared to American Elm. Lower on the BTUs though according to the charts.