Good CL score, but..

[ggans]

Will be going back for more, I am told this is Elm. If so how long should I let it dry?

 

[BucksCoBernie]

if im not mistaken Elm is up there w Oak as far as drying time....2 years. Have fun splitting that! lol. its a stringy mess

 

[ggans]

Thanks, I cut the rounds at 7 inches, should not be to bad... Should I split it now or let it dry a bit and split it next summer? Planing on a 2013/14 burn..

 

[BucksCoBernie]

I split elm on 2 different occasions. The 1st time it was fresh cut but it was in March and still cold outside. The 2nd time was last month, about 4 months later in the summers heat and it was a lot tougher to split the 2nd time around fwiw.

 

[ggans]

Well I guess at this point it's when I get to it.. Can anyone tell me what kind of Elm this is..?

 

[SolarAndWood]

looks like the free kind to me...nice score

 

[wsorg]

Should be a decent burn at least...

 

[firefighterjake]

I let my elm season for a year or two . . . but generally the elm I cut has also been dead for a year or two. Good burning stuff . . . but can be a challenge to split unless it's dead-dead (i.e. standing dead without bark for a couple of years) . . . even then sometimes it can be pretty stringy to split . . . I wouldn't even attempt to split elm by hand myself.

 

[lukem]

Well I guess at this point it's when I get to it.. Can anyone tell me what kind of Elm this is..?

I burn a lot of elm because so much is standing dead around here from dutch elm disease. I can't say for sure without seeing some leaves, but that looks like red elm with the dark heartwood and dark bark.

Elm is not fun to split, but it is definitely doable. Just work your way around the edges slabbing it off. There is no glory in splitting it down the middle. It does split a lot better if you let it dry a little first. Try to split some, if it is a bear, let it sit until fall.

 

[Danno77]

it looks a lot like Chinese Elm, but I'm not good with that particular ID without leaves. Don't have any of those do you?

 

[3fordasho]

it looks a lot like Chinese Elm, but I'm not good with that particular ID without leaves. Don't have any of those do you?

That is my first thought too, Chinese Elm. bark and color of the rounds are exactly like the Chinese Elm I've come across.
Not as bad to split as the regular Elm (American?)

If you split it to reasonable sizes it should be ready after a year of seasoning.


Edit- what I've referred to as "Chinese Elm" looks alot more like the Siberian Elm pics posted later in this thread.
Around here people seem to call the same tree both Siberian and Chinese Elm, but we don't have any trees that look like the Chinese Elm pics in this thread.

The Siberian Elm we have here must not be affected by Dutch Elm disease, every bit I've gotten has been from a living tree.

 

[Danno77]

That is my first thought too, chinese elm. bark and color of the rounds are exactly like the chinese elm I've come across.
Not as bad to split as the regular elm (american?)

If you split it to reasonable sizes it should be ready after a year of seasoning.

I've had some sitting in rounds since last spring and they appear to be losing their MC fairly quickly in spite of the humidity here. Mine was cut while alive and those things just squished water out everywhere when I tried to split them. When they do split they aren't near as bad as the Elm that everyone curses around here, but they are "stringy-er" than most other woods. I'm guessing that a year drying in the round and then splitting and then another year+ is what mine will take unless I get short on wood and have to throw it in before it's ready....

I'm thinking this wood (mine at least) is a good candidate for sub zero splitting.

 

[Capt]

Heatit and I scored a huge Chinese elm last summer. I split mine right away, he left his til this year. It wasn't too bad to split it right away, but the gooey sap was horrible. Not sure how it went when Heatit split his.

Things I found about burning Chinese elm:

It burns very hot
Leaves little coals, powdery white ash
Very unpleasant odor



I saved the rest to burn outdoors.

 

[CJRages]

Nice score. I would try to split it now. It may be far easier than you think. I know Elm difficulty varies based on species.

Is anyone here an expert on elm? I have always been confused between chinese elm, siberian elm, and red elm. Any pointers?

Thanks.

EDIT: I found a couple of pics on the net that I'll post here in case anyone is interested.

Chinese Elm:

Siberian Elm - very common here where I live and appears to be what the OP took a picture of.

The nearly impossible to split by hand - American Elm

Finally: Slippery (red) elm

 

[Backwoods Savage]

It doesn't look like any elm we have around here.

Elm, once it is split, dries pretty fast. That is because you really rip it apart rather then splitting it. Wait until it is dead ans the bark has fallen off and it splits good (usually). But even if it is dead, it should be cut one winter and not burned then, but the following winter.

 

[oldspark]

It doesn't look like any elm we have around here.

Elm, once it is split, dries pretty fast. That is because you really rip it apart rather then splitting it. Wait until it is dead ans the bark has fallen off and it splits good (usually). But even if it is dead, it should be cut one winter and not burned then, but the following winter.

If memory serves me correctly (dicey) that looks like the American elm I used to cut 30 years ago but does not look like the elm we have here now.

 

[smokinj]

It doesn't look like any elm we have around here.

Elm, once it is split, dries pretty fast. That is because you really rip it apart rather then splitting it. Wait until it is dead ans the bark has fallen off and it splits good (usually). But even if it is dead, it should be cut one winter and not burned then, but the following winter.

If memory serves me correctly (dicey) that looks like the American elm I used to cut 30 years ago but does not look like the elm we have here now.

I was thinking walnut.

 

[oldspark]

Well the elm we have around here we call chinese but after seeing CJ pictures I have no idea what kind it is because it looks nothing like that, its short lived and it's not american and it grows every where along fence lines and what not, plus it does not split well.

 

[Capt]

Well the elm we have around here we call chinese but after seeing CJ pictures I have no idea what kind it is because it looks nothing like that

Agreed. It looks to me like the Siberian elm, and that looks more along the lines of what I was referring to.

 

[Flatbedford]

If I where you I would let it rot. Being a hand splitter, I have no use for Elm. Good luck with it. If you want it, there is some in the woods across the street from my house. I brought it home by mistake last year.