Is this wood ok to burn?

[02stangguy]

i picked up this wood last fall and just split it the other day. My neighbor came over and told my wife that it's not ok to burn but she can't remember why. Does anyone know what kind of wood it is and if it is ok to burn or not?

 

[CheapBassTurd]

I'd burn it.

If it's pine or something horrible, just add a split here
and there while burning mostly others along with it.
(Makes our main stack last longer.)

CheapMark

 

[warno]

Looks like ash? Just basing that off the ash people on here told me I had the other day from the look of the bark.

I'm guessing the neighbor said don't burn because the fungus on it. If the wood is dry the fungus is dead and probably dry as well. I'd burn it fungus and all.

 

[Fireking]

It looks like some kind of softwood to me but, as long as it is dry I'd burn it!!

 

[billb3]

If it is because of the mushrooms growing on decaying high moisture content wood, they are there in part because the wood has been sitting in rounds too long. Don't do that.
Get them split and drying out. Keep the rain off if you can, top covering often helps but you want it exposed to as much moving air as possible.

I see three or four kinds of wood there so who knows what the neighbor was talking about.

The split piece looks like a rather soft hardwood. Maybe not the best split for a long burn if you are picking splits for that 11PM toss.

 

[red oak]

I don't know of any wood that's not ok to burn once it's dry. I would burn those pieces in my stove with no hesitation.

 

[02stangguy]

Ok great that's for the advice everyone. One more thing. The wood does seem a little rotten. It's hard to tell. I burned some the other night outside and it seemed to burn fine.

 

[saskwoodburner]

Ok great that's for the advice everyone. One more thing. The wood does seem a little rotten. It's hard to tell. I burned some the other night outside and it seemed to burn fine.

Could be punky wood that dried out. Is it super light for its size?

 

[Kelster]

Rotten wood will have less heat value due to having less cellulose and most likely more moisture content. It will burn but provide less heat than from dry (non rotten), wood

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[Kelster]

Rotten wood will have less heat value due to having less cellulose and most likely more moisture content. It will burn but provide less heat than from dry (non rotten), wood

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PS:. it's OK to burn. Your asshat neighborhood is wrong.

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[Wood Duck]

The wood is punky but there is no reason you can't burn it. I believe it is Black Gum, but you can burn any wood as long as it is dry. I'd split it and dry it. Drying for a year or more would be ideal. Cover the top of the stack because punky wood will absorb water.

 

[PA_Forester]

The wood is punky but there is no reason you can't burn it. I believe it is Black Gum, but you can burn any wood as long as it is dry. I'd split it and dry it. Drying for a year or more would be ideal. Cover the top of the stack because punky wood will absorb water.

Wood duck is correct, that's blackgum (for most of the pieces, the ones with fruiting fungus). It also looks like you have some black oak, a few pieces of ash, and possible some black locust (or more ash). His advice regarding the drying is also correct in my opinion.

Blackgum doesn't make for great firewood, and can be a huge bugger to split (much like elm, both have interlocking grain). If it rotted a bit, perhaps you'll not have much issue getting it to split.

 

[Jay106n]

Dry it. Burn it.

 

[firefighterjake]

It's punky and has mushrooms . . . will not be as good to burn as non-punky wood . . . but as long as it is split and allowed to season it can be burned.

 

[Seanm]

moisture meters are fun little tools. Buy one and make your own conclusions. The shrooms growing on it tells me you need to season it under cover for another year.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

looks like some pieces i have in my stack. It'll burn fast and quick being that punky. Looks like half rotted ash to me.

 

[nrc]

Glad to see this. I was just about to ask how punky is too punky. I just had three huge standing dead Ash trees cut down and I was shocked to see how punky and rotten a lot of it was. Thankfully the tree crew disposed of most of the rotten stuff but I'll probably get half the wood I expected out of them.

I suspect a lot of Ash is like this. The EGAB kills the tree over years and creates a great environment for moisture and other insects.