poplar

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rayburn

Member
Jan 21, 2009
19
East Vincent Pa
I have access to alot of cut 10 to 15ft lengths of poplar left over from some guys cutting for lumber. It is easy to access and mine for the taking, is this stuff worth cutting for burning in the stove?
 
yes, if it is easy.
 
I was told this stuff burns fast and not worth the time. Is this true? It is easy access and already limbed. Probaly about 4 cords worth. It will be for next years burn.
 
It splitts easy, drys fast. I like it in the spring and fall when you don't need a long burn. If you have room it keep
it I would get it. It is not nearly as good as Oak and Hickory but if it is easy get it.
 
does burn a little fast but fairly good heat. this is almost all i burn it grows like weeds around here. depending on how big the trees are i may not even split it which seems to make it burn longer. i would take it but we don't have hardwoods around here
 
4 cords of free, limbed, log length wood of ANY kind is a complete no brainer. You should absolutely take it. It won't take long to cut and split at all.
 
The landowner is trying to clear about 10 acres,Pretty much about done clearing. I have been able to get some oak, maple and some black walnut but mostly just poplar left at this point. Some guys I cut with just will not be bothered with poplar.Im new to this and I know that it is one of the less desirable hardwoods, but its free.
 
Yeah, thats what I thought I would do with it is mix it in with some of the more desirable hard woods to burn. It seems like it would be good to start up stove with.
 
Poplar holds a lot of moisture so it should at least be split in half to allow it to dry some. This will give you more BTU per cord of wood. I burned Poplar for a year and a half that I got free. Had to keep filling the fire but at least it chased the icecicles from the house.
 
I will be splitting all of it within the nexy couple of weeks and stacking it. I usally split on site before I load into my truck to bring home. want to get it all stacked to dry for next season.
 
I found poplar will burn fast but fairly hot. Like Manitoba maple, but not quite as good as Manitoba maple.

The only thing I turn down is trees with needles and birch. Otherwise, pretty much anything goes.
 
I don't even turn down needles or birch.
 
I won't buy Poplar but I will buy Birch if I cannot get Ash.
 
The birch I've had doesn't burn hot. But I see from someone's list of thermal properties, that some birch is excellent for heat. I had the crap that grows after fires.
 
Poplar heated my home in Oct-Nov just fine! it does burn fast but it was hot enough.
 
I sell poplar for $50/facecord (1/3 cord) and buy top quality hardwood for $70. So for $20, I get 2x the BTU's and burn half as much wood.
 
Numbers like that really tell the tale.
 
rayburn said:
I will be splitting all of it within the nexy couple of weeks and stacking it. I usally split on site before I load into my truck to bring home. want to get it all stacked to dry for next season.

It'll be ready. Poplar dries pretty fast, compared to other hardwoods once it's split. It's much lighter too once it's
seasoned. I use it this time of year to burn down the coal bed and for starting from cold.
Good for fall and spring burning too. We burn it in the fire pit during the summer.
 
Poplar does dry some in the round too so it is popular with the OWB guys. They keep a huge pile of 8 foot rounds that they just cut in half and just toss in, no splitting, no stacking, no woodsheds. Stinks to high heaven for a half mile radius, but whatever.

The paper and OSB mills here take Poplar which drives up the price so it's mostly the half rotten rejects that get sold as firewood.
 
Easy access free popal! Go for it. Good day time or fall and spring wood for when you just need to take chill off. Back in the late 80's there were 2-3 years I only had access to popal and heated our house 100% with just that. I still cut and use some popal every year.
 
I went out yesterday and cut a full p/u truck load of rounds..There was also some ash left behind from the guys that were there on sat. and managed to get that as a bonus. I will be back out next weekend to get a few more truckloads of the poplar. :)
 
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