Today's Scrounge - Willow - Did I Make a Mistake?

[jwoair23]

Hi All,

So I picked up a free load of willow today before I realized it was willow. It was cut into nice size rounds and was about 9 miles from my house. I attached two pictures, is it correct this is willow?

If so, what should I do at this point? I have 5.25 cords right now of really good quality hardwood (Oak/Locust/Maple etc.). Should I toss this in the dumpster at work, or just keep it separate to burn in the shoulder season? How fast would it season, would it be ready this fall, or next fall?

Pretty frustrated if its willow, I wouldn't have gotten it had I realized thats what it was, I am just not yet good at identifying wood species. I noticed it seemed slightly soft (you can dent it with your fingernail) but for some reason I was thinking it was soft maple, which is stupid I know.

Any opinions are appreciated!

 

[Blue Vomit]

IMHO you need some crappier wood for the shoulder season. I look at it this way, if I know I only need heat for a few hours I'll throw some crappier wood in that won't last as long. This allows me to save and stockpile that good stuff, locust, oak, etc. It would seem like a waste to me to burn locust in oct/nov when I don't need all that much heat for a long time.

The more shoulder season wood I burn, the longer my oak and locust sits and seasons and gets that much better.

Good luck.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Yeah what Blue Vomit said-use it in shoulder season and/or mix it in with your better stuff. You already have it, be a shame to toss it now. Make some kindling and quarter-splits out of it to get or keep the fire burning.

Look at it this way, you learned a little about wood ID with this....

 

[jwoair23]

Thanks guys, I assume since you didn't disagree that is indeed willow! I will do like you both said, since I have it I'll go ahead and split it, keep it segregated, and burn it in the fall next year. I guess I am just being a bit too fanatical and picky about my firewood, I'm sure you all understand. lol

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Thanks guys, I assume since you didn't disagree that is indeed willow! I will do like you both said, since I have it I'll go ahead and split it, keep it segregated, and burn it in the fall next year. I guess I am just being a bit too fanatical and picky about my firewood, I'm sure you all understand. lol

Yeah it's Willow-it LOOKS good till you pick up a round and look and feel like Superman! It's burnable, but I understand what you are saying-you only have so much storage space and you want to fill it with better fuelwoods so you get more bang for your buck!

Tell my Penguins to get it together out there please-I was not happy at all to see Staal leave....

 

[StihlHead]

Generally willow is not worth it from a cutting or stroage standpont as it is a PITA on chainsaw chains and tough wood to cut. If it is already in rounds that is better. From a heating perspective, it is pretty crappy and only above cottonwood and grand fir on my list of firewoods. I have cut and burned a lot of it (no coice, we had a huge weeping willow blow down in a storm one year). It smells better than cottonwood though... I still have some free cottonwood that I got last year. Like the others here say, you can burn it next spring or fall when it is dry. It will burn... and you have already done a lot of work, so no point in tossing it out.

 

[osagebow]

sounds like you are off to a good start with 5.25 cords- - where you at in the 'burgh? I grew up in Port Vue, near McKeesport.

Definitely didn't want Staal to leave, but understand he wants to hang with his bro.

 

[firefighterjake]

Echoing what Blue Vomit said . . . you put in the work and learned a lesson at the same time. If you have the space it would be a shame to just toss the wood aside since all wood when burned will make heat . . . personally I would keep the wood for use while camping, in the fire pit or in the shoulder season or when you're sitting at home some day and don't mind feeding the stove a little more often.

I think willow, pine, poplar, etc. often get a bad rap . . . I mean, sure, they're not the types of wood you will want to load up in the stove on a bitter January night and hope you can go all night long . . . but once seasoned they burn and will make heat . . . like anything they're fine . . . as long as you know when to use them . . . and when to use something else.

 

[Jags]

I actually got irritated in the beginning of last heating season because I DIDN'T have any lesser woods in my pile. I actually prefer the lesser stuff when I don't need a bunch of heat because of the burn characteristics. Lights fast, heats up fast and goes out fast. I can actually have the fire lit and out just about the time that the stove comes up to temp. It burns hot so it is a clean burn and I don't have to get just under 500 pounds of cast to 600 F.

Just say'in -- it has its place.

 

[TimJ]

with my new approach, I will make sure I always have a managed supply of shoulder wood and not be too particularly worried about BTU content. I will mix it when called for as well.

 

[Got Wood]

Agree on using as shoulder season. Willow does season quickly too.

 

[Gark]

An added feature of 'gopher wood', like willow, is that it will help you better appreciate the big BTU deep winter wood. Keep it, use it. I don't think you made a mistake.

 

[mecreature]

I had some cotton wood last year. I have some bass wood this year.

 

[jwoair23]

I really appreciate the advice of everyone! I took the forum's advice and went ahead and chopped it up and have it in my stacks for next year's shoulder wood. I have it at the top of my "next year" stacks so its the first thing gone!

I have to say, it was the EASIEST wood I have ever split. I usually use my maul, but this split so easily I set that down and grabbed by Fiskars axe and split it with that, I could just about drop the axe and boom it flew apart! That made me feel a whole lot better about it, only took me like an hour to chop the whole truck load.

 

[TimJ]

heck yea

 

[swagler85]

I really appreciate the advice of everyone! I took the forum's advice and went ahead and chopped it up and have it in my stacks for next year's shoulder wood. I have it at the top of my "next year" stacks so its the first thing gone!

I have to say, it was the EASIEST wood I have ever split. I usually use my maul, but this split so easily I set that down and grabbed by Fiskars axe and split it with that, I could just about drop the axe and boom it flew apart! That made me feel a whole lot better about it, only took me like an hour to chop the whole truck load.

Do you prefer a maul over the fiskars? I have put the maul down ever since I owned a fiskars, even for the harder to split rounds.

 

[jwoair23]

Well the Fiskars axe I have is the chopping axe, I see you have the Fiskars splitting axe. Generally the chopping axe I have doesn't have enough "oomph" behind it to get into the really big or hard to split stuff. Its quick and sharp, but sometimes I feel like I need the weight behind the maul.

If I had yours (which I am more and more tempted to get) I would probably use that too!

 

[Highbeam]

I burn lots of willow. Part of wood burning and environmental stewardship (hard to say without laughing) is not wasting wood. When a willow falls down or is taken down I do not waste it, I put the effort in and exploit the fuel source fully. Cottonwood and pine is the same deal. Burning some bigleaf maple soon for the first time not because I chose it but because the dang tree fell down this winter.

If split now it will be ready for fall.

Our willow is a bit stinky, the bark has a pink color underneath near the wood. Not too easy to split, kinda stringy.

I also have this belief that low btu woods actually burn much better and longer in an EPA stove than they did in the old non-epa stoves. If split into similar size chunks, I see very similar burn times between higher and lower btu woods.

 

[StihlHead]

Hmmmm.... well, BTUs come from the desnity of the wood. While low BTU woods may burn as long as higher BTU woods, they will not give off as much heat. Willow, alder, pine and the like are good for shoulder season burning, but in deep winter here when it gets into the single digits, I burn the maple, locust and oak.

Basic rule of thumb for firewood: the lighter the wood is when it is dry, the less heat it has available in it. Nothing wrong with bigleaf maple. That is good hardwood and it has a lot more heat than willow or the lighter maples like boxelder, and it has more heat than cherry or walnut. I like burning that stuff.

 

[ScotO]

I give all the willow I cut to a guy up the road with an outdoor furnace, and he pisses off all the neighbors when he burns it! That stuff smells like you are PI$$ing on hot coals if you ask me, I can't stand burning it, I can't stand wasting room in my stacks with it. Like the others said, you learned a lesson, it'd be a shame if you have work in this stuff already to not use it, but I would pass on it in the future.

 

[osagebow]

Definitely recommend the fiskars splitter - just got one, works great.

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

JW, I had the same thing happen to me, a nice willow that fell in the neighboring woods by bugs. The trunk was in great shape and I was able to get about 1 1/4 cords out of it. It's soley intended to be shoulder wood. I cut and split it in early April and today I'm already at 15% MM.