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DING DING DING!
We have a winner! Though the cottonwooders should share in the prize money as poplar is in the same genus. That being a 1,000 Dong note from Vietnam, worth about 5 cents at today's exchange rate.
Free firewood from a CL ad here today, 8 cords in all, 6 left when I called this morning on it, I passed it up. I though it must be cottonwood for that size and still on CL. I called, and it was poplar. I took an oath this year that I would no t burn any more stinky cat pee smell wood (cottonwood, willow, poplar, & aspen). I still have a half cord of cottonwood that I am burning here now that I have grown tired of. Low heat, takes up space in the racks, take a lot of time to dry here, and it smells gawd awful when it is burned. I burned alder yesterday and purposely let some smoke into the house. It smells like bacon.
Jack Straw
Minister of Fire
That was another guess that I was hoping for this morning, the bark is similar and Oregon ash gets to that size here. But lo... its poplar. *cough*
A 6 cord find of this size of anything but the lowly piss woods would have made my entire burning year next year.
Jack Straw
Minister of Fire
Gasifier
Minister of Fire
Alright Stihlhead. I need to see a pick of that Tundra of yours. Let's see it man. I have an 07 Tundra CrewMax.
jdp1152
Minister of Fire
Burned some white willow limbs ( about 2-3 inches diameter) outside this weekend and didn't notice any cat pee smell.
Well, here is your prize money... a print out will be worth about as much as the actual thing.
Gasifier
Minister of Fire
I have noticed it when you cut them fresh. There are a couple of trees that put out a nasty smell like that on our property. Willow is growning along several of the low areas.
Mr A
Minister of Fire
I don't know, maybe some wood is just not worth burning! I picked up a load of what I thought was eucalyptus, after burning it it had no heat. I later determined it was sycamore, not much heat. I got a big mixed load of the stuff, it was offerred as euc, oak, plum. I thought there was something wrong with my insert. I loaded with half seasoned oak and the heat was much better. I did split and check the crap with a Harbor freight MC, it was dry.
Yah, sycamore is sucky fire wood and on my threshold of 'not bothering with it' wood. I had a huge sycamore tree on my property in CA, and it did not put out a lot of heat and it left a ton of ash. It is in the maple family and you would think that it would have more heat... euc is good firewood, but you must cut/split it when it is green. Otherwise it turns rock hard. It burns hot and has a lot of heat though. Dense stuff. I got a lot of it from Big Sur when I was living in Monterey/Pacific Grove. Some logs would burn for 2 days. Too cold here to get good size eucs, they all die in low temps like we had a few years ago here (10
). People keep replanting them and they grow fast and get to 8-10 in. in diameter and 20 feet tall, and then they croak. Then I burn them 
). People keep replanting them and they grow fast and get to 8-10 in. in diameter and 20 feet tall, and then they croak. Then I burn them We have a dozen or so native willows here and some stink and some do not. Weeping willow is what most people plant and later cut down here though. That stuff is really hard on chainsaws and has low heat value, does not last long in the racks before rotting, and it smells like cat pee when it is burned. Willows are good trees for landscaping though, and they suck up a ton of water and grow really really fast. That gives them light density, and low fuel value.
Get 'em big and old enough and that is what they are like here. The poplar give-away is the green heartwood, though cottonwood and aspen also have greenish wood centers. Poplar was very common as a secondary furniture making wood in the colonial days. Poplar and Cottonwood are common give-aways here on CL, and they are commonly passed over and posted for several days here. One guy has several hundred cords of Cottonwood in Portland a few years ago and he posted ads for free wood on CL for many months.
Shane N
Feeling the Heat
Jack Straw
Minister of Fire
And the runners up prizes for second place (cottonwood is so close a species to be differentiated from a CL post, and it could be that they guy does not know his trees, but this guy is a pro arborist who I have gotten wood from before and I presume he had the right ID):
Oh crap. COTTONWOOD!!
Here yah go!
tsquini
Minister of Fire
hahaha, sounds like you are burning fools gold found in the cat box.
Wet and soggy as can be. However, you ever split dry poplar or cottonwood?
I also thought that H. Sandy produced as much firewood as you guys will need for the next 3 years?
I also thought that H. Sandy produced as much firewood as you guys will need for the next 3 years?
jdp1152
Minister of Fire
The one that fell on my house during Sandy was 3 ft in diameter and at least 60+ft tall. It would drop limbs any hint of wind/snow/ice. The tree company I had come out to get rid of it was just going to chip it all up, but my boss said he wanted it. Several cords in that tree. Of course, he only took a small amount of it so now it's just sitting out there in quarters. I've been burning the smaller limbs of it with some of the downed limbs from the winter. It was like a sponge trying to split with the Fiskers so I had to use wedges and sledge. Next good freezing spell, I might go hack at it a bit more just to get it moved to a different part of the property. I do wonder what impact it not being there will have on the yard moisture. I've read that it can cause basement/foundation issue when removing large ones from near a house. Fortunately, it was the only one on the property. I hate those trees.
I grow several smaller types of willows here, red willow, twisted or curly willow, and pacific willow. Weeping willows look nice if they have room but they are usually in a state of decay and collapse when they get majestic in size.
You could post it as 'free firewood' on CL and see if anyone wants it and save the effort. Yah never know...
You could post it as 'free firewood' on CL and see if anyone wants it and save the effort. Yah never know...
Paulywalnut
Minister of Fire
Jon1270
Minister of Fire
If your source of info is the person giving it away on CL, I wouldn't call this settled. Just this year I've answered two CL ads for "oak." One of the oaks was an elm tree, and the other was mulberry. So many people have no idea what's growing in their yards.
Dune
Minister of Fire
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