Anybody find a wood they wouldn't burn?

[1kzwoman]

PINE does not count to you woth hardwood available!
One year I had a neighbor drop and give me a Russian Olive tree, he cut and blocked, I split and stacked x2 years. (Because they were at one time planted to help dry up wet areas for cultivation. I figured it would need time to dry)
Never again, hard to split, smelled horrible burning.
Do not know if the alkali salts absorbed were a factor or not.
I had a kid stop and ask if I would give him some wood for a bonfire.. I helped him load all of that with a smile on my face.

 

[billb3]

I had some RO on a stack, not split.
Darn stuff kept sprouting.
Wood was like a sponge.
Threw it in a bonfire just to kill it dead as a doornail.

 

[osagebow]

I'm burning pine right now from A big tree I had dropped in the yard, I like it a lot. Got tons of fatwood out of it, also.
I generally don't fool with black gum, sycamore or tulip polar, just not worth the effort. but I have other primo wood available.
I absolutely hate ailanthus and princess tree. I will probably burn a single cottonwood that is poised to fall across my road.

Thanks for the intel on ROlive, plenty around here.

 

[Paulywalnut]

Willow and box elder I really try to stay away from.

 

[bsruther]

I'll try to burn any wood, haven't come across any that won't burn yet. Come to think of it though, there is one that I won't burn...tree of heaven.
I will throw it in the fire pit though.

 

[mlappin]

Have to agree on the willow and box elder, more heat is produced cutting it up.

I have no problems burning tulip poplar or sycamore. Now that I have a splitter that will handle it I'll start dropping dome of those d*mn cotton woods that keep plugging tiles with roots.

 

[buddylee]

Willow is awesome for starting fires.

 

[firefighterjake]

Petrified wood count?

 

[Beer Belly]

If I hear of a Willow scrounge, I don't bother......haven't heard much good about Willow

 

[Ralphie Boy]

Since I split by hand I avoid gum, sycamore, American elm. While willow and cottonwood split easy enough I will pass those as well. There is plenty of 'good stuff' around so I don't need willow or cottonwood.

 

[mlappin]

Elm is the reason the OWB I built had a 20" wide by 30" tall door as when I built it, I was splitting by hand as well.

 

[Applesister]

My sister loves Black Locust but she buys, she doesnt process. My brother had some on his property he tried to sell as logs. He couldnt get any takers so he cut them up. Said the wood caused the chainsaw to spark.
I read that locust encapsulates silica in its lower cells on the tree which causes the saws to spark. I also overfired my woodstove once with a load of black locust.
So now I dont bother with it at all.

 

[1kzwoman]

Since I split by hand I avoid gum, sycamore, American elm. While willow and cottonwood split easy enough I will pass those as well. There is plenty of 'good stuff' around so I don't need willow or cottonwood.

Cotton wood is right behind RO on my avoid list excess ash, but I don't have them in my yard either

 

[blades]

Not a matter of won't burn, more like what types for me are wasted effort, to that end willow, cotton, box elder, mountain ash, ect are not on my prioity list.

 

[weatherguy]

I'll gladly

My sister loves Black Locust but she buys, she doesnt process. My brother had some on his property he tried to sell as logs. He couldnt get any takers so he cut them up. Said the wood caused the chainsaw to spark.
I read that locust encapsulates silica in its lower cells on the tree which causes the saws to spark. I also overfired my woodstove once with a load of black locust.
So now I dont bother with it at all.

h

My sister loves Black Locust but she buys, she doesnt process. My brother had some on his property he tried to sell as logs. He couldnt get any takers so he cut them up. Said the wood caused the chainsaw to spark.
I read that locust encapsulates silica in its lower cells on the tree which causes the saws to spark. I also overfired my woodstove once with a load of black locust.
So now I dont bother with it at all.

I'll gladly help you dispose of any you get in the future

 

[Roundgunner]

I just got a feline willow from a friend. It is CSS at about 1/2 a cord. It was not hard to do, I hope it burns OK in a OWB.

I got about 3 cord of cherry off the ground from a friend. It was tough on the saws and tough to split but the price was right. I don't think I will be turning down much for a while.

 

[MI wood guy]

I actually like box elder for shoulder season.
I shy away from pine,poplar,willow,cottonwood.
Not to sound like a woodsnob all would burn as good as possible if seasoned.
I wouldn't normally cut catalpa either but have a large storm damaged one that needs to come down

 

[smokedragon]

I'll try to burn any wood, haven't come across any that won't burn yet. Come to think of it though, there is one that I won't burn...

Ditto.

I burn pine.

I will burn anything.

What I try to avoid are

Tulip poplar and willow (except for kindling) because the heat value is soo low.

Black gum and sycamore, because they are impossible to split.

But I will burn them all.

 

[mlappin]

I burn tulip poplar as I have a bunch of them. Use it in the fall or spring when not so much heat is needed. Seems they only get so big anyways then the ants or wind get em.

 

[BrotherBart]

I burn tulip poplar as I have a bunch of them. Use it in the fall or spring when not so much heat is needed. Seems they only get so big anyways then the ants or wind get em.

Tell that to the ninety footer in the woods in front of my house or the one that is the largest tree on this place. My arms only reach a third of the way around it.

"It can grow to more than 50 m (165 feet) in virgin cove forests of the Appalachian Mountains, often with no limbs until it reaches 25–30 m (80–100 feet) in height."

 

[smokedragon]

I burn tulip poplar as I have a bunch of them. Use it in the fall or spring when not so much heat is needed. Seems they only get so big anyways then the ants or wind get em.

Oh I will burn it.....but the heat is minimal in comparison to even yellow pine.

But it makes great kindling, since it dries quickly.

Tell that to the ninety footer in the woods in front of my house or the one that is the largest tree on this place. My arms only reach a third of the way around it.
"It can grow to more than 50 m (165 feet) in virgin cove forests of the Appalachian Mountains, often with no limbs until it reaches 25–30 m (80–100 feet) in height."

I used to tell people that tulip poplar split easy, but some of those big ones are really knarly at the bottom, twisted mess to try and split.

I do have to agree with mlappin though, usually when they are out in the open, the wind gets them.

 

[BrotherBart]

A tornado spun down just off the corner of my yard in 2004. It blew down or twisted the top out of 36 trees. Pines went over. Oaks of all sizes went over. The tulip pops stood their ground and got the tops twisted out of them 13 to 40 feet off the ground. Not a one went over. The taller ones just sprouted from the twisted spot and have continued heading for the sky.

 

[mlappin]

Not around here, they get about 70 years old or so and there done. Of course we've had some real wet years the last decade or so, I don't think they like water standing around them in places it never did.

 

[smokedragon]

A tornado spun down just off the corner of my yard in 2004. It blew down or twisted the top out of 36 trees. Pines went over. Oaks of all sizes went over. The tulip pops stood their ground and got the tops twisted out of them 13 to 40 feet off the ground. Not a one went over. The taller ones just sprouted from the twisted spot and have continued heading for the sky.

I am amazed by that, as around here they tend to be the second to go (right after the yellow pine).

However, a friend of mind built a deer stand in a TP that was as you said "big enough to put my arms 1/3 the way around" and it has only gotten bigger while the stand has rotted and fallen apart.

Funny how some trees are just more resilient than others.

 

[nrford]

Not around here, they get about 70 years old or so and there done. Of course we've had some real wet years the last decade or so, I don't think they like water standing around them in places it never did.

Are you sure you are not talking about Aspen, AKA, Poplar, popple?