Elm perplexes me.

[fireview2788]

Last summer my neighbor had an elm tree come down. It had some rot in the middle and that's why it gave way but the entire rest of the tree was fine. So I cut it up and stacked it to split this year hoping that the drier it was to less stringy it would be. I got around to it today and almost all of it was punk. I lost all of the large rounds except those that were buried deeper in the stack and even that was only half good. The smaller limbs that were also stacked were mostly fine.

The tree was cut into 16' lengths and stacked so the wind could dry them out. I don't get it at all. The ash that is stacked exactly the same next to it is fine.

Any thoughts?

fv

 

[Dobish]

did it have the bark on it? elm bark is like a sponge

 

[fireview2788]

did it have the bark on it? elm bark is like a sponge

Yep, bark on all of it.

 

[TheAardvark]

You might consider it a blessing. In my experience dried elm does not split less miserably than green elm.

 

[bholler]

You might consider it a blessing. In my experience dried elm does not split less miserably than green elm.

I find it slightly less miserable to split when dried a year but still not worth my effort. I also dont really like it as firewood much either

 

[johneh]

The tree must have been long standing dead .
Ass soon as the bark starts to come off they start to rot
and just continue to as long as they are not split . After they fall
they are punky

 

[Medic21]

I like the stuff for this time of year and it’s great for an initial load that will leave a great bed of coals. It is the only stuff that I split that goes right inside the lean too. It does not last outside.

 

[fireview2788]

The tree must have been long standing dead .
Ass soon as the bark starts to come off they start to rot
and just continue to as long as they are not split . After they fall
they are punky

It was green as green gets. Not that I need it now but I did need it at the time. I had two huge ash trees taken down a few months after I grabbed this stuff. It'll all go to the curb tomorrow with a sign saying"free" and it'll be gone in about an hour.

 

[royrizzle]

Elm & Ash i cut here in the North woods is mostly bark less ..hard & dry ....but once in awhile will be punky with bark, 1 outta 30 trees or so....

Elm burns well and sells great ... pure hardwood no bark .

 

[firefighterjake]

I actually like elm . . . I find it burns decently enough and splits OK (I suspect I would not feel the same way if I did not have a hydraulic splitter though.) In fact taking out the standing dead elm on my property in the first year of burning is what got me through the first season of burning without a whole lot of the first year burner's typical woes of having sub-par fuel.

 

[moresnow]

Standing dead Elm. If you would have split/stacked it right away it would be fine. In my experience. I like the stuff. Hydro splitter fodder for sure
Working through a bunch right now that was stacked in large rounds over a year ago. Good thing I am getting it done. It would be punky by spring. This was cut live. Very alive!

 

[jaoneill]

We burn a substantial amount of elm. I go for the barkless standing dead 4-5 year stuff that's ready to burn. Even standing, if the bark hasn't come off there is a 90% chance it's punky. Often the bark will hang on for the first 10-15 feet of the butt log and the remainder of it will be clean, in which case the bark covered part will be garbage while the balance of the tree is good to go.

 

[MaintenanceMan]

I've found practically anything real stringy and hard to split like elm and gum rots fast. Maybe it's just me, but even the hickory I've split tended to rot faster than other hard woods. If it shreds more than splits and takes more time and effort I'll make sure its covered and burn it asap rather than watch my hard work rot away.

 

[moresnow]

I css a 3 or 4 year standing dead Elm (zero bark) that fell in my yard in the last few weeks. I had hoped/wished it would be rather dry. Maybe burn that baby this year? Ya right. Not a chance. Soaking wet. I was surprised. Split and stacked now. Looks are very deceiving. Standing dead means little in the moisture department, with the Elm around my place.

 

[blades]

most standing dead will be quite wet in the bottom 1/3 due to wicking action. any tree. i have 40"x3 ft rounds of elm out back been there for 2.5 seasons now still solid as a rock . just busted the bark of when it got loose 1.5 seasons ago.

 

[fireview2788]

I've moved two trailer loads to the road and both were gone in under 2 hours. I'll move one more load tomorrow and it'll be gone. If I needed it I would be more upset but I don't. I'm more frustrated because I put a couple days work and gas into cutting it up and hauling it. Live and learn I guess.

fv

 

[WiscWoody]

There’s a lot of elm up here and it’s easy to get since they are easy to spot dead amongst the living trees and often easy to get to. Like Firefighterjake pretty much said I don’t think I’d bother with it if I didn’t have a hydraulic splitter for it. An old neighbor of mine is going to take down a 60 footer soon and he said I’m welcome to the wood since he doesn’t burn so I guess I’ll check it out....

 

[Mike M.]

I once had a stove load of the dead barkless elm run away from me. Was during a football game on tv and I forgot about it. Stove was burning like the elm was soaked in kerosene when I finally got to it. Closed off the air and damper. 5 hours later - back to normal.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Wood1Dennis]

My thought is that any wood stacked in rounds is not going to dry. Elm could be the worst. But get it split and stacked in the sun and wind and I think it is a fine firewood. I've learned to read them when they are standing. Usually if the bark has fallen off you will have a season the get them CSS. If the bark is on it is usually better to leave them for the woodpeckers. Why do some shed the bark and some don't? Who knows....

 

[Longknife]

Due to it's abundance around here, and the fact that it is constantly dying due to DED, I burn a lot of elm. When it's solid and seasoned, I find it's a great wood with a good amount of BTUs and good burning characteristics. That being said, I'd shy away from it without the hydraulic splitter. Not worth my effort when there's easier wood to be had out there nowadays (thanks to EAB).

As mentioned, it does require a little bit of care for seasoning as it will go punky fairly quickly, depending on the conditions. That being said, standing dead wood without the bark, that has had a chance to dry, seems fairly durable. The bark is the killer in my opnion.

I've watched elms die on my property and pounced on them once the last leaf fell and found them to be less than ideal (soft, spalted, etc.). Yet I finally get around to dealing with one that's been standing dead for a few years (without bark) and it's hard as a rock and ready to burn.

 

[Woody5506]

I have a lot of siberian elm on my property and have burned some of it, but most of what I have is still seasoning and will be ready maybe next year. The stuff I don't have top covered is starting to look a little sketchy, but mostly because as mentioned, the bark is like a sponge. Once it's been stacked for a while though the bark falls right off. I'd never go out of my way for elm, but it does seem to burn decent.

 

[GateKeeper]

I take down an elm at the first sign of it becoming infected with DED and strip the bark off-will come off easy usually from May to end of July. Ill stack the logs in 3 to 4 ft lengths for a year and then split and cover for about 9 months-Wood is solid and moisture will be around 10%-Burns just as well as my ash-Trick is to get bark off early-elm bark beetles breeding under the bark will spoil the wood and also keep spreading the disease

 

[Rich L]

I find Elm splits best when it's cold out.Burns good too.

 

[Sawset]

Elm is effected by a heart rot fungus that will destroy the wood in short order if it is left wet and unsplit. Don't leave elm sit around for any length of time without getting it dried out. Once split and dried, the wood will keep. Also as mentioned, frozen elm seems to split easier - it will break/snap more easily vs keep pulling strings.

 

[johneh]

American Elm the reason I bought a splitter