fireworks wood

[loneeagle15]

Trying to find out what type of wood I have when out cutting last spring I found some very heavy wood (compared to the pine) that grows here in the Montana mountains it was on the ground so I loaded it up. My wife loaded the stove the other day with it, the coals where low and the flames where slow to fire up so I used the billows the get it going and had a mini fireworks show with all of the sparks coming off of the bark (was at the end of the stack and had not gotten a chance to debark it yet) the bark was a grayish brown and very thick and coarse. Sorry not much info to go on but does anyone have a clue as to the type of wood it is?
Also this is our first year of burning and was wondering what everyones train of thought is on bark. Burn wood with bark on or should it be debarked?
Thanks

 

[savageactor7]

Could it be aspen that's waterlogged? Aspen here is called poplar and it leaves no ash....poplar bark is smooth so maybe that's not it. Sorry.

 

[fossil]

Might have been Tamarack (Western Larch)...denser than Pine, native to Montana, good firewood. Hard to come by in Central Oregon, but I'm always on the lookout for some.

Bark is fuel. Lots of folks use bark mixed with kindling as a fire starter. I burn wood however it comes off the block after I split it. If the bark falls off (usually a good sign of seasoned wood, btw), I leave it...it forms my "ground cover" in my splitting area. If it stays with the wood, into the stove it goes. I can't imagine taking the time to de-bark my firewood...or what would be the purpose. Rick

 

[begreen]

I agree, tamarack was the first thing that came to mind. JD can you tell if the tree had needles or leaves? If you can post a picture or two, we might be able to identify it better.

 

[loneeagle15]

I think it had leaves next time i'm in the mountains gettin wood i'll take a pic but right now the area is under snow
Thanks for the replies

 

[fossil]

Well, leaves would certainly rule out Tamarack. Rick

 

[begreen]

Tamarack is a peculiar tree in that it has needles, but loses them in the winter. The tree looks dead until springtime. But if the tree you cut has broad leaves then it's something else.

Here's a picture of tamarack in the fall:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Autumn_Tamarack_Larches.jpg
And in the summer:
(broken link removed to http://www.morsenursery.com/images/tamarack2.jpg.jpg)

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Trying to find out what type of wood I have when out cutting last spring I found some very heavy wood (compared to the pine) that grows here in the Montana mountains it was on the ground so I loaded it up. My wife loaded the stove the other day with it, the coals where low and the flames where slow to fire up so I used the billows the get it going and had a mini fireworks show with all of the sparks coming off of the bark (was at the end of the stack and had not gotten a chance to debark it yet) the bark was a grayish brown and very thick and coarse. Sorry not much info to go on but does anyone have a clue as to the type of wood it is?
Also this is our first year of burning and was wondering what everyones train of thought is on bark. Burn wood with bark on or should it be debarked?
Thanks

Can't help on the type of wood. As for the bark, if it comes off, we leave it. Lots of folks like to burn bark but I feel it is mostly smoke you get from bark so would rather it was off....but I would not go to the trouble of debarking all the wood. Best is to cut the wood well ahead of time. That way it is seasoned well and some of the bark will come off. Then you decide what to do with it.

As for the fireworks show, thems termite turds exploding...

 

[fossil]

As for the fireworks show, thems termite turds exploding...

Lord help you if you get that wood from an area with a significant concentration of naturally occuring Uranium...then you can run into them Nuclear Termites. Mercy!