Is this poplar worth the time or risk?

[EbS-P]

Hi, I am trying to decide if it’s worth my time and the associated risk to get any more firewood out of this mess that hurricane Florence left in my back yard. I have a 16” saw and wear all my PPE when cutting. It’s tulip poplar. I have been able to get about a cord so far. I have to carry it all out as a wheelbarrow can’t even roll through this mess. It’s about 100’ back to my wood pile.

Thanks for your thoughts. Evan

 

[SpaceBus]

I would do it even just to clean the area up. Maybe rent some heavy equipment.

 

[EbS-P]

So the whole story is the city will be buying an easement and clear cutting it all in the next two years for a stormwater management project. If I had to get a tractor back there I could but it would problem get stuck as it’s just a mucky mess near the stream.

One of the trees that can down was a 48”+ poplar that was uprooted. Anything big enough to tackle that isn’t worth my money when the city will take care of it soon enough.

I would do it even just to clean the area up. Maybe rent some heavy equipment.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Hi, I am trying to decide if it’s worth my time and the associated risk to get any more firewood out of this mess that hurricane Florence left in my back yard. I have a 16” saw and wear all my PPE when cutting. It’s tulip poplar. I have been able to get about a cord so far. I have to carry it all out as a wheelbarrow can’t even roll through this mess. It’s about 100’ back to my wood pile.

Thanks for your thoughts. EvanView attachment 240428View attachment 240429

Hell yes. Wonderful firewood. Dries faster than anything else I know of, lightweight, generally easy working. Sure there's stuff that burns a little hotter for those Sub-Zero days, but it's fantastic stuff.

 

[SpaceBus]

So the whole story is the city will be buying an easement and clear cutting it all in the next two years for a stormwater management project. If I had to get a tractor back there I could but it would problem get stuck as it’s just a mucky mess near the stream.

One of the trees that can down was a 48”+ poplar that was uprooted. Anything big enough to tackle that isn’t worth my money when the city will take care of it soon enough.

Well, I guess get what you can by hand and let the city get the rest.

 

[Nateums]

It's not that green in NC right now is it? Please say no.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I'd work to get as much out as i can. Its a great shoulder season wood or the days you dont need a ton of heat. I grabbed some this year myself. I did a little mix of white oak in that stack also. It drys super fast so what your working with right now you will be able to burn this fall. Grab as much as you can...

 

[Alpine1]

Free and nearby... no firewood can be better!

 

[SpaceBus]

It's not that green in NC right now is it? Please say no.

It was 80 in some places today. I just moved away from NC.

 

[saewoody]

Hell yes. Wonderful firewood. Dries faster than anything else I know of, lightweight, generally easy working. Sure there's stuff that burns a little hotter for those Sub-Zero days, but it's fantastic stuff.

And it cuts easy too. Like butter.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[EbS-P]

It's not that green in NC right now is it? Please say no.

80 yesterday and 78 today. Warm enough remind me I’m out of shape And I better get on that if I’m going to get any wood out of there after March. I split 8 cu ft today and had to change my shirt afterwards. Realistically a full cord of oak might be all I need for a whole season. So I figure two cords of poplar should cover me.

 

[firefighterjake]

I'm not a huge fan of poplar . . . but if it was free, nearby and I needed wood . . . I would grab it.

 

[EbS-P]

All you convinced me to keep working at the easy stuff. would you attempt cutting up the trunk? The top is laying a crossed the creek and 10’ feet off the ground. This picture is about in the middle and the bottom here is about 2 feet off the ground. At the root ball it’s about 4’ off the ground.


And here is what it’s brother looks like now after the blow over took half the top down with it. For perspective the big branches left up top are about 14” in diameter, and the tree on the ground was just about the same size as the standing one . I thought about getting a bigger saw but where it’s a blow over and not supported in the middle at all I haven’t come up with a good plan of attack other than to just noodle and or split pie wedges off. Again probably beyond what my “hurricane insurance” 16” Ryobi is capable of .

Thanks for sharing your thoughts .

 

[hickoryhoarder]

I'd say it depends on degree of difficulty and time. I probably would not work that hard for tulip poplar.

 

[therealdbeau]

For me, tulip poplar is desirable because, like others have mentioned, it dries very fast. In my area oak is prevalent but it takes forever to dry so while I can run around and gather oak all day I can't burn it for 2 years while poplar will season in maybe < 1 year.

 

[Snapdragon III]

I got a couple cords of poplar rounds delivered to my driveway for free last year when I first put in my stove and was gearing up with wood. It dried out and burned fine, but I went through it fast, and had to reload the stove constantly, lots of ash, etc. It is not that hard to hustle free wood here so I have decided I won't take any more, even if it is free and delivered. Takes up too much valuable wood shed real-estate, and not worth the effort to split, stack, burn, compared to the other woods available.

 

[EbS-P]

Here’s this weeks haul. With 4 boys under the age of 8 this is about all the time I can find in a week.

 

[wilsoncm1]

Poplar is plentiful in my area, so I burn a lot of it. It's not oak, but it warms the house.

 

[Rich L]

Is Aliantus considered Poplar?I had two cords of it to burn some years back and it burned and heated well.It's also a fast growing tree.

 

[billb3]

100 feet ?
A pickup truck is 20 feet long. Or so.
I wish all my wood was 5 pickup truck lengths away.
I wish my mailbox was 100 feet away. OK. No, I don't. My house would be far too close to the street. I like my 250 foot driveway.

Tulip poplar, aspen, eastern white pine. Not premium wood and not the greatest for long burn times, but for other uses it is firewood.
I'd leave it if I was 1/8 mile into the woods unless maybe if it was across the trail and I had to cut it up anyway.
Get it before it rots. It's BTUs.

 

[Kevin Weis]

Is Aliantus considered Poplar?I had two cords of it to burn some years back and it burned and heated well.It's also a fast growing tree.

Not a Poplar. Glad to here it burned well for you though as I split a few rounds to try out next year.

 

[EbS-P]

100 feet ?
A pickup truck is 20 feet long. Or so.
I wish all my wood was 5 pickup truck lengths away.
I wish my mailbox was 100 feet away. OK. No, I don't. My house would be far too close to the street. I like my 250 foot driveway.

Tulip poplar, aspen, eastern white pine. Not premium wood and not the greatest for long burn times, but for other uses it is firewood.
I'd leave it if I was 1/8 mile into the woods unless maybe if it was across the trail and I had to cut it up anyway.
Get it before it rots. It's BTUs.

It’s close enough that throwing each piece 4-5 times is easier than carrying it. Now if someone with a big saw could buck the big stuff for me I would be all set. I got another bit bucked up this week. There’s still 1/2 a cord or so left that I can get at safely. I’m gonna try and get it before it gets too warm. All the fun will be gone once it’s above 85.

 

[SpaceBus]

It’s close enough that throwing each piece 4-5 times is easier than carrying it. Now if someone with a big saw could buck the big stuff for me I would be all set. I got another bit bucked up this week. There’s still 1/2 a cord or so left that I can get at safely. I’m gonna try and get it before it gets too warm. All the fun will be gone once it’s above 85.

Rent a pro saw.

 

[Rich L]

Not a Poplar. Glad to here it burned well for you though as I split a few rounds to try out next year.

If I had some land I would grow this tree.In five years I would have straight trees big enough to harvest,split,dry, and burn.

 

[EbS-P]

Rent a pro saw.

I looked real quick and couldn’t find anything bigger than 24” around here, for 70$ a day. Even if I could get a big saw my experience isn’t up to the task given the precariousness of how it’s laying. Now I might consider running a chainsaw mill and slabbing it half through. I’d love a table top out if it. But a 24” saw won’t cut it.