Linden

[husky345 vermont resolute]

have you guys ever burnt linden. I'm actually liking the way it burns. Gives of plenty of heat although it's a softer wood so doesn't last long

 

[Brewmonster]

Linden=basswood. A hardwood only in the sense that it's not a conifer. Very soft, light wood. Probably better for carving than burning.

 

[Wood Duck]

I have not, but I have burned Bigtooth Aspen which is another very light wood. I don't mind light wood. Some days I want a quick fire, or I want the load of wood to be burnt down in time for a reload before bed and I don't have enough time to burn much oak. You get the picture - it is nice to have a lighter wood sometimes. I bet basswood is easy to process.

 

[Applesister]

I just located 4 on my property, another new addition to the species list. I wont cut mine, I read that honeybees love Linden so they will stay for the bees.

 

[Brewmonster]

Thing is: cutting, splitting, and stacking low BTU wood is just as much work as doing the same for high value wood. I have to admit it: I am a firewood snob. If I had no choice, I would deal with basswood or aspen. As long as there's oak, maple, locust, etc., I'll pass.

 

[Pennsyltucky Chris]

Thing is: cutting, splitting, and stacking low BTU wood is just as much work as doing the same for high value wood.

I hear that often, and I disagree. Low BTU wood is generally a lot lighter and splits with an easy whack of the maul/ax. I took on a whole Aspen trunk and was done with it in a fraction of the time, and with a helluva lot less effort, than when I work on an oak.

 

[Brewmonster]

I hear that often, and I disagree. Low BTU wood is generally a lot lighter and splits with an easy whack of the maul/ax. I took on a whole Aspen trunk and was done with it in a fraction of the time, and with a helluva lot less effort, than when I work on an oak.

OK, so you can get something less valuable for less effort. This is Econ101. If something is worth more, you pay more. Aspen is lighter than oak because it has less stored energy. To me the difference in time and effort is trivial but the difference in value is not. I am not going to waste my time getting in a load of basswood or aspen as long as there's something better to be had.

 

[midwestcoast]

Usually splits really easy & makes good kindling. Dries quickly too. Can't say I'd ever go after it on purpose though

 

[Kristof]

Hi,

Being from Belgium, I'll try to convert where necessary. I'm making this my first post as I was lurking around about a year ago, trying to find information about Linden/Basswood. I had to opportunity to have about 9m³ (2,5cd) in rounds delivered to my house for 125€ (156$). As I could not find much information, I decided make a gamble and take it. Since I really enjoy manually splitting (X27 hooray!), I made myself see it as an elaborate workout plus a bunch of firewood as a bonus.
I split & stacked it all last January and I've been burning it since November; after a good 10 months of seasoning the moisture was down to +/- 15% so I guessed it was worth the try.

I really like the ease of burning of the Linden: three big blocks/rounds of about 15cm in diameter (+/-6inch) and a little firestarter cube and it's off! For about an hour that is haha. So if I purely burn the Linden I'm filling up the stove regularly. But since I'm able to mix it with different types and sizes of wood (all except Oak, which I don't have ), I consider it a welcome change: Every species handles, burn and smells a bit different and that's also one of the aspects that make it interesting.

So TL;DR: If you enjoy splitting and you have other woods to mix it with, it's just more than welcome chez moi

 

[firefighterjake]

The only time I have cut up basswood is when I mistook it for ash . . . what can I say . . . I'm better at tree identification with leafs and there were none at the time . . . knew right away though when I picked up the first huge round and could easily lift it.

I don't mind basswood for shoulder season fires though.