Show Us Your Uglies!

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Caw

Minister of Fire
May 26, 2020
2,553
Massachusetts
It's that time of year....ugly time! I dragged in a couple bags of poplar/butternut uglies this morning. What are you burning this shoulder season?

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Thats not ugly, that what I normally burn ;)
 
Thats not ugly, that what I normally burn ;)
Sane for me. Looks like a regular stack.

Hmm not the best picture I guess lol. Most of these pieces are either way too short, have a strange knot, or are curved.

I try to use whatever softwood/weird stuff I have gathered this time of year. Usually poplar. The logs are so light I feel like I could chuck one over them mountains. ==c
 
Green Ash

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I don't end up with many pieces that won't stack. The ones that are odd get burned first or used in the outdoor fire.
 
montanalocal that's more like a ugly pile. that's what i have been burning for about a week. i'm lucky i have a huge firebox i just thru in 4 pieces like that plus 2 regular size. those ugly pieces burn long. i thru them in at 12:30 and the stove will be hot at 7:00 tomorrow
 
I've learned to just throw them in the camp fire stack. I hate trying to keep regular rows neat and tidy if theres a bunch of knotty, twisty or short uglies mixed in.
 
Since I switched over to Beech for my wood supply, I have gotten use to stacking and burning more uglies. Beech stems are usually good straight wood but a fair share of crotches and the crowns are usually full of kinks and twists. My rule is is gets cut if its 2" of over.
 
I guess every year for the last 41 all I have ever had is ugly wood
according to the OPs photo.
The only good thing is they have never failed to heat my home
I guess he prefers designer splits. Guess I was never a firewood snob (LOL):)
 
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Haha. I suppose so, Gucci splits. I had a good spring of hardwood splitting so those are my uglies. All the truly gnarly stuff goes in the fire pit. Only brand name splits for my baby.

The one downside to all this poplar is it burns faaaaast. 3-4 hrs max when fully shut down. It was free though so it works out well for shoulder season.

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Air fully shut down poplar inferno! :ZZZ
 
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I will try to fit these two beauties into the VC in this morning reload. Top loaders and uglies do not mix very well
 

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I knew an old timer that made some bucks caretaking a rich couples camp in Maine years ago. It was an old camp and the only one on a small pond. The owners might visit 2 weeks a year but they paid him to keep it stocked and ready in case they wanted to come up from Philadelphia. They had wood stove and wood cook stove and they paid him to stock the wood boxes with perfect dry uniform wood. It had to be split and have a trace of bark on it but it had to be uniform size and length. They didnt want the wood to get old, so they paid him to replace the wood in the spring with new seasoned wood. It was cash and they paid well so he put up with their idiosyncrasies. The wife made the requests and the husband paid for it.
 
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These are true "uglies" . . . but they'll still keep you toasty warm at night, right?

Yes they most certainly will. We do not have any native hardwoods around here, so the urban boulevard planted Green Ash are the only hardwoods we have. I have an agreement with a local tree trimmer to call me when he has a Green Ash to cut. Unfortunately, because someone else is cutting it up, there are a lot of shorts and uglies. However, that really does not matter a whole lot to me. I will take what I can get, and save it for cold overnight burns.
 
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Here's what I'm throwing in the wood furnace tonight. I suspect it's ash, but really can't tell anymore! I had about 1/4-1/2 cord of this stuff. I'm actually surprised at how much heat it provides. Even keeps coals longer than I expected. Works nice for this warmer weather. But indeed it is kinda ugly!
 

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We've pretty much burned up all our uglies for this season. Now we're into good firewood.
 
Does ugly on the inside count? I cut down what I thought was going to be a good oak, my first clue was when the saw cut through it way too fast. It was hollow for about 12 feet..... I felt jipped.. on the plus side I enjoy burning hollow logs inside out in the outdoor fire pit.
 

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How i store the gnarly pieces... fill up a tote a few times a week make great fuel for the 23-6 burn. Burns hot and holds onto the coals enough to get it roaring in the am
 

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