Wood ID.....Elm?

[Ashful]

Sorry, yep, red cedar. (THREAD HIJACK!) I was always told not to use it for primary fuel. Something about producing tons of creosote, and burning hot enough to damage your stove.

 

[Woody Stover]

I split a bunch of elm today. None of it was stringy either. Split like a charm. The key is that it was dead and most of the bark had fallen before we cut it.

So, unlike most other woods, you'd have better luck splitting Elm if you let the rounds sit and dry out first (if it wasn't standing dead, that is?)

 

[firefighterjake]

Sorry, yep, red cedar. (THREAD HIJACK!) I was always told not to use it for primary fuel. Something about producing tons of creosote, and burning hot enough to damage your stove.

No experience with red cedar . . . but folks have always said the same thing about burning pine and other softwoods in the stove (i.e. it produces creosote and burns too hot.) My own experience in burning is that pretty much any wood once seasoned can and will burn clean without gunking things up . . . and the opposite is true as well . . . if you take a nice piece of oak, maple or birch and it's unseasoned it will produce a lot of creosote if you burn it.

As for it burning too hot . . . I suspect most stoves could handle the heat . . . but I probably wouldn't take a whole bunch of small splits, pack the stove to the gills and touch 'er off . . . just like I wouldn't do this with a whole bunch of pine or any other wood.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

So, unlike most other woods, you'd have better luck splitting Elm if you let the rounds sit and dry out first (if it wasn't standing dead, that is?)

Can't answer that one Woody as I've never tried that. However, it would be worth a try knowing how the wood rips apart when splitting it green.

 

[RORY12553]

I have something that is very stringy also but a dark maroon color! Elm? Will get some pics this weekend. It is horrible to split by hand and I have a lot of it

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Dark maroon? Not elm or any elm that I know of. Sounds like maybe one of the fruit trees.

 

[RORY12553]

Dark maroon? Not elm or any elm that I know of. Sounds like maybe one of the fruit trees.

I will take a picture of this stuff...if it is a fruit tree it has a very wide trunk then...it is maroon on the center with a thin tan/white strip before the bark...it is god awful to split