Worst firewood you’ve ever burnt?

[frankh]

I'm with Basswood also,, fairly easy to cut,, but it's gonna be -40 c and -40 F here tonight and basswood is the last thing you want in your boiler with these temps. Also a prick to burn the tops and tiny branches of the leftover Basswood.

I do like the smell of burning basswood.

 

[Kommandokenny]

That,,,, and I think it's easy to carve also.

 

[Hermio]

This

That is if you can even get it to stop soaking up moisture out if the air. I think you could use cottonwood and a natural desiccant.


Sent while firmly grasping my Redline lubed Ram [emoji231]

Cottonwood is also hard to split with a maul. It just absorbs the impact.

 

[Brufab]

So popple (big tooth aspen, quaking aspen) is considered a hardwood? Just curious how pulp wood can be considered a hardwood.

 

[Cricket]

Willow because it stinks when burned and low heat output. I found black walnut to be super ashy.

Was just scrolling down to say that. So of course, after selling off some veneer wood, I have a metric crap-ton of walnut lying around.

I find it does do better mixed with something else - or maybe that just thins out the ash. Which does tend to be sort of "crunchy", so good for getting people unstuck out of my driveway...

 

[Cricket]

Cottonwood is also hard to split with a maul. It just absorbs the impact.

I use an old hatchet head for that sort of thing. It thuds less if you've got a cutting edge leading through.

 

[Hermio]

So popple (big tooth aspen, quaking aspen) is considered a hardwood? Just curious how pulp wood can be considered a hardwood.

If I am not mistaken, all deciduous trees are considered to be hardwood, even though they may be softer than some "softwoods". Yellow pine and red fir, for example, are softwoods, but are definitely harder than cottonwood, which is considered a hardwood. Some papermills use hardwood for pulp, by the way.

 

[frankh]

Was just scrolling down to say that. So of course, after selling off some veneer wood, I have a metric crap-ton of walnut lying around.

I find it does do better mixed with something else - or maybe that just thins out the ash. Which does tend to be sort of "crunchy", so good for getting people unstuck out of my driveway...

I love turning bowls from walnut. It's not common in my area.

 

[frankh]

If I am not mistaken, all deciduous trees are considered to be hardwood, even though they may be softer than some "softwoods". Yellow pine and red fir, for example, are softwoods, but are definitely harder than cottonwood, which is considered a hardwood. Some papermills use hardwood for pulp, by the way.

A few years ago, you would see mountains of hardwood logs, most not lumber quality, alongside the tracks at the railroad station. I was told it was going for hardwood pulp to be used for stocks/bonds paper.

 

[Okie294life]

Where I’m from there are a lot of willow, swamp ash and sassafras trees. My dad said as a general rule never try to burn anything like that which grows well near a river or body of water. He used to have plenty of down trees and dozer piles to cut from so he usually had his pick.

 

[LuDookie]

Cottonwood is also hard to split with a maul. It just absorbs the impact.

I agree!

 

[Wombat Ranger]

Green Grand Fir

 

[woodchuckcanuck]

green wood, no matter the species

 

[Goostoff]

Cottonwood. When its finally dry it just burns like paper and one of the worst woods to split. Damned stuff is like a cork screw. The other wood that I find that sucks is Walnut. Not much heat value for the amount of smoke and ash it produces.

 

[tla100]

Boxelder

 

[jellyroll]

Tulip poplar.

 

[panolo]

I have no problem burning basswood, cottonwood, willow, box elder, pine, etc because it's dry when it goes in the boiler. You'd be amazed how well some of it does when you get it below 15% moisture and it ain't sweating out the ends. It's all I burn from Oct-Dec and March-April. Put me down with the WoodChuckCanuck as the any green wood species.

 

[BIG JAKE]

cottonwood. I won't take even if it's free

 

[Husky Man]

I’m sure that there is worse than Cottonwood/Spongewood, but it is the worst that I have experienced.

Yep, Spongewood burns just fine when properly seasoned, it doesn’t leave much ash in my experience. The trick/challenge with Spongewood, is getting it seasoned, I have found, at least in my area, it MUST be completely protected from the weather, it will absorb any moisture it can.

Spongewood will dissipate moisture quickly in a Hot, DRY environment, we get Hot, Dry summers here, and if CSS by June, it can be ready to burn in early fall. BUT, if it isn’t protected from the weather, it will absorb enough moisture to make it unburnable .
We have 8 (or more) months of cool, damp weather, and if left exposed to the weather, it will become Stinky 🗑 Garbage in short order, and Spongewood can get to smelling pretty bad, when wet and rotting

I have burned Spongewood, but it isn’t something that I look for, and is a choice of last resort




This is probably the last Spongewood that I have burned, January of 2017, this Big Spongewood was a Hazard tree taken down, around the corner from our home. It was CLOSE to home, and even more importantly, it would have cost the HOA to have it hauled off, and in the end, you know who pays for that. It was better to make BTU’s out of it than Bills. That fall, it heated our home, and saved the better wood for the winter months

Not many, but there are a few situations in which I will take Spongewood


Doug

 

[Brufab]

@Husky Man
Incredible pics!
+1 for the flannel shirt