Split elm on a cold day

[dwasifar]

In August I grabbed a small load of freshly cut elm. Tried to split it then and it tore more than split; a stringy, ragged mess. So on the advice seen here, I put it aside waiting for a freeze.

This morning it was clear, cold, and bright. 19°F, or 2°F with wind chill. Perfect. Went out, set up, and it all popped apart cleanly and easily. I had it all split and restacked quickly, plus which it let me dig out a couple of bigger oak rounds that were at the bottom of the pile.

Thanks for the advice, guys. Worked out perfectly.

 

[z50guru]

I'll have to try that out. I have a bunch of it here, but said to hell with it after this piece nearly killed me

 

[dwasifar]

Yeah, that's how it came out when I tried to split it in August. But today it split nice and clean. About like oak.

Another nice thing is that if you find a piece with ants in it, they're a lot less annoying when they're frozen.

 

[fuzz1500]

Is that what my dad always called piss elm ?

 

[dwasifar]

Well, it sure smelled like piss when it was fresh cut.

 

[fuzz1500]

Hahaha...no doubt !

 

[lapeer20m]

I've been struggling to process elm the past few months. I'm excited to try splitting it while frozen. It takes a lot of time splitting it while warm as the splitter has to cycle completely to split/tear a piece in half.

As opposed to ash or pine where it pops apart almost as soon as the splitter puts a little pressure in it.

 

[dwasifar]

Here's how it split. Very satisfying compared to how it shredded in August.

 

[fuzz1500]

Wow..very different indeed...nice !!!

 

[Wood Doctor]

Always let elm dry in the round for at least three to four months before you try to split it. Your patience will be rewarded and your wood stove and log splitter will love you for it. Most dry elm splits rather well, but only when dry--never when wet. When wet, it will laugh at you like a hyena.

 

[dwasifar]

Always let elm dry in the round for at least three to four months before you try to split it. ... Most dry elm splits rather well, but only when dry--never when wet. When wet, it will laugh at you like a hyena.

So you think it was the drying time instead of (or as well as) the cold? Hmm. I should have tried a piece two weeks ago for comparison.

This was cut in August, so it's been drying for three months - but not in a particularly good spot. I knew it wasn't likely to be ready for winter no matter what I did with it, so I gave the prime sun-and-wind stacking spots to other wood, and this was mostly in the shade and out of the wind. So maybe it's partly the drying and partly the freeze.

 

[mn woodcutter]

Even when its dry it will only split well if its cold out. In my experience, Elm will split nice and clean by hand when its colder than 10 degrees.

 

[513yj]

Here's how it split. Very satisfying compared to how it shredded in August.

View attachment 319884

How come the wood in pic 2 looks like it's from a different tree than pic 1? Sorta lilke it was from an older dead one that is dried out. I have 2 year old dead elm with bark falling off and it split like pic 1.

 

[dwasifar]

Pic 2? I don't understand. I only posted 1 pic.

 

[513yj]

Yep, I missed it being someone else.

 

[JeffHK454]

I cut and split a small (12"-14") standing dead Elm last winter and nearly gave up two rounds in , this tree was completely dead when I bought my property over 12 years ago!

I ended up putting a hunk of scrap aluminum on my splitters toe plate and pinching off the endless wood fibers and strands just to get the stuff busted up. I know it's hard on a hydro splitter but it had gotten personal .

 

[Wood Doctor]

Best way to tell when an elm round is ready to split is (1) the ends will be checking up and (2) the bark will be falling off. After splitting that round, let the splits dry in a stack or pile for about a week or two more and you are all set for a nice hot fire with no sparks or hiss.

Some say that red elm is the best firewood there ever was (even better than oak or ash), but Dutch elm disease just about wiped it out 50 years ago. We still have a little around here, but it gets scarcer every year.

 

[mn woodcutter]

I know for a fact that dead dry elm only splits well when its really cold. It is amazing the difference. I mostly cut standing dead red elm around here and its the cleanest hottest burning wood I have found. Its also the least amount of work! Most of the trees are small enough so they don't need to be split. Simply cut, stack, and burn! Also, the ash that is left behind turns into hard pancakes on the bottom of the stove and its very easy to clean out and not dusty like oak. I'm a big fan!! Here is a picture of some of the elm I'm burning.

 

[aaron]

Big difference between American, Red or Siberian Elm. That 1st pic looks like American.

 

[1project2many]

I've posted my experiences with Elm a couple of times. There aren't many large American Elm trees here on the east coast but I was asked to take a large, healthy one down a few years ago before the old mill building it was next to became condos. When split, the wood looked like the pictures posted by Z50guru.

My splitter worked though it but every piece had to be pushed through completely. I actually used a block of that tree as a pushing block on my splitter. It was strong but at the end of the next burning season I decided I just didn't like Elm as a firewood. Didn't start to burn well, took a fair amount of heat to keep burning, not even worth stacking in the pile. Well, didn't that get a few replies. Seemed folks in the middle of the country burning pieces from large, standing dead Elm trees love it. Hmmm... That's worth thinking about. I left some to season out for another year and tried again. That wood burned better, still nothing to rave about.

Since that time I've taken down some smaller standing dead and what a different experience that is. I just threw a piece on the fire that seemed nearly the same density as a piece of Oak beside it. It burns hot and lasts for a decent amount of time. If you get the wood when it's decomposed just a bit, there's no stringiness at all. It will dry quickly after stacking and probably will be ready to burn in the same year its cut. So I can see why some folks love it. I probably won't be asked to cut an American Elm as large as the one next to the mill building again, but when I do get green Elm now I just set it in the "long time seasonin" pile. Couple years at least before it goes into the woodshed. That wood loves to pull moisture out of the air and it needs to be dry to burn well. On the plus side, I'm still using the same pusher block five years later.

Oh, and if you happen to get Siberian Elm, don't bother. It makes Cottonwood / Poplar seems like a high value species. It doesn't want to dry and it rots fast. When dry the only thing it does well is take up valuable space in the wood pile. Siberian elm has very rough bark and a reddish-brown heartwood that looks very beautiful.