1 full cord...

[Patrick62]

...of trash.

I forgive, but Joseph did not know. He found some wood from the Town and thought he would "help" out and hauled several trailer loads of really big stuff.

Upon my arrival, I discovered some 4 to 6 foot long 3-4 foot diameter pieces of trash, otherwise known locally as cottonwood.

What the heck, it burns and no doubt about it, it is dry. More like rotten.
Out of all that I ended up with just over a cord of "burnable" and a large pile of really trashy junk to burn.

A couple of pieces really put the test to the splitter. I made a few giant wads of hair cutting across the grain. There simply wasn't a better way to do it.

Oh well :deadhorse:
-Pat

 

[turnkey4099]

...of trash.

I forgive, but Joseph did not know. He found some wood from the Town and thought he would "help" out and hauled several trailer loads of really big stuff.

Upon my arrival, I discovered some 4 to 6 foot long 3-4 foot diameter pieces of trash, otherwise known locally as cottonwood.

What the heck, it burns and no doubt about it, it is dry. More like rotten.
Out of all that I ended up with just over a cord of "burnable" and a large pile of really trashy junk to burn.

A couple of pieces really put the test to the splitter. I made a few giant wads of hair cutting across the grain. There simply wasn't a better way to do it.

Oh well :deadhorse:
-Pat

Yep, it all burns. It is just a matter of how densely packed the btus are. Cottonwood is one wood I won't touch again. The one I worked up I could not split it even after cutting the rounds in half (8") it was a struggle.

Harry K

 

[avalancher]

I feel your pain man, sadly I made the same mistake myself. Dragged home what I thought was pin oak. There were no leaves to identify the wood, and the bark looked like pin oak. If I had taken the time to peel some bark I would have realized that it wasnt oak by the grain of the wood.
Hauled home the entire tree, on the first split realized that this was indeed not oak. The wood burned okay, but smelled terrible. Ended up using all that wood in the shop stove instead of the house. Never did figure out what the wood was, and I still have some left, I hate the smell even in the shop.
:censored:

 

[KsWoodsMan]

How about "Tree of Heaven" ? cuts easy, splits easy, clean bark, doesn't break your back to handle it. But requires clothespins to burn it. The clothes pins are for your nose, not the stove. Cottonwood, oh yeah, if it is small enough to go in without splitting and I have somewhere to get rid of all the bark that has to come off to hold down the smell as it burns.

Tree of Heaven (Paradise) :
The tree service says "Yeah, yeah, yeah ! It's good wood !
Me ( skeptically ) : Ok, you can drop it off to the side but dont forget me when you get in anything better.

Heh ! I gave most of it away to the x's Sister-in-law and her worthless BF. They deserved to stay warm. Come to think of it , I haven't heard from them in quite a while.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

Tree of Heaven

Also known as Heavenwood, believe it is a type of Beech (??)..was planted in Appalachia intended to replace some Pine as construction lumber; not strong enough. May have made the same miastake myself by cutting up some sumac for this winter. Oh well, it's just an OWB.

 

[woodbooga]

How about "Tree of Heaven" ? cuts easy, splits easy, clean bark, doesn't break your back to handle it. But requires clothespins to burn it. The clothes pins are for your nose, not the stove. Cottonwood, oh yeah, if it is small enough to go in without splitting and I have somewhere to get rid of all the bark that has to come off to hold down the smell as it burns.

Tree of Heaven (Paradise) :
The tree service says "Yeah, yeah, yeah ! It's good wood !
Me ( skeptically ) : Ok, you can drop it off to the side but dont forget me when you get in anything better.

Heh ! I gave most of it away to the x's Sister-in-law and her worthless BF. They deserved to stay warm. Come to think of it , I haven't heard from them in quite a while.

Had a chance to to score some of this long ago before I even knew what it was. Looks kind of like a hybrid between a sumac and a walnut and grows like a weed in disused urban lots. I decided to take a pass - something about itset my spidey senses tingling. And believe me, I rarely take a pass on anything - white pine, poplar, hemlock - all have a place (though admittedly inferior) place in the woodshed. But no tree of heaven.

BTW, when those things have a mast year, they put up a helluva lot of seeds. No wonder my guidebook puts them in the same class as Norway maple, box elder, and oriental bittersweet!

 

[avalancher]

never heard of the stuff, and I looked in my field guide and it isnt mentioned it anywhere. I hope i dont drag any more of this stuff home, it stinks. I have gotten a lot better about taking my time now in IDing wood before I go to all the trouble of dragging it home. I keep my field guide in the chainsaw toolbox and if there is any doubt I leave it until I know with a certainty what it is if I have plenty of other stuff to take home. Right now I have a good supply of oak and hickory coming in, but there have been years when anything looked good enough to burn.

 

[woodbooga]

never heard of the stuff, and I looked in my field guide and it isnt mentioned it anywhere. I hope i dont drag any more of this stuff home, it stinks. I have gotten a lot better about taking my time now in IDing wood before I go to all the trouble of dragging it home. I keep my field guide in the chainsaw toolbox and if there is any doubt I leave it until I know with a certainty what it is if I have plenty of other stuff to take home. Right now I have a good supply of oak and hickory coming in, but there have been years when anything looked good enough to burn.

Is your guide limited to native species? I seem to recall that tree of heaven is an introduced species - from China if memory serves me correctly. If not, I'm sure someone here will set the record straight.

 

[avalancher]

Is your guide limited to native species? I seem to recall that tree of heaven is an introduced species - from China if memory serves me correctly. If not, I'm sure someone here will set the record straight.

Could be, its titled National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees. It does a great job of describing the tree, where it grows, and full color pictures of the bark, leaves, and any nuts or fruit that may appear alongside of a black and white silhouette of what the tree looks like.
Also mentions most of the time what the commercial use is, if its good for firewood, etc.

 

[woodbooga]

Could be, its titled National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees. It does a great job of describing the tree, where it grows, and full color pictures of the bark, leaves, and any nuts or fruit that may appear alongside of a black and white silhouette of what the tree looks like.
Also mentions most of the time what the commercial use is, if its good for firewood, etc.

The guide I own that lists tree of heaven is a guide to weeds in the northeast. Defines a weed as pretty much any plant that is not cultivated, Native and non-native. Orchard grass, ground ivy, rosetted plants, etc. There's a small section in the back devoted to "weed trees" and weed plats that become woody as they mature. Includes TofH, norway maple, box elder.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Ailanthus is sometimes called Tree of Heaven. It's an invasive from China, and is all over the U.S. Had it in California, got it here in Virginia.

Well dried, I haven't found it to smell bad. But only one sex of the tree stinks - I can't remember if it's the male or the female tree that smells bad. Maybe I've only burned the non-stinker.

 

[JBinKC]

Burning rubber is the description I give for the odor when burning ailanthus altissma aka tree of heaven aka ghetto palm aka stink tree. Technically it is now classified as a noxious woody weed and almost impossible to eradicate. Its one tree that can actually grow out of rock.

The reason why little is mentioned of it is it is an exotic import from China in the late 1700s and not a native tree.

I am in constant battle with this crap tree on my cliffside property and would rather get red maple established for erosion control. It can grow up to 10 ft per year and its very fast growth gave the tree one of its nicknames tree of heaven.

I burn a small amount of this wood from time to time as I might as well get the btus from it and I try to be conscious of burning it when the prevailing wind blows it over the cliff and away from my neighbors.

Seasoned ailanthus weighs about 1/4 of the same size piece of oak, doesn't coal well, and has a very putrid odor when burned.

 

[irishcountry]

We cut 2 down in our yard and I thought what a waste it looked like it would make some nice lumber (didn't have a CMS yet) now that I look at it I may get the chance again in my lifetime cuz its coming up all over from the left over roots underground!! I may round up it but I dout that will work!!