I can get some hackberry, soft maple, and elm firewood for free. I was wondering if I should even bother with the elm. I heard it doesn't burn very good at all. I've never burned it before, so is it worthwhile to cut, split, and haul it home? Or should I just grab the soft maple and hackberry? There's plenty for me to get. There's enough to last us almost 3 winters I'd say, so I can be picky.
Anyone burn Elm?
- Thread starter burroak
- Start date
Help Support Arborist Forum:
bowtechmadman
Addicted to ArboristSite
Never burnt hackberry but I'd take the elm well before soft maple. Large rounds are no fun to split but excellent burning in my opinion. I'd compare it to ash when seasoned except much tougher to split.
gink595
Addicted to ArboristSite
WHy does Elm get such a bad rap? I like the way it burns, especially the dead standing stuff, no bark lights easily and produces decent heat. Elm will always have a spot in my stove. Hackberry not so much it can stay in the woods and rot
Nuzzy
Trail Gnome
I've been burning a green elm and cherry mix for a few months now and it has been keeping us warm just fine
Sure it ain't oak, but it burns fine.
Sure it ain't oak, but it burns fine.
xcr440
ArboristSite Operative
I burn elm all the time. I got 3 cords worth of elm sitting in the yard waiting to be cut down. The big peices suck to split. Very stringy.
breymeyerfam
Addicted to ArboristSite
WHy does Elm get such a bad rap? I like the way it burns, especially the dead standing stuff, no bark lights easily and produces decent heat. Elm will always have a spot in my stove. Hackberry not so much it can stay in the woods and rot
+1 I love elm. burns good, but sucks to split if you dont have a splitter.
jerryw66
ArboristSite Guru
Elm is one of our most common trees here, Chinese, and American. It truly sucks to split even with a splitter you have to push it clear through, I've burned plenty, but I don't really care for it much. Here, ash is the choice firewood, then elm and hackberry and cottonwood and all kinds of other junk. I always thought elm smells bad also.
Last edited:
Photog95
ArboristSite Operative
I burn ash and elm entirely. I save the elm for January and early Feb when it gets super cold. It is my favorite wood. It gets super hot and leaves little ashes.
jerryw66
ArboristSite Guru
I burn ash and elm entirely. I save the elm for January and early Feb when it gets super cold. It is my favorite wood. It gets super hot and leaves little ashes.
I wonder if it grows different here, trees in general don't grow well in most of eastern So. Dak. Elm just seems very juicey and stringy, doesn't put out near the heat of our ash, but a lot of people burn it because of it's abundance.
jerryw66
ArboristSite Guru
let it season for at least 2 years , and enjoy the warmth
Nice pile, hope you let the wife get the car out before you dumped it. Yes, I know you have to season it a long time before it's ready, the american elm seems a lot better than the chinese, siberian, but none of it is as good as 1yr seasoned ash.
Biker Dude
Addicted to ArboristSite
My area is full of dutch elm disease so I burn elm almost exclusively. The standing dead is great because you can cut it and burn it the same day. Since I never seem to get ahead of the wood gathering game elm is perfect for my house. I've never burned soft maple or hackberry so I can't make a comparison but I certainly like elm.
same here: lots of dead elm from the disease. Much is standing and dry and bark free, hence does not spread the beetle/fungis.
I very rarely get oak.
I like elm. Burns well. good long heat. As it burns it burns deep into itself until if looks like a red hot block of jello, sort of translucent and pretty in the glass doors.
Nasty to split. Not super tough, but very stringy, fight it to the end. Many box store splitters with moving wedge stop 2 inches short of the end plate. I have made three or four sets of spacer bars so bars overlap the end of the wedge. Shortens the clear space by 2 inches, but since most are 24 cylinders and I cut 16 to 18 inch, doesn't matter. Otherwise every single block has to be pried apart by hand as the last inch of fiber holds it together.. Fixed wedge design, just send another block through behind it I guess.
I'd take all I can get.
kcj
I very rarely get oak.
I like elm. Burns well. good long heat. As it burns it burns deep into itself until if looks like a red hot block of jello, sort of translucent and pretty in the glass doors.
Nasty to split. Not super tough, but very stringy, fight it to the end. Many box store splitters with moving wedge stop 2 inches short of the end plate. I have made three or four sets of spacer bars so bars overlap the end of the wedge. Shortens the clear space by 2 inches, but since most are 24 cylinders and I cut 16 to 18 inch, doesn't matter. Otherwise every single block has to be pried apart by hand as the last inch of fiber holds it together.. Fixed wedge design, just send another block through behind it I guess.
I'd take all I can get.
kcj
wdchuck
Addicted to ArboristSite
Elm, like all woods, produces plenty of heat, once its well seasoned.
There is plenty in my woodpile every year.
There is plenty in my woodpile every year.
mowoodchopper
Polar Bear
I burn ash and elm entirely. I save the elm for January and early Feb when it gets super cold. It is my favorite wood. It gets super hot and leaves little ashes.
Hell yes I would burn the elm!!!! There is not much better wood than elm I like it better than the ash. My dad lives where its all oak and hickory and he would rather burn the elm too!!
outdoorlivin247
Addicted to ArboristSite
Elm and Hackberry both make great fire wood if you have a means of splitting them...They both need to be put on the 2 year drying plan if they are cut green...The soft maple makes for good wood in the fall and spring or the days that you are home all day and just want to play w/ the stove, loading it that is...
dingeryote
Blueberry Baron
LOL!!
It all burns once seasoned.
I'm sitting here burning a mix of dead standing Elm, half green Sassafrass, and Cherry. All started this afternoon with Willow.
Elm is good stuff. Better when free!
Stay safe!
Dingeryote
It all burns once seasoned.
I'm sitting here burning a mix of dead standing Elm, half green Sassafrass, and Cherry. All started this afternoon with Willow.
Elm is good stuff. Better when free!
Stay safe!
Dingeryote
KsWoodsMan
Addicted to ArboristSite
American Elm does burn well for me. Though, I find I am constantly shoveling out ash from it if I dont de-bark it first. If I stack it with the bark on I know it is ready when it shrinks enough that the wood slides out of the bark.
An 8" round (with the bark) will be under 6" after fully seasoned and the bark falls off. This is a good size for a long burn time in my stove. But the bark makes a lot of mess to clean up so I avoid it if I can.
Hackberry is a better firewood in my opinion. It makes more BTU's, is easier to split and smells like toast (to me) as it burns.
The Maple gets set aside for Summer cooking when I put pork on the grill.
If all I could get to heat my house with was American Elm I suppose I wouldn't complain about it. If it was Red Elm I wouldn't mind that at all and will take what I can get. Finding either standing dead is like finding a birds nest on the ground, quite favorable.
An 8" round (with the bark) will be under 6" after fully seasoned and the bark falls off. This is a good size for a long burn time in my stove. But the bark makes a lot of mess to clean up so I avoid it if I can.
Hackberry is a better firewood in my opinion. It makes more BTU's, is easier to split and smells like toast (to me) as it burns.
The Maple gets set aside for Summer cooking when I put pork on the grill.
If all I could get to heat my house with was American Elm I suppose I wouldn't complain about it. If it was Red Elm I wouldn't mind that at all and will take what I can get. Finding either standing dead is like finding a birds nest on the ground, quite favorable.
