climberjones
ArboristSite Guru
Iwas just wondering do different species of elm burn about the same or is one kind better than the other?? THANKS!
There's been at least a dozen threads talking about Elm during the last 3-4 months... do a search and you'll find more reading than you'll care to do.
With that said... yes, there's a big difference in the burning qualities of different species of Elm.
By far, the best burning is Rock Elm, followed closely by Red Elm (Slippery Elm)... In my humble opinion those two species rival Red Oak. The three other common species of native Elm are Winged (the original Piss Elm), Cork Elm and American Elm. If I had to rank them on a 1-to-10 burning quality scale (using Elm Only)...
- 10.0 - Rock Elm
- 9.5 - Red Elm
- 8.0 - Winged Elm
- 5.0 - Cork Elm
- 3.5 - American Elm
- 1.1 - Siberian Elm
- 1.0 - Chinese Elm
Not sure if I've had any Rock, but Red Elm is great firewood.
I avoid the other Elms!
What are the hardest woods you normally burn, Whitespider?
Normally burn? Well this year I heated my home near 100% with wood... but I had no wood cut or split last fall, I've been cutting standing-dead and blow-downs all winter. Most all of that was Elm... Rock, Red and American.
Normally I burn Oak, with Bur Oak being the most plentiful 'round here followed by Red, White and Northern Pin... in that order. Bur Oak is in the White Oak family, not the perfect equal of White Oak, but better than Red Oak for burning.
Probably the the "hardest" I've burned is Iron Wood [Ostrya virginiana] (a.k.a. Hop Hornbeam, Lever Wood, and I believe in your part of the country it's called Hard Hack). Also get some Hickory, Mulberry, Sugar Maple, Cherry, and Black Walnut... plus a bunch of other "lesser" types...
I don't remember ever cutting live/green Red Elm... because of Dutch Elm Disease there isn't any reason I've needed to. Because the disease hit Iowa somewhat later than out east way, we've still got thousands of standing-dead 'round here. The Red Elm I've burned has been several years seasoning, standing without bark... sounds like two Baseball Bats when you whack pieces together. Just make sure it's good and dry or it'll most likely stink to high heaven when you burn it.
I agree, especially if you can find the dead ones standing with the bark off.
Some of the best firewood IMO. I burn mostly Oak, but when I find a barkless Red Elm, I get excited :msp_smile:
I've burn a lot of Red Elm and never notice a bad smell. Not much around here anymore either.Absolutely. Not much of it left around here though. Dutch elm disease hit hard around here in late 60's. 25 years ago the woods were full of standing dead red elm. When it was plentiful it was my first choice for firewood. Don't remember that it smelled bad when burning, but maybe it did. It actually had a pleasant smell when cut.
+1. Barkless red elm cannot be beaten as a firewood, and it dries in a under a year. When the rounds are half dry, it even splits nicely. The thick bark, BTW, makes good kindling.Some of the best firewood IMO. I burn mostly Oak, but when I find a barkless Red Elm, I get excited :msp_smile:
Enter your email address to join: