Why is Rock Elm so good ?

[Jeremy102579]

What makes Rock Elm such great firewood. I split a small amount (1/2 Facecord) last summer and now it is very light in weight ?

Wouldn't more dense woods be better ?

Just curious..........

 

[user 122190]

I like White Pine which is a soft wood. Easy to split, easy to burn, and puts out a vanilla like smell. It's not always about heat.

 

[Whitespider]

It sounds a though you misidentified the tree.
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[3fordasho]

Post some pics and I'm sure someone can confirm or correct the ID.

It sounds a though you misidentified the tree.
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[Whitespider]

I split a small amount (1/2 Facecord) last summer and now it is very light in weight ?
Wouldn't more dense woods be better?

Very few North American woods are "more dense" than Rock Elm; a piece of air-dried Rock Elm will weigh more than any piece of seasoned Oak or Hickory of the same size.
I can pretty much guarantee that if your "Rock Elm" is "very light in weight"... it ain't Rock Elm.

When it comes to the elms, I don't put much faith in the various BTU charts... they flat rate the elms way to low on the scale for whatever reason (I'm thinkin' the people who make the charts don't know the various elms from pine... let alone each other).
But I did stumble across this chart the other day... although I don't agree with it 100%, it at least places the elms on a reasonable level.
It places Rock Elm at the top (of the listed species), above all the oak and hickory (I agree 100%).
It places Red (Slippery) Elm above any of the ash (I agree), close to Red Oak (should be closer), but well below Sugar Maple (I don't agree, Sugar Maple is placed way too high on that chart).
And finally, it places White Elm (I'm assuming American Elm) near the equal of the best of the ash (personally, I think it's better than any ash).

http://www.woodheat.org/firewood.html

What criteria did you use to determine the tree was Rock Elm??
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[JeffHK454]

It sounds a though you misidentified the tree.
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This ^^^

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

It does not sound like rock elm if it is light. I cannot speak for rock elm personally because I have never had any. But I have burned Slippery (Red) elm and agree it is on par with Red Oak. If Rock Elm is denser than Red Elm it wouldn't be light weight when seasoned. I suspect that where some species grow have a bearing on differences in density. I have burnt a little sugar maple here in PA and it is not the same sugar maple I burned when I lived in the state of Maine. Maine's sugar maple was superior to the stuff I have had here in PA IMO. Is it possible that in Maine Sugar Maple is so much slower growing that somehow that effects the density?

 

[cupar]

American elm is the most dense wood I see with the odd and I mean very odd oak tree. Elm, ash, and oak. The only 3 tree's in my area that will ever give me headaches as they don't cut, chip, stack, or do anything nicely because all of my gear is set up for spruce and poplar and pine and other softer woods. American Elm which is lighter then rock elm apparently is not a light wood.

 

[zogger]

It does not sound like rock elm if it is light. I cannot speak for rock elm personally because I have never had any. But I have burned Slippery (Red) elm and agree it is on par with Red Oak. If Rock Elm is denser than Red Elm it wouldn't be light weight when seasoned. I suspect that where some species grow have a bearing on differences in density. I have burnt a little sugar maple here in PA and it is not the same sugar maple I burned when I lived in the state of Maine. Maine's sugar maple was superior to the stuff I have had here in PA IMO. Is it possible that in Maine Sugar Maple is so much slower growing that somehow that effects the density?

That stuff up there they call rock maple and it is *excellent* wood. Same sugar maple but you get into some that is just hard and dense, hence "rock".

 

[Jeremy102579]

Thanks guys, here is the post I made last year while finding this wood. Although the pictures are no longer in the post.... if you read the comments........a lot of the responses seemed to think it was elm also.

I will post some pictures tomorrow of a couple of the splits that are stacked.

http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/wood-id.235786/

 

[blades]

If it dried very light vs what is was weight wise green - then red Elm or slippery elm or localy here called piss elm because green splitting it literately squirts water out.

 

[Whitespider]

Thanks guys, here is the post I made last year while finding this wood. Although the pictures are no longer in the post.... if you read the comments........a lot of the responses seemed to think it was elm also.

Yeah, a few thought it was "elm"... only one thought it was "Rock Elm".
There's about a half dozen elms native to the USA, only three native to New York... American, Slippery and Rock. And even before Dutch Elm Disease the Rock Elm wasn't anything close to common in New York. Cornell University doesn't even list it as a species currently living in your state (but, it wasn't that many years ago the Iowa DNR told me the Bobcat doesn't live here anymore ). Although, with imports, hybrids and cultivators there's likely something over 100 different elms growing somewhere in the USA... especially as you move closer to urban areas and heavily populated states... and some of them ain't any better than willow as firewood.

The English Elm, for example, is about like Silver Maple as firewood (and drops branches in the wind like Silver Maple), and the Siberian Elm ain't a whole lot better than that.
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[Whitespider]

Taking that a bit further...
Guys tend to project the trees they KNOW into 'Tree ID Picture Threads' without any regard to where the ID question is coming from. I remember such a thread originating in Washington State where the wood in question had been ID'd by a local as cherry. Most everyone here was telling the guy it was not cheery, it was birch. It was ridiculous... birch don't grow in Washington. The problem was, most everyone here is familiar with wild Black Cherry (and birch)... I recognized it as wild Pin Cheery right off (which has bark much like birch). Pin Cheery grows mostly in Canada, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and the far Northeast US... it also grows in Northeast Iowa where I live.

I did a quick check before I tossed out my ID opinion... yep, there's was a finger of native wild Pin Cherry that follows the mountains down out of Canada into Washington... and that finger was exactly where the guy was cutting his wood. That thread went on for near three pages with guys arguing with me... and they kept posting pictures of wild Black Cheery and birch that doesn't grow in Washington to prove I was wrong. Finally, someone from Wisconsin (if I remember correctly) chimed in and backed my ID opinion. Pin Cheery ain't anything like Black Cheery, it pops-up like weeds, invading fields and pastures (much like Sumac); anyone who farms around wooded areas in Pin Cheery country hates the stuff... and it ain't near as good firewood as Black Cheery (ain't even in the same ball park).

Rock Elm is still prolific on the north side of Lakes Erie and Ontario (the poster who ID'd your wood as Rock Elm is from Canada)... on the south side it was never even remotely a common tree. I'm not sayin' there's absolutely no Rock Elm on the south side, anything is possible... but... what are the odds?? Rock Elm likes a specific soil condition; 'round here it's found growing where almost no other tree can survive... rocky limestone bluffs and hilltops, sometimes growing in the bare limestone itself (after all, it is called Rock Elm).
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[blades]

English and Siberian more like an invasive species. Still better than willow burn wise. Never had any cotton wood. Linden (Bass wood ) I have on the lot- better for the carvers than in the stove. Various Aspens also, don't go out of my way for these either.

 

[Jeremy102579]

ok guys, here are some pictures. stuff was very stringy when green....so I let it sit for a good month, and it split easier.

 

[3fordasho]

Looks like american elm to me, but I defer to Spidey's superior elm id knowledge...

ok guys, here are some pictures. stuff was very stringy when green....so I let it sit for a good month, and it split easier.View attachment 362765 View attachment 362766 View attachment 362767 View attachment 362768 View attachment 362769

View attachment 362765
View attachment 362766 View attachment 362767

 

[Whitespider]

Looks like american elm to me, but I defer to Spidey's superior elm id knowledge...

Yep, American Elm... the creamy-white layers in the bark says it all.
It also appears it was on the verge of "going punky" just before it was split... which may have been made worse by stacking it in a shed before it had a chance to dry (the mildew on the ends says it remained wet for too long). Next time stack it out in the open sun for a few weeks after splitting... it will make much better firewood if molds and mildews can't attack the wood structure.

 

[Jeremy102579]

Is the mold or mildew the dark on the ends ? It seems a lot of my wood gets dark on the ends after it sits split and stacked for awhile. I don't have a wood shed, I normally just stack and put a metal cover over it or leave it be in the sun. The only time it would get wet is when it rains.

 

[Whitespider]

Yes Jeremy102579, the black/dark spots and staining is mold and/or mildew... the molds and mildew indicated the wood is being broken-down (it has to feed on something).
Stacking green or wet wood in a shed, under cover, or the shade will cause it to stay wet much longer, especially if the area has poor air circulation.
Also, the higher the moisture content of the wood, the better the chance for molds and mildews to take root... American Em, at 95%, is high in green moisture content, Rock Elm is 44% (which is lower than even White Ash). Just for comparison... Cottonwood, at over 160%, turns to mush in just weeks if stacked where air circulation is poor.

Oh... by-the-way, unless it rains every day for weeks, rain has little if any effect on split 'n' stacked firewood.
You could soak a split piece of firewood in a bucket of water for 3-4 days, and the water wouldn't penetrate more than a ¼ inch into the wood (likely less in dense hard wood)... and likely dry out in just a few hours of sun and wind. "Seasoning" of firewood is mostly the process of drying the moisture trapped inside the cells... rainwater simply sits between the cells.
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[Jeremy102579]

I appreciate the information....always willing to learn new things.
So I take it you do not cover your stacks ? I know that topic has been discussed on here many times.

I know I have good air circulation here......but maybe its time I start uncovering all my stacks.(maybe except for winter)...even though it probably wont help them out at this point.