Tulip wood?

sedanman · May 22, 2002

A few weeks ago I went to the town shed and cut a truckload of what I mistook to be ash. A tree surgeon friend of mine took one look and told me I'd cut tulip, which I hadn't heard of before. I looked in my book and sure enough it's tulip, bark is similar but courser than ash. Question is this: has anyone used this stuff for firewood, and how does it compare to ash? If the stuff isn't o.k. for my fireplace I can always sell it at the campground.

chainsawworld · May 22, 2002

paul,
tulip is one of the recommened woods for the hard wood-soft wood burning mix. it is hot burning and aids in keeping the chimmeny cleaner and reduces the enviromental impact by cutting less hard woods. it is getting to be a wood of choice for side boards on dump trucks. it is light but with-stands abuse. it does take less time to rot but is reasonable to buy. marty

sedanman · May 22, 2002

Marty, Thanks for the info. There's a lot more of this stuff to be had, I think I'll grab another load or two this weekend.

Harley · May 22, 2002

Are you guys talking about tulip poplar????

Newfie · May 22, 2002

Hey Sedanman,

I hate to burst your bubble, but true tulip is a Brazilian hardwood. Like Harley said, here in the Northeast "tulip" is also a hardwood but is actually "yellow poplar" (magnaoliaceae liriodendron tulipfera). It is called tulip beacuse of the large tulip like blossoms. (mature bark is easily confused with ash)This wood is commonly used as a secondary wood in the furniture industry and as pulpwood. It is not used as firewood in my area (mass) because of its low relative heat output and poor coaling properties as well as being fairly smoky. As a point of reference, red oak will give you about 21 million BTU's per cord, ash 20 million and poplar is down around 12.5 million. It is light, easy to split, burns easily but will end up being a lot of work for little heat. Probably explains why there is a lot more to be had?

chainsawworld · May 22, 2002

paul,
i'll put it a bit easier to understand so newfie gets it. it is recommened for the 14% hardwood-softwood mix. it burns hotter to keep the stack cleaner and with the mixing in with hardwoods, it has easier impact on the enviroment. marty

Newfie · May 22, 2002

Hi Marty,

So in this case you would treat the poplar as if it were pine (as an example) when mixing softwoods in with the traditional firewood hardwoods? Thanks for picking up on my confusion.

chainsawworld · May 22, 2002

mike,
pine is not one of the recommened softwoods. tulip,poplar,softmaple are some. marty

Newfie · May 22, 2002

Marty,

I guess it's semantics that was confusing me. When thinking about wood I consider evergreens/conifers to be "softwoods" and deciduous to be "hardwoods". That's how its referred to here. No, I wouldn't even consider pine in a firewood mix or anything evergreen. Red maple (soft maple, which is only marginally less dense than hard maple) is pretty common in commercial firewood around here. A "mixed hardwood" load brings about 10% dollarwise less than a 100% oak load which is in line with the slightly lower BTU output. The oak has been worked over pretty hard in the past 10 years. I know some guys who will mix Aspen (popple) in as you describe. In any event, it seems you would agree that sedanman hasn't hit the motherload unless he is burning a ton of wood to mix the tulip poplar into?

WOLF_RIVER_MIKE · May 22, 2002

Sedanman, here's a pretty good site. Tulip or yellow poplar is in the Magnolia family. Look around in here some, lots of info here.

http://forestry.about.com/library/tree/bltheyel.htm?terms=tulip

sedanman · May 22, 2002

I have more than a winters worth of oak to blend with this tulip. I will hold off on getting more of it until I see how I like it. I am a big fan of ash for the fireplace, better appearing flames than oak. The idea of blending is appealing to me as I will get good heat from the oak and hopefully pleasing flames from the tulip. As I was cutting/splitting this stuff I thought the bark looked a little big (course) to be ash but didn't let that stop me. The other tip off shoulg have been the yellow/green color of the wood, isn't ash more evenly colored a cream/tan? Sure wish there was a good easy to carry guide to help identify leafless trees!

Newfie · May 23, 2002

Sedanman,

That's an awesome resource you have there. I think if we had a set up like that I would have myself setup on a permanent basis!

As it is around here lots of small rural towns with lots of wood but probably almost everyone using the resource. I can almost always find someone in a pickup truck following the removal crews around. I haven't been able to a good pocket reference but those barks are deceptive. I've cut a few trees thinking it was ash and discovered it to be poplar or worse, aspen. You're correct about that green tinge being the give away with tulip (poplar). You know you've got Aspen (popple) if you get a thick sicky sweet smell when you cut it open. Happy burning!

chainsawworld · May 23, 2002

i would not say sedanman hit the mother load but i am glad to see he did make an inquiry as to what he was dealing with. he is taking measures to reduce the risk of chimmney fires, he is recycling what some consider waste(only becaus it is in the town clean-up and may burned in a pile. some towns are starting to rent tub grinders and allowing towns people to have the chips). he is easing the impact on the enviroment by not going out and cutting more trees just for firewood. we have guys around here that will go onto a piece of property and cut any size apple,ash,beech,birch,cherry,hickory, iron wood locusts,maple and oak. and they will leave the ceder,pines,spruce,poplar,tulip and willows either standing or dropped and not loped down and cleaned up. when i clear a lot i take it all. the less desireable woods go for campfires so the hard woods are not wasted for that. kindling also comes from the less desired woods. than we have the guys that will sell you anything! marty

buckwheat · May 23, 2002

Speaking of mixing wood for a fire... I am amazed at how fast white birch while catch! Its great as kindling and a log to get things started, then throw in the oak.
I don't have the links handy, but there are a few sites (search "firewood" or "wood stoves") that provide good, detailed data on the types of trees, ease of splitting, btu output.... I even found a site dedicated to hedge apple... with recipes!

Tony Snyder · May 23, 2002

The real Tulipwood

Newfie is correct.

I use the real Tulipwood in the construction of pool cue butts. It is an exotic hardwood, so costly you couldn't burn it for firewood. I give about $15 for a 1 1/2 by 1 1/2 by 24 chunk of it. I inlay them with ebony ivory and silver.

I am not familiar with the one you are cutting in the USA.

WRW · May 23, 2002

I wouldn't use Tulip tree (Yellow poplar) for a campfire cause it imparts a nasty taste to any foods cooked over it. It is good for taking a chill off the house without overheating it and doesn't produce much in the way of coals...that's a good thing in early fall or late spring.

mikey · May 23, 2002

Tulipwood/yellow poplar

Burning/mixing poplar is fine if you are using a stove,BUT,with a fire place be aware of this wood " popping" occasionally sending coals out of the fire place onto your floor.Use a screen,this can damage your carpet,floor or if left unattended could start a fire.O yea one more thing, don't pick those little red coals up with your fingers. Those trees shurte grow fast! . Mikey

sedanman · May 23, 2002

I use a screen in front of the fireplace no matter what species is in there. The "woodpile" is always getting new stuff, this past fall there was a BIG pile of locust (35 feet round,15 feet tall) that I left alone. I check the pile at least once a week and am still on the lookout for ash.

BUNYYAN JR · May 24, 2002

WOW Guys!! I was having trouble sleeping and thought I would check out the A site. I am sure sleepy now though, after reading Newfie's post on tulip wood(yellow poplar-magnaoliaceae liridendron tulipfera)

Thanks

Snydert....what do you want for one of those pool cues???

Off to "saw some wood"!

buckwheat · May 24, 2002

I don't think its btu/pound as much as btu output per volume, which varies per wood type. The goal is to generate as much heat as possible, or for as long as possible, from a given volume of wood (however much you can fit into your stove or fireplace).

Here is a link that gives btu/cord for different types of wood:
http://forestry.about.com/gi/dynami...okstate.edu/pearl/forestry/heating/f-9441.pdf

Tulip wood?

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