# Weight and BTU of Tulip tree firewood?



## esshup (Oct 15, 2010)

I picked up a bit of wood today from the local tree service. I really wish I could get the tractor there to help with loading the trailer. It's a PITA rolling those rounds on the trailer!

I can' t believe how heavy it is compared to Silver Maple.












The biggest Tulip log was 46" dia to 38" dia and about 80" long. The others were smaller and there were a few Silver Maple logs about 24" dia. I put as much on the trailer as I dared. 20 mph all the way home, back roads, at the most 5 miles away. I need to go back for the rest, probably on Sunday - Duck season opens tomorrow.

Does anybody know how many BTU Tulip is, and what it weighs? My butt is dragging now!


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## banshee67 (Oct 15, 2010)

thats quite a load for that VW 

on a side note,that tulip will lose weight FAST as it dries, if you had a pile of tulip splits, and a pile of oak splits that you split from fresh wood, the same day, the tulip would lose weight much faster than the oak, you will be surprised how light it is once its split and dries a bit, it is heavy when wet/fresh though


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## esshup (Oct 15, 2010)

banshee67 said:


> thats quite a load for that VW
> 
> on a side note,that tulip will lose weight FAST as it dries, if you had a pile of tulip splits, and a pile of oak splits that you split from fresh wood, the same day, the tulip would lose weight much faster than the oak, you will be surprised how light it is once its split and dries a bit, it is heavy when wet/fresh though



Yeah, I'm pretty sure that the trailer is over capacity with that load. The tree was dropped Tuesday or Wednesday. Going slow, Audi TT Brakes front and rear and electric trailer brakes make stopping easy. The diesel gets it going pretty well for only a 1.9 liter (it ain't stock tho.... )


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## banshee67 (Oct 15, 2010)

esshup said:


> Yeah, I'm pretty sure that the trailer is over capacity with that load. The tree was dropped Tuesday or Wednesday. Going slow, Audi TT Brakes front and rear and electric trailer brakes make stopping easy. The diesel gets it going pretty well for only a 1.9 liter (it ain't stock tho.... )



well, you didnt buy it to under load, did you?  it must have at least 2990 weight rating right? you probably arnt too much over that, those are conservative ratings anyway 
trailer brakes, and the diesel motor, nice combo for sure, i bet you get some funny looks from guys in their pickups huh?


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## woodman44 (Oct 15, 2010)

I sell a pile of it for camp firewood it will get very light when dry. It is also one of the best for splitting you will love it.


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## esshup (Oct 15, 2010)

Definately! The trailer is rated at 3500 gvw. Being all aluminum, empty it weighs slightly over 700#.

What's nice about the car is the highway economy. I bumped up (or down depending on how you look at it) 5th gear, so it's even more of an overdrive.
Even with the chip, injectors and other goodies it still gets 50+ mpg on the highway, and if I watch it I can get over 60. Just to say I did it, I did 2 tanks back to back not going over 65 mph, easy on the go pedal to get up to speed, etc., and I averaged slightly better than 63 mpg - over 1,000 miles per tank (16 gallon tank). Bigger brakes = 1/2 mpg hit. Lighter wheels gained the lost mpg back.

I haven't taken a long trip towing a large load, but it still gets in the mid 40's pulling a 4x8 trailer with 2' tall sides and about 1,000# load. Here to Tenn. and back.

Even so, I really need to buy a pick-up. Less wear and tear on it, and some things you just need a real truck for!


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## dingeryote (Oct 15, 2010)

NICE LOAD!!!

"Tulip" is some heavy wet stuff!!!

It's mostly water though, and after a year in the split pile it will weigh next to nothing. 

It's good shoulder season stuff though, and great for quick hot starts in the mornings.

Well worth the time to split.

Been running it here all week, and the only drawback is LOTS of ash, but that's what the bucket is for. LOL!!

Stay safe!
Dingeryote


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## esshup (Oct 15, 2010)

Thanks guys. For the 1/2 gallon of gas that I used, it was well worth it.


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## mhyme71 (Oct 16, 2010)

any ideas why i dont see the pics ?


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## esshup (Oct 16, 2010)

No idea. They are still there.


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## Streblerm (Oct 17, 2010)

I would say Tulip is equivalent to silver maple as far a BTU per cord. We call it "tulip poplar" around here even though it is related to the magnolia, not poplar.

I cut and split several cords of it back in June/July. It is seasoned and ready to burn now. I took a large split and cut it in half the other day. It measured 15% moisture in the center. We have had an unusually warm and dry summer, but that is still some pretty fast seasoning. Especially if you consider how wet and heavy it was when cut. It will dry and lose significant weight in just the first week.

It is a really nice splitting wood, except for those 36+ inch butt pieces. It just "pops" apart when hit with a maul, maybe that's why it is called poplar around here? I was dealing with some 40"+ butt pieces. My maul and Fiskars just bounced off them. The splitter even strained and then suddenly...POP it just comes apart.

It has a nice green color when freshly split and the heartwood is even darker, another similarity to poplar. As it dries, it loses the green and dries kind of a yellowish color.


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## 4seasons (Oct 17, 2010)

Tulip poplar is just called poplar around here. No one I know burns the stuff, but that is because of plenty of oak and hickory around. It holds a lot of water when green and therefore a lot of weight. I find it hard to split green, seems like the water turns it into a wet sponge and the maul just bounces off. On a real cold day or when it is dry it should split no problem. As far as heat value I would put it somewhere between elm and cedar.


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## mhrischuk (Nov 26, 2011)

So what is the BTU rating of Tulip Poplar? I am having a hard time finding out since most of the charts do not seem to list it. Unusual since it's one of the more prolific trees here in the North East.


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## REJ2 (Nov 26, 2011)

Sycamore is another heavy green wood, but dries rather lite.


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## stumpy75 (Nov 26, 2011)

Googled Tuliptree BTU

Popular Science - Google Books


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## Chris-PA (Nov 26, 2011)

I have a lot of the stuff as our land was logged off maybe 15 years ago and they left it. Right now I don't have any split because it's over on a harder to get to part of the property, but I miss it. I guess it's about half the btu's of an oak or ash log, but it cuts easy, splits easy, and it's straight grained so it stacks nice. It's really nice to have a piece to throw in in the morning as it catches right off. It burns hot and clean, so it helps keep the firebox temperature up when you throw it in with other denser wood.


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