Seasoning times. What species of wood burns hot and long and doesn't need to be seasoned

[Shuee Electric]

If I remember correctly locust burns well regardless if it is seasoned or not. I am running short on time winter will be here in a couple of months. What species of wood burns got and long and doesn't need to be seasoned for more than a couple months?

 

[hanniedog]

Look for dead ash trees.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Poplar (cottonwood, aspen, etc) dries quickly. Burns hot, but not long though, almost like burning cardboard.
I burn it at home and we heat a big shop with it.

 

[macattack_ga]

silver maple seasons pretty quickly and burns hot, but not too long. kinda late for this season...

 

[Babaganoosh]

Compressed wood bricks

 

[kingOFgEEEks]

Coal!

Just kidding (or am I?). I would look for standing dead ash to start the winter, and then locust for the deep cold months.

Don't try to burn locust as shoulder wood - you will heat yourself out of the house.

 

[unclemoustache]

Here's a link here:
http://forestry.usu.edu/htm/forest-products/wood-heating

That doesn't give seasoning times for different woods though. Generally the softer-lighter the wood, the less time it takes to season. You can get away with a couple months for things like poplar and soft maple, but Red Oak will take 1 year at a minimum. However, any wood will burn, you just need to be ready to deal with the consequences of burning green wood if you need to.

 

[esshup]

With EAB running rampant here in Indiana, I second the standing dead ash recommendation. Get busy cutting and splitting this weekend. Single row stacks, covered on top, sides open.

From Labor Day weekend (how appropriate - cutting/splitting IS labor) until you will need it, figure on 2, maybe 2 1/2 months at the most.

 

[zogger]

You can speed up drying a lot by altering how you buck the wood up. (But I will second ash and tulip poplar as your best fast bets).

Take what wood you got handy, and instead of bucking to regular length and splitting, make more bucking cuts and cut fat cookies, like 4-5 inches thick. Bust em into pie slices and stack those, criss cross, however. They will dry a lot faster than regular splits. Yes, more cutting but you'll get dry wood, so burn less, and less potential creosote buildup.

 

[CaseyForrest]

Even standing dead ash will still be wet. I burned some last winter that has been on the ground for what has to be 6+ years. It hissed quite a bit.

 

[Cheesecutter]

I would go for standing dead elm, especially the tops.

 

[bwalker]

Oak of any type takes a long time.to dry, even if it's been standing dead for 5 years or more. sugar maple dries pretty good when split.
The BTU content of wood is set by its density. Given this there is no way crappy wood like aspen and poplar burn hot.

 

[lindnova]

Most standing wood around here will still be wet. Standing Pine or elm with the bark off are usually dry and ready to burn.

 

[Deleted member 83629]

railroad ties or old telephone poles work good

 

[rmotoman]

Hedge burns good with a couple of months to dry. I have done it many times. Even in the middle of the winter it dries fast.

 

[square1]

Ash. Even before EAB you could drop a white ash and burn it that day. Standing dead is just a space saving firewood storage method.

 

[haveawoody]

2 months of drying time and the only full tree ready to burn is silver maple and just barely ready, really needs 90 summer drying days or longer.
The branch wood from any standing dead tree should be fine to burn 2 months after it's split.
The main tree wood wont be ready for 3 months to 2 years depending on the species and conditions of the tree.

It will all burn but trading fast for chimney fire is a bad trade.

Dead Ash branch wood, any other dead species branch wood and silver maple trees are what your looking for IMO

 

[AIM]

Wet locust might burn for some but it doesn't burn worth a damn for me. If it's seasoned I love it.

 

[blades]

Compressed wood blocks , coal, some pallets ( some times even pallets arn't all that dry), Wife's fancy furniture, construction lumber ( not the plywood or composites through) Build a kiln to dry wood in. Long and short first 3 items- even standing dead bark off is going to need some drying time except maybe the upper 1/3, rest of it will likely have too much residual moisture and not really throw any heat. This is when we hear the complaints about no or poor heating, jammed up flues and the like. Might check around your are for a sawmill type - Slab wood dries fairly quickly if stickered and stacked in the wind with top cover. Pretty much anything you stack now will need top covering.

 

[NSMaple1]

Unicorn or sasquatch wood.

Take & post a pic though if you find some - it's pretty elusive.