Have You Burned Poplar ?

[Egon]

Good old poplar. There are places that it is about the only wood available for burning.

It's got the same BTU content per pound as oak or say maple.:thumbsup:

If it's free take it. At -20 it splits real easy!

 

[PossumHound]

There are basically 2 kinds of poplar being discussed here........In the north it is small in diameter and short lived........The southern tree, tulip poplar grows up to 3' in diameter and lives quite a long life............Both are soft, burn readily, and are really trash trees as far as the wood burning situation.......Tulip poplar though, is used for pulp and as cheap hidden parts of furniture, such as couch frames.........

Anyway........for me.....neither is great for heat production and they are treated as weed type trees in my firewood harvesting efforts.......God bless........Dennis

Big Tulip Poplars also are used for plywood veneer. It's so soft it can easily be peeled into wide thin sheets. It brings good money when sold for that purpose-I know, I sold some to a timberer once.

PH

 

[boxygen]

I have a bunch of box alder I'll give you.

I cut down and burned a box elder once. The smoke smells so bad its almost intolerable.

As others have said though, free poplar - fire it up! :thumbsup:

 

[Skyco]

I don't actively look for poplar when I'm cutting firewood, but- they blow down all the time at my mountain camp. Not gonna let them lay there and rot..they get split, dried and into the woodstove at home. I try to avoid cutting standing trees, enough of various types blow down that so far I'm kept well supplied. If its a blowdown and I can get to it, cut/split/stacked/ burned.



Egon mentioned they have the same BTU per pound as oak. Yep- I've read ALL seasoned firewood has the about the same BTU per pound.
Difference is an oak/hickory/poplar piece has more total BTUs than a poplar piece of the same size but pound for pound it is the same.

 

[CTPhil]

I have a bunch of box alder I'll give you.

I've burned a lot of box elder. Does it come cut and split? :laughing:

 

[Andy in Gap]

It burns ok but I hate burning it because it leaves large amounts of white fluffy ash behind. You've got to shovel them out constantly, and they're so light they become airborne and make a mess. I don't mind throwing logs on the fire, but I don't like shoveling ashes.

 

[scott_vt]

Yes, I've burned Poplar to erase any and all evidence that I thoroughly screwed up a wood project.:laughing:

Good Mornin SandburRanch,
That was great ! Being a fellow wood worker I can sympathize !

On a positive note, I have used poplar numerous times for furniture legs etc, it stains and paints easily, and when dry stays straight and true after milling, good stuff to work with on certain projects. I made a nice hall table, cherry top, qwith poplar legs and skirt, cherry drawers, and the poplar was stained forest green... fun project !

Just be careful with it Scotty as it will burn hot and quickly. Typical type of fire that start the chimney a blaze.

Wayne

Good Mornin Wayne,
Im thinking of mixing it in with other hard woods, so hopefully that will work out !

Good old poplar. There are places that it is about the only wood available for burning.

It's got the same BTU content per pound as oak or say maple.:thumbsup:

If it's free take it. At -20 it splits real easy!

Good Mornin Egon,
That first sentence is interesting ! Burn what you got, ehhh !

Ill pass on the -20 !

 

[bironacad]

I don't actively look for poplar when I'm cutting firewood, but- they blow down all the time at my mountain camp. Not gonna let them lay there and rot..they get split, dried and into the woodstove at home. I try to avoid cutting standing trees, enough of various types blow down that so far I'm kept well supplied. If its a blowdown and I can get to it, cut/split/stacked/ burned.



Egon mentioned they have the same BTU per pound as oak. Yep- I've read ALL seasoned firewood has the about the same BTU per pound.
Difference is an oak/hickory/poplar piece has more total BTUs than a poplar piece of the same size but pound for pound it is the same.

Density

Takes more loads of popular (lol) to equal a load of maple. I like it for marginal heating days and starting fires, generally I have enough that blows down to keep me going. It also has a pleasant aroma when burning.

 

[Egon]

Ill pass on the -20 !
__________________

When you are using an Axe for Splitting the -20 is no problem.

You'll be down to shirt sleeves in no time.

 

[Tig]

Free wood is free heat. I have a wood shed out front that I keep softwood in. I like to clean it out annually by burning it in campfires and for heat in the fall.