Be wary of using Russian olive wood in an open fireplace. Burning green wood is bad for any number of reasons, but especially so when the wood has a high sap content. Latest data that Ive read is that seasoned softwoods causing creosote problems is baloney. Redgum is differentiated from just about all other Australian woods for firewood, for its lasting and heat, and difficulty to get going. Russian olive sprouts from the root crown and sends up root suckers. Is Lodgepole Pine Good Firewood? - Theyardable Russian olive | Hearth.com Forums Home This wood is best suited to turned objects, in my experience, as the irregular wood and knots tend to make it hard to work with anything duller than a razor blade.Since I find that irregular woods seem to do well on the lathe, I use it for turnings, as it is very figured and I think it looks quite nice. As a result, a cord of wood may only have 70-90 cubic feet of actual solid wood. Hardwoods, ideally should be two years old, but one year is a minimum in the northeast. Even when thoroughly seasoned, it does tend to spit embers sporadically. I am planting some of the Eastern varieties out here that we had in PA. Alex is a writer with a huge passion for the outdoors. Hope to experiment with salmon. The National Fire Protection Association suggests that you hire a chimney cleaner to remove creosote build-up at least once a year. #1. As has been said, quite unpleasant. When its cold out, I seem less lazy to get up in the middle of the night to keep the fire hot overnight. Anyone know how this rates as firewood? Wood has close to the same BTU per dry pound regardless of species. The issue is that Russian olive is hard to buy as firewood and difficult to process in large quantities as opposed to hackberry for example. It does have a more bitter, eye burning smoke than most woods. --. Some have more heat than others but if you already have it you might as well cut it up and burn it. My preferred woods for the Jotul are cherry, sugar maple, and Norwegian maple. Im here in S.E. I like to drag it out into the open on a log chain with the tractor. My chimney has never had to be cleaned because of burning hedge that has been dead for many years, plus the fact that it burns so hot. Russian olive wood is not known to give off a smell when burning when it is fully dry. I live in Mn and it smells just like fresh cut oak. The good news is that virtually all of the time, they say yes. Seasoning time is reduced if the tree has been dead for months. Douglas fir is Pseudotsuga, menzizii for the man who identified it. 4) White birch (Betula papirifera) and Paper birch are used replaceably locally for the same species. Less dense softwoods have less BTU per cord than more dense hardwood but they also weigh less per cord. The idea for Russian olive pieces didn't come until late last year. See my page on donating wood samples for more info. According to wikipedia bradford pear trees originally come from China. Well seasoned softwoods, including the pines, firs and spruces can be burned for heat. That's when Bishop decided he wanted to make furniture with wood from his family's farm, situated 30 miles east of Brady . As with most BTU charts I have seen available, some of the numbers may be a little off, but are in the general ballpark. The wood will not keep very well even on a rack I have had it rot out. IT IS USELESS FOR FIREWOOD BECAUSE OF THE LITTLE/NO HEAT OUTPUT, BUT MAINLY ITS TOO DANGEROUS TO BURN INDOORS, AS IT POPS AND EXPLODES AND THROWS SPARKS EVERYWHERE. Weve been lucky the past years to find eucalyptus but have been offered almond this season. The ongoing extinction of the Ash,all species,is supplying Starting a fire with Russian olive can be challenging, so try to use softwood for kindling. Im guessing that the Hemlock that I can get is eastern soft wood correct 15.9? It doesnt seem to put out much ash, but does put out some real heat. Just curious what kind of energy we are getting from them compared to the cords of hardwood we buy. . There is of course no obligation, but if youd like to give back and ensure that the project continues to grow, consider supporting me on Patreon. The dense, deeply creviced bark makes a perfect hideout for spiders and insects. Don't burn it until it has seasoned for at least one year. My Ontario woodlot is in the Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence Forest Region, which includes conifers white and red pines, hemlock, eastern white cedar, white spruce and balsam fir; and decidu0us sugar, red and silver maples, red and white oak, beech, bitternut and shagbark hickory, white and black ash, yellow and white birch, trembling and largetooth aspen, basswood, butternut, black cherry, ironwood, blue beech, occasional cottonwoods and surviving white elms (and others I probably left out). We just called them hedge trees. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Live Edge Slabs, Cookies, Russian Olive, Epoxy River Table at the best online prices at eBay! These firewood BTU charts compare the heat energy ratings and weight of common firewood species. The more dense a wood is, the more weight and BTU it will have. Otherwise, you may, Read More The Ultimate Firewood Storage Guide For 2023Continue, The dogwood tree is a flowering deciduous that is native to the eastern parts of the United States, Europe, and eastern Asia. As temperatures warm in the Animas River Valley, this tree could become more prolific, and create a monoculture along our rivers and streams. I BELIEVE THE CEDAR HES TALKING ABOUT IS INCENSE CEDAR. hope this helped you. I need something to mix in wit the pine though to burn overnight. Read to find out. I OWED A SAWMILL IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MTNS (LK ARROWHEAD, BIG BEAR AREA) AND THERE WAS ALOT OF THAT THERE (AS WELL AS IN NORTHERN CALI). Would I still be allergic to it or was that just to its pollen? Well-seasoned olive burns clean and produces a light and fragrant smoke. I grew up on a homestead and I am here to share the knowledge I have and things I learn while living in the countryside. There is some conflicting data between different sources due to different calculating variables. Last night I was turning and sanding a natural edge bowl from this wood, leading to a pronounced and long-lasting allergic reaction in the airways (runny nose, asthma, ..). There was a guy down the road whose stove completely melted when he filled it with all hedge. They don't produce as many large pieces of firewood as taller tree varieties, but the branches make good kindling. Its quite nice really, light to handle, splits like nothing and puts off a nice blue flame at the coals. That means youll need a powerful maul or hydraulic splitter. Fresh cut it has a sap like a pine in the outer bark but overall it contains a lot of water depending on the time of year it is cut. Are they actually different species? It is recommended that you use a mixture of firewood when starting a fire instead of relying solely on Russian olive to get it going. The average efficiency rating is around 19.9 million BTU per cord. It does give off some pretty decent heat. It does get hotter than the Red Oak and leaves hot coals. Store firewood somewhere constantly dry and airy. Old growth Western Red Cedar,while it makes for the very best kindling,will burn TOO hot and damage a wood stove or insert!!!! They had a good mid-size flame and burned a long time. Not good for firewood but great for woodworking. THAT IS THE SWEET-SMELLING AROMIC CEDAR THEY LINE CLOSETS WITH. The answer for me was a wood splitter, which does a nice job with it and the hardwoods I also use. they r clean , no bark or bugs, hard as a rock & burn hot! Much like poplar firewood varieties, the wood from the Russian olive in most cases is easy to split. So long as youre only burning good hardwoods and/or clean white (non-glossy/colored) paper stock and kindling, you should spread your ashes on your favorite acreage for the potash. It does have thorns and it is easy to work. Russian olive is usually a straight grain wood, but as it grows older, the trunk tends to grow extremely thick and stringy, making it almost impossible to spit with a maul. There are some issues out here in the west that may not be present in other areas, just a heads up if it helps. At ~$75/ton which is about the same dimension size as a cord of wood, it has about 6-7X the btu value of any cord of wood. Creosote cannot form in such an environment. A kilowatt-hour (kwh) of electricity is equivalent to 3,400 Btu. In the dead of winter find a pine tree that you want to cut. One random ember could quickly start an unwanted fire. Patricia in DE. We do have one wood burning fire place, and when the big ice storm hit February 2021, knocking out our power for a week, we used that fire place for heat. However, if you are burning firewood throughout the year then you should do this more often. It also won't burn and will produce excess smoke. The manzanita and white alder need more research. The olive woods sweetness helps balance the slightly bitter hickory smoke. It is a decent fuel, but very heavy when green and very light when dry. Any comment when compare to other oaks>, how much does a chord of juniper firewood cost. Or, if the wood is worth your effort. I live in an area surrounded by Russian Olive trees. Do You have Russian Olive on your land?Contact Amanda Kuenzi Depending on the types of conditions that the Russian olive tree was growing in, it may be carrying a higher moisture content than you expect. But as one reader noted, all species have roughly the same BTU potential per pound. For all the work of cutting and curing any variety of wood, coal is the BEST for heating. Have a friend with a fireplace?, bundle about a dozen of the fat lighter sticks with a ribbon and this makes a great gift. You are correct Bill, wood has about the same BTU per weight. Cheers fellow wood burners! Firewood BTU Charts and Ratings - Northwest Forest Products Do you think that it is worthwhile to cut and split this to burn next year? But since then, they have spread wildly due to their deep, re-sprouting roots. This can help you decide what the best firewood type is for your needs. Back in the day they used to use the limbs for fence posts and the wood would last decades in the ground with out rotting. For campfires, olive makes an excellent choice. It burns so well I mix it with red elm, mulberry, or ash. Ill cut a limb, and if its yellow inside its hedge. Theyre all gone around here.. Mullberry has a short lifespan and is very rot resistant so they are quite easy to find here in west Tennessee. The red fir name comes from the beautiful red color of the heartwood. I seem to remember that all wood has roughly the same BTU content PER WEIGHT. Stack the wood in a dry, protected area. Thanks. Does anyone know anything about using it for firewood. Had it rebuilt for speed and efficiency but yet to use it. I dont have the ratings for that maple, but you can always weigh it and get a general idea that way. First is IronWood. A hot and dry climate will help speed up olive firewood seasoning. Let it cook for about 2 hrs or until the flames from the gases slow down from spewing out the holes in the bucket lid. But it does burn off a substantial amount of ash. Wood needs to typically produce healthy goals to allow the fire to stay hot and restart in the morning. THE EARLY SNOW STORM DAMAGED A LOT OF TREES HERE IN ORANGE COUNTY NY. Persimmon is one of the most dense wood around this area. It is a hardwood that can produce a lot of heat for a long time. Originally, Russian olives were planted in America to act as a windbreaker and soil stabilizers. Im in Northwest Washington; originally from Southwest PA. We have lots of cedar, fir, hemlock, silver maple, oak, and madrona. I have been looking for the B.T.U. Russian olive is the only variety of its kind, but it does go by many names. Some of the heaviest green wood is among the lightest when dry. Copyright 20082023 Eric Meier. It burns with a big bright flame then turns into a big bed of red hot coals that burn forever . Their distinctive appearance makes them a popular ornamental, Read More Is Willow Firewood Any Good?Continue. Never park under one when thay have hedge apples on them. Campfires need much radiant heat to keep you warm on a chilly night . I noticed a lack of information on Hickory. Mulberry burns wonderfully, but gets so hot it put a crack in our first cast-iron stove when it was used as a full load, so we only use one piece at a time with other woods. Thanks for all the input!!!!!! Love reading the comments from Andy. Love hard maples when I can get my hands on them. Or, if the wood is worth your effort. WE DID HOWEVER, CUT AND SPLIT ALOT INTO FIREWOOD FOR, OF ALL PEOPLE, THE BAREFOOT FIREWALKERS!