I didnt try yet, but will buck a round and give it go. The fresh cut green frozen elm i split years back (probably over 15 years ago) split easily straight through like it was ash! I did hand split red elm in late Spring. See my thread Hand splitting red elm
I v been getting the pine, but mostly iv been splitting, stacking and selling. Im going out for more ash tomorrow. Whitney has also had me busy with chores because we are having alot of people here on Christmas eve. However il on vacation for 10 days so its on!!!!!
So I have various splits of elm in this years wood. To confirm my previous 2 experiences with this species, I set a few aside so I could load the stove with nothing but. I did and low and behold at the bottom of my firebox is a friggin' mess. I open the door and shake the grates vigorously and see large block(s) that do not break up like normal ash. I had to use my poker to break them up to the size that would fall through to the ash pan. Removed the pan and took a vid to show you all what elm is like [for me]. And, it's consistent. Every time I've burnt the sh1t, this is what I get. I AM DONE. After it's all, I will not bring elm onto my property again. I'm over it. Send me your address and I'll ship it to you next time, from the site it's cut... Did it produce good heat, yes. Was it easy to cut, yes. Did it absolutely fight the splitter, yes. Did it create hard bricks of ash, yes. And btw, these pics were of the same tree that produced the bricks above.
No worries. I was actually laughing at it. Guess its a love/hate relationship with the stuff! Those pics of the shredded elm are one of my favorites!
buZZsaw BRAD Nice...my kinda score! Seeing you take home a score like that is like a trophy tuna fisherman taking home some blue fish, but for me that's a great day so
I've got elm splits that look just like Wolverines pix. I have a hydraulic splitter and it was still sssllllooooowwww going (full cyle every time, then still fighting to get it apart), LOL... Future Elm is slated for the bonfire pile. It is a very fast growing tree. Too bad it's such a PITA to split.
I've found that it depends where the Elm was grown...not all of it makes those clinkers (for me) I've found that Oak will do that too...as a matter a fact, I've probably had it from Oak more than Elm.
Interesting. I've not had it on oak. It was more like one big clunker! You'd have seen it if I would have let the coals burn out and pulled it out in one piece.
Knowing now how your stove operates and is designed, any clinkers you get would absolutely be a pita. In a traditional stove, you just scoop them out easy peasy when you empty ashes. I must've put on a piece of Siberian elm in last night, as there was a clinker in my stove this am. At least for me, it's a simple thing to empty with an ash shovel. The clinkers don't always happen with elm, but you know when they do.
If you don't have a push through splitter, it will be a pita to split. With a push through the, you simply put another log on and then it will split if it takes the full stroke. All horizontal/ vertical splitters are not push through type, from what I've seen, and those where the wedge is on the cylinder and moves, will be a pita, like all the H/V splitters are. I'm working on box elder now. It's super easy to split compared to elm, and the yard bird ash trees I've been processing. Honestly, these yard ash trees are as bad to split as the elm. Both burn great, so I don't care.
Ya I did find when it's really cold out and the Elm has been sitting in the cold for a few days it splits much easier.I still bring my sledge and wedge just it case it gets stubborn.
I came up with this idea to help split elm. I first bolted it together but then I had it welded. It keeps the wood a few inches from the base and allows the wedge to go all the way thru the round. Since it is steel, it won't fall apart like using another piece of wood.
I know I’ve said it before when this topic comes up, so I apologize if you’ve heard it before: but the kinetic splitter slices through elm pretty nicely. It’s like hitting it with a 28 ton Fiskars x27! I used to hate splitting elm with the hydraulic, but it’s a non-issue now.
Thanks for the kind words! I kinda miss hoarding this way...stop, grab, n' load I went shark fishing once and caught a flatfish, guess it was a fluke! Hows it going with the critter issue?
Thanks for asking buZZsaw BRAD. Since I last spoke I caught 20 mice. They come in waves with severe cold or wet weather though it's really quieting down now and my last mouse was 2 days ago. I caught most with the victor traps manually adjusted to snap at the slightest breeze. The majority were caught over a 5 day stretch a week ago...the secret bait... Caramel. They can't just lick it off safely and you can keep on resetting the trap without new bait. Then I had to deal with squirrels in the attic which I discovered my fears were realized as I found they actually did cause electric damage. They chewed up wires by where their nest enters into the attic. Funny story how I discovered the damage....I bought one of those electric rodent traps at the same time I bought a Havahart EZ set trap. I had both traps up to see which one was best. The Havaheart trap with the easy set handle is awesome with it's sensitive and easy to load and release design. It's about $15 more than the basic model but so worth it! ... and you can manually set it to be extremely sensitive with a small screw dial. So on the second day using both traps I already caught one squirrel in the havahart cage when I lifted up the electric trap I noticed the bait gone and the plug wire had been bitten clean though! They essentially dismantled the bomb ...lucky bastards haha! It was then I decided to get on my knees and investigate the wires going under the attic floor boards and noticed they chewed off the wire insulation on a few wires including some phone lines. Everything still works, but my brothers are coming over for a Christmas visit next week for some drinks and a little electrical repair. The Havahart trap Caught a second squirrel and It's quiet in the attic now so that may be it. If I banged the exterior attic wall before the traps I would hear them scurrying around inside their nest, but now ....crickets.
Wow Eric, you gotta patent that thing! It's ingenious, and I'm sure it has other applications besides stringy elm.
That well definitely help on a H/V splitter. I still think a push through splitter is best for elm though.
A push thru splitter would be best but this old Speeco is what I am stuck with. Does everything I ask of it and doesn't work any faster than me
