Just a little bit of Elm that a guy from church told me was at his farm. Not bad for an hour of cutting and loading by myself. I'm going to get my boys to help me cut and load more tomorrow after church. This is the rest of it. There's plenty more in the grass that you can't see.
Is Elm good to burn? I know ANY free wood is good, lol, but I’ve heard people say it’s hard to split and not worth getting. Does it take long to dry? If it’s good, there’s a pile for free just a few miles from us! We’ve been driving right past it!?? ~Lissa
I find some elm worse than others. American (white heartwood) stinks big time. Red and (Siberian, I think) are not too bad. Some will just pop apart by looking at them.
Elm is a pain to split sometimes. After its split it tends to be very stringy, even more so than cottonwood. I hit the stringy stuff with a hatchet to get it all the way apart. Its a great wood to burn . It just doesn't split as easy as ashes, maples and oaks.
Not all "FREE" firewood is good firewood. If its rotten or growing mushrooms in or on it probably shouldn't be in your stacks. The only one that I will not go after anymore, is box elder. I'll burn it in my outdoor firepit, but it is not coming in the house ever again.
Elm is pretty much my staple firewood, probably 75% or better of what I burn. I have a splitter so it’s no big deal splitting it. I’d be on that pile like a duck on a June bug!
Yes, elm can often be hard to split by hand due to its stringiness but if you have a hydro splitter or can rent one it becomes a moot point. Once it’s dried all the elm I’ve ever burned was excellent firewood.
