I have limited experience with elm, I did get a couple loads a while back. It was dead and standing or off ground with no bark. Some pieces split perfect and other pieces were like a giant piece of rope and the Hydro just shredded it and some were even from the same tree and split like night and day.
This old girl was hit by lightning 4 years ago. I stopped at the house last year and expressed my interest. He said he'd let me know when he pushed it over. He kept his word. Pushed it over Wednesday with a JD 4420. Said it wasn't an easy push either. Went over today and bucked her up. Will load it it up next weekend. Ran outta energy today. 30+ mph wind gusts take there tole on a man's spirit. Saw chips everywhere no matter which way I stood. Am curious to check moisture content, I would imagine it's ready to go now. We will tell in a week. About 30"dbh. Some inner rot on a few limbs but plenty of good left.
I have burned my share of elm. Around here it is all Siberian Elm. When cut while wet it does have an odor to it but when dried out there is no smell and when burned while dry it has no smell. Just BTU's But to answer the OP's question it is because of the smell that it has the nick name.
Gavorosalini I have burned a few species of trees hit by lightning; all were dry. I seen it happen 3 times close, the moisture in tree become steam instantly causing bark and branches to explode..
I also wonder about elm varieties. In WV river bottom land we see a lot of what we call “slippery elm”. No idea what it actually is, but it seems to like being near creek beds/river. Never noticed a bad smell, but burns good following one year of seasoning. Place in the ash category of solid mid grade wood. We have noticed that when cutting the same tree (dead or green) portions of the tree are stringy and twisted. Others cut cleanly. I’ve heard this because the tree continuously chases the sun through the day, twisting up the fibers. But not sure the difference between the stringy stuff and the cleaner splitting stuff. Solid BTUs. We stack it.
Lotta good reasons given already, but I’ll add to the list. Agree with Chvymn99 around here píss elm is a reference to Siberian Elm which typically has a white stripe down the side. That white stripe is caused by something called bacterial wet wood. It’s actually a type of fermentation of the sap that takes place in the major branch unions. Usually in the spring the products of that fermentation leak down the side of the tree in a slimy smelly trail causing the distinct smell they are so named for.
You can learn something new here everyday. Not sure exactly what elm we have around here but it does smell pizz-ish. Burns good though.
I've had a little bit of red elm before and did like it more than the Siberian or American. Curious what makes it appear as a red to you? Hoping to learn a little something maybe.
To me the color of the wood in the picture looks reddish vs more white like the other elms. Maybe just the picture or my old eyes.
I can see what your saying. I may be able to tell better when i start splitting it. From my limited experience, red splits easier and cleaner than Siberian.
Now that actually makes sense. I've never heard that explanation, and it makes sense. However, we don't really have much Siberian elm here. The only Siberian elm I've even processed was deliver to my house by a tree service before it was too big for their processor. It burnt great and split easily compared to American elm. I think the Siberian elm is a notch below American elm BTU wise though.
Yeah I think you’re correct it’s not quite up there with red or American elm for btus but still pretty good firewood. I get that elm can be challenging to split by hand, but I’ve never had trouble with it using a splitter. Like others have said I simply wait until the bark is falling off to process it. You only make the mistake of trying to process green elm once.
