Been busy but been slacking on the pictures just realized I haven’t taken any yet. Well my brother found some red oak on FB that was in someone’s backyard for almost 10 years apparently so got that all split. I also got another delivery from Chipdrop containing mostly Siberian elm but also what I believe to be black locust please correct me if I’m wrong. I just wanted to give a little update
The Summer heat doesn't slow you down. The FHC spirit is alive and well in Detroit. Yes that is black locust. GREAT score!
Luckily my splitting area is all shade so it’s not too bad plus working on roofs all day I’m used to the heat lol But glad to know it’s locust I separated all of it from the Siberian elm that I’m going to get rid of.
It can be miserable to split even with a hydro and I don't think he has one. I try to avoid it for that reason, but will take if easy.
I love Siberian elm if it is standing dead and barkless. Splits almost as easily as red oak in my experience and puts out heat way above what you see in the btu charts…right there with the little bit of oak that we have in this area. Cut when alive and green it is a completely different animal. It doesn’t split, it shreds, and never does put out the heat like standing dead, no matter how long you let it season.
Exactly! Well stated. I’ve always wondered why it doesn’t burn the same when taken alive and then allowed to dry for many years, as it does when taken standing dead and barkless. Whatever the reason, standing dead barkless elm is my favorite
I've only gotten American and a little slippery (red) elm before, but not Siberian elm yet. I've seen plenty of planted specimens and quite a few escaped trees around though. I concur that dead elm burns exponentially better than live cut and dried.
So a question about elm as we don’t have any this far South. Would felling the tree green and letting it stay in log form work better? Or does it deteriorate once cut even if not allowed ground contact?
I love standing dead elm and have a bunch of it but as for this green Siberian elm I would rather sell it I have a bunch of elm as it is
I have felled it green and bucked into 16” rounds and let it sit for up to 3 years. Bark usually falls off when you split it and it generally splits a lot easier than green, but it still doesn’t produce heat like standing dead. Don’t ask me why, but I know from a lot of experience with elm that it’s true.
Absolutely love standing dead elm it was almost all I burned one year when I first got into it. I have one in the backyard I’m waiting for the bark to fall off so I can cut it down
