Much as people like to call it gopher wood, it burns reasonably well around here. A few of us have mused that it might be more dense in colder climates.
Howdy neighbor. I found that it does make heat....not great, but not completely useless either. I also found that the amount of ash that's left behind is just incredible. I stick to pine and spruce around here, and birch when I come across it
I got 6.25 cord of free poplar two years ago. I intend to heat my house with it pretty much all winter. Works great for that too!
I have a very small stand of Bigtooth Aspen and burn a little every year. They frequently break in half with a strong storm or tip over for some reason. I do like the wood though (my softest/lightest lowest BTU wood for sure). Great for starting a fire, burning down coals in the AM and getting quick heat when needed.
I've burned about 3 cords of tulip poplar and pine over the last 3 years. It was left laying in the log yard after my neighbor's loggers left. I CSS fast as I could and it dried in 9 months. Great shoulder season and daytime/weekend wood. The IS is a big stove and uses every available BTU, so it works good for me.
Poplar gets so light when dry. Splits feel like you’re holding balsa wood at times if it’s been split and dried well.
We've got 3 - 12' dump trailers of tulip poplar I need to CSS, some is 18-24" dia, nobody with a mill around here wanted to give us any $$, so I'll burn it and get some BTU's for myself. I think the Drolet with like it, it burned our soft maple well.
I have burned some Aspen from time to time, it's ok stuff. I'm not sure what the btu content is but I will take Aspen over white fir.
I've c/s/s one aspen tree lately . A smidge over 1/2 cord of firewood. It was right in the back yard so I figured, why not. Burned it one Fall . I think pine burns a little hotter albeit maybe a little faster.
I must have about 6 cord of tulip and catalpa mix to burn this year in three different Woodstock stoves. Mostly mine I’ll bet I’m not too worried about it. It’ll burn. Some big ol hombres.
Totally agree environmental factors play a big part in species development. In addition to cold, elevation is one that plays a major role in the density of soft wood trees like poplar. Generally the higher the elevation the more dense the wood.
I have a sneaking suspicion that is correct. We have quaking aspen here at roughly 7000 feet and above. From what people on the east coast say you think it was absolutely horrible but we burn it here all the time. It’s not the best but it works. It’s a little better than pine here and burns cleaner.
Can we add Sassafrass to the list? Just got three trailer loads after lunch from the neighbor. I just drove around the perimeter of his property and he and his son threw it on. I started cutting the bigger stuff for them once they got tired. He burns wood but didn’t want it as it won’t last while he’s at work. I convinced him to keep a little for weekend burns.
I just installed our IS, Im curious as to what kind of burn times you get out of your IS if you fill it up with poplar? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Great. I have to cut a sassy occasionally just so I can enjoy the smell of that stuff. Love it! As a bonus, the leaves are gorgeous in the fall.