I have a bunch of aspens that are down from a storm this winter, and am busy bringing them in and cutting them up. I wouldn't normally choose to burn them, but they are what blew down, so I am going to give it a try. Anyone burn aspen here? How long do they take to season? Should I split them big or small? I intend to burn them next winter if dry, as I suspect they will start to rot if I go 2 years. Any thoughts? Greg
I know we live on opposite ends of the US, can't say I've ever had any before. Maple and oak are so plentiful here I might not even recognize aspen
I've burned bigtooth aspen here - fine for taking the chill off on a warmer day - burned hot and fast. Cheers!
As a child in Colorado my father was grateful when he had some aspen to burn (he was a Colorado native). He talked about the nice smell. Sorry I can't account for seasoning time but I think it's soft wood so may season faster than hard wood but that was a dry climate. I do remember a Quaking Aspen cut down from the landscaping that was bucked, cut (not split) that was in the back yard for several years. My childhood home was heated with NG so fires were far and few between, I remember my father's admiration of Quaking Aspen though.
We have a good bit of it here in Wisconsin. I've burned it most years, including this year. It burns quickly, but dries quickly too. Split it to help it dry quicker.
I have a good bit of it here, in fact I'm heating with it right now. I like it for the 40-50 degree days; anything harder and it gets too hot in the house. It dries faster than any other wood I've ever burned - 1 summer month, dry and off the ground, and you'd be good to go. Problem is, it re-absorbs water really fast. If it gets rained on even once in the fall, you might as well forget about it until next spring. Doesn't seem to dry very well in the round either - you'll want to split everything you can. Otherwise I'd split it the same size as I normally do - I like to have a variety of sizes. Storm damage ones are the ones to go after - when they come down on their own, they're usually already too rotten to be of any use besides compost.
Get it bucked and split up small. It will be ready for next fall. It goes punky real quick in the round.
Aspen definitely has its place. It is great for starting a fire or burning in cool weather. I agree with everyone, get it split up and it dries quick. Being a soft wood and straight-grained, it is easy to process
Lots of us burn aspen and have no problems. It is just not one of those woods you want to save for long January nights. It does not leave coals so if you burn that only, you have to put wood in the stove before the fire goes out else it is like lighting a cold stove. Great wood for spring and fall quick fires. It is also one of those rare woods that you can cut in spring and as long as you split and stack it right away, you can burn it the following fall. As for it soaking up rain while it is in the stack, just top cover and all is well.
Backwoods is right on. I burn some every year. Dries in one season or less. You will know when it's dry, it will be light as a feather in your hand. Great for fire starting, burning down coals or anytime you want a quick fire and heat. Good for outside fire pits too. Mostly flame and little smoke. The bark really holds the moisture in on this stuff, so if you can get most the bark to come off when your splitting it, it will dry much faster.
Good to know, thanks for all the info everyone. I have most of it in rounds now, should be done with that by month end, and split by the end of April. Sounds like I will be burning Aspen this fall. Greg