Hi everyone. We're new here. We spend a lot of time collecting wood from the city streets and alleys for burning in our fire pit. We have a lot to learn in terms of identifying and treating firewood. But as a first question, last week we were burning some logs we didn't identify first and they would get to a point in the burn - maybe 1/3rd in - and they began to spark like nothing we've seen before. Sparks would shoot up, and then split into even more sparks and crackle outwards. Kinda like a firework, or a sparkler. Anyone know what would cause this? We didn't get an image of the logs first, but here is a picture of it while burning. The wood had a very yellow color before it was lit. Thanks, and hi!
Welcome TaraBen_Alleyscavengers to FHC. You'll like it here. We like dogs, beer and pics. A lot of knowledge people here who are willing to share. I know there is a type of wood that gives off sparks but I will let others answer that question. The wood you get for your pit, does it sit for long or you burn it the same year?
Poplar likes to throw sparks, although if you say the wood was yellow I'd lean towards Mulberry. https://burlybeaver.com/mulberry-firewood/
Right now we basically find non-green wood in the alleys and are burning it fairly soon after finding it. We did build a wood shelter for storing last week, which means we can keep it dry and I guess we could then start letting sit for much longer before burning. That is maybe phase two!
Looking at the photos mulbury might just be it. It was a little more yellow than the images, but we think it was probably just fresher. Thanks! We'll be keeping our eyes out for Mulbery in the future
Hi folks and welcome to the FHC! Great to have you join us. We love pics and lots of them. Old saying on here...no pics, it didnt happen. From the sounds of it the wood is mulberry. Well known for its sparking. Fresh cut its heartwood is yellow and slowly turns to a reddish brown. Pic of some mulberry. Notice the difference between the fresh cut and older splits.
Welcome to FHC TaraBen_Alleyscavengers . As other have said your wood sounds like mulberry. The other yellow wood that will spark is black locust. Both of these woods will spark less the drier it is.
Well come to FHC TaraBen_Alleyscavengers .... ... Like most have said it could be mulberry... But it also could have been Hedge which is closely related to mulberry...
Welcome fellow Virginians! Do you have any of that wood left, so you could post a picture? Being in the city, it could be one of the species mentioned above, or some kind of ornamental species.
Welcome to the forum TaraBen_Alleyscavengers. Have fun learning the different types of wood. As for those sparks, those are termite turds exploding.
