burning tulip poplar

[mountaineer]

i have a lot of tulip  poplar on my property that are down and i've been cutting it up for firewood. i  have read a couple posts saying they don't like this wood and a couple saying it's not that bad. now mind you, mine will be well seasoned when i burn it and all the literature on firewood on the net says wood is all the same btu, but it is the density that changes the quality. does anybody have any differing opinions on this wood? and if it's been down and has the white fungus on the outside of the bark but is still solid on the inside is it ok to burn? just wondering if the fungus is harmful.  thx    andy

[Dodgy Loner]

The fungus won't hurt a thing.  Poplar isn't a poplar () species for firewood because it's relatively light and therefore contains less energy per unit of volume.  The specific gravity is about 0.40, compared to 0.60 for red oak or 0.70 for hickory.  In my opinion, that's not a good excuse to let the wood go to waste.  If the trees are dead, use 'em!

[beenthere]

Poplar isn't poplar...

      and popular isn't popular...

andy
For the most part, pound for pound of dry wood, all the woods have near the same amount of heat...and you may handle more volume, be it poplar, popple, or rotten wood...

..but it is the density that changes the quality...

  ...the density changes the volume of wood it takes to get the same heat (that somehow might relate to 'quality' in what you are reading).

Moisture in the wood will change the amount of heat the wood gives when burned, as that moisture has to be removed with energy from the wood, first.

[Ron Wenrich]

I burn poplar, but I do it in the months that aren't real cold.  Its great for late fall or early spring when you need a fire just to get the chill off.  I find it to burn pretty good.

Any wood is good when its dry.  Softwoods actually have more Btus per pound than hardwoods, mainly due to the resins.  But, btus per cord is vastly different.

[mountaineer]

it's good to here some of yall burn it because it seems like it is everywhere on my property and 
i don't want to waste it. so far ive cut up : (all dead) several black locust (the best wood to burn around here they say) several tulip poplars, a couple beech trees. a couple birch trees. and my brother in law had me cut down one maple tree for him that he wanted to get rid of. it was a monster!! i have not finished cutting it up and the first ten feet are uncut so i will get a dbh number.  asked what kind of maple it was and he said he could not remember. i threw out red  and sugar and he said i don't think so. what else could it be here in the great blue ridge mountains of nc? silver maple? im no expert so that is where my guessing ends. thx andy

[WDH]

I bet that is what she is.

[Ron Wenrich]

All types of ornamental species.  Ones we find up here are Norway maples.  They're even starting to grow in the woods.  Another species could be sycamore maple. 

Silver maples normally grow in wet areas, but are planted quite a bit as an ornamental species.

[Lanier_Lurker]

As starter and early burn wood, seasoned tulip/yellow poplar is one of my favorites.  I also keep a few sticks around to quickly liven up a fire that has been neglected for too long.  But, I always mix it in with other denser wood like oak and hickory.  I never burn just the poplar.  I would expect burning *only* tulip poplar to be frustrating, and that may be why you hear people speak lowly of it.

[mountaineer]

i was bucking a beech tree that had fallen on my property today and noticed that it has black "stuff" on a lot of it. almost like black coal dust. if i touched it it would cover me but rubbed off easy. it also went airborne easily. reminds me of black mold. any ideas? thx andy

[Don P]

I think that's one of the phases of beech bark disease 

[RSteiner]

I've burned popular on many occasions.  Like the others have said it is a good early and late seaon fire wood.  Once dry it will burn well but has poor coaling qualities. 

Randy