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Is willow worth burning?

Started by pabst79, May 13, 2013, 07:29:36 PM

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pabst79

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has experience with splitting/burning willow? I have access to about 3 full cord for free and its super easy to get at, however I'm not familar with it. ??
Not sure which came first, but I have chickens and eggs.

stumper

It is worth what you are paying for it.  I would burn it to dispose of it but I would not waste fuel or time to get it to burn. 

pabst79

Thanks for the reply, I assume your saying its going to be soft or punky in the center and pain to split?
Not sure which came first, but I have chickens and eggs.

woodmills1

smells like urine when it burns
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

pabst79

Okay, i won't even mess with it.
Not sure which came first, but I have chickens and eggs.

Al_Smith

It's low btu but like all wood it produces heat .FWIW I have some basswood which has about the same heat value .I burn it .

pabst79

I burn birch and aspen for my lower heat starter wood and it works, but if willow smells like urine when burning, I'll look elsewhere.
thanks for the response
Not sure which came first, but I have chickens and eggs.

martyinmi

Willow burns very well in a gasser.
When my dead ash supply runs out in the next decade or so, Willow from my neighbors muck fields fence rows will be my next free fuel for home heat.
I burned a little bit of it this winter, and I could have easily gotten 24 hour burns out of it had I wanted.

Makes me wonder whether those BTU ratings for the different species of wood are as accurate and updated as they ought to be. I guess I don't know whether those who come up with the BTU ratings include the smoke given off during combustion as a potential fuel source, as our gassers perform better with smokier wood species.

I've burned walnut,ash,hickory,oak,elm,willow,birch,poplar,boxelder,hard and soft maple,etc., and it all burns fine, and the burn times don't necessarily reflect what btu charts imply. :o

Things that make you go hmmmmmmmm..... ???

To get back to the original question, the answer would be "yes" from me, as long as it's well seasoned, and more importantly, free! 8)
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Know God, Know Peace!

thecfarm

I saw a bunch of weeping willow at the dump. I have my own wood,no need to go to other places to get it.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

trapper

normally splits easy.  I use it and dont notice any bad smell. Most of what i get is dead standing with the bark off.  Burns good with little ash but wouldnt go very far to get it.
stihl ms241cm ms261cm  echo 310 400 suzuki  log arch made by stepson several logrite tools woodmizer LT30

doctorb

Listed with other softwoods when comparing BTU value.  If it's seasoned well, it will burn OK.  While I prefer the hardwoods, throwing peerfectly good fuel away becasue the BTU value is less than optimal makes little sense to me now.  If our OWB members in Colorado can burn spruce all winter and have little issues, then why throw out wood thats burnable?  Just dry it well to maximize the heat output and possibly help decrease the creosote buildup.
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

r.man

I knew an older guy that would burn poplar when he had access to maple but he had to cut the poplar up anyway to get it off his fields pastures and roads. If labour time is not an issue the important word is "free". Maybe you should try a small amount first to see if the smell is a problem.
Life is too short or my list is too long, not sure which. Dec 2014

pabst79

Well r man, your advice sounds best! I'll try a bit and see how it works. No harm no foul.
Not sure which came first, but I have chickens and eggs.

LAZERDAN

Martyinmi speaks only the truth in post no.7
  I burn willow any time I can get it.  Because it has a bad reputation, it light, its NOT oak,maple,hickory,elm,locust but if it's cut up and frree  it's for me,  I burn about 20 cords a year and 40% is usually willow.  The big chunchs are a little intimadating, but a wedge and a sledge you can quarter them in no time.  If you have to go and cut it down and buck it up and its big it's not worth it to me, but when the tree trimmers drop it in the yard already cut up, you  bet i'm burn'n it.  Don't store it long, don't let it get wet,  don't let it lay on the ground.  It will burn wonderful for you.  When it's below zero I do a 50/50 willow and oak mix, the oak will provide coals , you will find willow buns all up and has no staying power,it's a very fine ash. No big deal !       Try some if ya don't like it don't do it next year                Lazerdan   

LAZERDAN

No bad smell ?  Now cottonwood thats a different story ( PU ) It smell like wood,  All wood has different smells.  We could start a post on wood smell, I did'nt search but i bet'n there has been talk here.                  Lazerdan 

Al_Smith

I always figured a BTU is a BTU .You obviously don't load the stove down at zero degrees for the night full of bass wood or tulip poplar but during waking hours it's not a big deal to toss in a stick or two every hour .

Now Swampish has a thing for maple but the rest of us poor folk have to get by with whatever we have . ;D On the other hand us flat landers have hickory for those nights that could freeze the business off a brass mokey .Poor old Swamp only has his maple . 8)

DDDfarmer

I will burn just about whatever is available BUT I will not split willow. The trees around here have such a twist to them that after you split them, they can't be piled up right. If it will fit in the door I cut it up, larger than that its scrap.

I think our willow has even less BTU's than bam wood, could be wrong but that's just what it seems like.
Treefarmer C5C with cancar 20 (gearmatic 119) winch, Husky 562xp 576xp chainsaws

SwampDonkey

Quote from: Al_Smith on May 14, 2013, 10:21:35 PM
Now Swampish has a thing for maple but the rest of us poor folk have to get by with whatever we have . ;D Poor old Swamp only has his maple . 8)

It's a matter a reastate my friend. I store my wood in the house and if it were willow and aspen instead of maple and beech I would be frozen solid by mid January. I'm not like some folks that leave their wood out in the snow and rain and 2 or 3 times the volumes required to heat the house. I've got other things to do with my time. :D

Is 'bam wood' slang for balm-of-gilead  aka balsam poplar?
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

DDDfarmer

Opps forgot the " L "   ya its balm- of- gilead or go-fer-wood or bam, all sounds the same doesn't it?
Treefarmer C5C with cancar 20 (gearmatic 119) winch, Husky 562xp 576xp chainsaws

stumper

My time has value.  Gas and diesel costs need to be factored as well.  I see no need to travel even a couple of miles to get willow to burn.  I think my time and expenses would out weigh the BTU's gained.  Now I would burn it it I needed to clean it up off my land, and I would burn it if I got paid to clean it up off someone elses land. 

Now what if an arborist were to drop it off in my wood yard?  Well I guess that would depend on the arborist and the long term prospects.  Would it mean future good wood for free?  Would it mean future stump grinding jobs for me?  If yes I would probably take it, cut it up and burn it.

gspren

  Maybe there are different species of willow but the one and only willow that I cut and burnt just wasn't worth the time and effort. When it was green it was just as heavy to carry as cherry, worse to split, and when dry it was lighter than poplar and burnt too quick to be worth the effort.
Stihl 041, 044 & 261, Kubota 400 RTV, Kubota BX 2670, Ferris Zero turn

woodmills1

I use my willow to make chainsaw cut furniture for the fire pit
couches chairs and even thrones
hack em out with the 660
when they look bad burn em ina pile
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

mrcaptainbob

I didn't measure it pound for pound, but I did have a large amount of willow this past winter to burn. What I found was that at the end of the week I used just about as much willow as I did any of the other species. It did burn fast. It did burn hot. But it appeared to me that it just heated the water up faster. The stove didn't keep on burning it. Just allowed it to flame up when the water temp went down enough. Works the same way with any other species, except other species take longer to 'heat up'. Something akin to a lower flash point it seems to me. I did like it because of the fine ash left. Just like burning ash. Oak and hickory have to be stirred to get the coals to completely burn to ash.

Al_Smith

Quote from: mrcaptainbob on May 17, 2013, 11:14:00 PM
  Oak and hickory have to be stirred to get the coals to completely burn to ash.
Might be so in an OWB but it a stove they burn to powder .Actually everything burns to powder .

Ianab

It's not that willow wont burn, and once dry, pound for pound it probably puts out a similar amount of heat to other woods. There isn't a big difference between different woods when using that measure.

It's just that green it's VERY wet. So you haul home a heap of green wood, and get less dry wood to burn, by a noticeable amount.

So if you have a willow tree or an Oak or Eucalyptus (both good dense firewoods) you would of course choose to drag the better wood home. Same amount of work, but maybe 2X the dry wood mass to burn, so it's a no brainer which one to choose.

But if the willow is just sitting there, easy to get, or you need to move it anyway, then there is no reason not to dry it and burn it in a fireplace.

There are very few woods that wont burn. Sure some burn better than others, and different styles of fires handle woods differently. Here in NZ the most common firewood is pine, because that's the most common tree, and most sawmills sell slabs and offcuts as cheap firewood. So the fires are designed to burn it properly, and everyone is happy.

Doesn't mean you don't keep your eyes open for a bit of Eucalyptus or Manuka that will burn much longer.  ;)

Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

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