'free' wood....

[mrcaptainbob]

Friends had a (catalpa [sp?]) tree dropped behind their house. It was large and dangerous.
HUGE leaves. Bonfire pit took the small stuff and leaves. Green though they were they flashed off like face tissue !! Hot is just a start to describe this stuff burn.
So...I acquired the whole tree. It will feed the OWB this winter.
Any experience with catalpa? Catalba? It's a pretty light weight wood.

[Southside]

It will go hot and fast, don't plan on it being an overnight load. 

[beenthere]

Catalpa ranks right with alder, cottonwood, spruce in BTU's . About half of what oak puts out. 

[Don P]

I see you are struggling with the spelling. Allow me to add to it with our variation. The 2nd river south of me is the Catawba  

[doc henderson]

the wood reminds me of cedar.  splits easy.  When we got our first wood stove in the house, we had just moved here.  I hade little equipment.  I did not know many.  A nurse here heard I wanted firewood, and her daughter had cleared the center of a lot north of town.  the Catalpa grew in groves reportedly encouraged by a plan to make railroad ties.  My wife and I went to cut logs and load then in the truck.  The had huge piles left by the bulldozer that cleared the lot.  I went back with my cousin and got more in the dump truck, and we could pick up 10 inch diameter 10 foot long logs, and load them in the dump truck.  I heard later that My nurse "mom" friend got a call from her daughter in her 20s, "MOM there are loading whole logs in the dump truck!"  It split so easy, with straight grain.  to me it smelled like a guy was smoking a pipe nearby.  It crackles and pops and throws sparks.  I had split a nice chunk flat and jointed and planed it.  looks like a cedar to me as well.  Could make some nice boards, if anyone has a sawmill.   :  



<

slabs dry and being cut into trim boards, for a shed-o-minium.



 

split out from firewood log.  

[hedgerow]

Friends had a (catalpa [sp?]) tree dropped behind their house. It was large and dangerous.
HUGE leaves. Bonfire pit took the small stuff and leaves. Green though they were they flashed off like face tissue !! Hot is just a start to describe this stuff burn.
So...I acquired the whole tree. It will feed the OWB this winter.
Any experience with catalpa? Catalba? It's a pretty light weight wood.

The few I had in the pasture went straight on the brush pile when they got cut down. Not going to waste time making firewood out of them. My Garn likes a steady diet of hedge. But if you have no other source of wood it's better than no wood. 

[Southside]

Don, when you spend too much time in the woods you get entertainment out of asking folks to pronounce places like Chemquasabamticook Lake by pointing it out on the map.  :D

[barbender]

People have a hard enough time with Pokegama Lake up here😊

[mrcaptainbob]

1st time using this catalpa wood. Not a fan! Goes faster than pine and a LOT less heat!
I'll waste it while the temps are still in the 40's/50's. After that I'll go to the maple, oak and hickory.

[Ianab]

That's to be expected with very light wood. BTUs mostly depend on dry weight, so if a lump of firewood is only 1/2 the weight, assume it's only got 1/2 the BTUs. 

[doc henderson]

Catalpa splits nice.  If you ever want to show off your manly splitting skills.  It also smells good in the stove.  nice cool day outside and it smells like someone's grandpa is smoking a pipe.  If it is all you got, it still keeps you warm.  also mills nice and looks like a cedar.

[SwampDonkey]

People turn up their nose at aspen, spruce and fir in hardwood country to. I burn it every winter in the furnace. In fact can't even have a fire all day long it's too hot. :D 

My cousin also burns about anything, from fir nubbins off Christmas trees, pin cherry, aspen, whatever. He never froze yet either. ;D