# Box elder good to burn?



## Trilifter7 (Feb 26, 2013)

I have 2 cords of box elder that I split at the beginning of the year and am planning to burn next season. What are your guys thoughts on it.... Good wood to burn? Should I Burn it during shoulder season next year or save it for the colder days?


----------



## swagler85 (Feb 26, 2013)

I have a lot of box elder in my back yard. I save it when one falls or dies and needs to come down. Shoulder season wood, decent stuff nothing great. Very worth burning though.


----------



## Shane N (Feb 26, 2013)

I split with a Fiskars. Someone dropped off some 6" box elder cookies. Those things are the most knarly wood I've split yet. I gave up and found out they work awesome as splitting blocks.

Anyways, from what I know, it is a lower BTU wood, but it'll work good for shoulder season. Should dry within a year of splitting.


----------



## Augie (Feb 26, 2013)

I burned about 2 face of Box Elder this year, Good Stuff, Burned it deep into the winter.  I always Chuckle at the wood spices elitists here...lol All of it will put off the MAX heat your stove is rated for, it is just the length of time that the wood burns that changes.  Pine keeps the stove warm for 6ish hours before a reload for me, Oak or Ash almost 12 on a reload. It is all good....LOL  Choose Species based on your anticipated reload schedule.


----------



## midwestcoast (Feb 26, 2013)

It can be twisty, knarly n tough to split, but looks like yours was fine. Just depends how n where it grew. 
Given a choice I wouldn't struggle through a knarly one without hydraulics as the wood burns pretty quick. 
Good for shoulder season.


----------



## mudr (Feb 26, 2013)

Ive burned a bunch of it.  Drys quickly, but seems very susceptible to picking up moisture if rained on or if it's on the ground.  I see it's been sitting a while in your yard, no sense in throwing it away!  Should be very dry (suggest top cover) and will be perfectly fine in the shoulder or if you are ok with a quick reload time.


----------



## jeff_t (Feb 26, 2013)

Burns like soft maple, I guess since it is. Stay clear of any smoke, though. Super stinky.


----------



## Trilifter7 (Feb 26, 2013)

Thanks guys for the info!



Augie said:


> I burned about 2 face of Box Elder this year, Good Stuff, Burned it deep into the winter.  I always Chuckle at the wood spices elitists here...lol All of it will put off the MAX heat your stove is rated for, it is just the length of time that the wood burns that changes.  Pine keeps the stove warm for 6ish hours before a reload for me, Oak or Ash almost 12 on a reload. It is all good....LOL  Choose Species based on your anticipated reload schedule.



Good point Augie, makes sense! I might try burning a few in shoulder season and see how it does. 



mudr said:


> Ive burned a bunch of it.  Drys quickly, but seems very susceptible to picking up moisture if rained on or if it's on the ground.  I see it's been sitting a while in your yard, no sense in throwing it away!  Should be very dry (suggest top cover) and will be perfectly fine in the shoulder or if you are ok with a quick reload time.



Thanks mudr, I'll throw a top cover on them this spring.


----------



## Trilifter7 (Feb 26, 2013)

jeff_t said:


> Burns like soft maple, I guess since it is. Stay clear of any smoke, though. Super stinky.



I've heard it's a smokey wood, didn't know it was stinky though. Good to know, lol


----------



## mudr (Feb 26, 2013)

jeff_t said:


> Burns like soft maple, I guess since it is. Stay clear of any smoke, though. Super stinky.


 
It can indeed smell, but the stuff I've burned that is dry wasn't too bad.  There might be something to this dry wood...


----------



## Paulywalnut (Feb 26, 2013)

I know the box elder bugs have a odd smell to them.
They pop like popcorn when you throw them on the stove.


----------



## Pallet Pete (Feb 26, 2013)

I burned willow and box elder for a year it was all we had the Box Elder wasn't bad it didn't burn Lon but did burn hot. The willow is another stinky story lol.

Pete


----------



## lukem (Feb 26, 2013)

Box elder is fine if it is good and dry.  Yours will be fine for next fall.  Don't expect it to give you long overnight burns like oak, hickory, or locust and you won't be disappointed.


----------



## Jags (Feb 26, 2013)

When it is dry - protect it from wind.  The stuff will darn near float away.


----------



## chvymn99 (Feb 26, 2013)

Shoulder season burning stuff.  Can be very difficult to split at times, and very heavy when wet.  When dry its very light in comparision.  I burned some the first season, cause I didn't know any better.  But I'll pass it in the future, unless I'm hard up.  Just not worth the work, IMHO.


----------



## ScotO (Feb 26, 2013)

Box elder is about the same as silver maple.....not the splitting, but the burning....
I've not burned lots of it, but I've burned mountains of silver maple.  I wouldn't be without several cord of silver maple every year.  I love that stuff....

Like augie said, all wood puts out the same "temperature", but not all of it puts out the same "heat".  Some wood lasts for many hours more than others.....
When a person says that locust "puts out a pile of heat", they are proclaiming it lasts much longer in the stove than the same size piece of pine......that's all.  Box elder will put out heat, just not hours and hours of it.....


----------



## ansehnlich1 (Feb 26, 2013)

I gotta be honest here. I burned some, and it did smell bad outside, so expect some odor. I've removed all of it from my wood lot, and I go through each spring and pull all boxelder saplings, along with all multiflora rose and tartarian/bush honeysuckle. I know, I'm a little crazy, but I see those hickories, oaks, cherries, and walnuts growing down in there and I just can't be havin' boxelder messin that up. 

Sure, it burns fine, I don't know, I just don't like the stuff. I know where's there's a couple way off to the south of the property here, I'll probably saw one of 'em up for some bowl turnin' as the stuff does make some nice bowls.


----------



## Gasifier (Feb 26, 2013)

Burns good. Throws heat. Burns better if it is free. I burn almost anything that is free. Burned through 2 or three cord of box last year that I took down for parents and their neighbor. That was free. Just let it dry for a year outside. Makes fire like other wood does!


----------



## Trilifter7 (Feb 26, 2013)

Thanks for all the replies guys! Sounds like I will be ok with it. I've probably burnt worse wood and didn't know it. Everything I have will burn better bc it will actually be seasoned!! 



Jags said:


> When it is dry - protect it from wind.  The stuff will darn near float away.



Good to know Jags! I always bring a cord up to the house before I burn it so it will be out of the wind.


----------



## Trilifter7 (Feb 26, 2013)

I got the box elder from a friend. He lost the tree in the summer of 2011 and cut it up but couldn't split it. He offered me some of it if I brought my splitter over... Can't beat free wood! There was about 6 cords total from this tree! He kept 2, I took 2 and another buddy of his took 2. Should be well seasoned and ready for shoulder season next year! Think it would be a good wood to break a new stove in with?


----------



## ihookem (Feb 27, 2013)

I split it right away so it dries. One thing about it is the bark keeps a lot of moisture in. It's a weird wood. I dried it all summer in the hottest driest drought I ever seen last year. It was cut in 2011 and was still wet under the bark. It smells too. I only use it cause where I get wood it's free and cut to length and I pick it up on accident at times. At that point I already have it in my arms so at that point I just take it and grin,,, it's free so...


----------



## swagler85 (Feb 27, 2013)

Trilifter7 said:


> I got the box elder from a friend. He lost the tree in the summer of 2011 and cut it up but couldn't split it. He offered me some of it if I brought my splitter over... Can't beat free wood! There was about 6 cords total from this tree! He kept 2, I took 2 and another buddy of his took 2. Should be well seasoned and ready for shoulder season next year! Think it would be a good wood to break a new stove in with?


6 cord in a box elder? I didn't know they got that big.


----------



## Gasifier (Feb 27, 2013)

swagler85 said:


> 6 cord in a box elder? I didn't know they got that big.


 
I have seen a few monster Box Elders. I don't know how much wood was in them.

*Yea! Like the new avatar Sean!*

You must feel really relieved. That was a long one!  How much beer were you drinking?


----------



## Shane N (Feb 27, 2013)

swagler85 said:


> 6 cord in a box elder? I didn't know they got that big.


 
I'm not wood ID expert, but I thought box elder have a ring of really bright red in them? I don't see any of that in the splits above.


----------



## swagler85 (Feb 27, 2013)

Gasifier said:


> I have seen a few monster Box Elders. I don't know how much wood was in them.
> 
> *Yea! Like the new avatar Sean!*
> 
> You must feel really relieved. That was a long one!  How much beer were you drinking?


Just ran out beer  Gona have to buy some more than I can change back!


----------



## schlot (Feb 27, 2013)

Shane N said:


> I'm not wood ID expert, but I thought box elder have a ring of really bright red in them? I don't see any of that in the splits above.


 
The red color really varies in intensity and amount from what I've split.


----------



## Gasifier (Feb 27, 2013)

swagler85 said:


> Just ran out beer  Gona have to buy some more than I can change back!


 
 Noooooooo!


----------



## Trilifter7 (Feb 27, 2013)

Shane N said:


> I'm not wood ID expert, but I thought box elder have a ring of really bright red in them? I don't see any of that in the splits above.



The red ring is from fungus so some are darker than others. This tree had a light red pattern to it but only noticeable up close. I'll try to get a better pick of a piece.


----------



## oppirs (Feb 27, 2013)

I have Box Elder.... no value to scrounger? I have a near dead one but I don't even want too burn it.

Yet!


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Feb 28, 2013)

One thing you can remember is that box elder is in the maple family so that says right off that it is good wood. No, it will not compare with oak or ash or beech but it will burn and give you good heat. In mid winter use it only for day time burning because it won't hold the fires long like other hardwoods. Fall and spring are good times to use it also.

We've burned quite a bit of box elder but haven't had any for many years now. I do not recall it smelling bad when burning but then, people tell me that red oak is foul smelling too. I do not think so at all.


----------



## Trilifter7 (Feb 28, 2013)

Backwoods Savage said:


> One thing you can remember is that box elder is in the maple family so that says right off that it is good wood. No, it will not compare with oak or ash or beech but it will burn and give you good heat. In mid winter use it only for day time burning because it won't hold the fires long like other hardwoods. Fall and spring are good times to use it also.
> 
> We've burned quite a bit of box elder but haven't had any for many years now. I do not recall it smelling bad when burning but then, people tell me that red oak is foul smelling too. I do not think so at all.



Good to know Dennis. I'll try burning some early next year and see how it does. Most of it is split big and long so if it does ok I might save some for day burning like you said.


----------

