Need wood ID. I am stumped

[bigbarf48]

Had no idea that there is a species of hickory called "plain vanilla". From the charts I have looked at, locust, oak, and hickory are some of the higher BTU firewood.

Poplar, when green, is about as heavy as oak. However, poplar is mid level, if not lower, BTU wise and is a lot lighter than oak when both are seasoned. So, the entire heavy when green analysis isn't always true. Now, I will agree that the denser firewood has more BTU's in it. Thing is, when green a lot of the weight can be water. I bet you also understand the difference between weight and density. Kind of like when I was in grade school and I asked friends, which weighs more, 5 pounds of feathers or 5 pounds of steel. Some would actually argue with me that the steel is heavier. Trying to explain that 5 pounds is 5 pounds was frustrating, and trying to explain that weight and density are two different things was nearly impossible. Using weight as a determining factor in the field is not a good comparison unless both pieces are seasoned or they both have the same percentage moisture content. Lots of variables involved in how much a specific volume of wood weighs.

I use this link to attempt to figure out what a tree species is worth btu wise:

(broken link removed to http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm)

The only two types of hickory on there are in the high btu group. Same goes for the myriad of oak and the locust.

My main problem comes from identifying tree species. Not quite as hard when they are still standing with leaves and dropping acorns, helicopters, etc. The best firewood looks like Osaage Orange/Hedge, but I don't even have a clue what it looks like in the field, much less in log form.

Much harder when they are dropped off in log form. I'll attach some pics of what we were processing.

There isn't anything called plain vanilla

And you said exactly what I was about to, green weight tells you exactly nothing about how a piece of wood might burn once seasoned properly. Pick up a piece of green sweetgum or cottonwood and then pick it up again when it's dry and you'll see what I mean

 

[fabsroman]

There isn't anything called plain vanilla

And you said exactly what I was about to, green weight tells you exactly nothing about how a piece of wood might burn once seasoned properly. Pick up a piece of green sweetgum or cottonwood and then pick it up again when it's dry and you'll see what I mean

Never had the "pleasure" of dealing with cottonwood, but I dealt with sweetgum in 2011. It was a PITA to split and it was almost as heavy as oak, but once seasoned I could carry large splits in a single hand, it burned fast, and it left a ton of ash. At this point, I'll pass on sweetgum and leave it to rot. Thick exterior bark and green heartwood, leave it be. Made the mistake of thinking it was poplar and loaded it into my truck in rounds. Got it home and it took forever to split it with a hydraulic splitter. Called my dad and told him, "I don't remember firewood ever being this hard to split."

 

[bigbarf48]

Never had the "pleasure" of dealing with cottonwood, but I dealt with sweetgum in 2011. It was a PITA to split and it was almost as heavy as oak, but once seasoned I could carry large splits in a single hand, it burned fast, and it left a ton of ash. At this point, I'll pass on sweetgum and leave it to rot. Thick exterior bark and green heartwood, leave it be. Made the mistake of thinking it was poplar and loaded it into my truck in rounds. Got it home and it took forever to split it with a hydraulic splitter. Called my dad and told him, "I don't remember firewood ever being this hard to split."

Yep, sweetgum is at the very bottom of the list of firewood I want. Pretty much no redeeming qualities other than the fact that it'll season in 6 months in good conditions. Other than that it's impossible to split, heavy when wet, paper like when dry, and will rot shortly after it dries

Cottonwood isn't so bad in my opinion. Not great heat and dries pretty light, but it's easy to split. Kind of a poplar like situation