poplar wood

[boondocker]

just wondering if anybody on here burns poplar. i pretty much burn anything that is flamable, yet i have not burned any poplar. i have heard that it burnes very hot and that you need to be carefull with it. i mostly burn white pine, white birch,spruce, some maple and on occasion some oak if my father doesent catch me dropping one in the wood lot....... I cut a bunch of poplar this summer and everybody is saying to be carefull that this stuff is known to melt wood stoves lol.......come on......what is this stuff nuclear or what. so if anybody has used it let me know what im in for. i hadent planned on burning only poplar, but to throw a piece or two in with whatever else. thanks guys.........josh

[Flat47]

I mix it in with spruce, fir, and hemlock. My experience has been consistant: it's wet. Wet when you cut it, wet three months later when you split it, and wet (and almost starting to rot) come sugaring season. I hate to cut anything and just leave it in the woods to rot, but I'm getting fed up with wet poplar. Maybe I need to split it even smaller. I wouldn't worry about burning through your arch or anything like that.

[boondocker]

I mix it in with spruce, fir, and hemlock. My experience has been consistant: it's wet. Wet when you cut it, wet three months later when you split it, and wet (and almost starting to rot) come sugaring season. I hate to cut anything and just leave it in the woods to rot, but I'm getting fed up with wet poplar. Maybe I need to split it even smaller. I wouldn't worry about burning through your arch or anything like that.

does it make good heat? is it worth the effort?

[Greenwich Maple Man]

does it make good heat? is it worth the effort?

While hardwood is best poplar is bottom of the barrel. Like the previos post said it gets"punky"very fast and dosn't dry very well. Realy only good for pulp or beaver food.If you have already cut and split it then I would mix it with some other better wood, even pine is a lot better. I'm sure some people burn it and like it but it dosn't have the same heat as pine or better yet good dry hardwood. Beech is a vey good wood for sap and is mostly used for pulp so you don't have to feel bad about putting it into firewood.

[3rdgen.maple]

Oh boy here we go again with the hardwood vs softwood debate. Search it on here and you will find out who burns poplar and you will find that alot of people do as well as me on occasion. Im not jumping into this debate again sorry.

[Dennis H.]

Last year I had an entire poplar tree to burn, Not impresses at all.
When it was dry and split small it was very light like pine when it has been sitting around for a year or two.
It burns up very fast like pine but without all the heat. It was kind of amazing to see how the pans would slow down boiling when I threw in the poplar.

If I had to pick again I would have saved the poplar for making boards and cut down another pine. That pine sure does burn like rocket fuel when it has been sitting and drying for a year.

[mike z]

I've burned it before with success. If dry it burns very hot and fast. It doesn't leave much for coal, which is a plus. Can smell if not real dry. Don't much care for handling it, again smelly, and dirty. If I have it on hand I'll burn it, but best to mix it with hardwood as you go.

[jdgordon]

I've burned quite a bit of wood, as its been said before, it's all about BTU's, how it's split, and how dry. Yes Poplar can make for long days of boiling if it is not dry. I like to have some Hard wood in the firebox for some consistency.

[boondocker]

well thats not what i was looking for lol. yea i have heard it stays wet and it will rot fast but i was not aware of the low btu. huh, well i guess i wont do that again.

[oneoldsap]

You want to split Poplar as soon as possible ( like the day it's cut ). Once the bark is split it will dry like any other wood , burns better split small . The hottest wood I have ever seen in an evaporator was Basswood , in an air tight arch . The Mullion between the doors was white hot , warped it pretty good . Boiled hard for sure !

[ClarkFarmMapleSyrup]

Ihave a bit of poplar mixed in with my maple and ash wood. Never reallyburned it, but 2 huge ones fell on the neighbors property where i tap. It was free, so what the heck, I'd try it. I split it the day It was cut and some the day after, all I can say is have fun splitting it. Its very spongy, and it splinters and is hard to get apart. Thats my expieriance with poplar!.

[Dill]

It rots fast, it needs to be under cover to dry. And it pops when it burns. I did a bunch in arch a couple years ago and it was quite a sound.
My verdict is I'll burn anything but poplar isn't that popular around my house.

[3rdgen.maple]

It makes heat, heat makes syrup and syrup makes me happy!

[Maple Ridge Farm]

If it's dry it burns hot and lots of flame and very little ash. Mix with hardwood for best results as then you get lots of flame and heat. Cut it, split it and keep it dry and it will work well, good practise for all wood to be burned.

[deckers007]

3rdgen - well said!!


It makes heat, heat makes syrup and syrup makes me happy!

[BC Birch Tapper]

Ideally it is nice to have all the same species, size and length of wood, but that doesn't really happen in my world. When a tree falls at our place we burn it including aspen, alder, spruce, birch,fir & pine. I do find it handy to have different species as when you've got a good boil going & have to step out to do something adding aspen will keep the fire going but won't really increase the temerature. The main thing is with any wood it needs to be well dried & aspen dries better when split.

[Gravel]

If a poplar fell down beside my woodshed on my sugarhouse I would push it out of the way with the tractor before I cut it up for sugarwood or turn it into pulp, I havent even had luck burning it in my outdoor furnace! It reminds me of a sponge, I think if you had it in a room with a de-humidifier it may burn well!