However, Russian olive wood still takes at least 12 months to dry and is difficult to split despite next to no sap production. If you take a piece of that wood and another same size piece of another type of wood that you know the BTU of, you can get a general idea. In the wild, Russian olive trees have been known to smell very sweet and strong. Some of the heaviest green wood is among the lightest when dry. I need something to mix in wit the pine though to burn overnight. I have been looking for the B.T.U. Some locals began tackling the problem on their own by funding small removal projects, but the effort was minimal in response to the widely growing tree population. Invest in a moisture meter to know when your firewood has seasoned for long enough. Thanks for the listings.I burn 3-4 cords every Winter,and burn all but the softwoods.I was looking for BTU content for Step away from the tree at a 45-degree angle once it starts to fall. Here is a site for California wood ratings http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/home/heating_cooling/firewood.html Surprisingly, I found almond and eucalypt rated close to the same. My comment doesnt pertain to btus so much, but would like to say that here in central Ind., I look for elms,not sure if there rock, red or slippery elms.But easy to spot cuz they die avg. I am planting osage orange, black walnut, sassafrass, and black locust. THE EARLY SNOW STORM DAMAGED A LOT OF TREES HERE IN ORANGE COUNTY NY. Burning well-seasoned poplar and maple, with a couple sticks of red oak. But its tendency to take on more water in certain settings means extended seasoning time. I could turn on electric or gas boiler but the excercise and knowing you are hurting bottom line of Electrical Supply Utility keeps me Definitely a burning smell. What Are The Varieties Of Russian Olive Wood? A week later he tried to burn it and told me to never burn oak , because it burned terrible and smoked bad . See my page on donating wood samples for more info. Olive is a highly dense hardwood which makes it great for coaling. Ensure that there are enough gaps between each log to allow them to air dry effectively. Russian olive does produce a lot of heat. and keep the bedroom doors about a foot from closed to save heat. Wood Fuel for Heating | MU Extension - University of Missouri 3) Cottonwood is actually one of the poplars (Populus deltoides) and is rated quite a bit higher in the West (16.8) than the East (13.5). The tree, about 30ft tall,Read more . The better your firewood has been seasoned, the better it will burn. It is also excellent firewood for your fireplace or outside firepit. I have a large sweet gum tree blown over by a storm. Looked through posts and didnt see if there was any mention of the BTUs of a Norway Maple. It is recommended that you use a mixture of firewood when starting a fire instead of relying solely on Russian olive to get it going. Thanks for the comment, great to know we are getting long time repeat visitors. #101 Olive wood burl slab Island board charcuterie resin tray 200 yr old Rawcut. I've never seen birds eating the berries. Thanks to the high BTU that Russian olive firewood produces and its long-lasting heat, Russian olive is an effective choice of wood to use in your fireplace. How to Use Russian Olive Trees for Firewood | eHow Well here it is getting to be winter in upstate NY again and the little woodstove in our basement has been running since September or so. I burn, wild black cherry, black walnut, elm, hickory and yellow tulip. Russian olive wood is not known to give off a smell when burning when it is fully dry. Check out the following table comparing the heat output of olive to various other common types of firewood. As far as a tree to keep in your yard, no good. I have been told that gum trees and pine trees will clog up a chimmney They also give a pleasant smell, though not as nice as red oak, cherry, or yellow birch. Dont know much about western woods, except that the citrus groves my wifes family own in Mesa, AZ make tremendous wood for fires. Dogwood is by far the hottest. . Don't burn it until it has seasoned for at least one year. Chinquapin and Dogwood are common here in Ohio. We live in the foothills of North Carolina and heat with a Big Buck wood stove. The drawback is that the trees are small and have thorns . It smells great too . http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/home/heating_cooling/firewood.html, http://www.demesne.info/Garden-Help/Trees-Shrubs/Firewood-hard.htm, https://firewoodresource.com/firewood-btu-ratings/. One perk of Russian olive: it burns hot. At ~$75/ton which is about the same dimension size as a cord of wood, it has about 6-7X the btu value of any cord of wood. The small, more seasoned stuff burned with mid flame and burned very slow . Its close to soft maple on the btu chart plus I dont need to go anywhere or handle it too many times. I have not tried the Madrona yet,but have a quarter of a cord for sale for $75.00! I have found a good way to make charcoal if your a pyro maniac / fire bug like me. Can anyone confirm this? So, give at least 1 year (12 months) for your Russian olive wood to season before use. However, the destructive habits of these non-native, invasive species were quickly discovered by residents in the valley. Do they make good firewood? i think its red pine or red elm.. i live in central nm in the foothills of the rocky mtns,our primary firewood is shaggy bark juniper..we just call it scrub cedar..and there are several distinct kinds,yellow-grows extremely slow burns verry hot,red-softer burns up faster-aligator bark juniper-the softest of the 3 less btuthen we have pinyoni dont burn this wood because it plugs my heat exchange unit up..dosent put out much heat and smokes like crazy..then there is scrub oakit burns about the same as any kind of oak..pine and fir..blue spruce..no heat..chineese elm..hard to split little more heat than red scrub cedar..not much..so as far as firewood goes i would give the shaggy bark juniper the highest rating..i also have a house by lake texoma in tx right in the middle of an emense hardwood forest..oak..hickory..maple..american elm..birch..ect..ect..and when im there i burn mostly yellow oak..and hickory,but i like the juniper from nm much better..i dont think the btu rating this chart has for it is correct..im sure its not, i saw a coment on salt cedar above,what you are burning is juniper..or scrub cedar,salt cedar is a completely diferent kind of wood altogether..it grows along the riverbanks of nm and arizona..and i think its scrub syacamore..sorry about the spelling..but it is a verry hard wood..not sure of its btu rating..but i would still rather burn the scrub cedar..or juniper as they call it..salt cedar grows close to water,along with chineese elm and cottonwood in the lower elivations of the two states it does burn quite hot though..im prety sure its a kind of syacamore..close to the btu russian olive would produce..also fine wood for burning, im fron centeral missouri and our elm american or red will not burn in fact it is called p*** elm for reason. Wondering if anybody has info on the outdoor application or rot resistance of this wood. Dried. We bought cedar this year and it burns slowly and puts out little to no heat. I live on the east coast (midatlantic area) and we have a lot of Mimosa trees. One BTU is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit. But when burnt while still holding more than 20% moisture in its wood, it will continue to release that unpleasant smell. This varies with the size and shape of the wood, and how tightly it is stacked. It is difficult to evaluate available heat value of wood because of the complex process of obtaining heat from wood. Persimmon is a good secret,burns hot and long. I noticed a lack of information on Hickory. Burning Russian Olive Wood Step 1 Hit the wood against the wood box or ground before bringing it indoors. Im also guessing that the Hickory that I can get are the Shagbark or the bitternut 27.7-26.5 correct? Any comment when compare to other oaks>, how much does a chord of juniper firewood cost. In my lifetime I have seen the end of the Chestnut,the American elm,and now the Ash, Dick Ashton. Remember that fires can be unpredictable, so never leave them unattended outdoors. The average efficiency rating is around 19.9 million BTU per cord. As with most dense hardwoods, seasoning olive firewood requires patience. 10. Not good for firewood but great for woodworking. Otherwise, you may, Read More The Ultimate Firewood Storage Guide For 2023Continue, The dogwood tree is a flowering deciduous that is native to the eastern parts of the United States, Europe, and eastern Asia. It will burn longer than softwoods and will be just as effective as hardwoods. I guess its people like these that make for an interesting world. Im out here in southern Oregon, and theres red fir, which is a true fir, just as white fir, and grand fir are. I have a hard time keeping up with the outdoor furnace if I use seasoned wood. Russian olive | Hearth.com Forums Home Bandit~ But for softwood, it does burn well. Really enjoy the contributions. Im also interested in getting photos of completed wood projectsespecially of obscure or lesser known woods. While this sounds simple, its essential to get it right. To add a unique smoky flavor to food, place olive wood chips in a smoker box or wrap them in aluminum foil with a few holes, then position them over the heat source. The red oak gave the most bang for the buck .It burned long,hot and gave some great coals that put out some good btus . Russian olive trees make dense, slow-burning firewood. IT IS USELESS FOR FIREWOOD BECAUSE OF THE LITTLE/NO HEAT OUTPUT, BUT MAINLY ITS TOO DANGEROUS TO BURN INDOORS, AS IT POPS AND EXPLODES AND THROWS SPARKS EVERYWHERE. The few times he has a bonfire he cooks hotdogs and marshmallows over treated oak pallet wood !!! There is some conflicting data between different sources due to different calculating variables. Theyve had time to dry out, so seasoning may only require 12 months. So long as youre only burning good hardwoods and/or clean white (non-glossy/colored) paper stock and kindling, you should spread your ashes on your favorite acreage for the potash. Are these possibly data for the same species gleaned from different sources? It does have thorns and it is easy to work. I told him that wood had to dry before burning and he said its been drying all week long , it should be dry by now . This is a project Ive been working on. The density of Russian olive means that it can burn slower without losing heat. I heard somewhere that most of the ash comes from the bark. Ensure that there are enough gaps between each log to allow them to air dry effectively. Seasoned and dry and Im out there every three hours. We do have one wood burning fire place, and when the big ice storm hit February 2021, knocking out our power for a week, we used that fire place for heat. It is tolerant of considerable amounts of salinity or alkalinity, and can survive considerable droughts. Ive heard that burning a little cedar occasionally will help remove soot from stovepipes and chimneys. We have oaks and madrone as our more common hardwoods. It is a dense hardwood providing above average heat thats suitable for the coldest winters. The stock I have doesnt match the data on the wood. In these states, selling or planting them is often illegal. Though seasoning the wood for long enough will eventually make the smell dissipate. The short trunk and gnarled branches of these trees gives an impression of light wood, but don't be deceived. The doug fir gets the bark beetles that work away the outer layer, but if you can get the bark off the wood it will last several years. The multiple piece splitters seem highly efficient also. You know the one, thorny, ugly and wild and grows like a weed. I have some birch and cherry Ive been mixing it in with that too. Russian olive trees generally have fairly short trunks and many gnarled branches. Nothing burns green like ash. I note that quaking aspen is rated higher than aspen in your West chart. I live in eastern us, southern ny area My father bought some to plant (for the birds) . I didnt find any data about almond wood, in your stats, and thought you might like to include it. Russian olive burns clean, produces minimal creosote, and doesn't spark and pop. Is Russian Olive Good Firewood? Interesting reading. After the moisture evaporates the logs burn great . Russian olive is a long lived tree (80-100 years) which grows rapidly up to 10 m in height and 30 cm in diameter and starts to fruit after 5-6 years. Nondiscrimination and Accessibility Statements, Mountain Studies Institute, San Juan Mountains, Silverton & Durango, Colorado. The inside resembles red or white oak color & grain. A wood box helps contain it. The smaller stuff makes a great campfire for cold weather, putting off a blue flame and tons of heat. That means youll need a powerful maul or hydraulic splitter. Big bright flames and smells good.Also beech is a very clean burning wood according to my grand dad .Smokes very little and burns to a huge coal. eHow may earn compensation through affiliate links in this story. The drawbacks are the stinky smoke and the fact I had to poke it every 10 min and its hard to split. How to Grow Rosemary From Cuttings Propagate Rosemary, Mexican Mock Orange: Everything About TheChoisya Ternata, Magnolia Shrub: Everything About The Magnolia Bush, Crape Myrtle Shrub: Everything About The Crape Myrtle Tree, Lilac Shrub: Everything About The Lilac Bush. I think these charts are the more accurate of the many charts. Heat output Like many tree types, Magnolia's heat output varies depending on the species. I BELIEVE THE CEDAR HES TALKING ABOUT IS INCENSE CEDAR. Im in California, about 3800 ft up the west side of the Sierra Navadas. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. (This is a monthly update, and your email will be kept private. As with any wood, olive requires adequate seasoning before use. I built a wood topped banjo with it and have loved the wood ever sense but it is a thorn bush and you will loose a lot of blood getting the wood and i lost a pickup tire to the 2inch thorns. Thanks. Thanks. Our house is a 3 BR split level affair. Russian olive is the only variety of its kind, but it does go by many names. I recently shaped into slabs. I have some upstate PA, that often is recovered when down, and used for firewood. I live in southwest Oregon. 2 look like the olive wood and 2 are green. Are Rosewoods (and Bubinga) really banned by CITES? Wood combustion occurs in three consecutive, overlapping stages. a few corrections: 1. not quite right, to characterize, as very small tree, as the tree quite regularly grows to 40 and beyond, with trunk diameters up to 4dia.. 2. the wood DOES have a distinctive/nasty odour, in machining (for me? Thanks! 4) White birch (Betula papirifera) and Paper birch are used replaceably locally for the same species. In the dead of winter find a pine tree that you want to cut. My grad parents were pioneers who cooked /heated homestead houses with white popular ! Personally, the best wood in the world is whatever I can get my hands on. I have a few standing dead pin oaks. Is it toxic? Yet it will not burn, just smoke. I find black cherry and hickory give the best burning results. They are also a very resilient tree, capable of living in almost any condition, making them even more of an issue to permanently remove. Northern Cal checking in, renovated an old homestead 5 years ago and have been clearing doug fir and california bay laurel for fire safety zone around the house. I believe its commonly harvested in the northwest if you are in the US. Richard, Their distinctive appearance makes them a popular ornamental, Read More Is Willow Firewood Any Good?Continue. Any advice as to species, training, harvest and also seasoning of smallish diameter limbs, or direction to such information, would be much appreciated. I like to drag it out into the open on a log chain with the tractor. All firewood has about the same BTU per pound. My grand dad swears beech is king. Like other fruit trees, this firewood gives off a mild, sweet scent that many enjoy. Many black oaks lost big limbs in the surprise snow of Nov 2010. I have 4 cords plus over 100 more Russian Olive trees to cut for firewood. I will burn some of the lesser wood, ie. So, in 2016 MSI jumped in, wanting to spread the removal efforts beyond property owners whose land was under a conservation easement to all landowners within the valley. I have not found it listed anywhere as rated for firewood and was wondering if it would produce enough heat to make it worthwhile for use in the fireplace. But when burnt while still holding more than 20% moisture in its wood, it will continue to release that unpleasant smell. White and red oak burn well. Even when thoroughly seasoned, it does tend to spit embers sporadically. In the fireplace, it is consumed due to the extreme heat of the wood, and the wood burns just as if it has been dead for several years. Theyardable.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. When the tempreture drops to single digits or below zero the BTU output keeps my home comfortable, I also like the shagbark hickery. The National Fire Protection Association suggests that you hire a chimney cleaner to remove creosote build-up at least once a year. What Are The Varieties Of Russian Olive Wood? Re Bradford Pear, we had one in our front yard that lasted about 15 yrs., then went the way of many: split in a storm. #1. Toss in a large log; itll give off heat for much longer than options like pine. Something not mentioned yet that I bring from my Georgia heritage is Fat Lighter. Green wood from the olive tree is high in water content, so it will smoke in the fire. We use an outdoor wood burner. Coals are to fire as fuel, to keep it going and provide lasting heat. They also began infesting fields, preventing local farmers from growing hay, and decreasing the overall grass quantity. I already know seasoned oak is gonna be near the top choice because of the hot coals it produces . The density of Russian olive means that it can burn slower without losing heat. I have about 50 Euk logs for house heat. It burns very hot,and produces nice heat. Russian olive does produce a lot of heat. Mullberry has a short lifespan and is very rot resistant so they are quite easy to find here in west Tennessee. Its a very interesting subject you bring up Audrie that I would also like to hear comments about. If some of the wood is used for construction, there is a net decrease in CO2 from the activity. As temperatures warm in the Animas River Valley, this tree could become more prolific, and create a monoculture along our rivers and streams. Not my favorite wood but I may change my mind after the project is finished. Russian olive is a good choice of firewood for woodstoves, campfires, and open fireplaces. Apparently Magnolia is very similar to Tulip Poplar. So, are Russian olives worth the trouble? Mild food is best as it doesnt overwhelm the subtle smoky taste. (Im assuming it rates as a soft maple) Luckily, our home is passive solar with super-insulated walls so it will still be worth burning. It will burn longer than softwoods and will be just as effective as hardwoods. getting mostly ash, some cherry and some oak. I BELIEVE ITS CALLED SALT CEDAR. Jan 27, 2013. Isnt it just as simple as the more lbs of wood that your shove in the hole, the more heat you get? Olive wood - what a find, limited quantity! A lot of them were planted during the dust bowl times to prevent wind erosion. here in washington all the old timers and people that heat there houses just with wood buy douglas fir and the hipsters burn hard wood because they think its better. A cord is 128 cubic feet but in any stack of wood there will be air space between the pieces. You are using an out of date browser. Our Wood - Paul Bunyan's Firewood WHAT KIND OF LOCUST IS IT AND WILL IT BE A GOOD FIREWOOD IN A COUPLE OF MONTH..THANKS The wood is dense and difficult to cut, and the bark is very coarse and uneven, making stacking a challenge. To get the most heat production out of . Will burn mostly oak as it gets colder. Theyre all gone around here.. Does anyone know anything about using it for firewood. What wood would you say it is similar to on the b.t.u. (Sir Douglas Menzizii) He really didnt know how to classify it because it had characteristics of fir and also of hemlock so he called it Pseudo(false) tsuga (hemlock)so it is really not fir at all or hemlock? Leave the stump about 36 high. I live californnia. Be sure and let us know how your test goes. The information was gathered by internet and talking to old timers. It seems kinda light and when I pay 12.50/cord+driving for lodge poll pine I don't know if it is worth it. Non resinous wood has around 8000 to 8500 BTU per pound, resinous wood has around 8600 to 9700 BTU per pound. Hemlock that is stacked in a single stack with plenty of air and sun can be ready to burn in one summer. My wife even melted a stove once while I was at work when we were younger. I can lift a 3 log of aspen into my fire box the same oak log is too heavy. A well educated, 76 year old, freedom loving American who worries about my children and grandchildren. They are hard to start with kindling so I have a tub of old diesel in which I soak Tanoak bark. The ongoing extinction of the Ash,all species,is supplying I live in so. Mix some ash firewood in with your Russian olive and you will get a good heat source burning quickly. Over 50 years heating with wood; Woodstock Fireview; Stihl Farm Boss 290 Stihl 180; 20 ton MTD Splitter. Use a combination of woods instead. With the ability to adapt to any soil type, the Russian olives tree can tolerate more than 75 gallons of water daily. Support me directly through PatreonIf youve been helped by the Wood Database, consider saying thanks and helping to support the project. But unlike other woods like birch, Russian olive catches fire very slowly. I burned some buckthorn in 1.5 to 4 diameter unsplit and that stuff burns HOT in our wood stove; it stinks and its not the easiest to start. We collect it as down and dead firewood when we are cutting western juniper (J.occidentalis), mostly on B.L.M. Throw the Ailanthus away. Invest in a moisture meter to know when your firewood has seasoned for long enough. Do they make good firewood? Would I still be allergic to it or was that just to its pollen? Like several posters have commented, a big chunk of fir will last for 5-6 hours in the wood stove, and makes for an easy re-start in the morning. Personally, when I am home, I burn alot of Pitch Pine. Anyone have any idea of cure times, BTU output etc? Dont worry about the ashes your stove produces. Russian olive wood tends to warp and crack as it splits. I have often thought of making a semi hollow lamented body guitar out of this, but not sure about the tonal properties of the wood. I heat 5,500 sq ft with 130,000 BTU Franks Piping Wood Boiler from Quebec CDN. Though they are slightly different species, a Russian olive tree will most likely be found growing near autumn olive trees, which are just as invasive.