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blowin

I thought the following was quite useful . It is copied from a site which I think is intended to promote the book . www.wildeye.co.uk/trees/firewood.html

LOGS TO BURN

Logs to burn, logs to burn,
Logs to save the coal a turn
Here's a word to make you wise,
When you hear the woodman's cries.
Never heed his usual tale,
That he has good logs for sale,
But read these lines and really learn,
the proper kind of logs to burn.

OAK logs will warm you well,
If they're old and dry.
LARCH logs of pine wood smell,
But the sparks will fly.
BEECH logs for Christmas time,
YEW logs heat well.
SCOTCH logs it is a crime,
For anyone to sell.

BIRCH logs will burn too fast,
CHESTNUT scarce at all
HAWTHORN logs are good to last,
If you cut them in the fall
HOLLY logs will burn like wax
You should burn them green
ELM logs like smouldering flax
No flame to be seen

PEAR logs and APPLE logs,
they will scent your room.
CHERRY logs across the dogs,
Smell like flowers in bloom
But ASH logs, all smooth and grey,
burn them green or old;
Buy up all that come your way,
They're worth their weight in gold.

Note that all woods burn better when seasoned and some burn better when split rather than as whole logs. In general the better woods for burning that you are most likely to come by (including non-native species) are:

Apple and pear – burning slowly and steadily with little flame but good heat. The scent is also pleasing.

Ash – the best burning wood providing plenty of heat (will also burn green but you should not need to do this!)

Beech and hornbeam – good when well seasoned

Birch – good heat and a bright flame – burns quickly.

Blackthorn and hawthorn – very good – burn slowly but with good heat

Cherry – also burns slowly with good heat and a pleasant scent.

Cypress – burns well but fast when seasoned, and may spit

Hazel – good, but hazel has so many other uses hopefully you won’t have to burn it!

Holly – good when well seasoned

Horse Chestnut – good flame and heating power but spits a lot.

Larch – fairly good for heat but crackles and spits

Maple – good.

Oak – very old dry seasoned oak is excellent, burning slowly with a good heat

Pine – burns well with a bright flame but crackles and spits

Poplar – avoid all poplar wood – it burns very slowly with little heat – which is why poplar is used to make matchsticks.

Willow – very good – in fact there is growing interest in biomass production of coppiced willow as a fuel.

Seasoning

So what is seasoning? Essentially it is making wood fit for burning – by reducing its water content – usually by leaving it for a period of time in the right conditions. All wood contains water. Freshly-cut wood can be up to 45% water, while well-seasoned firewood generally has a 20–25% moisture content. Well seasoned firewood is easier to light, produces more heat, and burns cleaner.

wayland · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 1171 Location: Campile. Wexford

Interesting little ditty. Smile

For my two pen`uth.
Ash is the very Queen of woods to burn
Cherry, Apple, and Pear is the best for smoking. Oak would come fourth.
Willow spits like an arc welder.
Holly and Blackthorn make the best walking sticks.
Poplar and Hawthorne will bring you bad luck if you burn it in your hearth
Would any of you guys like to add your list. Wink

PS. How did this post attract the Fecking dating add?? Confused

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blowin · Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 12:42 am Post subject:

wayoutwest · Joined: 28 Dec 2006 Posts: 184 Location: west clare

here's another.

beechwood fires are bright and clear
if the logs are left a year
chestnuts only good, they say,
if for long tis laid away
birch and fir logs burn too fast
blaze up bright but do not last
elmwood burns like graveyard mould-
even the very flames are cold
poplar gives a bitter smoke
fills your eyes and makes you choke
applewood will scent your room
with an incense like perfume
oaken logs if dry and old
keep away the winters cold
it is by the irish said
hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread
but ash new or ash old
is fit for a queen with a crown of gold
yes, ash wet or ash dry,
a king shall warm his slippers by
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wayland · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 1171 Location: Campile. Wexford

Nice one

Now where`s that fecking dating add?
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blowin · Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 2:05 am Post subject:

wayoutwest · Joined: 28 Dec 2006 Posts: 184 Location: west clare

no idea whatsoever!! Laughing

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blowin · Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 12:32 am Post subject:

I have copied this extract from an interesting post which Chook made in another thread : " ... I would plant .... alder trees which grow incredibly fast and can be coppiced in rotation " .
I hadn't realised that Alder was any good for coppicing as a fuel . Does anyone know how it compares with Ash or biomass Willow in terms of yield during the first 15 years or so ?