how does cottonwood burn?

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dlb
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how does cottonwood burn?

Post by dlb »

we use a wood stove as our only source of home heating during the winter so it's about time to start stocking up again for next winter. someone around here has a big pile of cottonwood they are giving away and i'm wondering if it's worth picking up a cord of it.

now before anyone gets snobby about their choice of firewood, yes, i know cottonwood is a soft wood and not ideal for home heating. however, i like a mix of a variety of woods for different purposes (like cedar for starting the fire and heating the house up quick, fir for overnight since it lasts a long time and burns hot, etc) so i'm wondering if seasoned cottonwood burns anything like cedar. if it does -- fast and hot -- than i could certainly do with a cord of it, especially if it's free.

thanks gang.
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Mark
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Re: how does cottonwood burn?

Post by Mark »

Here's a chart showing the heat energy available in different woods: http://worldforestindustries.com/forest ... u-ratings/
Cottonwood seems to be at the bottom of the list. Still, free BTU's are free BTU's. I'd definitely go for it. I probably wouldn't pay the usual rate per cord for it though.
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Re: how does cottonwood burn?

Post by Petros »

not a lot of heat comes out of many "white" woods, alter, aspen and cotton wood. you can burn it, but it takes a lot more to heat the home, so you will be refilling the stove often. You also get a lot more ash out of it because of it.

but you will get heat out of as long as it good and dry. If not dry, not much heat, all of its heat goes to boiling off the moisture in it.
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LowBuckCanuck
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Re: how does cottonwood burn?

Post by LowBuckCanuck »

Cottonwood isn't too different from pine when it comes to burning, you just have to make sure that it is bone dry. Perfectly good wood.
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Re: how does cottonwood burn?

Post by marlinh »

It takes AGES to dry!
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