Leylandii as Firewood

[Billhook]

I know this topic has been on the forum several times but just wanted to share my experience and wondered if any of you had the same

We took down some very large old trees with 20-30 inch diameter logs that we split into firewood before Covid (New date term. “BC” so 2018 BC!). 
So very dry and very stringy after splitting and a mountain of bits which are useful kindling.

Been burning them on our Aarrow Stratford boiler.  Normally we use Ash and Sycamore which both produce plenty of ash in the ash tray and both burn hot

However we were surprised to find the Leylandii only produced about 3/4 of the heat of the others in spite of seeming to burn well initially.  However after a period of time they became very blackened and I suspect that this coating slowed the burn.

Amazingly there was no ash at all left after a whole day and night, with the Ash and Sycamore we usually fill a bucket

I thought there would be enough resin in the wood to make it burn hotter but perhaps this had disappeared over time

Anyone had a similar experience?

[Botty Cough]

Ash and sycamore are some of the best so you will have to go a long way to match them for output.

Fir tree is a soft wood that doesn't have a great value in comparison.

[Steven P]

all to do with the amount of 'wood' in the log. Get similarly sized pieces or ash, sycamore and leylandii at a similar moisture content and weigh them, the leylandii will be lighter - less wood in it - less fuel - so less heat out. If there is less wood there will be less ash.

 

I haven't noticed the ash thing and tend to burn a mix of woods, but it certainly burns quicker - needs fuelling more often. With softwoods I have also found the heat out is quicker - a more intense fire for a short while then dies away where something like beech or oak is a lot slower (not so good first thing on a winter morning when the house has cooled - the soft woods are better then)

[Peasgood]

Very nearly all I burn and has been for decades.

You do need an airflow in your burner, sounds like you may have shut the fire down too much if they are black.

Very little ash compared to most.

If you are not getting the heat out of them are they stored under cover /out of the rain.

I do burn other logs occasionally and would never say the leylandii wasn't as hot, in fact much more likely to say the opposite.

[Botty Cough]

1 minute ago, Steven P said:

all to do with the amount of 'wood' in the log. Get similarly sized pieces or ash, sycamore and leylandii at a similar moisture content and weigh them, the leylandii will be lighter - less wood in it - less fuel - so less heat out. If there is less wood there will be less ash.

 

I haven't noticed the ash thing and tend to burn a mix of woods, but it certainly burns quicker - needs fuelling more often. With softwoods I have also found the heat out is quicker - a more intense fire for a short while then dies away where something like beech or oak is a lot slower (not so good first thing on a winter morning when the house has cooled - the soft woods are better then)

It's definitely worth mixing in woods.

I keep different types separate for this exact reason.

Fast burning stuff to build up the bed then thick dense wood to tick over and radiate heat .

[Stere]

Has less ash maybe due to a thinner bark?

 

Most ash comes from bark

[Stubby]

I would have , and have burned  Leylandii in the past and think it is really good fire wood .  The secret I think is not to season it for more than a year . ( down here in the south anyway )  Once it becomes  " feather light " you have lost the spunk out of it and it will burn the way you describe . One summer and its good stuff .

[Peasgood]

I deliberately season it for at least three years. If you leave it that long the bark starts to peel off and you don't get all that sticky resin all over everything.

Doesn't effect the way it burns IMO, if anything it improves it.

My supply is practically unlimited so not bothered how fast it burns. The deal is I will make sure there are always dry logs, missus can burn as many as she wants.

[dig-dug-dan]

Sadly I no longer have a wood burner but when I did, I  couldnt get enough conifer  . I burnt hot and I only emptied ash can once a week

[waterbuoy]

We are currently buring Monterey Cypress which I think is similar to Leylandii?  It burns quick and spits a fair bit (but no more than spruce), but also burns hot and clean.  It also seasons pretty quickly too which can be an advantage!

 

At the end of the day calorific output is related to the weight of the seasoned wood