What's your personal opinion on Alder as a firewood?

lazybones32

I planted a few dozen A. glutinosa a few years ago and some are ready for a date with Mr. Stihl this Winter.
I keep reading conflicting reports on their suitability as fuel so I'd like the experience of any users here. They are going to be cut, dried and burned anyway but I'm wondering if they are worth persisting with or should I replace them with a different crop?

I have alder, 2 x birch sp, 2 x willow sp. and sycamore growing with alder making up 30-40% of the crop. I'm thinking that alder as a mixed crop fuel would be fine and that an alder-only crop mightn't be the best for heat (don't mention btu's to me) but like I wrote, I seek the experience of those who've used it themselves or have first-hand stories.

Thanking you.

blue5000

I have alder too, but haven't burnt any yet. AFAIK it burns very fast when it's dry. I reckon it needs to be mixed with another timber, perhaps beech or oak.

The fast growth should compensate for the fast burning!

patsy_mccabe

It's a very wet timber, do needs s lot of time to dry out. 2 years in a dry open shed will do the job. It does grow very fast, so it's a very light timber (low density). Burning is poor enough compared to others like beech or ash but if it's free, why not. But it this way , I wouldn't buy the stuff, but I've cut a lot of it on the farm over the years,

wayoutwest

Good fast and hot firewood like spruce (but without the resin content).Best chopped, split and put into well ventilated storage as soon as possible after felling cos it tends to rot and go mouldy (like willow) if left out.