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What species?

Here in the west (where it is very dry for 2/3 of the year, and this year the winter rain has been seemingly cancelled), firewood that is stored away from the ground lasts for many years. We have lots of madrone (Arbutus Menziesii), pretty hard and dense. If you let it dry for a few years, it's so hard as to be tough on chainsaws, and awful to split (unless you use the hydraulic splitter). But it doesn't rot, and you can burn it after 10 or 15 years.

Oak, on the other hand, doesn't seem to last for more than a few years, even when off the ground. That's probably because most dead oak trees in our area have been killed by "sudden oak death", which is a fungal infection. I bet the fungus continues to live in the wood if there is any moisture (in the winter), and turns the wood into a sponge. But that's not your problem: the fungus-destroyed wood is like a sponge, soft and mushy when wet, and very light and soft when dry.

Could it be that in your area, the weather is humid enough for most of the year, and the wood simply doesn't dry outside, unless you put wood under cover? Nonsense, you would have figured that out yourself in the last few decades.

Sorry to not be more helpful.

Three+ year old elm is like trying to burn bricks.

The wood in whole logs doesn't really dry as much as you might think. It is probably still quite green. It still needs to be split and seasoned. For further reading, check out the Firewood, Heating and Woodburning Equipment forum on Arboristsite.com.

alfredr wrote:The wood in whole logs doesn't really dry as much as you might think. It is probably still quite green. It still needs to be split and seasoned.

This is my experience also. Wood that has been cut, split, stacked and covered but open to the sides, can season in as little as couple of months (depending on the wood type). Wood (trunks, not limbs) that has been cut only can take up to a year to season. Wood that hasn't been cut at all can take years and it may begin to rot before it fully seasons.

Hup

I was just outside (first relatively warm day in quite a while) splitting wood and I remembered something I read a while back. I can't say if it's true or not. Supposedly there are volatile oils (pitch, sap) in wood that will dissipate over time. When heated, these oils release much of the gas which is what is actually burning when wood is on fire. The theory is that when the oils are gone the wood won't burn well. I can't say I ever personally observed this. It seems to me that old wood will burn fine as long as it's dry … although if it's punky it won't burn for long.

Hup

bloke wrote:
I went with the "anything will burn if it get hot enough" theorem, and just got a SUPER hot bed of coals going.

Bonfires are hot. Burn anything. Don't need no stinkin' seasoning.

Hup

Bonfire? Inside or outside the house? I'll be over with some marshmallows.

But if there is more out there, cut it and split it and give it some time to dry. It should burn fine then. (Next year.)