Burning Wood - Which is the Best to Burn?



Posted: Saturday, October 07, 2006

by
The Fireplace Channel



Characteristics of Different Types of Wood

Firewood from different species or types of trees varies widely in heat content, burning characteristics, and overall quality.



Species Weight (lbs./Cord) Heat per Cord (Million BTUs) % of Green Ash Ease of Splitting Smoke Sparks Coals Fragrance Overall Quality
Green Dry
Apple 4850 3888 27.0 135 Medium Low Few Good Excellent Excellent
Ash, Green 4184 2880 20.0 100 Easy Low Few Good Slight Excellent
Alder 2540 17.5 Easy Low Moderate Good Slight Good
Ash, White 3952 3472 24.2 121 Medium Low Few Good Slight Excellent
Aspen, Quaking 2160 18.2 Easy Medium Few Good Slight Good
Basswood (Linden) 4404 1984 13.8 69 Easy Medium Few Poor Good Fair
Beech 3760 27.5 Difficult Medium Few Excellent Good Fair
Birch 4312 2992 20.8 104 Medium Medium Few Good Slight Fair
Boxelder 3589 2632 18.3 92 Difficult Medium Few Poor Slight Fair
Buckeye, Horsechestnut 4210 1984 13.8 69 Medium Low Few Poor Slight Fair
Catalpa 4560 2360 16.4 82 Difficult Medium Few Good Bad Fair
Cedar, Red 2060 13.0 Easy Low Many Poor slight Fair
Cherry 3696 2928 20.4 102 Easy Low Few Excellent Excellent Good
Chestnut 18.0 Medium Low Few Good Good Good
Coffeetree, Kentucky 3872 3112 21.6 108 Medium Low Few Good Good Good
Cottonwood 4640 2272 15.8 79 Easy Medium Few Good Slight Fair
Dogwood 4230 High Difficult Medium Few Fair Slight Good
Douglas-fir 3319 2970 20.7 103 Easy High Few Fair Slight Good
Elm, American 4456 2872 20.0 100 Difficult Medium Few Excellent Good Fair
Elm, Siberian 3800 3020 20.9 105 Difficult Medium Few Good Fair Fair
Fir, White 3585 2104 14.6 73 Easy Medium Few Poor Slight Fair
Hackberry 3984 3048 21.2 106 Easy Low Few Good Slight Good
Hemlock 2700 19.3 Easy Medium Many Poor Good Good
Species Weight (lbs./Cord) Heat per Cord (Million BTUs) % of Green Ash Ease of Splitting Smoke Sparks Coals Fragrance Overall Quality
Green Dry
Honeylocust 4640 3832 26.7 133 Easy Low Few Excellent Slight Excellent
Juniper, Rocky Mountain 3535 3150 21.8 109 Medium Medium Many Poor Excellent Fair
Larch (Tamarack) 3330 21.8 Easy-med Low Many fair Slight Fair
Locust, Black 4616 4016 27.9 140 Difficult Low Few Excellent Slight Excellent
Maple, Other 4685 3680 25.5 128 Easy Low Few Excellent Good Excellent
Maple, Silver 3904 2752 19.0 95 Medium Low Few Excellent Good Fair
Mulberry 4712 3712 25.8 129 Easy Medium Many Excellent Good Excellent
Oak, Bur 4960 3768 26.2 131 Easy Low Few Excellent Good Excellent
Oak, Gamble 30.7 Medium Low Few Excellent Good Excellent
Oak, Red 4888 3528 24.6 123 Medium Low Few Excellent Good Excellent
Oak, White 5573 4200 29.1 146 Medium Low Few Excellent Good Excellent
Osage-orange 5120 4728 32.9 165 Easy Low Many Excellent Excellent Excellent
Pine, Ponderosa 3600 2336 16.2 81 Easy Medium Many Fair Good Fair
Pine, Lodgepole 2610 21.1

 Easy Medium Many Fair Good Fair
Pine, White 2250 15.9

 Easy Medium Moderate Poor Good Fair
Pinon 3000 27.1 Easy Medium Many Fair Slight Fair
Poplar 2080 Low Easy Medium Many Fair Bitter Fair
Redcedar, Eastern 2950 2632 18.2 91 Medium Medium Many Poor Excellent Fair
Spruce 2800 2240 15.5 78 Easy Medium Many Poor Slight Fair
Spruce, Engleman 2070 15.0 78 Easy Few Poor Slight Fair
Sycamore 5096 2808 19.5 98 Difficult Medium Few Good Slight Good
Walnut, Black 4584 3192 22.2 111 Easy Low Few Good Good Excellent
Willow 4320 2540 17.6 88 Easy Low Few Poor Slight Poor


Wood Facts

  • Green weight is the weight of a cord of freshly cut wood before drying.
  • Dry weight is the weight of a cord after air drying.
  • Green firewood may contain 50% or more water by weight.
  • Green wood produces less heat because heat must be used to boil off water before combustion can occur.
  • Green wood also produces more smoke and creosote (material that deposits on inside walls of chimneys and may cause chimney fires) than dry wood.
  • Firewood should therefore always be purchased dry or allowed to dry before burning.
  • Dry wood may cost more than green wood because it produces more heat and is easier to handle.
Gathering Firewood

  • Friends, relatives & neighbors
  • Dumps & landfills
  • Construction sites
  • Demolition sites
  • Furniture makers
  • Sawmills
  • Private landowners
  • Road sides
  • Fallen wood in public woodlands
Buying Firewood

The easiest way is just to buy it from a dealer, or a local farm which advertises it for sale. Check the phone book, yellow pages and classifieds. Species, volume, dryness, and need for splitting should be considered when buying firewood. The information here and in other publications should give you the basic information you will need to be an informed buyer. However, knowing your dealer is the best way to ensure that you are getting what you are paying for.

In general it is best to buy dense woods such as oak, hickory, hard maple, or ash. Hardwoods, or woods from broadleaved trees, tend to be denser than softwoods or woods from conifers.

Standard Cord of Wood

  • A standard cord of wood is 128 cubic feet - measured as a stack of wood 4 feet tall, 8 feet long and 4 feet wide.
Face Cord of Wood

  • A face cord is a stack of wood 4 feet high, 8 feet long, and as deep as the pieces are long. Pieces are commonly 12 to 18 inches long, so a face cord typically contains 32 to 48 cubic feet of wood.
Pickup Load of Wood

  • This is a very imprecise but common measure. A full-size pickup with a standard bed can hold about 1/2 of a full cord or 64 cubic feet when loaded even with the top of the bed. Small pickups hold much less. Random loading will decrease this amount further.
  • A randomly-piled stack or pickup load of wood will contain more air and less wood than one neatly stacked. Crooked, small diameter, and knotty or branchy pieces also reduce the amount of wood in a pile.
This article copyrighted by THE FIREPLACE CHANNEL



*Information and facts in this article were partially obtained from the following:

*Burning Wood and Coal by Susan Mackay, L. Dale Baker, John W. Bartok, Jr., and James P. Lassoie. 1985. Northeast *Regional Agricultural Engineering Service, Riley Robb Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. (607)256-7654. 90 pp.
*The Wood Burner's Encyclopedia by Jay Shelton and Andrew B. Shapiro. 1976. Vermont Crossroads Press, Box 333, Waitsfield, VT 05673. 155 pp.
*Wood Heat Safety by Jay Shelton. 1979. Garden Way Publishing Co., Charlotte, VT 05445. 165 pp.
*Tom Schmidt, former Forester for the Nebraska Forest Service.
*A University of Nebraska fact sheet titled "Heating With Wood: Species Characteristics and Volumes".
Karen Duke is a fireplace, chimney and hearth industry expert of over 25 years in both the retail and service sectors. She is a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep and has numerous hearth industry certifications. She is the founder and webmaster of www.TheFireplaceChannel.com. She is also the co-founder and webmaster of www.GasCoals.net, one of the largest online fireplace retailers in the world. She makes her home in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Karen's contact information can be found on either of the above sites.
This Article has been viewed 670 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.