Burning Wood - Which Is the Best to Burn?

Burning Wood - Which is the Best to Burn?

Characteristics of Different Types of Wood Firewood from different species or types of trees varies widely in heat content, burning characteristics, and overall quality. Weight Heat Ease (lbs./C per % of of Specie ord) Cord Green Splitti Fragra Overall s Green (MillioDry Ash ng Smoke Sparks Coals nce Quality n Mediu Excelle Excelle Apple 4850 3888 27.0 135 Low Few Good m nt nt Ash, Excelle 4184 2880 20.0 100 Easy Low Few Good Slight Green nt Moder Alder 2540 17.5 Easy Low Good Slight Good ate Ash, Mediu Excelle 3952 3472 24.2 121 Low Few Good Slight White m nt Aspen, Mediu Quakin 2160 18.2 Easy Few Good Slight Good m g Bassw ood Mediu 4404 1984 13.8 69 Easy Few Poor Good Fair (Linden m ) Mediu Excelle Beech 3760 27.5 Difficult Few Good Fair m nt Mediu Mediu Birch 4312 2992 20.8 104 Few Good Slight Fair m m Boxeld Mediu 3589 2632 18.3 92 Difficult Few Poor Slight Fair er m Buckey e, Mediu 4210 1984 13.8 69 Low Few Poor Slight Fair Horsec m hestnut Catalp Mediu 4560 2360 16.4 82 Difficult Few Good Bad Fair a m Cedar, 2060 13.0 Easy Low Many Poor slight Fair Red Excelle Excelle Cherry 3696 2928 20.4 102 Easy Low Few Good nt nt Chestn Mediu 18.0 Low Few Good Good Good ut m Coffeet ree, Mediu 3872 3112 21.6 108 Low Few Good Good Good Kentuc m ky Cotton Mediu 4640 2272 15.8 79 Easy Few Good Slight Fair wood m Dogwo Mediu 4230 High Difficult Few Fair Slight Good od m Dougla 3319 2970 20.7 103 Easy High Few Fair Slight Good s-fir Elm, Mediu Excelle Americ 4456 2872 20.0 100 Difficult Few Good Fair m nt an Elm, Mediu Siberia 3800 3020 20.9 105 Difficult Few Good Fair Fair m n Fir, Mediu 3585 2104 14.6 73 Easy Few Poor Slight Fair White m Hackb 3984 3048 21.2 106 Easy Low Few Good Slight Good erry Hemlo Mediu 2700 19.3 Easy Many Poor Good Good ck m

Weight Heat Ease (lbs./C per % of of Specie ord) Cord Green Splitti Fragra Overall s Green (MillioDry Ash ng Smoke Sparks Coals nce Quality Honeyl Excelle Excelle 4640 3832 26.7 133 Easy Low Few Slight ocust nt nt Juniper , Rocky Mediu Mediu Excelle 3535 3150 21.8 109 Many Poor Fair Mounta m m nt in Larch Easy- (Tamar 3330 21.8 Low Many fair Slight Fair med ack) Locust, Excelle Excelle 4616 4016 27.9 140 Difficult Low Few Slight Black nt nt Maple, Excelle Excelle 4685 3680 25.5 128 Easy Low Few Good Other nt nt Maple, Mediu Excelle 3904 2752 19.0 95 Low Few Good Fair Silver m nt Mulber Mediu Excelle Excelle 4712 3712 25.8 129 Easy Many Good ry m nt nt Oak, Excelle Excelle 4960 3768 26.2 131 Easy Low Few Good Bur nt nt Oak, Mediu Excelle Excelle Gambl 30.7 Low Few Good m nt nt e Oak, Mediu Excelle Excelle 4888 3528 24.6 123 Low Few Good Red m nt nt Oak, Mediu Excelle Excelle 5573 4200 29.1 146 Low Few Good White m nt nt Osage- Excelle Excelle Excelle 5120 4728 32.9 165 Easy Low Many orange nt nt nt Pine, Mediu Ponder 3600 2336 16.2 81 Easy Many Fair Good Fair m osa Pine, Mediu Lodgep 2610 21.1 Easy Many Fair Good Fair m ole Pine, Mediu Moder 2250 15.9 Easy Poor Good Fair White m ate Mediu Pinon 3000 27.1 Easy Many Fair Slight Fair m Mediu Poplar 2080 Low Easy Many Fair Bitter Fair m Redce dar, Mediu Mediu Excelle 2950 2632 18.2 91 Many Poor Fair Easter m m nt n Mediu Spruce 2800 2240 15.5 78 Easy Many Poor Slight Fair m Spruce , 2070 15.0 78 Easy Few Poor Slight Fair Engle man Sycam Mediu 5096 2808 19.5 98 Difficult Few Good Slight Good ore m Walnut Excelle 4584 3192 22.2 111 Easy Low Few Good Good , Black nt 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.