Best Fire Wood (poll)

[trimmmed]

I voted birch, don't burn white and very little yellow, but black birch is plentiful, hard, burns great, and has thin bark and no sapwood to speak of, which means less ash and way less mess in the splitting area.

 

[AIM]

Locust is my favorite but due to an abundance of dead elms in every woods around me I burn mostly elm. Occasionally run across a dead locust and when I do I grab it up quick. The amount of dead elm in my area is simply amazing. Dutch elm disease hit a few years back and killed untold thousands of trees.

 

[jerry wayne]

here in ole Kentucky

I voted Birch, because its probably the best I can get around my area in Alberta, Canada. Unfortunatley birch is even hard to come by. Mosty soft wood in these parts. Poplar is llike a weed, its so common.

You guys are super lucky you have access to so much hard wood like oak, which is unheard of hear in Western Canada.

I made some calls yesterday to get prices on a cord of Birch, most places are charging $350 and you gotta pick it up yourself. What would someone in the U.S charge for a cord of Birch or cord of Oak?

you can pick up a full cord for around 120 bucks:greenchainsaw:

 

[KH-1958]

Ash by far..of course I am getting it free...but it sure burns good

 

[MATTYB11]

I threw some black locust in the fire last night. That stuff is awesome. Lots of heat and the coals last a long time. I don't have much of it in this years pile, but I've got about 2 1/2 cords ready in the pile for next year. I can't wait. By then it will have been split and stacked for about 22 months.

 

[windthrown]

I voted oak, but actually out here in the wild west madrone is the best firewood in my opinion. Once cured it will not suck up moisture, and it is dense and hard and will burn hot and long. The bark is also thin, and it does not leave much creosote when you burn it. It also does not leave a ton of ashes like some types of woods do, and it will coal up nicely. It is also a trash tree here, so I find it in a lot of remnant slash piles that have been half burned.

BTW: The ex-Gf had madrone floors in her house in central Oregon. Nice looking floors with light and dark contrast. The problem with it for flooring according to my saw-mill neighbor there was that the density difference of the light and dark tones makes it expand and contract unevenly. We noticed that it tended to shrink in winter when the hydronic floor heater was on. Also the dog marked it up pretty badly with her claws. But it looked real nice.

 

[Rookie1]

I voted free wood but if I could Id burn all the elm I have on my property.

 

[david78]

Locust. I like finding the ones that have been dead awhile, even on the ground, because they don't rot for a long time. No limbs to fool with. Burns hot, just leaves a fine ash behind.

 

[mudguts]

Almond here, so I voted fruit. I burn lotsa oak, red, white, valley and live oak. The only one that come close to the almond is live oak, but it's hard to come by.

 

[ms310]

QFT! Ash is awfully hard to beat. Seasons in only a few months, not too hard to split, and burns hot. .

:agree2:
+1
I didnt vote because he didnt give me the option to vote on a nice piece of ash!!!

 

[coog]

I voted oak, but actually out here in the wild west madrone is the best firewood in my opinion. Once cured it will not suck up moisture, and it is dense and hard and will burn hot and long. The bark is also thin, and it does not leave much creosote when you burn it. It also does not leave a ton of ashes like some types of woods do, and it will coal up nicely. It is also a trash tree here, so I find it in a lot of remnant slash piles that have been half burned.

BTW: The ex-Gf had madrone floors in her house in central Oregon. Nice looking floors with light and dark contrast. The problem with it for flooring according to my saw-mill neighbor there was that the density difference of the light and dark tones makes it expand and contract unevenly. We noticed that it tended to shrink in winter when the hydronic floor heater was on. Also the dog marked it up pretty badly with her claws. But it looked real nice.

I lived on Vashon Island for a couple of years mid 90's.Had a lot of time on my hands and was given permission to cut storm damaged Madrone off a large estate.I called it "Muscle Wood", as it looks muscular being mostly barkless.I piled up around a 100 cords, never burning even a piece, before moving.It gave me a down payment on our house back in MN.It will always be one of my favorites, however it burns.

 

[Wood Doctor]

:agree2:
+1! I didn't vote because he didn't give me the option to vote on a nice piece of ash!!!

I wish to cast 4 votes:
1) Ash
2) Ash
3) Ash
4) More good pieces of Ash.

 

[windthrown]

I lived on Vashon Island for a couple of years mid 90's.Had a lot of time on my hands and was given permission to cut storm damaged Madrone off a large estate.I called it "Muscle Wood", as it looks muscular being mostly barkless.I piled up around a 100 cords, never burning even a piece, before moving.It gave me a down payment on our house back in MN.It will always be one of my favorites, however it burns.

Wow, 100 cords of madrone. That is enough to heat a house for over 10 years here. It burns hot...

 

[Metals406]

I voted conifers... It's all we got mang.

 

[Bowtie]

I wish to cast 4 votes:
1) Ash
2) Ash
3) Ash
4) More good pieces of Ash.

I have to agree. Ash is the firewood of kings. I use it to get the hard stuff going, because it lights so easy, burns hot, and leaves little ash. If I had my choice, I would burn nothing but ash and mulberry.

 

[WVwoodsman]

I voted oak and free of course because that is what all of my wood is since I get it from a log yard near my house. I will usually take anything I can get from the yard as they just want to get rid of it. There is poplar, hickory, oak (all varieties) ash cherry and the list goes on. All burnable in my owb!

 

[1982Husqvarna]

I would say to stay away from softer woods if you can, availability is a big factor. as far as ease of splitting as long as they are fairly strait grained and few knots most hard woods split fairly well.

 

[Bowtie]

I would say to stay away from softer woods if you can, availability is a big factor. as far as ease of splitting as long as they are fairly strait grained and few knots most hard woods split fairly well.

My logsplitter dont care how straight grained the wood is, and i only burn hardwood. Good point, but obvious.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I have to agree. Ash is the firewood of kings. I use it to get the hard stuff going, because it lights so easy, burns hot, and leaves little ash. If I had my choice, I would burn nothing but ash and mulberry.

Ash has already won the poll, even though OP failed to include it as an option. 'Tis a shame considering the quality of the product. Note how well that ash and mulberry burn together. Add locust and elm to the same fire, and suddenly you have a strong MALE:
Mulberry
Ash
Locust
Elm

 

[Bowtie]

Ash has already won the poll, even though OP failed to include it as an option. 'Tis a shame considering the quality of the product. Note how well that ash and mulberry burn together. Add locust and elm to the same fire, and suddenly you have a strong MALE:
Mulberry
Ash
Locust
Elm

I have quite a bit of Honey Locust, but I wont harvest it anymore. The damn borer beetles have a huge liking for it, and have bored it out so much that its basically crap firewood now. This is the second year that has happened. It is mixed in with the rest of my firewood (Ash, Hackberry, Mulberry, Osage Orange, and some elm.

MAN I hate bugs!!!