Best wood to burn?

[BlueRidgeMark]

Now you're misunderstanding what I meant to clarify my original post.. I was saying my misspelling could be wrongly interpreted as "beach wood", otherwise known as drift wood.

AH! My bad. Drift wood burns very well, usually. Especially when it's been soaked in a recent oil spill!


Tomatoe?

 

[smokechase II]

Blowdown1:
Did any of those sources mention Madrone, Larch (Tamarack) or Juniper?
Comparing BTU's/cord is one way to measure a woods effectiveness. Earlier you stated that all wood puts out basically the same BTU's per pound.
The most commonly used local firewood is Lodge Pole Pine. Not good on a per cord basis. But, it comes dead, (light for a large load and ready to split - very very easy to split). We have the Mountain Pine Beetle to thank. This is kind of like buying in quantity. I'm certainly not bragging about LP, but it is OK when you consider how easy it is to work with.
Hey, it’s what we've got in Central Oregon. At least I'm not lowering myself to burning Ponderosa.

 

[Locoweed]

"AH! My bad. Drift wood burns very well, usually. Especially when it's been soaked in a recent oil spill! "

Ah essence of crude around the fireplace.

 

[boxelder barron]

not all that great but a never ending supply of boxelder.We burn it all day and then burr oak at night

 

[boxelder barron]

we burn boxelder by day and burr oak at night

 

[16gauge]

Good Thread!

Geeze Smoke, You just let the cat out of the bag. Western Larch (Tamarack; found at the right elevation in the Northwest) is the best all around firewood ever. After a little drying the bark falls off with just a touch. This is known as "buckskin tammy"...keep your chain out of the dirt and it will stay sharp for a long, long time. It splits with ease and the grain runs around knots and comes straight back. It burns a little fast but it puts out great heat in the process...just have to tend the damper. Another plus is it splits like cedar for kindling.

LP Pine is good for many reasons but Tamarack is King. I have used Red Fir and it is a distant second, better than LP IMHO. A good butt cut of red fir will gum up your saw with pitch, but it is pure BTU's. You can pour water on it and it won't go out once its started.

 

[smokechase II]

16gauge:
One other nice thing about Larch is the way it pops when it burns. It's nice to see your fire, makes you feel warmer. This is gonna sound silly if you haven't burned it, but that popping is warming to the soul.
Heaven is a cabin beside a babbling brook and tamarack popping away in your stove/fireplace.
One potentially embarrassing thing about Larix sp. is that they are deciduous conifers. Many the Forestry school that has been shamed by a groundskeeper cutting down a supposedly dead Larch.

 

[Stihl Crazy]

Here in my area sugar maple and beech are the most sought after. I burn whatever needs to be taken off my woodlot. Here are pics of the ends from hardwood logs and veneer.

 

[Blowdown1]

smokechase, I don't recall if any of the lists had BTUs for those woods. I have an XL spreadsheet that I put together last year that will give me cost analysis of firewood based upon cost and BTU (compared to my primary heat source, oil) and that is where I got those values from.

But your pine example is a good point. Any (almost) well seasoned wood can be used, it's just a matter of volume since BTU is based essentially on density.

 

[Lakeside53]

Any (almost) well seasoned wood can be used, it's just a matter of volume since BTU is based essentially on density.

Glad you mentioned this - I was just going to jump is and say "hey, what about..."...

When you factor in density, most wood gives a similar btu/pound (for the same water content, or "dryness"). A pound of Cottonwood gives rougly the same heat output as a pound of oak, but I'd rather burn oak (or almost anything else) anyday!!!

 

[CNYCountry]

smokechase, I don't recall if any of the lists had BTUs for those woods. I have an XL spreadsheet that I put together last year that will give me cost analysis of firewood based upon cost and BTU (compared to my primary heat source, oil) and that is where I got those values from.

But your pine example is a good point. Any (almost) well seasoned wood can be used, it's just a matter of volume since BTU is based essentially on density.

I think I remember that pine or spruce with pitch in it is about the only exception because the pitch has a lot of energy but weighs less per volume.

 

[cord arrow]

In my part of the country Osage-Orange is the top heat producer, also known as Hedge Apple. It's super dense , over 5,000 lbs. per green Cord !

and about 4995 lbs, when dry.

best there is............

TONS around here, central Ohio.

 

[Chainsaw Master]

Heres a poem from the days when wood was the only heat source, from some forgotten English poet.........

Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year.
Chestnut only good, they say,
If for long 'tis laid away.
But ash new or old
Is fit for queen with crown of gold

Birch and fir logs burn too fast,
Blaze up bright and do not last
It is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood burns like church yard mold
E'en the very flames are cold.
But ash green or ash brown
Is fit for queen with golden crown.

Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke.
Apple wood will sent your room
With an incense like perfume.
Oaken logs, if dry and old,
Keep away the winter's cold.
But ash wet or ash dry
a king shall warm his slippers by.

 

[smokechase II]

Well done. Chainsaw Master.
Wisdom for any age.

 

[Blowdown1]

I think that was penned by an ash salesman.

I agree that cottonwood and others are not good woods per se, but if it is around, burn it if it is seasoned. I did this w/ some poplar which is junk by itself, but extended my good wood a little.

The pitch/resin content in conifers is an interesting issue. I had not seen anything about it altering BTUs/pound but it makes sense. I guess the one question I have is; how much pitch is still left in really dry pine? Since it contains moisture I figure when it is fully seasoned it should be negligible, but that was just an assumption on my part.

 

[smokechase II]

Pitch in really dry pine is gonna be a variable based on what part of the tree and also what time of year the tree was cut or died.
Pitch can settle in a tree that has died and stands for awhile.
The butt log can be soaked in pitch. A nickname locally is tradin' wood. It's worth more cause of the heat it produces yes, but mainly its worth increased because it is a fantastic kindling.
If it is a growing season thing, lots of pitch running then. Sometimes the pitch running in the spring in pine or fir etc can be just amazing.
On an unrelated topic; when pitch settles in a Longleaf Pine, it can go to the heartwood as well as the stump. The wood cells fill with this pitch and in the South they call it Heart Pine. Hard as Oak, but with its cells already full, no chance of water damage. Many is the Southern home where the hurricane filled it with water but the heart pine was not a problem. Dry wall or plaster won't take paint, but that heart pine is good for more.
Heart pine is, of course a great firewood/kindling. But that would be disrespectful.

 

[Chainsaw Master]

Around here in michigan, theres norway pine stumps left over from the logging in the 1800's, preserved by the pitch. Makes really good kindling, I've torched a few in the winter time, to keep warm, while working, and they burned for days, the fire following the roots down into the ground a few feet.

 

[max2cam]

Does pine always give off a lot of creosote, even when it's really seasoned?

I burn lots of jackpine, usually good and dry. I do NOT see that dry pine creates any more creosote than any other dry firewood. In fact, dry pine makes an intensely hot fire with very little smoke good for cleaning out the stovepipe of creosote and good for heating up the house in the morning.

Green wood is what creates creosote IMHO no matter what the species of tree. A smoldering green oak or birch log will produces LOTS of creasote. Dry pine will create very little.

Not good for holding the fire overnight, but if you're there to add wood, jackpine makes a very good firewood. The knots are really high in BTUs. I likes it.

Just my 2 cents....

 

[max2cam]

Around here in michigan, theres norway pine stumps left over from the logging in the 1800's, preserved by the pitch. Makes really good kindling, I've torched a few in the winter time, to keep warm, while working, and they burned for days, the fire following the roots down into the ground a few feet.

Are you sure they are Norway (Red) pine stumps or could they be white pine maybe?

I have the same thing here: ancient old pine stumps preserved by fire blackening (and pitch?), and I have been hoping to determine whether they are white or red pine and I'm leaning towards white pine. Red pine seems to decay faster. I have both red and white pine growing in my woods with LOTS of nice big red pine.

I've taken a piece of those old stumps (at least 100 years since cut) and scraped off the surface layer and the inner wood is still in perfect condition altho exposed to the elements for a 100 years. I'm hoping the DNR guys can identify it for me as to species.

 

[bwalker]

The ones in MI are Whitepine stumps. Up here in the UP its isnt common to walk into areas that are full of whitepine stumps that are more than 100 years old. I actually have a few on my property.