All wood burns, although not all woods burn off the exact same. Some burn up hotter, slower, and cleaner than Other individuals. Some smoke a whole lot, and a few have a lot of sap or resin that clogs your chimney promptly. The top kinds of firewood for your wood stove or fireplace burn up warm and relatively steadily, manufacturing much more heat and, ordinarily, burning much more absolutely. These woods are generally hardwoods, including hickory or ash, rather than softwoods, including pine and cedar.
Hardwood Firewood
Hardwoods for instance maple, oak, ash, birch, and many fruit trees are the best burning woods that provides you with a hotter and extended melt away time. These woods have the least pitch and sap and are typically cleaner to deal with. Even so, hardwoods are commonly dearer than softwoods and tend to be more at risk of depart clinkers, a hard and stony residue, while in the leftover ash.
Should you be burning birch firewood, know about the thick internal brown bark known as the phloem. This bark retains lots of moisture and will prevent the Wooden from drying evenly.1 As a result, it is best To combine birch with One more form of hardwood for any cleaner burn and fewer smoke. Smoke brings about a buildup of creosote, that's a byproduct of wood combustion consisting predominantly of tar that normally brings about chimney fires.2
Softwood Firewood
Softwood is The most cost effective form of Wooden You should buy. Fir is the best choice, but other softwoods involve pine, balsam, spruce, cedar, tamarack, alder, and poplar. Softwoods are likely to burn a lot quicker and depart finer ash in comparison with hardwoods.three They also is often messy to handle, Primarily pine, spruce, and balsam, as they bring about creosote to construct up additional swiftly in the chimney.
Comparing Firewood by Heat Electricity
Various firewoods is often classified by the amount of heat Strength they create per twine of Wooden. The most effective firewoods give the warmth-Power equivalent of 200 to 250 gallons of gas oil.4 These include things like the subsequent:
Apple
Beech (American)
Birch (Yellow)
Hickory (Shagbark)
Ironwood
Maple (Sugar)
Pink oak
White ash
White oak
The next category of heat Power may be the equivalent of one hundred fifty to 200 gallons of fuel per cord of firewood. These woods consist of:
Birch (White)
Cherry (Black)
Douglas fir
Elm (American)
Maple (Red and Silver)
Tamarack
In the lowest heat-Strength classification, Each individual twine of wood produces regarding the identical heat as one hundred to one hundred fifty gallons of gasoline oil:
Alder (Crimson)
Aspen
Cedar (Pink)
Cottonwood
Hemlock
Pine (Lodgepole and White)
Redwood
Spruce (Sitka)
Make Sure Your Wooden Is Dry
You must under no circumstances burn "eco-friendly," or insufficiently dried, wood mainly because it generates significantly less warmth and even more smoke (and, ultimately, creosote) than thoroughly dried, or seasoned, Wooden. For right storage, you need to stack your wood for successful air circulation, coated at the very best only, and ensure it is actually carefully dry before burning. A superb guideline will be to rotate your firewood, as in burning the more mature dryer wood very first, to avoid wood rot and squander.
Wooden ought to have a dampness articles of a lot less that twenty percent for burning. Along with the humidity previously mentioned twenty p.c, wood is difficult to start and burns badly and inefficiently, making extreme quantities of h2o vapor, smoke, and harmful air.five
Woods to prevent
Salvaged firewood or other scraps can help you save some huge cash In terms of heating your own home with Wooden. But you will find specified wood solutions and other products that you should stay away from for overall health and basic safety good reasons. Lots of of such will create harmful fumes indoors, together with chimney emissions that may be an environmental issue.six Some here also pose more challenges on your stove metals or can develop a dangerous buildup of creosote within your chimney.
For your personal protection you'll want to always avoid burning:
Painted or varnished Wooden, trim, or other wood by-items
Stress-treated lumber
Driftwood
Engineered sheet products, for example plywood, particleboard, and MDF
Hardboard or other compressed paper products6
When you are afflicted with allergic reactions, some woods, Primarily aromatic cedar, must also be made use of with warning.
Wood Burning Safety Strategies
Use care and common perception In terms of feeding your wood stove. Though you are doing want some paper to get started on your stove, only use adequate to find the fire heading. Too much use of starter paper will just incorporate to the creosote buildup.5
Burning Dry Firewood Saves Dollars and Improves Air Good quality. Condition of Vermont Agency of Pure Sources, 2021.
Security, of course, is A significant worry when running any Wooden-burning equipment. Always comply with all suggested clearances and defend flooring which has a fireplace-resistant floor pad. Be sure to have an active carbon monoxide alarm in the area and that your household is provided with Doing the job smoke alarms.