All wood burns, although not all woods burn off exactly the same. Some melt away hotter, slower, and cleaner than Many others. Some smoke quite a bit, and several have plenty of sap or resin that clogs your chimney immediately. The ideal varieties of firewood for just a wood stove or fireplace burn up incredibly hot and comparatively steadily, generating extra warmth and, normally, burning additional completely. These woods tend to be hardwoods, for example hickory or ash, rather than softwoods, including pine and cedar.
Hardwood Firewood
Hardwoods for example maple, oak, ash, birch, and many fruit trees are the most beneficial burning woods that will give you a hotter and for a longer time burn time. These woods possess the least pitch and sap and therefore are typically cleaner to deal with. Even so, hardwoods are commonly costlier than softwoods and are more vulnerable to leave clinkers, a tough and stony residue, during the leftover ash.
If you're burning birch firewood, be aware of the thick interior brown bark called the phloem. This bark retains plenty of moisture and will prevent the Wooden from drying evenly.1 Consequently, it's best to mix birch with An additional type of hardwood for any cleaner burn and less smoke. Smoke causes a buildup of creosote, and that is a byproduct of wood combustion consisting mainly of tar that usually brings about chimney fires.2
Softwood Firewood
Softwood is The most affordable kind of Wooden you can buy. Fir is the only option, but other softwoods contain pine, balsam, spruce, cedar, tamarack, alder, and poplar. Softwoods tend to burn off quicker and depart finer ash when compared to hardwoods.3 Additionally they may be messy to manage, Specifically pine, spruce, and balsam, because they trigger creosote to create up more speedily in your chimney.
Comparing Firewood by Heat Strength
Different firewoods could be categorized by the quantity of warmth Electrical power they produce for each twine of wood. The ideal firewoods give the heat-Power equivalent of 200 to 250 gallons of fuel oil.4 These contain the next:
Apple
Beech (American)
Birch (Yellow)
Hickory (Shagbark)
Ironwood
Maple (Sugar)
Crimson oak
White ash
White oak
The subsequent group of heat Strength could be the equal of one hundred fifty to 200 gallons of fuel per wire of firewood. These woods include:
Birch (White)
Cherry (Black)
Douglas fir
Elm (American)
Maple (Pink and Silver)
Tamarack
In the bottom heat-Strength class, Each and every cord of Wooden provides about the exact warmth as one hundred to 150 gallons of gasoline oil:
Alder (Crimson)
Aspen
Cedar (Red)
Cottonwood
Hemlock
Pine (Lodgepole and White)
Redwood
Spruce (Sitka)
Ensure that Your Wood Is Dry
You need to by no means melt away "inexperienced," or insufficiently dried, wood mainly because it generates significantly less warmth and a lot more smoke (and, eventually, creosote) than correctly dried, or seasoned, Wooden. For correct storage, you should stack your wood for economical air circulation, lined at the top only, and ensure it is carefully dry just before burning. A very good guideline should be to rotate your firewood, as in burning the older dryer wood initially, to prevent Wooden rot and squander.
Wooden should have a dampness written content of significantly less that twenty p.c for burning. Using the dampness earlier here mentioned twenty p.c, Wooden is hard to begin and burns badly and inefficiently, developing too much quantities of water vapor, smoke, and unhealthy air.5
Woods to prevent
Salvaged firewood or other scraps can help you save lots of money when it comes to heating your house with wood. But you'll find specified wood merchandise and various merchandise that you need to avoid for health and basic safety good reasons. Quite a few of those will make hazardous fumes indoors, in addition to chimney emissions that will be an environmental concern.six Some also pose added hazards in your stove metals or can create a harmful buildup of creosote with your chimney.
To your safety you should generally keep away from burning:
Painted or varnished wood, trim, or other Wooden by-items
Pressure-dealt with lumber
Driftwood
Engineered sheet items, such as plywood, particleboard, and MDF
Hardboard or other compressed paper products6
In the event you suffer from allergic reactions, some woods, Specifically aromatic cedar, should also be made use of with caution.
Wood Burning Protection Ideas
Use treatment and customary sense On the subject of feeding your wood stove. While you are doing want some paper to get started on your stove, only use sufficient to have the fireplace likely. Excessive utilization of starter paper will just insert to the creosote buildup.5
Burning Dry Firewood Saves Dollars and Increases Air High quality. Condition of Vermont Agency of Normal Means, 2021.
Safety, needless to say, is A significant worry when running any Wooden-burning appliance. Generally adjust to all encouraged clearances and protect flooring having a fire-resistant floor pad. Be sure you have an active carbon monoxide alarm in the area and that the dwelling is provided with Doing the job smoke alarms.