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.

Species Weight (lbs./Cord) Heat per Cord (Million BTUs) % of Green Ash Ease of Splitting Smoke Sparks Coals Fragrance Overall Quality

Green Dry

Apple 4850 3888 27.0 135 Medium Low Few Good Excellent Excellent

Ash, Green 4184 2880 20.0 100 Easy Low Few Good Slight Excellent

Alder 2540 17.5 Easy Low Moderate Good Slight Good

Ash, White 3952 3472 24.2 121 Medium Low Few Good Slight Excellent

Aspen, Quaking 2160 18.2 Easy Medium Few Good Slight Good

Basswood (Linden) 4404 1984 13.8 69 Easy Medium Few Poor Good Fair

Beech 3760 27.5 Difficult Medium Few Excellent Good Fair

Birch 4312 2992 20.8 104 Medium Medium Few Good Slight Fair

Boxelder 3589 2632 18.3 92 Difficult Medium Few Poor Slight Fair

Buckeye, Horsechestnut 4210 1984 13.8 69 Medium Low Few Poor Slight Fair

Catalpa 4560 2360 16.4 82 Difficult Medium Few Good Bad Fair

Cedar, Red 2060 13.0 Easy Low Many Poor slight Fair

Cherry 3696 2928 20.4 102 Easy Low Few Excellent Excellent Good

Chestnut 18.0 Medium Low Few Good Good Good

Coffeetree, Kentucky 3872 3112 21.6 108 Medium Low Few Good Good Good

Cottonwood 4640 2272 15.8 79 Easy Medium Few Good Slight Fair

Dogwood 4230 High Difficult Medium Few Fair Slight Good

Douglas-fir 3319 2970 20.7 103 Easy High Few Fair Slight Good

Elm, American 4456 2872 20.0 100 Difficult Medium Few Excellent Good Fair

Elm, Siberian 3800 3020 20.9 105 Difficult Medium Few Good Fair Fair

Fir, White 3585 2104 14.6 73 Easy Medium Few Poor Slight Fair

Hackberry 3984 3048 21.2 106 Easy Low Few Good Slight Good

Hemlock 2700 19.3 Easy Medium Many Poor Good Good

Species Weight (lbs./Cord) Heat per Cord (Million BTUs) % of Green Ash Ease of Splitting Smoke Sparks Coals Fragrance Overall Quality

Green Dry

Honeylocust 4640 3832 26.7 133 Easy Low Few Excellent Slight Excellent

Juniper, Rocky Mountain 3535 3150 21.8 109 Medium Medium Many Poor Excellent Fair

Larch (Tamarack) 3330 21.8 Easy-med Low Many fair Slight Fair

Locust, Black 4616 4016 27.9 140 Difficult Low Few Excellent Slight Excellent

Maple, Other 4685 3680 25.5 128 Easy Low Few Excellent Good Excellent

Maple, Silver 3904 2752 19.0 95 Medium Low Few Excellent Good Fair

Mulberry 4712 3712 25.8 129 Easy Medium Many Excellent Good Excellent

Oak, Bur 4960 3768 26.2 131 Easy Low Few Excellent Good Excellent

Oak, Gamble 30.7 Medium Low Few Excellent Good Excellent

Oak, Red 4888 3528 24.6 123 Medium Low Few Excellent Good Excellent

Oak, White 5573 4200 29.1 146 Medium Low Few Excellent Good Excellent

Osage-orange 5120 4728 32.9 165 Easy Low Many Excellent Excellent Excellent

Pine, Ponderosa 3600 2336 16.2 81 Easy Medium Many Fair Good Fair

Pine, Lodgepole 2610
21.1
Easy Medium Many Fair Good Fair

Pine, White 2250
15.9
Easy Medium Moderate Poor Good Fair

Pinon 3000 27.1 Easy Medium Many Fair Slight Fair

Poplar 2080 Low Easy Medium Many Fair Bitter Fair

Redcedar, Eastern 2950 2632 18.2 91 Medium Medium Many Poor Excellent Fair

Spruce 2800 2240 15.5 78 Easy Medium Many Poor Slight Fair

Spruce, Engleman 2070 15.0 78 Easy Few Poor Slight Fair

Sycamore 5096 2808 19.5 98 Difficult Medium Few Good Slight Good

Walnut, Black 4584 3192 22.2 111 Easy Low Few Good Good Excellent

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.

*Information and facts in this article were partially obtained from the following:

*Burning Wood and Coal by Susan Mackay, L. Dale Baker, John W. Bartok, Jr., and James P. Lassoie. 1985. Northeast *Regional Agricultural Engineering Service, Riley Robb Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. (607)256-7654. 90 pp.
*The Wood Burner's Encyclopedia by Jay Shelton and Andrew B. Shapiro. 1976. Vermont Crossroads Press, Box 333, Waitsfield, VT 05673. 155 pp.
*Wood Heat Safety by Jay Shelton. 1979. Garden Way Publishing Co., Charlotte, VT 05445. 165 pp.
*Tom Schmidt, former Forester for the Nebraska Forest Service.
*A University of Nebraska fact sheet titled "Heating With Wood: Species Characteristics and Volumes".

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