I live in eastern oregon and my main problem is the identification of trees. I live in Northeastern Pennsylvania, where I have 20 acres of mixed hardwoods. and we burn them in our fireplace after they are seasoned. Persimmon is one of the most dense wood around this area. This keeps all sparks from shooting onto our carpet. It’s the worst wood I’ve ever encountered. Chopped up a few live oaks and boy that is a great wood for the fireplace! This is also the order I would rate them. Some have more heat than others but if you already have it you might as well cut it up and burn it. The only problems with it are that it throws a ton of sparks and is not good for a fireplace for that reason and when cured it is harder than a hub to hell and next to imposible to split by hand. Looked through posts and didn’t see if there was any mention of the BTU’s of a Norway Maple. The drawbacks are the stinky smoke and the fact I had to poke it every 10 min and its hard to split. In mid-summer, after the sap has risen and saturated the stump, cut it. The few times he has a bonfire he cooks hotdogs and marshmallows over treated oak pallet wood !!! The furnace didn’t come on all day. Dogwood is by far the hottest. cajun, Any BTU rating for Russian olive? They have a wierd looking fruit that is bright green and and can be as big as a cantaloupe and just as heavy. I live in East Kentucky and fire wood is abundant. Great info! I think many of us are a little envious of the river bottom land you have and the great hardwoods you have access to. I have put together the best data I could find, but consider the figures to be approximate. While this cuts down on sparks, it still doesn’t keep smaller ones from escaping thru the gaps in the doors. In fact, I’m convinced you can’t, conventionally. Western dogwood grows along the west coast and canyon live oak is common in California and Oregon. Campfires need much radiant heat to keep you warm on a chilly night . However, someone told me that buckthorn burns so hot you have to be careful your wood-burner doesn’t crack. It burns like coal,but wreaks havoc on a chainsaw and chain!!! We burn mostly old-growth sugar maple w some white ash, black cherry, beech and black maple thrown in. PRACTICALLY EVERY RANCH FENCE HERE AND NEW MEXICO IS MADE FROM IT, IT’S EASILY SPLIT AND IT RESISTS ROTTING. If you enjoy spearmint, peppermint, or wintergreen flavors, stock up on a bag of mints at BJ's Wholesale Club, where you'll be able to find a variety of refreshing options. Range of burning properties of the Australian eucalypts covers the full spectrum (and don’t even bother with wattles). Enjoy our delicious candy selection once you sign up for a BJ's Membership Card. Oaks are mostly native to woodlands in the Northern Hemisphere, but they vary widely, from cold and temperate forests across North America and Europe to the tropical … I’d like to see a table with all of these parameters listed by species. I get up in the morning and heat our little berm home from 66-67 to 71-74 degrees with cottonwood and red elm in an hour and a half with cottonwood providing the bulk of the heat. As a firewood enthusiast, I read with great envy about “350 acres of river bottom woods”. The two common types found in these parts are “tall shrubs” or “small trees”, depending on site characteristics… They are in the Rose family. btuCompare price : $900X7 = $6300 vs $375. Just curious what kind of energy we are getting from them compared to the cords of hardwood we buy. I cant seem to find any info on suitability of Tupelo or Black Gum for firewood. We have tons of the best hard woods in this country . According to wikipedia bradford pear trees originally come from China. When the tempreture drops to single digits or below zero the BTU output keeps my home comfortable, I also like the shagbark hickery. Be sure to let it season before burning to know how it should truly burn .Funny Story, I had a friend that cut a storm fallen red oak . Was used centuries ago as a last rite in dwelling of certain Mohave Indian tribes when older people were near death. But the common name aptly applies due to it’s obvious high density and/or hardness…probably how it got the common name in the first place. i think it’s red pine or red elm.. i live in central nm in the foothills of the rocky mtns,our primary firewood is shaggy bark juniper..we just call it scrub cedar..and there are several distinct kinds,yellow-grows extremely slow burns verry hot,red-softer burns up faster-aligator bark juniper-the softest of the 3 less btu…then we have pinyon…i dont burn this wood because it plugs my heat exchange unit up..dosent put out much heat and smokes like crazy..then there is scrub oak…it burns about the same as any kind of oak..pine and fir..blue spruce..no heat..chineese elm..hard to split little more heat than red scrub cedar..not much..so as far as firewood goes i would give the shaggy bark juniper the highest rating..i also have a house by lake texoma in tx right in the middle of an emense hardwood forest..oak..hickory..maple..american elm..birch..ect..ect..and when im there i burn mostly yellow oak..and hickory,but i like the juniper from nm much better..i dont think the btu rating this chart has for it is correct..im sure its not, i saw a coment on salt cedar above,what you are burning is juniper..or scrub cedar,salt cedar is a completely diferent kind of wood altogether..it grows along the riverbanks of nm and arizona..and i think its scrub syacamore..sorry about the spelling..but it is a verry hard wood..not sure of its btu rating..but i would still rather burn the scrub cedar..or juniper as they call it..salt cedar grows close to water,along with chineese elm and cottonwood in the lower elivations of the two states it does burn quite hot though..im prety sure its a kind of syacamore..close to the btu russian olive would produce..also fine wood for burning, im fron centeral missouri and our elm american or red will not burn in fact it is called p*** elm for reason. Also, their is plenty of it and nobody burns it so is always available and helps to conserve my hardwood. I burn approximately 20 cords of wood each season. We have 2 cast iron wood stoves and a drafty 200 year old house in central new York state. Seasoned and dry and I’m out there every three hours. The Btu rating for Almond varies from 29 to 32, why the variance? In the dead of winter find a pine tree that you want to cut. Will burn mostly oak as it gets colder. It does make a nice fire so maybe they should call it “Good Fir Fire”. A devastating pest known as emerald ash borer (EAB) has caused the destruction of hundreds of millions of ash trees in at least 35 states. It will spark quite a bit, however, when the burning logs collapse upon one another during the burning process. Hemlock that is stacked in a single stack with plenty of air and sun can be ready to burn in one summer. I BELIEVE THE CEDAR HE’S TALKING ABOUT IS INCENSE CEDAR. I like burning Birch in fireplaces but getrun away fires ( read relief valve blows @ 100 c) There are varieties of those species in the Eastern US but there are also varieties on the west coast. I live in Washington State,and We have a lot of conifers here! So, I’m of the opinion that there is no “best firewood” – it really depends on your application and how you value the qualitative aspects of each speicies. The greatest downside to using it is the abundance of tree sap that adheres to one’s gloves during the cutting and stacking process. It does burn a little fast but it throws out the heat. Great site! My favorite wood to burn, has always been standing dead elm. All firewood has about the same BTU per pound. Richard, thanks. It is a decent fuel, but very heavy when green and very light when dry. In Kansas we used a wood called hedge. I can’t locate any ratings for this wood. I can lift a 3′ log of aspen into my fire box – the same oak log is too heavy. Then fill it with fist size chunks of natural wood , then put the lid on . The cons are , no coal bed in the morning and it burns down a bit faster than the ash but it puts out real good heat. Thanks. just came from the woods. I HAVE to burn green to keep from feeding it all day. attributed to mark twain!!! Consistency between charts will vary due to different variables between different data sources. Back in the day they used to use the limbs for fence posts and the wood would last decades in the ground with out rotting. I have a rather large Bradford pear that I need to take down. The one that puts on what is called hedge apples, eaten by squirrels. you will be opening your windows in no time. White and red oak burn well. Any comment when compare to other oaks>, how much does a chord of juniper firewood cost, Your email address will not be published. (I’m assuming it rates as a soft maple) Luckily, our home is passive solar with super-insulated walls so it will still be worth burning. © 1997 - But in my opinion any kind of wood is worth cutting up and burning as long as it isn’t totally rotten or anything. What wood would you say it is similar to on the b.t.u. Very unusual leaf pattern for an oak, but just as heavy as all the other oaks. I live in Mn and it smells just like fresh cut oak. Here is a link to a site that I found a couple of years ago.http://www.demesne.info/Garden-Help/Trees-Shrubs/Firewood-hard.htm I have an old Black Bart insert and have found that in mid atlantic East coast, the oaks rule (Esp. Well here it is getting to be winter in upstate NY again and the little woodstove in our basement has been running since September or so. But smoke is very dangerous, known carcinogen. I cannot find any chart that lists BTU’s for Shingle Oak – anyone out there have specific information on that particular variety? There is more smoke from wood than coal so ignore the GreenFascist/ACORN Brownshirts and their deceits. Its all from WI. Mullberry has a short lifespan and is very rot resistant so they are quite easy to find here in west Tennessee. The apple is a good secret that most wood burners never thought of . We live in the upper Mojave desert (Calif.) and pretty much have to take what wood is available to buy. When cutting, I have to sharpen my chain saw pretty frequently. A lot of people don’t burn it so it is plentiful. Like some other fruitwoods, however–particularly mulberry–they are difficult to set on fire. Re Bradford Pear, we had one in our front yard that lasted about 15 yrs., then went the way of many: split in a storm. I first came here and posted in 2010 . Split horribly and had a bad odor and only arround 15.5 BTU/ cord. I am planting some of the “Eastern” varieties out here that we had in PA. If some of the wood is used for construction, there is a net decrease in CO2 from the activity. It is easy to split and burns great. There are some issues out here in the west that may not be present in other areas, just a heads up if it helps. For the very old man. A cord is 128 cubic feet of stacked wood. I like ash because you can cut it and burn it the same day and it splits easily. Apparently Magnolia is very similar to Tulip Poplar. You could post in the forum and maybe have a better chance of a response. Thanks for the comment, great to know we are getting long time repeat visitors. Cottonwood (we refer it as Waterwood) is worthless. I have tentatively decided on part native Osage Orange [hedge apple] for the BTU but I see from all the knowledgeable comments here I need more than one type of wood. I live on the west slope too and have found that oak, even when protected, doesn’t keep that well, unlike cedar, pine, fir, or lodgepole. anyone know anything about sweet gum btu value? as far as mulberry goes..i live in central nm and at some point in time someone started planting non bearing mulberry trees..the btu output is not even close to what the charts state above..our mulberry trees would be similar to burning elm wood..it grows verry fast and requires a lot of water..we dont even use it for cooking wood..of course most native wood in nm is verry hard because it takes hundreds of yrs to grow…the growth rings are so small in some cases it takes a microscope to see them..some of the juniper trees we cut for firewood ive been told were around during the time of christ..so it naturaly is going to be extremely hard wood..ive been looking for the btu output for algarita..or desert holly..where i cut my firewood its not uncommon to find these trees from 5inches to two feet around..it takes at least a yr to season..ive seen gunstocks and stair rails made from it…prety wood…anyone know?? cure time is at least 2 years covered,found a rating of 16 mil btus per cord but it was rated as poor firewood. I found a big beech limb fully seasoned and cut it up for a try . Caution, cutting dead hedge will eat your saw chain in a heart beat, it becomes so hard and stringy. Our house is a 3 BR split level affair. Don’t waste your time with Sweetgum wood. Food Paradise is a television series narrated by Jesse Blaze Snider (formerly by Mason Pettit) that features the best places to find various cuisines at food locations across America. Persimmon is a good secret,burns hot and long. I;M TAKING DOWN BROKEN BRANCHES ON A TREE I WAS TOLD WAS LOCUST.NOT WHAT TYPE.WOOD IS LIGHTCOLORED, CORE IS DARK. I have been burning Honey Locust, Dogwood, Apple, Black Cherry, Black Walnut, Tulip Poplar(Tulip Tree) and Sassafras. Redgum is differentiated from just about all other Australian woods for firewood, for its lasting and heat, and difficulty to get going. Storms here in Georgia recently took down some large sweetgums. They are 6″-8″ in diameter at the base and ~15′ long. I’m new to burning wood in an open fireplace. I live in Bedford County Va and burn what I have on my property. Or the thousands of different genus found in Australia . Hey Mikee, your right, red oak goes fast and so does beech and elm. Light it then put the wet wood on top and watch the water and steam spew out of the ends . all our needs now,and for a few more years,sad business. I live in so. After seeing this list, I now understand why live oak dulls my chainsaw blades so quick. They died. This comparison has live oak at 36.6 and Eucalyptus at 34.5 BTU’S Eucalyptus is a very broad term does this refere to the gum species that grow in California ? How do you burn and what type of stove do you use? Green and I feed it one or two times per day. density, and several qualitative parameters – smell, ash production, fast/slow burn, ease of starting, ease of splitting, color/look of flame, popping/sparking … and probably others. There’s a very large pile of willow butt logs, in a bunch pile from the willow my landlords had cut down, it’s an eyesore and I’m tempted to lop it up and split it, not only to get rid of it but firewood is going for 210.00 per cord here and I’m thinking it’s not cost effective to bother with wood having natural gas for the furnace. True story. If you’re going to load up your wood stove with the big stuff overnight, you might consider leaving the air intake barely cracked open. but apperntly most people never heard of this VERY HARD AND VERY VERY HEAVY WOOD. It is impossible to split when green and easy when dry, but unless special precautions are taken it’ll rot rather than season. There are mine if I want them. Just split 3 cords of white oak and 2 cords of red oak to season for next year. It burns with a big bright flame then turns into a big bed of red hot coals that burn forever . Burns hotter than any wood I have ever seen, is becoming rare and may be protected in some areas. I have a few standing dead pin oaks. Thanks! BARK SEEMS OAKLIKE. Over the years I’ve heard people in this region say it gets too hot for stoves…if they use only the mahogany I imagine. I now have access to a great deal of Poplar. Does anyone know which of these woods produces the least ash, Oak or Pine. It smells great too . I primarily have Red Oak, Black Cherry, American Elm, Red Maple, Locust, Hickory, Cottonwood, Poplar, growing in the woods. Any wisdom out there? Would I still be allergic to it or was that just to its pollen? About 15 yrs ago, it warped and a 10″ long split developed in it, so I had a 3/16″ steel plate welded over the split, and since then, everything is hunky-dory. I find black cherry and hickory give the best burning results. thanks, In my lifetime I have seen the end of the Chestnut,the American elm,and now the Ash, Dick Ashton. A week later he tried to burn it and told me to never burn oak , because it burned terrible and smoked bad . Elm is easy to find around here . It burns so well I mix it with red elm, mulberry, or ash. Not to mention the spikey nuts that are hard on the mower and gutters. When we’re craning wood out of the tree or hauling big Monterey pine I use the weight charts for Douglas fir since I’ve read they are almost the same density green. Compiled from various sources. First find you a steel bucket with a metal lid . The ones in the western hardwoods chart are for the west coast varieties. A little off topic for this page so you might not get much response here. Just look for a barkless dead tree in a fence row . As long as it’s dry it will burn and put out enough heat to make it worth it since you don’t have to buy the wood. My grad parents were pioneers who cooked /heated homestead houses with white popular ! AND TALK ABOUT FIREWOOD, IT BURNS HOT AND IS FAIRLY LONG LASTING.ABOUT HALF OF MY YEARLY FIREWOOD IS THIS CEDAR.I’D CALL THIS TYPE SOMEWHAT OF A HARDWOOD, UNLIKE INCENSE CEDAR. Split these sections into sticks. Douglas fir is Pseudotsuga, menzizii for the man who identified it. Coupons Stock Up On Your Favorite Types Of Candy, Pick Up In-Club Stock Up On Your Favorite Types Of Candy, Mints Stock Up On Your Favorite Types Of Candy, Pay My BJ’s Perks Mastercard Credit Card Bill. This is because softwoods, like pine and fir, contain resins, which have more energy per weight than wood fiber does. This wood is twice as hot as anything else. I think it’s high on the calorie scale, as it’s known to get good and hot. I burned some buckthorn in 1.5” to 4” diameter unsplit and that stuff burns HOT in our wood stove; it stinks and it’s not the easiest to start. Personally, when I am home, I burn alot of Pitch Pine. Also, box elm burns decent but it stinks. Great site. Burning well-seasoned poplar and maple, with a couple sticks of red oak. I’m out here in southern Oregon, and there’s red fir, which is a true fir, just as white fir, and grand fir are. There is some conflicting data between different sources due to different calculating variables. rating for mountain mahogany. I have been told that gum trees and pine trees will clog up a chimmney I will feed twice that amount of seasoned. Thanks, Barry , I think tulip poplar would be similar to cottonwood since they are both in the poplar family . Sometimes the base of the tree is hollow with a wet sawdust inside. There is nothing wrong with burning well seasoned softwoods, but care should be taken not to over fire with ones that tend to burn fast and hot. Too Much Charcoal Building Up in a Wood Stove, Does Burning Softwood Cause Creosote in a Chimney, Soaking Wood Chips for Smoking and Grilling. Love reading the comments from Andy. I look for fallen trees that are gray and smooth. FYI, this insert has glass doors and a chain-link curtain inside them. Also have lots (4 cord) of seasoned oak and cherry on hand. For wood stoves I beleive ash,oak,hickory mix. Well seasoned softwoods, including the pines, firs and spruces can be burned for heat. hope this helped you. BTU’s or British Thermal Units are a measure of the amount of heat energy available in any given substance. I will burn some of the lesser wood, ie. I think I saw on another btu chart that poplar is 17.0 , but not totally for sure. I may mix it up with buckthorn which has invaded my woods. ), I am reduced to asking neighbors or builders if I can haul away their downed trees. As a result, a cord of wood may only have 70-90 cubic feet of actual solid wood. I live on the east coast (midatlantic area) and we have a lot of Mimosa trees. (red) just now brought back a load of beech. It’s not the best, but it will warm you. I believe that pecan should be very high in BTU’s and close to the other hickories, only because it’s in the family. I have burned them in that past and would like to know if anyone knew the BTU value of these trees? As such, glass doors are essential to preventing a fire in your living room. I live in Oregon(Portland) and have used all the local species for both fireplace and stove heat. This picture shows an older beech tree with beechnuts. At ~$75/ton which is about the same dimension size as a cord of wood, it has about 6-7X the btu value of any cord of wood. Like another poster mentioned, the oaks need to be processed and used quickly, they get bugs and start to rot very soon after coming down. Oh, and one other thing. We collect it as “down and dead” firewood when we are cutting western juniper (J.occidentalis), mostly on B.L.M. document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) The logs are quite heavy now, but still pretty green. We’ve been lucky the past years to find eucalyptus but have been offered almond this season. Any comments would be helpful. Less dense softwoods have less BTU per cord than more dense hardwood but they also weigh less per cord. Also warning about the manmade white fruitless mulberry, something wrong with smoke in that too. Interesting reading. I live in the midwest southern iowa have burned firewood for most of my life,and have discovered that different woodstove set ups heat better using different wood. The ongoing extinction of the Ash,all species,is supplying It doesn’t seem to put out much ash, but does put out some real heat. since i’m now retired it sure is nice to cut on my schedule. Brings back a lot of memories of cutting firewood with my grandpa. Wood with lots of air in it has a lower BTU content because there is less cellulose (burnable material). The firewood BTU rating charts below give a comparison between different firewood types. Red Oak requires a bit of time to season, but burns well after 2 years. I BELIEVE IT’S CALLED SALT CEDAR. They’re all gone around here….. We just called them hedge trees. All the old timer’s around only burn oak and turn their nose up at fir. Can the latter possibly split 36″ diameter 2′ drums? with the exception of oak (usualy scrub oak), all the firewood vendors here have is Eucalyptus (no rating), Avacado (no rating), Almond (no rating) and “mixed hardwood”. When it’s cold out, I seem less lazy to get up in the middle of the night to keep the fire hot overnight. These charts will give you the amount of energy per cord of wood for some of the most common firewood species. I did My little campfire experiment to find out the best hardwood for a campfire . Some do well, others not so well… Any info on Sassafras? Be sure to have a good roaring fire the whole time the wood is cooking and make sure the wood that is being used for charcoal is well seasoned .The greener the wood the less charcoal will be produced and it will greatly increase the production time.My next batch will be made using a 55 gal drum to hold the wood for charcoal and I will make a concrete block kiln to hold my fire.This should make about 50 -75 lbs of hickory pecan mix charcoal. Lots of heat and hot coals-kept us from freezing one late night at 6,000 feet in late October, while we were wasting time patroling a wildfire in NE California back in ’85. I live in southwest Oregon. I’m also guessing that the Hickory that I can get are the Shagbark or the bitternut 27.7-26.5 correct? It throws sparks so only should be used in stoves that can be closed. The Majestic fireplace has held up quite well, except for the back wall. But in many cases softwoods actually have more BTU per pound than hardwoods. The aspen and spruce burn quickly and hot which works well with my boiler’s aquastat and powered vent system – when the water cools below 175F, the fan kicks on and the easy starting, fast burning “junk” wood flames up quickly which works well to maintain a constant water temp at 180F – maintains the set point and keeps the control loop tight. They also give a pleasant smell, though not as nice as red oak, cherry, or yellow birch. You can use chocolate bars in baking or as a convenient snack option when the craving strikes. I’ll cut a limb, and if it’s yellow inside it’s hedge. We have many native hardwoods here but this is the best, cleanest stuff Ive found. The latter is superabundant here, but is the “devil itself to split”. http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/home/heating_cooling/firewood.html, http://www.demesne.info/Garden-Help/Trees-Shrubs/Firewood-hard.htm, https://firewoodresource.com/firewood-btu-ratings/. It’s a good starter wood . i live in orth east ohio we get some cold winters up hear the wood that we burn are hickory,oak,beech,hard maple,cherry,locost wood aroun hear is easy to get people will let u go in there woods and take all the down trees i own ranch 1500 sq feet with burning all these hardwoods i only burn 2-3 cord per winter thats not very muck i know guys that burn 10 to 12 cords but there not burning seasioned wood my wood id been seasioned for 2 to 3 years but my over all fav list around hear in ohio goes like this HICKORY #1 it burns forever i had a fire the other day it lasted 7 hours loved it #2oak #3beech #4 locost #5 hard maple #6 cherry love the coals cherry produses if ther is any other northeast ohio burners let me no what u r burning and how u like it .. burn on be safe. The wood from these trees makes the greatest stove wood there is. I live here in north west tennessee near the miss river . My wood cribs have steel floors to keep the wood off the ground and away from bugs, so the wood stays dry. I noticed a lack of information on Hickory. Would it be possible to post the btu value for Monterey Pine? It burns very hot,and produces nice heat. Some are deciduous, some evergreen, some semi-evergreen. NOW I LIVE IN ARIZONA AND THE CEDAR OUT HERE IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT! I use a LOT of hemlock because I have 10 acres of hemlock woods and trees come down in storms and have to be cleaned up. if it does not stay at – 30,40 C . The inside resembles red or white oak color & grain. A few other elders like black locust . I made the mistake of “scoring” a cottonwood many years ago and don’t want to make that mistake again. It’s now plentiful since it has been declared a nuisance species. I heat 5,500 sq ft with 130,000 BTU Franks Piping Wood Boiler from Quebec CDN. Builders planted them everywhere in Maryland, so talk about an abundant supply of firewood. I’m in North Texas and I have a half acre I can devote to renewable firewood. Great heat as well as flavor. they r clean , no bark or bugs, hard as a rock & burn hot! Some fully seasoned apple,beech and american elm and some partially seasoned pecan and bradford pear . I burn 24/7, and use about two cords from Nov. thru Mar., with several 3-day breaks every three weeks or so when the temps are a bit higher. If one falls on your truck it’s like having a bowling ball hit it. Hedge (Osage Orange) will do the same thing. We have oaks and madrone as our more common hardwoods. Maple trees, in general, look good and have aesthetic features that many people look for in a tree. Many black oaks lost big limbs in the surprise snow of Nov 2010. If I come across more apple I will cut it . All of them burn well. My neighbors complemented on the smell of it .It’s great cooking wood too . I am planting osage orange, black walnut, sassafrass, and black locust. We used to call them hedge apples. For example a Eucalypt that is similar in size and appearance to live oak is E moluccana ( grey box ) it grows in iron stone reliying on 12 inches of rain per year and at 3% moisture content weighs 9,856 pounds per cord how many BTU’S would that equate to , or what about Waddy wood ( Acacia peuce ) it grows in the outback and at 3% moisture content weighs 13,112 pounds per cord and relies on one inch of rainfall per year what would its BTU output be ? anyone have any experience burning mulberry? My grand dad swears beech is king. The bradford pear can go to the dump along with the elm .