All wood burns, although not all woods burn off exactly the same. Some burn off hotter, slower, and cleaner than others. Some smoke a whole lot, plus some have a lot of sap or resin that clogs your chimney promptly. The top sorts of firewood for your wood stove or fireplace burn up hot and relatively steadily, manufacturing additional warmth and, generally, burning far more completely. These woods are typically hardwoods, for example hickory or ash, rather then softwoods, for instance pine and cedar.
Hardwood Firewood
Hardwoods including maple, oak, ash, birch, and many fruit trees are the top burning woods that provides you with a hotter and longer burn time. These woods provide the least pitch and sap and so are commonly cleaner to handle. Nevertheless, hardwoods are commonly costlier than softwoods and tend to be more liable to go away clinkers, a tough and stony residue, during the leftover ash.
Should you be burning birch firewood, be aware of the thick interior brown bark known as the phloem. This bark retains lots of moisture and might avert the wood from drying evenly.one As a result, it is best to mix birch with One more type of hardwood for any cleaner burn and fewer smoke. Smoke causes a buildup of creosote, which happens to be a byproduct of wood combustion consisting largely of tar that commonly causes chimney fires.2
Softwood Firewood
Softwood is The most affordable kind of Wooden You should purchase. Fir is the only option, but other softwoods include things like pine, balsam, spruce, cedar, tamarack, alder, and poplar. Softwoods have a tendency to burn off a lot quicker and go away finer ash as compared to hardwoods.three In addition they may be messy to manage, Specifically pine, spruce, and balsam, as they lead to creosote to make up much more rapidly in your chimney.
Comparing Firewood by Warmth Power
Distinct firewoods might be classified by the quantity of heat energy they produce for each wire of wood. The ideal firewoods provide the heat-Electrical power equivalent of 200 to 250 gallons of fuel oil.four These include the next:
Apple
Beech (American)
Birch (Yellow)
Hickory (Shagbark)
Ironwood
Maple (Sugar)
Pink oak
White ash
White oak
Another category of warmth Power is definitely the equal of a hundred and fifty to 200 gallons of gas for every twine of firewood. These woods consist of:
Birch (White)
Cherry (Black)
Douglas fir
Elm (American)
Maple (Purple and Silver)
Tamarack
In the lowest heat-Vitality class, each cord of Wooden creates with regard to the very same warmth as a hundred to 150 gallons of gasoline oil:
Alder (Red)
Aspen
Cedar (Red)
Cottonwood
Hemlock
Pine (Lodgepole and White)
Redwood
Spruce (Sitka)
Make Sure Your Wooden Is Dry
It is best to by no means melt away "inexperienced," or insufficiently dried, Wooden since it makes significantly less heat plus much more smoke (and, in the long run, creosote) than adequately dried, or seasoned, Wooden. more info For proper storage, you need to stack your wood for productive air circulation, coated at the highest only, and ensure it can be thoroughly dry prior to burning. A good rule of thumb is usually to rotate your firewood, as in burning the older dryer wood very first, in order to avoid wood rot and squander.
Wood ought to have a dampness information of significantly less that 20 p.c for burning. With the humidity earlier mentioned 20 per cent, wood is hard to get started on and burns poorly and inefficiently, making abnormal amounts of h2o vapor, smoke, and unhealthy air.5
Woods in order to avoid
Salvaged firewood or other scraps can save you lots of money On the subject of heating your own home with Wooden. But you will discover specified wood products and solutions and also other items that you should avoid for wellness and safety explanations. Quite a few of such will deliver harmful fumes indoors, along with chimney emissions that may be an environmental issue.six Some also pose more challenges to the stove metals or can create a dangerous buildup of creosote in the chimney.
To your protection you ought to generally avoid burning:
Painted or varnished wood, trim, or other Wooden by-solutions
Stress-taken care of lumber
Driftwood
Engineered sheet items, for example plywood, particleboard, and MDF
Hardboard or other compressed paper products6
In case you suffer from allergies, some woods, Primarily aromatic cedar, also needs to be utilised with caution.
Wood Burning Safety Ideas
Use treatment and customary feeling In regards to feeding your Wooden stove. Despite the fact that you need to do need some paper to start out your stove, only use enough to obtain the fireplace going. Abnormal utilization of starter paper will just add to the creosote buildup.5
Burning Dry Firewood Saves Money and Enhances Air Good quality. Point out of Vermont Agency of Pure Resources, 2021.
Security, not surprisingly, is a major issue when working any wood-burning equipment. Always adjust to all proposed clearances and defend flooring by using a hearth-resistant flooring pad. Be sure you have an Energetic carbon monoxide alarm in the region and that the house is supplied with working smoke alarms.