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"For heat
and safety, choose
well-seasoned hardwood."
But what type?
And how do you know what you're getting, if you
buy wood?
What should you look for, and what should you
look out for? |
There are several considerations: The species and density of wood
that produces the best heat, the wood's dryness or seasoning time
when it is burned, the amount of sap or resin released during burning
that produces sparks and contributes to creosote, and if you buy wood,
how you can evaluate and verify what you're getting.
Sources for the following information about locally
available wood types include: "Firewood in Pacific Northwest
Forests," published by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, "Burn
Wood Better," published by the Oregon DEQ (Dept. of Environmental
Quality) Air Quality Division, and an article from the Siskiyou Daily
News submitted by a local resident, the late Maurine Lockwood, entitled,
"For heat, you just can't beat a stack of oak," page 12,
Fall Home Improvement Section, Thursday, October 7th, 1999.
Ratings
of Different Firewoods |
| Species |
Heating Quality |
Ease of Splitting |
Ease of Starting |
Sparks |
| Alder |
Medium |
Easy |
Fair |
Moderate |
| Apple |
Medium-High |
Difficult |
Difficult |
Few |
| Ash |
High |
Easy-Moderate |
Fair-Difficult |
Few |
| Aspen |
Low |
Easy |
Easy |
Few |
| Beech |
High |
Difficult |
Difficult |
Few |
| Birch, white |
Medium |
Easy-Moderate |
Easy |
Moderate |
| Cedar, Western Red |
Medium-Low |
Easy |
Easy |
Many |
| Cedar, Incense |
Medium-Low |
Easy |
Easy |
Many |
| Cherry |
Medium |
Easy |
Difficult |
Few |
| Cottonwood |
Low |
Easy |
Easy |
Moderate |
| Dogwood |
High |
Difficult |
Easy |
Few |
| Elm |
Medium |
Very Difficult |
Fair |
Very Few |
| Fir, Douglas |
Medium |
Easy |
Easy |
Moderate |
| Fir, Grand |
Medium-Low |
Easy |
Easy |
Moderate |
| Fir, Noble |
Medium-Low |
Easy |
Easy |
Moderate |
| Fir, Pacific Silver |
Medium-Low |
Easy |
Easy |
Moderate |
| Fir, White |
Medium-Low |
Easy |
Easy |
Moderate |
| Hemlock |
Medium-Low |
Easy |
Easy |
Many |
| Hickory |
Very High |
Moderate |
Fair-Difficult |
Moderate |
| Ironwood (Hornbeam) |
Very High |
Very Difficult |
Very Difficult |
Few |
| Juniper |
Medium |
Difficult |
Fair |
Many |
| Larch (tamarack) |
Medium-High |
Easy-Moderate |
Easy-Fair |
Many |
| Larch, western |
High-Medium |
Easy-Moderate |
Easy |
Many |
| Locust, black |
Very High |
Very Difficult |
Difficult |
Very Few |
| Madrone |
High |
Difficult |
Difficult |
Very Few |
| Maples, red &
sugar |
High-Medium |
Moderate |
Fair-Difficult |
Few |
| Mesquite |
Very High |
Very Difficult |
Very Difficult |
Few |
| Mulberry |
Medium |
- |
- |
- |
| Oak, black |
High |
Moderate |
Difficult |
Few |
| Oak, white |
Very High |
Moderate |
Difficult |
Few |
| Pine, lodgepole |
Low |
Easy |
Easy |
Moderate |
| Pine, ponderosa |
Medium-Low |
Easy |
Easy |
Moderate |
| Pine, white |
Medium-Low |
Easy |
Easy |
Moderate |
| Pine, yellow |
Medium-High |
Easy |
Easy |
Moderate |
| Poplar |
Low |
Easy |
Easy |
Moderate |
| Redwood |
Medium |
Easy |
Easy-Fair |
Many |
| Spruce, engleman |
Low |
Easy |
Easy |
Few |
| Spruce |
Low |
Easy-Moderate |
Easy |
Few |
| Sycamore |
Medium |
Very Difficult |
Fair |
Few |
| Walnut |
High-Medium |
Easy-Moderate |
Fair |
Few |
| Willow |
Low |
Easy |
Fair |
Moderate |
Hardwoods like
oak and madrone are the heaviest firewoods, with the most BTUs locked
in the dense, tight grain. They burn longer and more evenly than softwoods.
Fuel
Values of Some Common Woods |
Wood Type
(Assuming 20%
Moisture Level) |
Average Density
(lbs. per cord) |
Fuel Value
per cord in BTUs
(British Thermal Units) |
| Shagbark Hickory |
4400 |
30.8 million |
| White Oak |
4400 |
30.8 |
| Madrone |
- |
30.0 |
| Sugar Maple |
4100 |
29.7 |
| American Beech |
4000 |
28.0 |
| White Ash |
3700 |
25.9 |
| American Elm |
3400 |
23.8 |
| Douglas Fir |
2900 |
21.4 |
| Cedar, Incense |
- |
17.5 |
| Ponderosa Pine |
- |
17.0 |
| Eastern White Pine |
2200 |
15.8 |
Densities
of Various North American Woods |
Hardwoods |
High: Live Oaks, Eucalyptus, Hop Hornbeam,
Dogwood, Hickory, Shadbush, Persimmon, White Oak, Black Birch,
Black Locust, Apple, Blue Beech, Crabs, & Red Oak. |
Medium: Sugar Maple, American Beech, Honey
Locust, Yellow Birch, White Ash, Elm, Black Gum, Red Maple,
Black Walnut, Paper Birch, Red Gum, Cherry, Holly, Grey Birch,
Sycamore, Oregon Ash, Sassafras, & Magnolia.
|
Low: Red Alder, Large Tooth Aspen, Basswood,
Chestnut, Catalpa, Black Willow, Box Elder, Tulip Poplar, Butternut,
Quaking Aspen, Cottonwood, Willow, & Balsam Poplar. |
Softwoods |
High: Slash Pine, Pond Pine, Western Larch,
& Long Leaf Pine |
Medium: Yew, Tamarack, Nut Pines (Pinyon),
Shortleaf Pine, Junipers, Loblolly Pine, Douglas Fir, Pitch
Pine, Red Cedar, & Norway Pine. |
Low: Ponderosa Pine, Red Fir, Noble Fir,
Black Spruce, Bald Cypress, Redwood, Hemlocks, Sitka Spruce,
Yellow Cedar, White Spruce, White Pine, Balsam Fir, Western
Red Cedar, & Sugar Pine. |
 |
How much wood is in a cord?
A full cord is split wood that fills a 4-foot-by-4-foot-by-8-foot
cubic measured space. A face cord is an 8-foot-by-4-foot pile
of split firewood. It takes three face cords to make a full
cord, which is often offered at a lower price than the cost
of buying three face cords separately. (Wood cut to 24-inch
lengths instead of 16-inch lengths will yield only two face
cords.) |
You can save money if you have the wood dumped, and
stack it yourself. However, one way to know if you're getting a full
load is to have the wood supplier stack the wood. Mark off an area
in 4-foot-by-8-foot increments to be filled, making sure not too much
airspace is left in a criss-cross wood-stacking pattern.
Quality:
Green, unseasoned wood can often be detected by its
fresh tree fragrance. Split and dried wood that has seasoned at least
6 months should have splits or cracks at the end of the log. Another
way to identify cured wood is when the bark peels off easily. Older
wood is also greyish or greyer in color. The best way to ensure seasoned
wood is to either buy it or cut it a year ahead of when you'll need
to use it, to give it time to thoroughly dry.
The Chimney Safety Institute of America suggests that
if the "seasoned" wood you bought turned out to be green
and you need to burn it anyway, be sure to have your chimney or stovepipe
checked often, and cleaned if necessary, to prevent creosote buildup.
There is another way to verify seasoned firewood: You
can ask a firewood supplier to have the load checked and certified
for its wood moisture percentage. This service is available to both
buyers and sellers, free of charge at some locations within the Rogue
Valley. Check with Jackson County services for current certification
sites.
Type:
If you buy mixed local hardwood from a tree service,
it may not be as seasoned. But wood that comes from logging mills
is often of premier, uniformly sized quality, and has usually been
cut or fallen down longer, maybe for a year, which allows the sap
to drain out and the wood to dry before splitting.
Stay away from Cottonwood, willow and osage orange softwoods,
because of the odor and smoke potential. Highly resinous types such
as pine and manzanita spit sparks, and should be limited to use as
starter fuel, or mixed with hardwoods.
Softwoods such as Birch can be good, fast-burning types
that produce a lot of flame, but go quickly and with less heat value,
while seasoned hickory burns slowly and gives off heat, but smells
up the house. Oak is the best choice for the hottest, cleanest-burning
wood.
Purchase prices:
Since hardwoods grow more slowly, they are inevitably
more expensive. Fruit woods, valued for their aromatic qualities,
are also more costly. An average price for a cord of hardwood is now
between $175 and $225, not including possible additional delivery
costs.
Dryness:
The more seasoned wood is, the more it maximizes heat
yield.
Well-seasoned (dried) hardwoods provide more usable
BTUs than green (wet) wood, which uses heat energy to change excess
moisture into steam.
Seasoned softwoods start and burn more easily and burn
faster, but do not give off as much heat as hardwoods like oak.
Underseasoned wood can hold about twice the water content
of seasoned wood, and is hard to ignite, and will produce more sparks
than if dry.
Wood has a low ash content. When dry (thoroughly cured),
it burns cleanly and efficiently, leaving a minimum amount of ash
as waste. Wet wood is the worst polluter. Wet wood is also a leading
cause of creosote buildup.
The minimum outdoor drying time, split and covered,
for all wood is at least six months, or for a full summer. Some woods,
such as alder, require longer than this. Splitting logs hastens drying.
Storage:
Season split wood by raising it off the ground and covering
it. Stack split or small round logs to allow air circulation and leave
under cover for a year, if possible, preferably where it is exposed
to sun. Protecting it from rain or snow keeps moisture from seeping
dampness back into the wood, and rotting it over time.
It isn't necessary to store wood in a garage, because
a simple covering will suffice. The idea is to keep moisture off the
wood while drying. Keeping firewood inside or next to the house for
more than a week can also create a termite problem. Also, wood stacked
next to or just below the house contributes to wildfire fuel hazards
during fire season.
Additional Wood-Burning Tips:
-
Weatherize: Conservation is the cheapest way to cut heating
costs.
-
All stoves sold in Oregon after 1986 have been required by law
to be certified as "clean burning" stoves. (This was
to cut smoke emissions). Clean-burning stoves, catalytic or not,
burn more completely, with less creosote buildup, and are safer.
For more information on certified stoves, contact the Oregon DEQ
at (503) 229-6488 or 1-800-452-4011.
-
Buy the right sized stove: A stove too large for the area you
want to heat must be dampered down, creating smoke, reducing efficiency
and creating creosote buildup.
-
Never burn garbage, waxed paper, plastic or treated wood, or
chemically treated wood such as discarded railroad ties, utility
poles, and many yard fences or other previously painted or treated
wood, as they can release poisonous or toxic fumes, and could
add to those materials that collect in the chimney, increasing
the possibility of fire.
-
When using a fireplace gas igniter, leave space between logs,
so the wood can ignite. Otherwise the gas will just hover around
the logs.
-
When starting a fireplace fire with a traditional log pyramid,
keep it small. Logs eventually collapse and can shoot hot cinders
and sparks.
-
Build small fires, burn hot and restoke: Small fires with plenty
of oxygen burn cleanest. Burn briskly the first 30 minutes after
loading, then keep fire at a moderate burn rate.
-
Check your stack and clean your chimney: Go outside and look
at smoke against a dark background, if possible. The less smoke
coming out of your stack, the cleaner you're burning. Keeping
your chimney clean helps increase efficiency and safety.
| REMINDER:
The drier your wood is, the better and cleaner it will
burn, and the less creosote buildup you will have. Your stove
or chimney cleaning needs will not be as frequent, and above
all, you will limit yourself and your family to the minimum
risk of having a chimney or stove fire. |
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