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Firewood Varieties

With the rising cost of oil, more people are turning to wood heat -- raw firewood burned in an indoor wood stove or fireplace -- as a primary home heat source. To prepare an adequate supply of firewood for the winter months, know which trees produce the best firewood and what wood to avoid burning indoors.

Unseasoned Wood
- Live trees can contain a moisture content of up to 100 percent, according to LI Firewood. If a live tree is cut into firewood and burned indoors before it has ample time to dry, the exhaust from the fire would cause damaging creosote to build up in the chimney. For the best results, cut and split trees into pieces small enough to fit into the wood stove. Then stack the pieces in a sunny, airy field for at least six to 12 months for the wood to properly dry. A good test to determine if the wood has seasoned enough is to bang the ends of two wood pieces together. If this creates a loud, hollow "crack" sound instead of a dull "thud," the wood is probably ready to be burned.
Seasoned Softwood
- To gather the ideal winter firewood supply, you must recognize the difference between softwood and hardwood. Softwoods come from conifer (needle-bearing) trees such as pine, fir, or cedar. It is usually not recommended to burn any softwood indoors because this wood tends to hold water content and will cause creosote buildup. However, some people like to use a piece of pine or cedar for fire-starting. Softwoods will catch on fire faster, burn quicker, and create more smoke than most hardwoods.
Seasoned Hardwood
- Hardwoods come from deciduous (leaf-bearing) trees such as oak, maple, poplar, ash, elm, or walnut. There is a large variety of hardwood trees, and most of them provide an excellent fuel source for wood stoves. The burning quality of wood is measured in BTUs (British Thermal Units), which means that since, on average, the cottonwood tree has 12.2 BTU and the walnut tree has a BTU of 20.3, the walnut tree has the potential to generate more heat for a longer period of time. Many people favor oak, hickory, maple, ash, birch, dogwood, or locust firewood because just a couple pieces of these trees can burn and continue to put off a significant amount of heat for well over an hour.
Fragrant Wood
- There is something about the aroma from a warm fire crackling merrily in the fireplace or wood stove that cannot be replaced by fossil fuels. Certain types of woods emit more appealing scents than others. For instance, some families have adopted a tradition of burning a cedar log around the Christmas holiday for a more festive atmosphere. Fruit trees, like apple, pear, and peach, are also recognized for their charming fragrance.

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