What's your favorite firewood?

I burn about 4-6 face cords a season, and this year I have lots of well seasoned black locust, hickory, white oak and sugar maple. For the last few years there's been a plethora of ash as the EAB has killed millions of them.

Mulberry burns a very attractive multicolored flame. Spark screen is required!

Red oak. Used to get slab wood delivered from the mill. Very good prices.

Almond. Burns hot with a nice, sweet smoke.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Red oak. Used to get slab wood delivered from the mill. Very good prices.

I live on the northern edge of an Oak Savannah so a lot of red oak available on this and the in-laws property. It's excellent firewood when seasoned properly.

I burn approx six cords of Black Ash a year. It is for the most part "clean burning". Birch is also used a lot up here, but for me it burns dirty in the indoor stove. Now, if I had my choice, I would burn oak. We do have oaks here but are a little scarce at times.

Tamarack for BTUs and low ash and Red Fir for colorful flames.

Jim

Sugar Maple and white oak belong in the smoker NOT in the fire pit.

A small chunk of white oak on the coals is my absolute favorite for grilling steak. Much better than mesquite in my opinion.

Rick

My favorite is oak. It burns well and smells great.

That said, we have family who live in Arizona and every time they drive north my son gets them to bring some pinon logs. The smell of the pinon as those logs burn is a real treat.

Living in the West, the available wood for a fire is limited. I’ve had to harvest primarily conifers and quaking aspen for fires. IMO the best conifer for firewood is Doug fir, but then it’s also one of the most highly prized trees for lumber in the West as well. Piñon pine is much too pitchy; a mess to handle and a danger for chimney fires. Juniper (some say “cedar”) is cleaner but tough on a chain saw and hard to split. Ponderosa pine is...decent. Usually has a lot of knots that make splitting the wood challenging. Subalpine fir is as worthless as firewood as it is as lumber. Lodgepole pine is plentiful, usually easy to split, and burns pretty clean. Quaking aspen is very clean, but like all the above, just isn’t dense enough to last. You harvest and burn what’s available though.

I thought of this poem.

quote:

Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year,
Chestnut's only good they say,
If for logs 'tis laid away.
Make a fire of Elder tree,
Death within your house will be;
But ash new or ash old,
Is fit for a queen with crown of gold

Birch and fir logs burn too fast
Blaze up bright and do not last,
it is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood burns like churchyard mould,
E'en the very flames are cold
But ash green or ash brown
Is fit for a queen with golden crown

Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke,
Apple wood will scent your room
Pear wood smells like flowers in bloom
Oaken logs, if dry and old
keep away the winter's cold
But ash wet or ash dry
a king shall warm his slippers by.
- Celia Congreve

1. White oak
2. Ash
3. Hickory
4. Red Oak

In this order.

Pretty much my only choices around here are Oak and Pine. I'm about half way through a 1/2 chord of Oak I bought no less than 2-3 years ago and seems to be seasoned perfectly. Makes a GREAT fire that burns down to very hot coals. Oh...and this is for use in my outdoor fire pit; no need for an indoor fireplace in Houston, TX.

CoolRich59 has it right. Pinon. We lived in New Mexico and used to burn that, Juniper and Cedar.

PNW airtight stove with catalytic converter biscuit:


my very favorite, is high Cascade old growth Doug fir; now virtually impossible to acquire;

white oak works well enough;

alder has it's use; maple if you like tons of ash yet great heat;

juniper good smell but waywayway too volatile for any large use; madrone similar;

any kind of ash works very well but also hard to get;

large apple or cherry most excellent;

NOTE: after 45+ years splitting by hand, I bought an electric splitter this year. Wonderful!!!

Good dry oak.

quote:

Originally posted by chbibc:
What's your favorite firewood?

I burn about 4-6 face cords a season, and this year I have lots of well seasoned black locust, hickory, white oak and sugar maple. For the last few years there's been a plethora of ash as the EAB has killed millions of them.

It varies year to year out of pretty much the same mix you list only add in cherry and red oak, actually I'd guess 1/3 cherry this year. My acreage is mostly wooded so there's no shortage of standing dead, or fallen trees. In case anyone isn't aware be careful cutting standing dead trees. Twice now, after I've cut almost through and it starts leaning to fall, I've had them break off up maybe 60' and the top 20-30' piece fell straight down just missing me.

Free.
I've cut and split poplar, cherry, maple, white and red oak.

Anything but pine.

Is black locust commonly used for firewood? Occasionally I’m searching for wood for my smoker but the wood suppliers around my area do not know what type of wood they have other than it being hardwood. I don’t want to get black locust for barbecuing as I understand it has some sort of toxin in it. Anyone ever used it for barbecue?

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
Is black locust commonly used for firewood? Occasionally I’m searching for wood for my smoker but the wood suppliers around my area do not know what type of wood they have other than it being hardwood. I don’t want to get black locust for barbecuing as I understand it has some sort of toxin in it. Anyone ever used it for barbecue?

I think if it's seasoned it is not toxic. It does not smell particularly good when it burns like apple, oak, sugar maple all do. - but it burns very hot (has a high btu content). It is great for its heat.

Where I live:
White Ash- because there’s SO much of it from the EAB die offs.

Chestnut Oak- a lot have been dying lately, no idea why.

Hickory- burns hot, smells great.

Black Walnut- not as hot but smells good.

Apple- burns hot, smells great, but is very labor intensive with small returns.

I’d love to find a grove of Osage Orange locally I could clear for the wood, excellent hot firewood.