If you are burning wood in a wood stove, fireplace, or outdoor furnace there is one key to efficiency and safety, quality firewood. All wood is chemically similar no matter the species but not all firewood is the same. There are two main influences on the behavior of specific types of firewood, moisture content and density. I am Melissa from Northline Express and in this video I am going to cover the best tree species for wood burning and what to consider when choosing what type firewood you use.
Density of the wood directly relates to the energy content of the firewood. Denser wood will have higher energy content, meaning it is going to produce the most heat per fire. Your fires will burn longer and leave behind coal beds which make restarting a fire much easier. Less dense wood will wood burn up faster and leave behind more ash and less of a coal bed. Based on density alone you would think okay Hardwoods are what I want, however at times less dense wood can be valuable too. In the spring or fall when you want a fire but you do not want to be heated out of the house those soft wood fires can be just right because its easier to control the heat they put off. Less dense wood also makes for good kindling or starter wood in a fire because it lights easier.
Even though the most important factor of choosing firewood should be the amount of heat it can produce there are other basic things to consider as well. If you are going to be buying firewood in pulp cords or in pre-cut rounds consider how easy the wood will be to split. The denser the wood the more force it is going to require to split.
Also ask yourself what you will be using the firewood for. This is important because if you are going to want to use the firewood to heat your home you are going to need to make sure that you prepare your firewood stock pile early enough that it is going to properly season. The harder the type of wood the longer it is going to take to season.
So what are the best types of firewood to use? Denser woods like Oak, Hickory, and Elm will burn the longest and produce the most heat. Softer woods like Pine and Basswood are going to burn faster and produce less heat. Even though softer woods will burn up faster it is recommended to have a variety of softwoods as well as hard woods. The soft woods light easier and produce a hotter flame while the hard woods burn longer producing more heat.
Nothing beats the warmth on a cold day from a wood stove or the money you can save on your home heating bills. But remember you should not burn just any type of wood. I hope that you have found this information helpful; it is another way that Northline Express helps keep your home fires burning!