Has anyone noticed what works for others is not best for them?

I've been burning my whole life. When I was 10 years old it was my job to fill the wood furnace before I walked to school. In my first house, I put an insert in the fireplace and started my own routine. It was pre internet and I never really researched the rules of burning. Season any hardwood for a year and fire it in....

Fast forward to my place I build in 2019. I had taken a 7 year break from burning but also built up my internet acumen. I was a research fanatic. I built my place around my wood furnace and learned a lot about modern wood burning tech and all the things I did wrong my whole burning life...

Jump ahead again to my 7th season of reading here and other places. Also, 7 seasons of processing and burning with all my acquired knowledge. Welp, aside from the obvious about modern EPA furnaces and proper seasoning, moisture content etc. to keep them happy, I've learned that everyone's setup is completely different when it comes to what burns best. I initially took the BTU and seasoning chart here as gospel. I also listened to others experiences with "this wood or that" and figured that must be what's best for me. But I've learned that is simply not the case.

Take beech for example. Supposed to dry super fast (it does) and have great BTUs. I have a ton of it and it's dying like crazy around me between the beech bark disease and the new leaf wilt disease that started last year. My furnace HATES it. Starts off great but coals terribly and will chill the house while you wait for it to burn down so you can reload. On the other hand, red oak which many says coals bad on them, burns fast, hot and clean for me. Coals almost as little as garbage red maple that I burn in the shoulder seasons. There are other examples but I'm sure you all get what I'm saying.

So, have others found that what works for the masses may not be the best fit for them? I'm continually surprised by reading how some things that works great for others skunk me but on the flip side, things that work for me are less than stellar for others...

 

I have the same exact experience with beech. I found that mixing it with hotter burning stuff like ash, pine, tulip poplar or aspen will help it burn more completely. Same thing with cherry. A stove full of nothing but cherry doesn't make a lot of heat and leaves a pile of charcoal behind. Mix it with other things and the issue goes away. Oak burns long and steady for me, usually. But I've had some that was cut green, dried for 2-3 years and burned fast with little coals. Maybe it was an open-grown tree and the grain was less dense? I dunno. But yeah, everyone has different setups, variation in growing conditions from tree to tree, area to area, all sorts of different variables that change the final outcome. There are general guidelines, but your mileage may vary.

 

Indeed, everyone has to learn what works best for them and their set of circumstances. Then you have to learn to ignore all the know-it-alls that tell you you're doing it all wrong.

I enjoy learning from others, and sometimes what I learn is twisted or adapted to suit my needs. I always tell folks I've earned my methods and opinions by experience, but if you have a better way SHOW ME that it is better.

One example that pops to mind is the Fiskars x27 splitting axe; so many folks raved about those things that I bought one, thinking it would be a real work saver. I HATE that thing with a passion. Might as well use a plain old 3-1/2 pound felling axe for all the good it does me. Some have pointed out that it needs speed and not force to work well. Guess I've swung too many 8 and 10 pound and Monster Mauls to figure out how that "speed" works. Maybe it's because I end up splitting a lot of knotty oak. Either way, I'm sure not going to tell the overwhelming majority that love these things they're wrong, but they don't work for me.

To each his own.

 

I have both a monster maul and the X27 and will take the skeleton-rattling maul over the Fiskars any day. Blunt force trauma works better for me than fast swinging with no mass behind it.

 

Yep, and speaking of skeleton-rattling, that hollow handle vibrates worse than a 1970 McCulloch! LOL

 

I think every tree source burns different as does every stove, no one size fits all. My old smoke dragon loved a gut full of locust but my cat stove I have to just mixed it in. Cherry sometimes burns really good and other times not.

 

A lot of people rave about cherry, but IMO it's barely shoulder season wood, especially splits...rounds are slightly better.
The hybrid poplars I cut down in the back yard burn longer than the cherry I've been into lately...not kidding.

 

I like beech for my fireplace because it burns easy when seasoned. Our fireplace is more for ambiance. Generally only use it on weekends when it is 20 or lower

 

Took me several years to find FHC after starting to burn. I was on the saw forums a good bit earlier. GTG’s were certainly different then, cutting our firewood as thinly as possible. But seriously, I learned quite a bit here, and continue to do so. We all have differing experiences, no doubt there. I find the species I’ve burned, line up really similar to the btu chart in the resources section (burned about 15 from that list but not beech). I’ve also never burned primarily cherry. Always mixed it in with other woods and in that role, I have a very favorable opinion of it.

 

IME cherry burns way better with 2 years or more seasoning.

 

Oh it burns great, just doesn't last very long...smells nice if you get a whiff of it burning though!

 

I feel that way about the Fiskars Hookaroon. Picked one up about 8 years ago based on reading glowing praises posted on another forum (before I joined FHC). I tried it the day I got it and promptly sent it back. What a wobbly cheap piece of garbage. Went to the closest logging store and picked up a Stihl pickaroon and haven't looked back. I use that pickaroon all the time and it has never failed me. I do have a Fiskars X27 (finally broke down and got one, again after reading all the hype on the other forum) but haven't used it in about 6 years. I much prefer the heavier, generic splitting maul I purchased from a box store about 17 years ago.

Beech has been my number one firewood for the last 16 years. Didn't have a steady source of red oak until a couple years ago but I've burned tons of beech (literally). Still my favorite firewood.

 

When thinking about "what works for one", think about the different types of stoves and their set ups over the decades.

 

I think some people just get so excited that they found something that kinda works, when they tell people about it, it gets blown away outta proportion.

Or

Some are so narrow minded, when they find something that works, end of story. No reason to try anything new. Then they gotta tell everyone how great it is to reassure themselves.

I've found, with some things, you gotta try them for yourself. Can't believe what most people say, their perspective is skewed. Then there's some that'll tell you opposite just so you leave the good stuff for them. Different strokes for different folks I suppose.

 

All houses, stoves, insulation and drafts are different so why we expect similar results is amusing. I remember when I was first burning with NC-13 type stove with wet maple and was so frustrated..
it said it could heat 1,400 square feet.. Maybe in Alabama

Invested in my IS went from over 12 cord and being cold to 4 cord and being warm in T-shirt..

3 year plan at 4 cord was achievable
At 12 cord a year with Job and kids wasn’t happening

 

I was going to say the same thing! Stove, location, chimney setup, climate…it all contributes.

The best we can do is ensure whatever we burn is properly seasoned and take it from there. The setup we have in VT isn’t perfect, but with a little finesse, we make it work.

 

Like sitting on a stool and vertical splitting works for me. I’ve been burning some big dead cherry splits from a dead tree that have been in the stack for 3 years. I’m pretty dang impressed by how they immediately burst into flame.

 

This! Completely agree. Occasionally I will luck into some straight wood like Lodge Pole and the X27 will come out. On the twisted gnarly oak I deal with regularly it's the 8# maul or more likely the hydraulic splitter. Everyone has to find their best fit.

 

You have to do what works best for YOU. Every situation is different. I like oak but I have the time to get it dry.