As everyone knows, this is the time of year we are supposed to burn the good stuff. But what is the good stuff? Looking for some unique views on this, not just a bunch of "oak" and "locust" responses.
That might be the lion's share of what you'll get. I'm burning lots of oak, but it coals a lot. Having good success tonight with maple and beech, as long as the stove is fully loaded.
I have birch & birch So it's easy for me. The driest birch I've got So for me I'd say The driest wood you have ! If you have several varieties good & dry , the highest BTU dry wood you have. Burn the bigger sized splits , so you can burn hotter & the fire burn a little longer. Hedge, Locust, hickory & white oak are the top BTU woods IMO The poplars & pines for you, would be shoulder season wood. But best, is the driest
Pretty much all I have is white oak, red oak, and hickory. I wouldn't mind trying some beech or hard maple but I don't have any available. Elm isn't bad either it puts out good btus. Sorry not much help here
My family doesnt seperate the wood we burn ...not even "shoulder" season . We just burn a mix of Ash , Maple , Oak , Cherry ! Its all the "good stuff" all year round here !!
All I can change to is larger splits for a longer burn. I scored some elm over the summer but it won't be ready to burn for another year or so. Pine is the dominate species here so I burn what I have. I can get some loads from a tree company that I have been talking too. So far I have jumped on anything he has called me about but it has mostly been a few small fruit trees. I hope that my reliability will get me bigger and better loads. Time will tell if this will work out or not.
I think all of the answers above are good........When burning woods like locust, you almost need to "mix" a locust load with a piece or two of so-called "lesser" wood to get it to gas off correctly. I DO separate the different woods (softer and denser) when i bring it in to the basement, using longer-burning stuff for extended burns. But burning longer doesn't necessarily mean burning "hotter"........
I save the larger splits and the splits that are regular in shape and will pack into the stove efficiently for nighttime, so that is the good stuff. I am burning mostly oak right now, but some of it is irregular, crooked, etc. and so it won't pack into the stove without leaving large gaps. Air gaps mean less wood in the stove and faster burn, so I don't want gaps at night.
Sorry Grizz, but 99.9% of what I'm into right now is Oak. I usually burn the goofy splits and smaller stuff in daytime, larger splits overnight. I separate stuff.....Oak for cold, Aspen/Poplar...Pine/Spruce for SS, and soft Maple for in between. This may all change depending on availability and my mood. Need the long burns when it's chilly.......like the last 2 months or so.
Can you expand on that last statement. I know some woods burn hot, some long but can you give examples? Also, is that one of the reasons that you do mixed loads with locust?
Very good response. This is what I'm looking for. Less the type of wood, more the reason why you choose it.
I was always told K.I.S.S. No offense at all to those who burn different types of wood for the weather conditions . I see the purpose . Up my way.....our woods is transitioning....and there is an abundance of maple and ash that need cleaned out . So I guess you can say we are spoiled !! Theres barely enough time to cut,split and stack..let alone seperate it . I will hopefully get to try it someday...as it sounds fun !
Burning some 2 yr + seasoned Mulberry and it is awesome! Will be burning this for next few days and then back to Ash after it warms up a bit. I burn Silver Maple for shoulder wood, Ash for day time Winter burning. Locust, Hedge, and Mulberry for single digit temps and overnight loads.
I seriously hope I get to try it in the years to come . Like I said..we just mix it all up...and use the damper or make smaller fires to control the heat output . I guess its all what a fella is use to . Maybe Ill try something new this coming year !!
The "softer" woods (pines, poplars, soft maple, birch, etc) gas off a lot quicker thus putting off larger amounts of heat in a short amount of time.....your denser hardwoods (oaks, locusts, hedge, beech, hard maple, etc), being much denser, gas off much slower, still putting out very good heat but lasting much longer in the stove. So when putting a big load of locust on a bed of coals, that wood will take longer to "get going" than a similar load of pine. I've found that if I add a piece or two of "softer" wood in with the locust, that it helps "jump start" the burn with the softer wood directly on the coals. The softer wood gasses off quickly, helping bring the firebox up to a good temperature and getting the locust "kick started"!
Boy I love the smell of that mulberry when it's burning....Also the fireworks show.it puts off when burning. snap.....crackle.....POP!!!
I love a good load of Dogwood for a mid day to afternoon burn - when a cold front's moving in. It just never gets large enough to load the stove overnight with it, usually 3-4" rounds but a whole mess of them in the stove will put off a good 6hrs of heat
I kinda' sort my wood stacks in the shed, kind of,,sort of,, I'm a firewood hack, or scrounger, so I cut all kinds of wood. Thru the day, when I'm around the house, I'll burn from the "left" side of the shed. Ash, walnut, mulberry, soft maple, ect, ect,, At nite or when I'm gonna' be gone, I go to the right side of the shed and pull out the hickory/pecan, hedge,,,the right side of the shed always seems to be the skinniest. In general, I'll try and burn anything except snowballs, trash and wet wood. We have no conifers around here.
