Wayyy overthinking it but here goes Any species has their pros and cons when it comes to heating their home. Nevertheless I think most will agree generally that oak is at bare minimum good firewood. Of the two families (red and white) there are differing opinions concerning which one is actually better. IME white oak has a longer burn time and is therefore better fuel. White oak for sure grows slower than red, so it’s denser. But what if you were comparing red versus white on splits with similar sized growth rings? Would they perform the same? Does anyone else even pay attention to growth rings and how they affect burn time? What’s the hive-mind say? Red oak: Chestnut (white) oak:
I have planted more white oaks Quercus alba than red. What I have observed is White Oaks vertical growth outpaces Red at least 2-1. Northern, Southern and Black. Willow Oak can match Whites vertical rise. Compared to Post Oak White Oak is a fast grower. My semi pro theory is the oaks use there resources differently adding mass. White is shooting for the sky while reds are beefing up their trunks and limbs. Space and light changes everything. I’ve seen reds with tight rings. They all get tighter with age. There’s more area to cover and they run out of resources to keep putting on fat rings. The short answer is yes I look at rings and yes I believe the narrower growth ring pieces burn longer. White is the king of kings for a reason.
I dont pay that much attention to growth rings but sometimes will notice wide growth rings on rounds regardless of species. Trees with less competition will have wider growth rings. White oak better firewood IMO.
According to every resource I’ve seen, white oak has been in decline for decades due to multiple reasons. Red is certainly more prevalent here. I’m trying to grow whites on my postage stamp of a yard. So far one swamp white and one regular white. I’d like to have several take a strong foothold in the next few years. I hope the ones I planted put on some decent vertical growth. I did a bunch of release work over the past month or so cutting down dozens of small sugar maples, so they have decent sunlight to reach for.
When you live on the windy treeless high plains, I’m sure any wood you’ve got on hand to keep the family warm constitutes “good” firewood
Nope...I have a central wood furnace and over time have learned how much wood it takes to heat the house for 8-12 hrs at a given outdoor temp...all wood is roughly 8500 BTU/lb, so I just load by weight. I'm at least 4-5 years ahead, so it's all well under 20% MC.
I have noticed with White Oak the tighter the growth rings, the heavier it feels. Interestingly, with Ash, I have noticed the wider the growth rings, the heavier/denser it is.
I look at rings sometimes. It really depends on growing conditions. We have a white oak on our place, in '06 was probably 16-18" dia, Dec '22, I can't reach around it. I saw some red oak at the PA GTG that had very tight rings. I like both kinds, especially like smelling white drying
Almost all my Northern Whites are on southern facing slopes. The reds will grow anywhere it's not too wet. I don't really have a preference. I get a lot more falls from the reds, but I have more of em too. I'd love to have 50 cord of each!
