Firewood

A wood fire that is popping and crackling a lot can be dangerous. Popping firewood can send red hot embers and sparks flying in the air, which can either burn you or start fires. Keep reading to see why firewood pops and crackles, and how you can minimize it next time you light your wood … Read more

Firewood that is unseasoned can be difficult to burn. You should only be burning seasoned firewood in your wood stove. If winter warming seems like a chore, you’re probably doing it wrong. Unseasoned firewood won’t produce the right amount of heat. Unseasoned firewood pops and crackles, creates too much flue clogging smoke, and that’s if … Read more

Birch is a great choice to use for firewood. Summary – What makes Birch Good for Firewood Yellow and Black Birch are the better varieties of Birch for firewood due to their elevated MBTU output, all Birch is highly flammable. Black Birch has the greatest heat value / cord of all the Birch varieties, and … Read more

Hackberry is good option to use for firewood. Summary – What makes Hackberry Good for Firewood Hackberry is easy to split, relatively quick to dry, and has a low pleasant fragrance when burning. Hackberry is a relatively heavy and relatively hard wood, that burns well with minimal smoke and sparks. Hackberry gives off a relatively … Read more

Black Walnut is a good choice for firewood, although it can be expensive. Black Walnut has a good MBTU output, and it burns clean without much smoke or sparks. Black Walnut is a good firewood for loading a wood stove for overnight burns. For best results, Black Walnut needs on average 12 months to properly … Read more

Elm is a poor choice of firewood. Elm wood is a compact structure that will burn for a long time, but due to its grain structure is difficult to split. Elm does not have a high MBTU output, and will create some smoke. Elm can often smell unpleasant when being burned. Common Name: Elm. Scientific … Read more

Cottonwood is not a great choice for firewood. Cottonwood is good for generating heat easily but will burn through very quickly. It is not a good wood to load up on for an overnight burn. Cottonwood can put out an unpleasant smell, particularly if burnt before properly seasoned. Cottonwood has a low MBTU output, make … Read more

Summary – What makes Cedar Good for Firewood Cedar, although it smells nice when being burned, is not a good option for firewood. Cedar has a high amount of sap which can cause a moderate amount of smoke and wood stoves burning cedar can suffer from creosote buildup. The high sap amount causes popping and … Read more

Summary – What makes Oak Good for Firewood Oak is one of the best choices for firewood. Most species of Oak have a very high MBTU output, this is due to its dense structure which makes it very heavy. Oak burns very hot, with little smoke and sparks. Oak is great for loading a wood … Read more

Ash will take a full season to dry properly, upon which time it will become easy to split. Ash produces low smoke and sparks with a mild aroma when burning Ash gives off a relatively high MBTU making it a great firewood for hot burns, and good for overnight burning in a wood stove. Ash … Read more