The Best Thing about Firewood…and Fall

The Firewood Poem

Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year,
Chestnut’s only good they say,
If for logs ’tis laid away.
Make a fire of Elder tree,
Death within your house will be;
But ash new or ash old,
Is fit for a queen with crown of gold

Birch and fir logs burn too fast
Blaze up bright and do not last,
it is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood burns like churchyard mould,
E’en the very flames are cold
But ash green or ash brown
Is fit for a queen with golden crown

Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke,
Apple wood will scent your room
Pear wood smells like flowers in bloom
Oaken logs, if dry and old
keep away the winter’s cold
But ash wet or ash dry
a king shall warm his slippers by.

— by Celia Congreve, c. 1930

What is the best thing about firewood?

We asked around and found that people love burning firewood in a fireplace because…

“It reminds me of my family”
“It brings back memories of Christmas time when we were all together and safe and warm during a cold winter”
“I love it when firewood makes a popping noise”
“I love to stare into the fire”
“I love going out in the woods looking for sticks and dry grass to start the fire. Anticipation of the close of day and the evening fire.”

What is the relative value of different kinds of Firewood?

No blog about firewood would be complete without some practical reference to BTUs! Firewood is any combustible flora or plant matter that is convenient and useful to burn in a fireplace or wood stove for heating purposes. In the American novel of the westward expansion of the mid to late 1800’s by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prarie, we read about the Long Winter. During this prolonged cold season there became a shortage of firewood. Due to the nature of the Mid West, straw was available and used for fuel to create heat in the little clapboard structure the family lived in. Evenings were spent twisting straw and braiding it into thin cords that would be fed into the wood stove.

Thankfully, due to modern technology, all EPA Phase II stoves burn cordwood with around 60%-80% efficiency. It makes me wish I could transport one of these efficient wood stoves back into Laura Ingalls Wilder’s little house during the long winter and help her family stay warm!

Chart of Helpful Information about Fire Wood

Species	Relative Heat	Easy to Burn	Easy to Split	Heavy Smoke?	Throw Sparks?	General Rating	Aroma	Weight of Seasoned Cord-lbs	Heat Produced per Cord M Btu
Hardwoods

Black Ash	Med	Yes/Fair	Yes	No	No/Few	Excel	Minim	2,992	19.1
White Ash	High	Yes/Fair	Yes	No	No/Few	Excel	Minim	3,689	23.6
Red Oak	High	Yes/Poor	No	No	No/Few	Excel	Fair	3,757	24.0
White Oak	High	Yes	No	No	No	Excel	.	4,012	25.7
Beech	High	Yes/Poor	Yes	No	No/Few	Excel	Minim	3,757	24.0
Blue Beech	High	Yes/Poor	Yes	No	No/Few	Excel	Minim	3,890	26.8

White Birch	Med	Yes/Good	Yes	No	No/Mod	Excel	Minim	3,179	20.3
Grey Birch	Med	Yes/Good	Yes	No	No/Mod	Poor	Minim	3,179	20.3
Yellow Birch	High	Yes/Good	Yes	No	No/Mod	Excel	Minim	3,689	23.6
Paper Birch	Med	Yes/Good	Yes	No	No/Mod	Excel	Minim	3,179	20.3
Black Birch	High	Yes/Good	Yes	No	No/Mod	Excel	Minim	3,890	26.8
Hickory	High	Yes/Fair	Bad	No	No/Mod	Excel	Good	4,327	27.7
Hard Maple	High	Yes	Bad	No	No	Excel	.	.	.

Pecan	High	Yes	Yes	No	No	Excel	.	.	.
Dogwood	High	Yes	Yes	No	No	Excel	.	.	.
Red or Soft Maple	Med	Yes	No	No	No	Good	.	2,924	18.7
Cherry	Med	Yes/Poor	Yes	No	No/Few	Good	Excel	3,120	20.0
Black Cherry	Med	Yes/Poor	Yes	No	No/Few	Good	Excel	2,880	19.9
Walnut	Med	Yes	Yes	No	No	Good	.	.	.

White Elm	Med	Med/Fair	No	Med	No/None	Fair	Fair	3,052	19.5
American Elm	Med	Med/Fair	No	Med	No/None	Fair	Fair	3,052	19.5
Sycamore	Med	Med	No	Med	No	Fair	.	.	.
Gum	Med	Med	No	Med	No	Fair	.	.	.
Aspen	Low	Yes	Yes	Med	No	Fair	.	2,295	14.7

Basswood	Low	Yes	Yes	Med	No	Fair	.	2,108	13.5
Cottonwood	Low	Yes	Yes	Med	No	Fair	.	2,108	13.5
Chestnut	Low	Yes	Yes	Med	Yes	Poor	.	.	.
Apple	High	Poor	.	.	Few	Med	Excel	4,140	26.5
Hemlock	Low	.	.	.	Many	Fair	Good	2,482	15.9

Black Locust	High	Poor	.	.	None	Good	Minim	3,890	26.8
Sugar Maple	High	Poor	No	.	Few	Good	Good	3,757	24.0
Eastern Hornbeam	High	.	.	.	.	Excel	.	4,267	27.3
Hackberry	Med	.	.	.	.	.	.	3,247	20.8
Boxelder	Low	.	.	.	.	.	.	2,797	17.9
Butternut	Low	.	.	.	.	Poor	.	2,100	14.5

Softwoods	.

Yellow Poplar	Low	Yes	Yes	Med	Yes	Poor	.	.	.
Southern Yellow Pine	High/ Low	Yes	Yes	Yes	No/Mod	Good	Good	.	.
Douglas Fir	High	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Good	.	.	.
Cypress	Med	Med	Yes	Med	No	Fair	.	.	.
Redwood	Med	Med	Yes	Med	No	Fair	.	.	.

White Cedar	Med/ Low	Yes/Exc	Yes	Med	Some	Good	Excel	1,913	12.2
Western Red Cedar	Med/ Low	Yes/Exc	Yes	Med	Yes/Many	Good	Excel	.	.
Eastern Red Cedar	Med/ Low	Yes/Exc	Yes	Med	Yes/Many	Good	Excel	.	.
Eastern White Pine	Low	Med/Exc	Yes	Med	No/Mod	Fair	Good	2,236	14.3
Western White Pine	Low	Med/Exc	Yes	Med	No/Mod	Fair	Good	2,236	14.3

Sugar Pine	Low	Med/Exc	Yes	Med	No/Mod	Fair	Good	.	.
Ponderosa Pine	Low	Med/Exc	Yes	Med	No/Mod	Fair	Good	2,380	15.2
Tamarack	Med	Yes	Yes	Med	Yes	Fair	.	3,247	20.8
Larch	Med	Yes	Yes	Med	Yes	Fair	.	.	.
Spruce	Low	Yes	Yes	Med	Yes	Poor	.	2,100	14.5

Black Spruce	Low	.	.	.	.	.	.	2,482	15.9
Jack Pine	Low	.	.	.	.	.	.	2,669	17.1
Norway Pine	Low	.	.	.	.	Fair	.	2,669	17.1
Pitch Pine	Low	.	.	.	.	Fair	.	2,669	17.1
Balsam Fir	Low	.	.	.	.	Poor	.	2,236	14.3
Willow	Low	.	.	.	.	Poor	.	2,100	14.5

Coals

Anthracite	High	No	N/A	.	No	Good	Fair	2,000	25.4
Bituminous Hi-Volat	Med	Med	N/A	.	No	Med	Fair	2,000	22.0
Bituminous Lo-Volat	Med	Yes	N/A	.	No	Med	Fair	2,000	28.6
Lignite	Low	Yes	N/A	.	No	Poor	Fair	2,000	13.8
Charcoal	High	Yes	N/A	.	No	Poor	Fair	2,000	26.0

based on data from: U.S. Forest Products Laboratory. Weight and Heat content figures are based on seasoned wood at 20% moisture content, and 85 cu ft of wood per cord. A “cord” of wood is defined as a stack 4 feet high, 4 feet thick and 8 feet long. (A cord has about 85 cu ft of wood and not 128, because of the air spaces between the pieces). “Face cords” are often sold. These are amounts of wood that are still 4 feet high and 8 feet long, but of a lesser depth than 4 feet. Commonly, wood for sale is cut to 16 inches long, and stacked as a face cord. This is 1/3 of an actual cord, and it is also called a “rank” or “rick” or “stove cord” or “fireplace cord”.

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