favorite firewood

bandaidman

bandaidman

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Feb 11, 2001
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Always been partial to hickory and red oak but had to cut down a 200+ yr old burr oak and it has burned very well.

bought a bunch of cherry recently and it is ok

biggest suprise was an old hackberry, it burned really well, sad i gave most of it away
 
I used to burn almond, but the greenie weenies around here have pretty much banned burning wood fires. They call they "Spare the Air" days. You can get fined if you stoke up your fire place. So on those days I usually grill or BBQ something. Anyways, the almond burns well in a wood stove, not as much ash as oak and the smoke has kind of a sweet smell.

Ric
 
I like to mix Oak and Maple with Black Locus to spice things up. :D

After a good bed of coals I mix in Birch, Popular and wet Oak.
 
Here is collected data from many reliable sources regarding important characteristics of firewood
 
Beechwood, Oakwood, Spruze (it´s to get everywhere) and Fir. Sometimes I also fire pinewood.

All the others are mostly trees like birch or whatever. They are like weed for the forest authority. So they can be gotten for free. Nice to cut and then heaten the house...

I think here in Mid-Europe we have other woods to heaten than you guys in the US, I think. So there are differences in the sorts we cut for heating.

Kind regards
 
Humppa,
I used to cut wod for augmenting my small income and ended up clearing woodlots for owners, which meant I got the undesirable wood- lots of pine. I burned it while most here will not due to the buildup of flammable resins in the chimney- I just mixed in dry poplar and left the damper open to allow the exhaust to stay superheated until it exited the chimney.

Do you have trouble with these resins as you burn Spruce, Fir and Pine? If so, how are you dealing with it there?

I also installed a contious stainless steel sleeve in my flue to help reduce the risk of housefire should I have a flue fire.

Bill
 
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Hedge (Osage Orange, Beau d'Arc..etc), Oak, Locust and Hackberry mainly, but will use about anything because I use a woodstove and don't have to be too particular as long as it makes heat.
 
Hi Bill!

Well, I never had theese problems. I use to keep my wood, cut in 1 metre bulks out in the woods for about 1,5 year. Later on I bring them home and cut them to 0,25 - 0,40 metre. Then I store them in a pretty dry place with where they can exhaust.

I don´t use a "Chimney-ofen" I use a "Sweden-ofen". The wood is cast in the ofen itself and the heat goes out through the fire-safe-glass and the steel around the ofen. Just right now, the ofen is heated. It´s got about 28° Celsius inside my house and outside there are about - 18 ° Celsius. So pretty cold.

I always use to fire Pine, Bir, Spruce and other "needle-woods" as it´s translated word-by-word from german to english. It gives a good heat and can be taken out in the woods. You and me seem to work on the same base. Just the ofen is another one. Cutting darr trees or getting the rest of what the Harvester left behind is good enough to me for a warm home. I takes a lot of work, but I like that work. It´s best and most healthy thing anyone can do.

About the fire-danger, I don´t have the problem because of the glass which keeps the flames inside the ofen.

Kind regards
Andi
 
Andi,
Danke mein herr! :)

Resin or needle trees can be burned with due caution. It is very satisfying to warm ones bones in front a fire for which he provided the wood.

My wife is from the Philippines where the coldest temperature she had experienced was 55F- quite different from here. It has been a mild Winter but still a change for her.

Weidmensheill,
Bill
 
I've got a black oak that was an Irene victim back in the fall. It is cut up into rounds but still needs to be split. It ought to do well in my fireplace next winter after it has seasoned some.
 
Ash is easy to cut and handle. Dries quickly. Hickory gives a good hot long burn.
 
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