Which firewood burns hotter

Because of its density and its comparatively low levels of sap or pitch, hardwoods generally make for better firewood than softwoods. Not all hardwoods or softwoods are created equal; some burn far better than others, or simply produce more heat. Below are some of the best firewoods rated by their heat value, which is a measure of how much heat they put off. Skip to main content. What is the Best Firewood to Burn? By The Editors. September 27, What do you want to read next? How to Use Wood Ashes in the Home The unit for the temperature emitted by firewood is BTU per cord.

Although hardwoods should be your first choice, it does not mean that softwoods will not burn. In fact, softwoods can also be good as fuel. Just take a look at the BTUs of the following softwoods; some can even burn hotter than some hardwood species. No this is not stacking firewood to store them, but stacking a mix of soft and hardwood while your fire is burning. Experts in firewood and wood agree that having a mix of hardwoods and softwoods on a woodpile can help control the burn.

Hardwoods can take longer to catch fire but will burn longer, however; softwoods will ignite fast and burn quickly. Because of these quality softwoods are ideal for getting the fires going. Once you have a nice fire going, you can now add hardwood logs to keep the fire burning hotter and longer. Choose you firewood wisely. If you want a hotter fire, consider a tree species that burn hotter and longer. For example, hardwoods like oak, ash, birch and hickory have a higher heat value than hardwoods like walnut and elm.

But all of those woods have higher heat values than softwoods like pine and cedar. We measure the amount of heat a type of wood gives off using a unit of measurement called the British thermal unit BTU.

The U. Energy Information Administration defines one BTU as approximately the amount of heat given off by burning one match. To put this into perspective, one cord cubic feet of oak wood contains about 29 million BTUs. You can view a rundown of the heat values of popular types of wood in our best firewood to burn chart below.

The wood needs to burn efficiently and produce minimal smoke to be worth the effort or money you spend on it. The best way to get these results is by burning wood that has been adequately dried. The traditional way to lower the moisture level of firewood is called seasoning. You can season firewood by leaving it out to dry for six months to a year after cutting it. Just make sure you stack it in a well-ventilated space protected from the rain. The problem with seasoning wood is it can only get wood so dry.

Therefore, the resulting burn will not be as clean as it could be. To get the cleanest possible burn, we recommend going with kiln-dried firewood. Drying the wood in a kiln both speeds up and perfects the seasoning process. Rather than having to wait months for the wood to be properly dried, the wood can be ready in a matter of hours.

As a result of this process , kiln-dried firewood comes ready for the cleanest burn possible. Its low moisture content ensures it will burn efficiently with minimal smoke. The wood also comes free of mold, pests and other defects that can stunt the burning process. Some wood smells downright gross!

Once again, dryness is a key factor here. There are a couple of reasons for this:. The best way to prevent malodorous wood is to have it kiln-dried. Only the controlled environment of a dry kiln can ensure that the moisture will be reduced enough and the mold removed for good-smelling wood.