Poll !! Firewood - Which is the best

[Ditch_pickle]

I had my other post and there was no real winner as too which wood to get.

I have a fireplace with a woodstove style incert. Its a enclosed steel box with a full locking door with a small glass window... It has two blower systems on it and it also has vents tied into my cold air return.

So it is not a just a typical fire place

So please vote which wood you like to burn and why...

Which throws the most heat ? has the least amount of ashes? burns the longest? stuff like that

If you know of a guy/company that will deliver cut/split wood of your choice please post that as well.

TIA !
thanks in advance



PS: I only voted to see the results when I come back to see this thread....

[BRP Fan]

Back when I was heating the house with firewood my favorite firewood was oak. That one year I cut enough Oak to last me like 3 or 4 years and it was a good thing that it was green Oak otherwise I would still be there!! LOL.
With Oak you get alot of heat and the coals last a long, long time.

[King Of Bling]

Originally Posted by BRP Fan

Back when I was heating the house with firewood my favorite firewood was oak. That one year I cut enough Oak to last me like 3 or 4 years and it was a good thing that it was green Oak otherwise I would still be there!! LOL.
With Oak you get alot of heat and the coals last a long, long time.

I 2nd that. Oak is my favorite as well.

[Quinster]

As I said in your other thread, this is my first year with my wood-burning fireplace but I asked all my neighbors what they usually use, they all said Tamarack as a first choice and Jack Pine as a second. Both due to price and availability as well as the low ash they produce, but the Tamarack produces more heat.

I had a cord of Jack delivered for $160 seasoned and split, and Tamarack was $280, both delivered to Landmark, the guy who delivered the Tamarack even helped me stack it and gave a box of kindling with a purchase of a full cord. I know Tamarack was out of stock until the ground freezes, but the Jack Pine guy said he had more if I knew people who were interested.

PM me if you want either number, the Jack pine person is in the area.

I did find Oak online for $260 per cord delivery included, but with the 2 cords I have already, I think I have enough for this year.

Below is a great link for firewood info...

http://mb-soft.com/juca/print/firewood.html

[Bister]

Here is another link very similar to Quinster's

http://thelograck.com/firewood_rating_chart.html

[Duke_Of_URL]

We have a woodstove at the cabin and we find that Oak (white) and Birch are two of our best bets, oak being the better of the two typically. They both burn hot and long, and produce less smoke than other woods. Either is especially nice to have, because I only have to wake up once in the night to throw some more wood in the stove.

[straight-pipe]

I burn wood (wood stove) all winter in my home. The best that I have burnt has been oak but it needs time to get going properly so I started with pine and got decent coals then threw in oak. Right now I am burning jack pine because it is easy to get. The only downside to JP is that you'll find yourself sweeping your chimney a few times a burn season and it doesn't last through the night like oak.
One year I burned ash for something different and I changed up 1/3 of the way in due to a respiratory reaction with the smoke. My neighbor experienced the same with ash as well, so we stay away from that now.
But be aware that you will be sweeping your chimney at least 3-4 times a burn season with jack pine, so if it is a pain in the arse to sweep your chimney stay away from that stuff..stick to a cleaner burning wood like oak.

[straight-pipe]

Originally Posted by Quinster

As I said in your other thread, this is my first year with my wood-burning fireplace but I asked all my neighbors what they usually use, they all said Tamarack as a first choice and Jack Pine as a second. Both due to price and availability as well as the low ash they produce, but the Tamarack produces more heat.

I had a cord of Jack delivered for $160 seasoned and split, and Tamarack was $280, both delivered to Landmark, the guy who delivered the Tamarack even helped me stack it and gave a box of kindling with a purchase of a full cord. I know Tamarack was out of stock until the ground freezes, but the Jack Pine guy said he had more if I knew people who were interested.

PM me if you want either number, the Jack pine person is in the area.

I did find Oak online for $260 per cord delivery included, but with the 2 cords I have already, I think I have enough for this year.

Below is a great link for firewood info...

http://mb-soft.com/juca/print/firewood.html

If you want to use wood as a primary source of heat for your home have 5-7 cords ready to go and be aware that a fire place burns wood faster that a vent controlled wood stove.

[Quinster]

Originally Posted by straight-pipe

If you want to use wood as a primary source of heat for your home have 5-7 cords ready to go and be aware that a fire place burns wood faster that a vent controlled wood stove.

Not using it as the primary source, just as a boost if it is needed as well as supplemental heat. House has in floor as well as forced air heat, but like having the fireplace going as well. Paying the extra insurance for it so I am going to enjoy it as much as I can...LOL!

Previous owners stated a heat bill of $80/month on average, so I am not expecting the wood to save me much if anything.

[camoman]

Tamarak is great wood to burn nut it burns HOT. I only use it for the cold months.. early winter and spring I use poplar.. When it's cold poplar does not last the night in the furnace.. Tamarak there is always heat in the morning when I get up even at -40.

Never bunt oak so I can't say but I hear great things about it!

[Falconatv]

I have Birch, Tamarack, Ash, and Poplar in my pile
I burn different types of wood at different times of year, but Birch is my first choice
The big thing no matter what you burn is, keep one year ahead with your wood, cut this year for next year.
I am WETT certified (for wood burning appliances) and most issues with poorly burning stoves are related to green wood.
Every wood guy you talk to will say his wood is seasoned, but when was it actually split and stacked?
Since this is your first year look for wood that has been split early in the spring, but even with the wet summer we had unless it has been covered and stacked you will still be getting wet wood.
Things to look for in your stove not burning hot enough
- Dirty glass (with an air wash system)
- Excessive smoke - a high efficiency stove should re-burn the un-burnt gasses (secondary burn) no visible smoke should be visible out of the chimney.
- Oily creosote build up in the chimney - most of the time you can smell it as well

Keep a hot fire going - I tell customers to always place three pieces of wood in the shape of a pyramid in the firebox every load, if you want a cooler fire use smaller wood and load it more frequently - larger wood more BTU's

Every stove is different there is a learning curve, but dry wood is the key. I cut in the spring when I can get into logging areas and clean up the tops left by the loggers its free and quite enjoyable to spend a day in the bush like I use to do with my Dad

You can not beat the heat a woodstove gives off on a cold winter morning. Enjoy.

[hotdog]

Originally Posted by camoman

Tamarak is great wood to burn nut it burns HOT. I only use it for the cold months.. early winter and spring I use poplar.. When it's cold poplar does not last the night in the furnace.. Tamarak there is always heat in the morning when I get up even at -40.

Never bunt oak so I can't say but I hear great things about it!

Tamarak is good but you have to be carful how much you put in at one time. I've seen many wood stoves warped from using tamarak.

[leobacko]

Nothing beats the smell of old cedar burning in the wood stove. Quick burning and heats up quick, but other than that i'd have to say Oak is the way to go!

[blastergirl21]

When I was growing up we always had a wood stove for heat in our two garages and to supplement the electric heat in the house. We always burned mostly white poplar, spruce, and a little bit of black poplar. I'm not sure if this is because they have any superior qualities over any other wood, but I'm leaning more towards the fact that it was readily available. We cut and piled it all ourselves from our land, so there wasn't a whole lot of choice.

Hard to say how much we burned in a season, as it was divided up between three wood stoves and we usually collected dead-fall for a little extra in the really bitter cold months. I think we usually pulled around 110-120 trees out and went from there. Not sure how that would work out in cords. Guessing the trees were about 60-70' tall - you do the math.

The big thing with any wood is making sure it is well seasoned (dried). When you get that reddish tinge to the center it's usually at its best, and the redness will become more noticeable as it dries. This is when it will produce the most heat and burn the cleanest (less mess in your pipes). Anything that is too green or wet will leave excessive creosote and give off significantly less heat.

All I can say from our experience with burning spruce and poplar is that I always thought it was a much better heat than anything you get from an electric/gas heat source. Something about it that just warms in a whole different way. Good luck with your search. You'll be happy no matter what you end up going with.

[barkerlakebob]

Seasoned Ash...........lots of heat.......very few ashes.

[Predator_Hunter]

It's not listed here in the poll, but anyone thats burned Oak will tell you its the best hands down.

[barkerlakebob]

Originally Posted by Predator_Hunter

It's not listed here in the poll, but anyone thats burned Oak will tell you its the best hands down.

I agree.

I used to burn Birch and Spruce while I was in Thompson......now that I have some rural property, we burn a combination of Ash, Poplar and the occasional Oak. We tend to save the Oak for the overnighters .............still lots of heat coming out of the stove in the morning. Spousal unit does not have to get up and tend the fire anymore !!

It surprizing how much damage to river ice and the beavers do to the Ash along the river bank making so much standing dead wood available for harvest.

Oak is a lot harder to get, but worth it for sure.

[LeCaptain]

Originally Posted by Predator_Hunter

It's not listed here in the poll, but anyone thats burned Oak will tell you its the best hands down.

Does oak create alot of creosote?

[JoeCool]

Originally Posted by LeCaptain

Does oak create alot of creosote?

Creosote comes from pretty much all types of wood, it is the fact that burning too slow does not burn up this creosote and it gets deposited that is the problem. Keeping the flue temps high prevents it and oak can burn pretty hot with enough air so it would not be a problem wood. Wet wood of any type is more of a problem since it is very hard to get the required temps until it is basically dried out and at 'coal' stage.

[Predator_Hunter]

Originally Posted by LeCaptain

Does oak create alot of creosote?

I'm not sure if it creates any more or less then others but here's a link i found that might be helpful. I know its sought after for it high burning quality.