Don’t you love that cozy feeling of sitting around a warm fire on a cold evening, hot beverage in hand? We know winter isn’t typically a crowd favorite, but sitting around a warm fire usually is. But, producing a good fire requires using good firewood.
Are there trees on your property that you need or want removed? Has a tree recently fallen in your yard due to storm damage? Or maybe there’s a tree too close to your house that you want gone before winter. Have you considered using the wood from your tree removal project for firewood? This could be a really great way to reuse your tree and stock up for your winter fires! The type of tree you are removing and/or that has fallen on your property will determine whether it should be used for firewood or not.
The Best Trees For Firewood:
- Oak – White and Red Oak trees make great firewood because of its strength and density, which helps to produce great heat.
- Hickory – Hickory is of similar quality and density to Oak, making it another great option.
- Birch – The bark is very flammable on a large amount of mature Birch trees, making it a great fire starter.
- Maple – Wood from a maple tree is also dense and durable allowing it to burn longer and hotter.
- Pine – Pine is ideal for outdoor fires as it puts off a residue not ideal for indoor use. It also produces a soothing smell when burning.
- Apple – Apple burns slower, which means you can keep a fire burning longer while using less wood.
- American Beech – American Beech is categorized as putting off a high amount of heat (one cord equates to about 200-250 gallons of fuel).
- White Ash – White Ash weighs less than other listed as ideal firewood trees, but it is easy to split into burnable logs.
The Worst Trees For Firewood:
Coniferous Trees – Coniferous trees are “softwood” trees and typically have needles rather than leaves. They are much softer, and less dense than wood that comes from deciduous trees. Because of this, they provide less fuel and less heat.
- Hemlock – The hemlock is one of the worst coniferous trees to burn because of its extremely hard knots, making them difficult to split into logs. They also produce a lot of sparks.
- Deciduous Trees – There are, however, some deciduous trees that are not ideal for burning (still generally make for better firewood than coniferous trees) due to their softness, including;
- Aspen
- Basswood
- Willow
The type of wood ideal for burning is dependent on your fire goals. If you are burning wood as a main source of heat in your home, you’ll want a wood that is high-quality and produces a lot of heat. If you are more interested in using your fire as ambiance, most trees will work. If a tree has fallen in your yard, or you are looking to have a tree removed, consider the type of tree and if it would be ideal to reuse for firewood. However, even trees that are ideal for firewood cannot be burned immediately. You’ll want to allow time for it to properly age and dry out. When wood is well-seasoned, it burns hotter and leaves behind less creosote. When wood is freshly cut, it contains about 80% water. Allow for your firewood to dry to around 20-25% before burning!
Contact Red Cedar today for your free estimate on tree removal and/or tree felling services. Simply let us know that you’d like to keep the wood for burning and we’ll happily leave it behind!