Good wood for burning?
- Thread starter a1993h
- Start date
-
Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.
Hey guys!
Just made a hobo stove and only had pine at hand to burn. Found it AWFUL!! It lasts no time at all and wasnt all that hot. Can anyone suggest some good timber for burning.
Cheers
Generally speaking, hardwoods put out a lot more heat energy than softwoods, in some cases, twice as much. Though it isnt just about hardwood v softwood as balsawood is a hardwood and absoluytely rubbish for burning, while some softwoods like Larch, Yew and Douglas fir make good firewood. But generally any heavy, dense hardwood will be better than a species of conifer.
This is a good chart... although it's American and talks in Cords of wood (a US unit of firewood measurement), it shows how different species of wood compare in terms of BTU's....
http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm
Just look for a wood with a high Mbtu per cord rating and you will be on a winner.
Of note, although people mention Ash, in fact Oak, Beech and Birch all have a higher BTU per volume. The significant thing is these woods can take a long time to season and dry and wood must be dry to burn well, otherwise the fire will spend too much of it's own energy boiling off it's own water content and the fire will be smokey and cold - with the exception of Ash, it is one of the few woods that burns well when it's green - dont ask me why.
Last edited:
Been quoted many times but worth repeating:
Logs to burn! Logs to burn!
Logs to save the coal a turn!
Heres a word to make you wise
When you hear the woodsmans cries.
Beech wood fires burn bright and clear,
Hornbeam blazes too
If the logs are kept a year
To season through and through.
Oak logs will warm you well
If they are old and dry.
Larch logs of the pine smell
But the sparks will fly.
Pine is good and so is Yew
For warmth through winter days,
But poplar and the willow too
Take long to dry or blaze.
Birch logs will burn to fast,
Alder scarce at all,
Chestnut logs are good to last
If cut in the fall
Holly logs will burn like wax
You should burn them green.
Elm logs like a smouldering flax,
No flames to be seen.
Pear logs and Apple logs
They will scent a room,
Cherry logs across the dogs
Smell like flowers in bloom.
But Ash logs all smooth and grey,
Burn them green or old,
Buy up all that come your way
Theyre worth their weight in Gold!
Cheers,
Broch
Logs to burn! Logs to burn!
Logs to save the coal a turn!
Heres a word to make you wise
When you hear the woodsmans cries.
Beech wood fires burn bright and clear,
Hornbeam blazes too
If the logs are kept a year
To season through and through.
Oak logs will warm you well
If they are old and dry.
Larch logs of the pine smell
But the sparks will fly.
Pine is good and so is Yew
For warmth through winter days,
But poplar and the willow too
Take long to dry or blaze.
Birch logs will burn to fast,
Alder scarce at all,
Chestnut logs are good to last
If cut in the fall
Holly logs will burn like wax
You should burn them green.
Elm logs like a smouldering flax,
No flames to be seen.
Pear logs and Apple logs
They will scent a room,
Cherry logs across the dogs
Smell like flowers in bloom.
But Ash logs all smooth and grey,
Burn them green or old,
Buy up all that come your way
Theyre worth their weight in Gold!
Cheers,
Broch
This is a poem i found on BCUK magazine issue 4
Wood Heat
Beech wood fires are bright and clear
if the logs are kept a year.
Chestnut's only good, they say
if for long it's laid away.
But ash wood new or ash wood old
is fit for a queen with a crown of gold.
Birch and fir logs burn too fast,
blaze up bright and do not last.
Is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood burns like churchyard mould -
even the very flames are cold;
but ash wood green and ash wood brown
is fit for a queen with a golden crown.
Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
fills your eyes and makes you choke.
Apple wood will scent your room
with an incense like perfume.
Oaken logs if dry and old
keep away the winter cold.
But ash wood wet and ash wood dry
A king shall warm his slippers by.
Wood Heat
Beech wood fires are bright and clear
if the logs are kept a year.
Chestnut's only good, they say
if for long it's laid away.
But ash wood new or ash wood old
is fit for a queen with a crown of gold.
Birch and fir logs burn too fast,
blaze up bright and do not last.
Is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood burns like churchyard mould -
even the very flames are cold;
but ash wood green and ash wood brown
is fit for a queen with a golden crown.
Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
fills your eyes and makes you choke.
Apple wood will scent your room
with an incense like perfume.
Oaken logs if dry and old
keep away the winter cold.
But ash wood wet and ash wood dry
A king shall warm his slippers by.
I love using dead Douglas fir branches as they are full of resin and burn well and really easy to feather the only downside is they do burn quickly
hi a1993h
yeh pine is not the best of firewoods , it has a low calorific value, but a reasonable heat output... its best use if you have it is to use it to charge the stove and flu... by charge i mean using it dry and cut to kindling size a good handful will burn fast bright and hot, warming the stove but more importantly warming the flu and creating the warm air updraft, or draw, that you need to then maintain with your hardwoods... this heating of the flu will keep smoke passing through instead of lighting a slow cold smoky fire and allowing deposits to dirty your flu... so pine , chop it small and warm the flu, gradually introducing larger logs..
my fave woods to burn on the stove are beech, ash ,oak, birch , though many others burn well like cherry, apple, sycamore is fine... its all about the seasoning though, lots of peopl mention ash, it is a very good firewood, one of the best, yes it does burn green, but that is only cos it has an alredy low moisture content, but burning it green is not a patch on heat output as when it is properly seasoned...
most hardwoods will season from the spring and be ready in the winter, though oak can take two seasons to be at its best... its basically about getting your average timber moisture content from 40 -80% down to 18-20% ish... even willow, very high moisture content burns fine seasoned, although alder of a similar moisture is quite useless.. the best firewood supply will have a mix, i always light up with pine, then a mix of good hardwoods allows to control the heat output, depending on how cold it is, as well as obviously controlling your air flow... you can learn from experimenting but for your flu/chimneys sake keep it seasoned... elm is not particularly rated but after seasoning som for four years it has a fine output and long burning, pop a couple of birch logs in and they will all burn each other, at different rates but good results..
like i say though faves are ash , oak, beech and birch, though many others work fine..
sorry i waffled on, just been inspired by a good fire since a small boy when my father taught me all about different woods and how to burn a clean, bright, warm fire..
yeh pine is not the best of firewoods , it has a low calorific value, but a reasonable heat output... its best use if you have it is to use it to charge the stove and flu... by charge i mean using it dry and cut to kindling size a good handful will burn fast bright and hot, warming the stove but more importantly warming the flu and creating the warm air updraft, or draw, that you need to then maintain with your hardwoods... this heating of the flu will keep smoke passing through instead of lighting a slow cold smoky fire and allowing deposits to dirty your flu... so pine , chop it small and warm the flu, gradually introducing larger logs..
my fave woods to burn on the stove are beech, ash ,oak, birch , though many others burn well like cherry, apple, sycamore is fine... its all about the seasoning though, lots of peopl mention ash, it is a very good firewood, one of the best, yes it does burn green, but that is only cos it has an alredy low moisture content, but burning it green is not a patch on heat output as when it is properly seasoned...
most hardwoods will season from the spring and be ready in the winter, though oak can take two seasons to be at its best... its basically about getting your average timber moisture content from 40 -80% down to 18-20% ish... even willow, very high moisture content burns fine seasoned, although alder of a similar moisture is quite useless.. the best firewood supply will have a mix, i always light up with pine, then a mix of good hardwoods allows to control the heat output, depending on how cold it is, as well as obviously controlling your air flow... you can learn from experimenting but for your flu/chimneys sake keep it seasoned... elm is not particularly rated but after seasoning som for four years it has a fine output and long burning, pop a couple of birch logs in and they will all burn each other, at different rates but good results..
like i say though faves are ash , oak, beech and birch, though many others work fine..
sorry i waffled on, just been inspired by a good fire since a small boy when my father taught me all about different woods and how to burn a clean, bright, warm fire..
feel a bit of a numpty writing my last comment, re read the post and realized we were talking hobo stoves, not wood stoves..
I'll just get my coat now!!!
hobo stove yeh, break up some dead birch twigs, very easy to light and lots of heat.......
I'll just get my coat now!!!
hobo stove yeh, break up some dead birch twigs, very easy to light and lots of heat.......
