Selecting firewood is not really that tough. Perhaps you contact your local tree trimming company and say “I need a cord of wood” They may tell you that they have mixed hardwoods – that is fine. Before you ask them to spell out what woods they have you may want to look around your own backyard as they are going to offer wood that grows in the area. You most likely get a mixture of hardwoods and softwoods. To request only a certain wood may cause laughter. The generally don’t sort.
If you have a tree in your backyard that needs to be taken down don’t have them haul it away but rather cut it up for firewood. Besides, you know exactly what you are getting for firewood and may get a nice stack of it. All in all you will get a mixture.
Hardwoods come from deciduous trees and softwoods come from coniferous trees. Each have unique properties to keep in mind:
Density: The heavier, or denser the wood the longer it burns and the more heat it produces. Most softwoods burn quickly with a high flame, hotter than the flame of high density hardwoods. However, hardwoods give more heat per cord because they burn slowly and steadily, providing warmth for a longer period. High-density hardwoods include Hickory, Oak and Apple. High-density softwoods include Larch, Red Cedar and Yellow Pine.
Burning Rate: In general, softwoods and low-density woods ignite easily and burn fast; hardwoods usually burn more slowly and can be very difficult to ignite. However, a lightweight hardwood such as Cottonwood will burn faster then a dense softwood like Red Cedar. Softwood flames burn brighter and higher. Hardwood flames dance less but last longer.
Sparks: If wood is not thoroughly dry it sparks as it burns. Softwoods usually give off more sparks than hardwoods because of their hight pitch content. Among the highest sparking woods are Cedar, Larch, Pine, and Spruce.
Smoke: For the most part, heavy hardwoods produce little smoke, light hardwoods give off a medium amount and smoke from softwoods ranges from medium to heavy. Woods having the heaviest smoke include Douglas Fir and Yellow Pine.
Coaling Ability: Most hardwoods make good beds of glowing embers which throw off intense heat. Coaling is related to density and heavy woods produce more quality coals.
Aroma and Color: Fruit-bearing trees are hardwoods. Their smoke usually smells like their fruit, whether Apple, Cherry, Pear, Peach or Plum. Other appealing aromas come from Red Cedar, Magnolia, Yellow Pine, Hickory, Pecan and Sassafras. Consider burning fruit woods on special occasions when you have company.
Most wood burns with a yellow to orange flame. Apple wood, if aged four or five years, gives pretty rainbow-colored flames. Driftwood of any tree burns blue lavender from the minerals it absorbs from seawater.
In the next installment of this series I’ll provide information on specific common wood species.
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Hello i am in fifth grade. i am doing a science projrct on firewood. My question is Does the type of firewood affect how long the fire will burn? do you think you could give me some advice?
Hello Student – Cool science project. The basic answer is yes. There is softwood and there is hardwood. Softwood is wood that come from trees like Eastern White Pine or Redwood- those are conifers and they ignite easily but burn very fast. There is also hardwood. Hardwood is wood that comes from trees like Oak and Hickory – those are deciduous and they are very difficult to ignite but once you do they will burn for a long time.
Conifers are trees that have needle-like leaves or scaly-like flat leaves . Conifers are sometimes called evergreens because most kinds keep their needles all year long and stay green throughout the winter. Conifers also produce pine-cones. They are a very ancient type of tree. These trees also make sticky sap which is the fluid that runs through the tree. The sap is also very flammable or ignites easily. It is from sap that we make things like turpentine which is why you never use turpentine near an open flame.
The sap is sweet and sticky and attracts bugs which sometime drips on the side of a conifer. Bugs can get caught in the sap and birds love to pick out the bugs. Fossilized sap from when the dinosaurs were around is called amber and sometimes you can find tiny bugs in the amber.
Hardwood trees like Oak or Hickory are deciduous their leaves are broad and most fall to the ground in autumn. In autumn their leaves turn bright colors as the tree stops producing chlorophyl – chlorophyl is what makes the leaf green. Some trees make really sweet sap like some maple trees which is where we get maple syrup.
Most hardwood trees glow very slow and the grain of the wood is very tight and dense- so the trees become very strong. Hardwood trees usually have large branches that reach out from the trunk of the tree and it take a lot of strength to hold up those branches. Some hardwood trees produce fruit like apples and some produce nuts like walnuts.
Softwood burns very fast but usually does not produce a lot of heat. Hardwood usually burns very slow but tends to be better for fires for warmth and cooking.
WHen you build a fire — its usually a good idea to use softwood to get the fire going and then use hardwood to keep it burning for a long time. the softwood will help to start the hard wood on fire.
Does that help?
there are links in and at the bottom of the article that will take you to more information about kinds of wood, how they burn as well as building a fire for cooking and warmth.
I hope all goes well with your project. — let me know.
Why cant i copy your website and put it on a word document. I need to print it out for my resources
Try copying it again —
I have released protection on the site for your purposes. I protect the site as I have found numerous instances where someone has copied the content and posted it on their own website and claimed authorship of it.
In light of the project that you are working on I have released the protection.
I hope that the information was of help — Please have your parents review and let me know if you need any other information.
Hello, I found your website very informative and easy to understand. I run a garden and nursery supplying village products such as firewood, often to people who do not fully understand the properties of wood and the factors they need to consider when ordering firewood. You have helped me to pass on to my customers information which will help them decide what sort of wood they need. Particularly an understanding of how a correct mixture can make quick ignition and a longer burn possible.
Thanks for your excellent advice.
Brian.
VILLAGE garden.
Brian — Thank you!
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