Best Firewood: Heat Values and Wood-Burning Tips

What Makes for Good Firewood?

What makes some types of firewood better for burning than others? It comes down to two factors: density and water content. The denser and drier the firewood, the better it will burn and the more heat it can produce. 

Hardwood vs. Softwood

Because of its density and its comparatively low levels of sap or pitch, hardwoods generally make for better firewood than softwoods.

Best Firewoods by Heat Value

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. 

High Heat Value

1 cord = 200 to 250 gallons of fuel oil

• American beech
• Apple
• Ironwood
• Mesquite
• Red oak
• Shagbark hickory
• Sugar maple
• White ash
• White oak
• Yellow birch

Medium Heat Value

1 cord = 150 to 200 gallons of fuel oil

• American elm
• Black cherry
• Douglas fir
• Red maple
• Silver maple
• Tamarack
• White birch

Low Heat Value

1 cord = 100 to 150 gallons of fuel oil

• Aspen
• Cottonwood
• Hemlock
• Lodgepole pine
• Red alder
• Redwood
• Sitka spruce
• Western red cedar
• White pine

Firewood-Burning Tips

• How much wood is in a cord? The cord is the standard measure of volume used for stacked wood. The volume of one cord of wood is 128 cubic feet of stacked wood. Generally, a cord is laid out in stacks that measure 4 feet wide, 4 feet tall, and 8 feet long (4’ x 4’ x 8’) in total. Due to air space between the stacked wood, the volume of solid wood in a cord may be only 70 to 90 cubic feet.
• What is a “rick” or “face cord” of wood? Usually, a cord is made up of a few stacks of wood. One stack of a cord is called a “rick” or a “face cord.” Generally, a rick is 4 feet tall by 8 feet long, and the width of a rick will depend on the length of the individual pieces of firewood. Because of this variability in width, a rick could be equal to 1/4 of a cord, 1/2 a cord, or more.
• What is heat value? Heat value refers to the amount of heat a wood produced when burned. Heat value varies based on the type of wood: A cord of wood with “high heat value” provides the heat equivalent to that produced by burning 200 to 250 gallons of heating oil. Other heat values are listed above.
• Cutting wood: Freshly cut wood contains up to 50 percent moisture and must be seasoned (dried) to 20 to 25 percent moisture content before burning. Wood containing more than 25 percent moisture is wet, or green, and should never be burned in a fireplace or wood stove.
• Splitting wood: Wet wood is easier to split than dry wood. Wood must be split into pieces and stacked out of the rain for at least six months to season properly.
• Seasoning firewood: If steam bubbles and hisses out of the end grain as the firewood heats up on the fire, the wood is wet, or green, and needs to be seasoned longer before burning. Well-seasoned firewood generally has darkened ends with visible cracks or splits. It is relatively lightweight and makes a sharp, distinctive “clink” when two pieces strike each other.
• Burning pine: Limit the amount of pine you burn. It’s a resinous softwood.
• Buy local: Only buy firewood from local sources. Buying and moving firewood from elsewhere (especially from state to state) is not only frowned upon, it may also be illegal. Transporting firewood from one place to another increases the chance of spreading invasive pests and diseases. Learn more this issue here.

Now here’s how to keep warm on just one stick of wood! (Humor)