Suggested firewoods - are there any woods that one should NEVER use for firewood?

[cwatkin]

I recently moved to the country and plan to burn wood for the majority of my heating needs. I live in the Ozarks of Missouri so there are a lot of good hardwood trees available. This year, I bought a place with some fired wood included but don't feel this will be enough for the entire winter. I have been cutting standing deads and blowdowns from my property and it seems that some of the standing deads don't take more than a month of so to cure nicely. I was wondering if there are any trees I should just avoid at all costs as well as trees that make good firewood, especially of one doesn't have a ton of time to wait for them to cure. I have compiled a list of stuff I find commonly available.

1. Red oak - seems like a great wood when cured but takes a while to cure. As for something that is common around here, I think this is one of the best.

2. White oak - seems good but I prefer red oak. I know a few people who like this while others say it is just junk wood. If I had my choice, there are other better woods, but what if it is good and plentiful?

3. Black oak - this seems to rate somewhere between red and white oak from my burning experience

4. Elm - standing deads with no bark are great for hot but quick heat after being stacked and cured for a short time. Anything not well cured is not worth trying to burn and will not give any heat and just smoke/burn very slowly.

5. Hickory - great wood but takes a while to cure

6. Black walnut - I know this is supposed to be valuable but is it worth trying to sell for just one or two trees? I just cutup a nice one that had blown over but how would I go about selling it for lumber? Again, this one looks like it will take a while to cure.

7. Persimmon - I have a friend who is clearing fields and gave me a bunch of this. I understand it takes a while to cure but it EXCEPTIONAL firewood once dry.

8. Boxelder - This seems like a junk tree to me but it appears to cure quick and provide hot but very quick heat. I recently got some of this from the same guy clearing fields and took it just to be nice. He gave me LOTS of other very good wood such as oaks, hickory, persimmon, etc. and I know that me taking this sames him time and effort.

9. Silver maple - this seems to be one of the big three for falling or losing limbs in wind, snow, ice, etc. It is junk wood from an ugly junk tree but I have taken some to be nice and it does burn hot but quick after curing.

10. Bradford Pear (and similar) - These are another tree that is lousy for holding up long term and is another of the big three for falling over/breaking around here. Again this isn't one I would choose and I understand these have now been classified as a non-native noxious/invasive weed by several agencies.

11. River birch - Why do people even bother planting these? These are right up there with Bradford Pears for breaking under any load and are probably the top of the big three for falling down in wind or anything else.

12. Cedar - I don't really like burning this but there are tons of these on my property and a bunch that have been piled up during the clearing of a powerline. I kinda want to get rid of these as a view all this downed wood as a fire hazard but know it isn't the best to burn. I have burned some that is well cured and it burns quick and hot but the overall BTU content is like 1/3 of a decent hardwood. I like mixing a bit of this in my woodpile as it seems to keep a lot of bugs and critters from taking up residence in my woodpile but hate thinking that all that space being taken up by cedar has 1/3 the energy of some other wood that is plentiful around here. The hot burning nature of this makes it useful when starting a fire.

13. Black locust - I have a little of this on my property including some that was down already. I cut and stacked this but burned a rotten piece. Even the rotten pieces burned very well and put out lots of heat. This was spongy, punky wood and I would have thrown it off into the woods had it not been dry. I figured why not if it was there and I just wanted to get rid of it.

I have TONS of downed cedar on my property and want to get rid of some to prevent a big fire hazard. There are also good hardwoods in this pile and I am working on getting them cut. How should one handle the cedars? Just cut a little at a time and mix it in/use it to start fires???

Are there any woods one should just avoid no matter how easy they are to obtain? The boxelder I took didn't really cost me and extra trip to the location with my truck but I was wondering if this is even worth my time. What woods are good for quick curing firewood, even if they aren't absolutely ideal? I kinda need some quick curing wood (2-3 months) for this winter and then I can plan better for next winter. I am going to use a bunch of the trees that have been pushed over for the powerline as many of them are suspended and partly seasoned already. There are a LOT of cedars and I don't know what to do with those but do want to get rid of them due to the fire hazard associated with all of these.


Thanks,

Conor

 

[dancan]

I would avoid any painted , pressure treated or creosote treated firewood , anything else is fair game .

 

[KsWoodsMan]

NEVER burn treated wood, painted/varnished wood or OSB.

Burning poison Ivy vines should be avoided without compromise.

Green wood is a compromise but not suggested unless there isn't a drier alternative.

You should be good with what you have listed. Dead standing (shedding bark) is what I suggest going after when running low. The bottom 6-10 feet might still be to wet initially but above that expect it to be bone dry and ready for immediate use.

EDIT:If you aren't short of heating wood , hold back some of the persimmon and pear to go along with your hickory for the grill. I like them for chicken and beef.

But then when you are cold the smoking/grill wood is fair game too

 

[cwatkin]

Yeah, I don't burn any pressure treated stuff but will burn kiln dried lumber scraps as kindling. I have also been known to pick up pallets at the lumberyard as they set them out back for free. These can be cut up into nice pieces that make good kindling. Since there is a lot of open space, I tend to get these as needed and don't want to store a lot of them. I do find that using these as bases to stack firewood works well. When that stack of wood is gone, I generally burn that pallet in a brush pile and replace it with a fresh one as they only last so long.

Thanks,

Conor

 

[dancan]

Burning poison Ivy vines should be avoided without compromise.

.

Good reminder !

 

[KsWoodsMan]

After mentioning cooking over wood ,I keep thinking there are a few that aren't good in the campfire or cook fire.

It might not be , but Adler and eucalyptus keeps coming to mind not to use it for cooking over. Not that I know of any that grows in this area.

None of those 12 you listed should let you freeze to death this winter. If all I had was the worst on your list, cedar and Box Elder, I'd be set , Just takes more of it and more trips than your Hickory, Black Locust or White/RedOak.

 

[Misfit138]

....
1. Red oak - seems like a great wood when cured but takes a while to cure. As for something that is common around here, I think this is one of the best.

2. White oak - seems good but I prefer red oak. I know a few people who like this while others say it is just junk wood. If I had my choice, there are other better woods, but what if it is good and plentiful?

3. Black oak - this seems to rate somewhere between red and white oak from my burning experience

Who calls White Oak junk wood? Whoever told you that simply doesn't know his wood. Red, White and Black Oak are all excellent, but take a long time to seasoned. When they are dry and seasoned, I can't tell the difference between 'em; they all burn great and leave barely any ash. When I burn Oak I rarely have to clean out ashes at all.

4. Elm - standing deads with no bark are great for hot but quick heat after being stacked and cured for a short time. Anything not well cured is not worth trying to burn and will not give any heat and just smoke/burn very slowly.

I have almost no experience with Elm, but again, the key is having dry, seasoned wood.

5. Hickory - great wood but takes a while to cure

That's a fact.

6. Black walnut - I know this is supposed to be valuable but is it worth trying to sell for just one or two trees? I just cutup a nice one that had blown over but how would I go about selling it for lumber? Again, this one looks like it will take a while to cure.

I have no opinion on the value and desirable nature of Black Walnut for furniture- to me it is just another tree to burn.

7. Persimmon - I have a friend who is clearing fields and gave me a bunch of this. I understand it takes a while to cure but it EXCEPTIONAL firewood once dry.

Excellent wood, one of the best and about even with Mulberry in my experience.

9. Silver maple - this seems to be one of the big three for falling or losing limbs in wind, snow, ice, etc. It is junk wood from an ugly junk tree but I have taken some to be nice and it does burn hot but quick after curing.

Most old timers around here call this a "Swamp Maple". It's one of the soft Maples, but it burns pretty good in my experience and leaves decent coals. Definitely not in the same league as Sugar Maple or the Oaks.

12. Cedar - I don't really like burning this but there are tons of these on my property and a bunch that have been piled up during the clearing of a powerline. I kinda want to get rid of these as a view all this downed wood as a fire hazard but know it isn't the best to burn. I have burned some that is well cured and it burns quick and hot but the overall BTU content is like 1/3 of a decent hardwood. I like mixing a bit of this in my woodpile as it seems to keep a lot of bugs and critters from taking up residence in my woodpile but hate thinking that all that space being taken up by cedar has 1/3 the energy of some other wood that is plentiful around here. The hot burning nature of this makes it useful when starting a fire.

Cedar smells good and burns fast.

13. Black locust - I have a little of this on my property including some that was down already. I cut and stacked this but burned a rotten piece. Even the rotten pieces burned very well and put out lots of heat. This was spongy, punky wood and I would have thrown it off into the woods had it not been dry. I figured why not if it was there and I just wanted to get rid of it.

Excellent wood in my experience. Great coals.

Conclusion: If you have dry, seasoned, premium hardwoods in plentiful supply, stick with them for your main source and supply. Having softer woods for kindling if your stove goes out is always a good idea.
Always season wood completely before burning and you will be happy with the results no matter what kind of tree it comes off of.
Enjoy!

 

[unclemoustache]

It also depends on if you've got an OWB or an indoor stove. OWB users tend to burn pretty much any wood without too much fuss, but is wood stove people tend to be a bit more picky. I would never burn sycamore because it leaves more ash than there was wood to begin with. You'd be shoveling out your stove every 10 minutes with that junk. Others say willow is pretty nasty, but I've never burned any of it. I don't mind the soft (silver) maple in the early part of the heating season, especially since it leaves little ash and splits and dries easily. But then when it gets colder I go for the BTUs in Oak, hickory, hedge, and mulberry.

 

[IHDiesel73L]

I try to avoid any kind of firewood that you have to pay for :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Wood Doctor]

Oops!

Bradford or Cleveland Pear? Are you kidding?

I doubt I would ever cut down this beautiful tree. Slow growing, colorful, and easy to trim:

 

[1project2many]

Silver Maple rots very quickly. Don't stack a pile outside in the spring and expect it to be good the following fall. Box Elder has an odor I don't like and attracts Box Elder Beetles, which I'd rather not have around. It also burns and rots quickly. I avoid Box Elder. I've had Silver Maple but I try to stack it for the beginning / end of the heating season so I can use better wood when it's colder. Avoid Willow. It never seems to dry out, and it stinks when burned. Catalpa (looks like a bean tree) is a very light wood but it's fairly dry when green. Green Catalpa has a funny smell but when dry it's not obnoxious to burn. Ash has more heat than Catalpa and is also fairly dry green. If you ever run out of wood in the winter, look for an Ash or Catalpa to take down. If you find Butternut, that's another very light wood that burns quickly and rots fast. Lots of ashes when burning Butternut. Again, avoid stacking it in the middle of the wood pile. Most of the Cedar up here has been killed off by disease but I've burned a few. If it's light wood then use it at the beginning and end of the heating season, and split some of it small and mix in the woodpile so you have kindling to bring in with the wood. Nice thing about Oak, Cedar, and Black Locust is they last a long, long time. You can pile rounds outside and they'll usually stay intact for a few years.

HTH

 

[thenorth]

the only wood YOU should not burn is, MY wood...
lol

 

[thenorth]

the only wood YOU should not burn is, MY wood...
lol

 

[greendohn]

IT ALL BURNS BETTER THAN SNOW BALLS:msp_wink:

 

[dingeryote]

Get the Box elder up and off the ground, and cover it.
Seperate it from everything but the Silver Maple, and leave those two for Fall and spring, and the odd armfull for getting things going quick.
It's not crap, just smells like it and burns fast with little real heat. I'll toss a couple 4" pieces on the coals in the mornings with a couple small splits of whatever else just to get things going. Ya gotta get rid of the crap anyhow, so it might as well heat the hootch a bit.

To avoid? Tree of Heaven/alanthius. The #### isn't worth the headaches, allergic sensitization/toxicity ugliness and stench coming out of the stove. Make a pile of it if you have to cut any, and make some Rabbit a nice home.

Anything else is either Meat or Gravy.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[Cedar Ed]

Don't burn the Cedar I'll haul it away for you.
Just kidding.It makes very good kindling.
Cut it to length,split to an inch thick,let dry.
Use it to get the other wood burning.

 

[JBinKC]

I also live in the Ozarks and I think as long as cedar, silver maple and boxelder doesn't make up more than 2/3rds of the total volume of firewood over the course of the burning season you should be in good shape.

I would exclusively burn the lighter woods during the beginning, end and warm spells during the middle of the burning season and days when you are around the house. I would mix it in with the heavier woods to maintain a coal bed while asleep or at work during the colder days.

I would try to use up the silver maple and boxelder first as they tend to rot quicker.

The birch should be split because the bark holds in moisture.

White oak: I don't know where you got the idea that it is poor firewood it is great cold weather firewood as long as it is fully seasoned.


If you are still short of seasoned higher BTU firewood there is a scourge of Black Oak death in the area and the trunk/limbs are very rot resistant. That would be my preferred target deadfall if you are trying to find something dry enough to burn this year with some BTUs on a woodlot. I would also look for obviously dead limbs of other oaks, hickories or locust that are not in contact with the ground. The other option is to find a barkless tree that is dead standing the top 1/2 of the tree should be in a condition to immediately burn well.

Bad firewood:wet spongy punky wood, poison sumac, and trees that are entangled with poison ivy.

 

[woodguy105]

Not sure how Elm burns but from a splitting point of view I stay away from it...at least the big rounds anyway. It's the
only wood that gives me problems splitting.

 

[AIM]

To repeat what has already been said. Silver maple is good fall spring wood. Seasons very fast. Cut green in the fall and seasoned by spring.

I personally leave box elder lay. I wouldn't take the time to pick it up. Better than snowballs I'll agree, but not by alot.

Elm is great. 75% of my heat came from elm for a few years. Got my woods pretty picked clean of the standing dead. Whats left is getting punky. Movin on to dead ash now.

 

[zogger]

All of it

You can burn all that wood you have on your property. So what if one has more BTU per volume? By dry *weight*, they are all roughly the same.

Cut it, stack it off the ground, cover the top. That's it. Better to be years ahead than not.

My rule of thumb on this farm, if I got to touch it to be cut, it goes on the woodstack. I am neither a species snob, nor a size snob, I burn a lot of small branch chunks. I am enjoying a little fire right now that is 1-3" branches. So what I got to throw more in frequently, I am sitting right here, it isn't a hassle.

I cut and haul home one inch to over 30 inch diameter stuff, it all gets used. I actually like a lot of the small stuff that doesn't need any splitting whatsoever, your stacks accumulate real fast that way, skipping that whole splitting step.

Lot of guys don't like to cut small stuff, I think I just fly with a small saw and can knock it out, just from years of doing it. Yep, I can block a big fat trunk of "perfect" hardwood and work it, to me that is by far and away not the hardest but the easiest work with firewood, it's just not that hard at all, takes no huge skill to do it, but I can *also* knock out a ton of smaller stuff and have a big pile of ready to burn soon pieces from the branches on trees as well, using the smallest most fuel stingy and bar oil stingy and easy to run saws, and now including my spiffy battery saw. Because I am *fast* when I want to be.

And if I have to cut it and handle it or move it, I might as well move it to my stacks.

My firewooding to me is *sport*, not drudgery or work. I am amazed I get paid to do it....not complaining at-all.

Stack and burn what ya got man, all of it, you got a real good gig at your new digs sounds like to me.

Why people are snobs about split versus the SAME SIZE AND WEIGHT AND SPECIES wood still "in the round" is beyond me. I have yet to see any difference at all in the heat coming from the stove one versus the other. Like, say you want a four inch across rough size split from your big blocks, swell. Now..what is wrong with cutting the four inch diameter branches and leaving them whole, as opposed to making some huge branch pile mess and calling it "slash"? Same with differing species, your example some neuron calling white oak junk wood! That goes beyond being a species snob right into the walking drool level.

Watch as the economy worsens, people will become a lot less picky on handling their energy requirements. Along with a lot of other snobbish tendencies.

Good luck with your new farm man, always neat stuff to do! You are "energy rich", enjoy it!