The Best Kind Of Firewood To Buy For Your Home Heating Needs

There are several firewood varieties, each with distinctive qualities of its own. The type of firewood produced largely depends on the tree from which it was derived. Furthermore, it is acceptable to assume that there are several distinct types of firewood given that there are over 50,000 tree species around the globe.

 

Once it concerns your chimney, fire pit, or woodstove, understanding the various types of firewood will improve your fire’s efficiency and save you unnecessary stress, whether you're burning it or purchasing it. Different kinds of firewood burn differently. Some produce smoke, while others produce sap or resin that can block your chimney. The best firewood burns hotter and more thoroughly.

 

Firewood can be classified into two broad categories: Softwood and Hardwood. Your fire quality will improve using the proper wood from these categories. Softwoods are not always supple and easy to work with, while hardwoods are not necessarily stronger or more resilient. The differences between both types of firewood are found in how they reproduce, as well as their structural designs. Since hardwoods tend to be thicker than softwoods, they burn hotter and longer. Besides being less sticky than softwoods, they are also less prone to accumulate tar deposits in your chimney.

 

We will examine each category in greater depth so that you may understand the advantages and characteristics of both hardwoods and softwoods. Let's move on to the ideal firewood for various types of usage.

HARDWOOD FIREWOOD

Hardwoods are the finest burning woods for a hotter burn with a longer burn period. Due to their sluggish growth, hardwood trees are significantly thicker than softwoods. They are better for cooking and creating hotter, more intense flames. But hardwoods are often more costly than softwoods, and they also have a higher propensity to create clinkers, a rocky and tough substance, in the ash that is left over. However, these woods are often easier to work with and contain the least pitch and sap.

 

There are many kinds of hardwood, but some of the more well-known ones are oak, ash, walnut, beech, maple and applewood.

Oak

The world's oak trees come in more than 600 different types! It is abundantly accessible almost anywhere you find trees and is solid compact wood. Oak burns fiercely for a very long period and creates minimal smoke. The seasoning process for oak firewood will take a bit longer than for ash, but it would ultimately be ready for use within a year. When used, you'll have a fire that furiously burns all night long and emits very little smoke, aside from a thin, white line escaping into the atmosphere. White oak makes for better firewood than red oak and works best when combined with other types of logs.

Ash

Ash firewood is an excellent all-purpose fuel since it emits a modest amount of heat, nearly little smoke, and seasons quickly. This firewood may be prepared in the spring and ready to burn once the weather turns chilly. Ash firewood might be difficult to locate due to the Emerald Ash Borer Beetle, a pest that has seriously damaged ash trees. When this invasive insect is still a larva, it destroys ash trees by consuming the delicate tree bark, depriving it of nourishment.

Walnut

The black walnut burns with the least amount of smoke, though three major species of walnut trees exist. Due to its high demand as wood for furniture construction, this wood might be a bit challenging to locate for firewood. You may likely not discover a vast black walnut grove since these trees don't like the shadow and usually thrive in bright, sunny spots by themselves. Obtaining a complete cord of wood or more from a mature black walnut tree is possible if you’re fortunate to find one.

Beech

Beech firewood is highly sought after by individuals with wood-burning stoves due to its tremendous heat when it burns. Beechwood smells nutty and sweet when burned, burning cleanly and with minimal smoke. Comparatively speaking to most other firewood types, beech firewood dries to a far lower moisture level. After seasoning, the typical moisture content of beech firewood is between 10 and 12%. Due to its low water content, beech also makes for exceptionally clean and aromatic firewood.

Maple

Typically, we associate maple trees with syrup made from sugar maple sap. The many different types of maple trees are all well-burning hardwoods. Despite often being less thick than oak trees, maple trees burn similarly. The main difference between maple and oak firewood is that maple burns a bit more quickly, but burning maple wood produces a wonderful aroma.

Applewood

Applewood is another fragrant firewood that produces minimal smoke. Although it might be hard to locate, it burns hot and clean. When an apple tree no longer produces apples, the wood is frequently harvested and used to smoke foods.

SOFTWOOD FIREWOOD

The least expensive kind of wood is softwood. Softwoods often burn more quickly and produce finer ash than hardwoods. Because they speed up creosote buildup in your chimney, handling them can be dirty. They are suitable for outdoor usage since they burn more quickly than hardwoods and produce more smoke.

 

Some common examples of softwood include larch, cedar, pine, alder, poplar, balsam, tamarack and spruce. We’ll concentrate on only three of the most well-liked types of softwood:

Cedar

Small chunks may be burnt unseasoned and often emit a nice fragrance. You'll get a powerful cracking sound and a pleasant, long-lasting heat from cedar.

Larch

Larch, the toughest softwood and tougher than some hardwoods, must be well-seasoned and burns extremely hot. It is also in harmony with hardwoods and suitable for stoves. Shut the door before using it, otherwise the room will fill with smoke. It is well-liked since it requires little upkeep.

Pine

It burns quickly and efficiently with a good flame but may require more frequent refuelling. Excellent for starting fires, but you should only use it outside because it contains a lot of sap and resin.

 

That concludes this article. You can't go wrong with maple, oak, ash, and applewood if you're searching for firewood that emits the least amount of smoke. But if you want to eliminate all doubts, you can always count on Australian Firewood to deliver high-quality firewood to your doorstep

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