Hardwoods that are bad to burn?

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

kayakkeith

Member
Sep 20, 2010
211
West Virginia
So I know pine is not the best thing to burn but which hardwoods are not good to burn?? I have some people tell me that they only like to burn oak,etc

I have some birch and also beech and I think some popular and maple. I really need to get someone to ID it for me that knows but I just keep getting hardwoods from the area and hope it will burn okay in the long run.

I think I may try and see if the forest service has any tree ID classes
 
kayakkeith said:
I think I may try and see if the forest service has any tree ID classes

Check your state university. Most of them have a forestry program, which might have some evening or weekend classes. Many of them offer freely downloadable materials dealing with the species found within the particular state. Identification guides are commonly offered.
 
I've yet to find a wood that can't be burned. The problem is most people are too stubborn or just plain don't understand the importance of seasoning the wood properly. Some take longer than others. All (including pine) are fine to burn when seasoned appropriately.
 
pen said:
I've yet to find a wood that can't be burned. The problem is most people are too stubborn or just plain don't understand the importance of seasoning the wood properly. Some take longer than others. All (including pine) are fine to burn when seasoned appropriately.

+ 1

All wood burns when properly seasoned. Some wood gives you more bang for the buck (check the btu charts). There is no evil wood, but some is not worth paying for.
 
kayakkeith said:
So I know pine is not the best thing to burn but which hardwoods are not good to burn?? I have some people tell me that they only like to burn oak,etc

I have some birch and also beech and I think some popular and maple. I really need to get someone to ID it for me that knows but I just keep getting hardwoods from the area and hope it will burn okay in the long run.

I think I may try and see if the forest service has any tree ID classes


http://mb-soft.com/juca/print/firewood.html

The above link is for a firewood btu chart.


Zap
 
Cut, Split, Stack... Repeat. You will figure it out. It's all good, even pine, if it's dry.

I burned whatever I could get my hands on the first year, even pallets.

Aftter that I got a good saw and it's pretty easy to stay a year plus ahead.

I do pass on poplar now. It's just too heavey and wet when green. I can haul other plentiful wood instead., Linden and Sassafras are also pretty light when dry, not much heat value for the volume.

All the best & welcome,
Mike
 
lukem said:
pen said:
I've yet to find a wood that can't be burned. The problem is most people are too stubborn or just plain don't understand the importance of seasoning the wood properly. Some take longer than others. All (including pine) are fine to burn when seasoned appropriately.

+ 1

All wood burns when properly seasoned. Some wood gives you more bang for the buck (check the btu charts). There is no evil wood, but some is not worth paying for.

+ 2
&
Both good tips.

Birch & beech are good ones. Hard maple is primo. Popular is low in BTU per cord but burns well & seasons in about 1 yr.
Seasoning it well is more important than the wood type. Oak 2 years+, & I'm learning that birch about 1-1/2 years + (water tight bark)
 
Nothing wrong with Burning Pine. It's just fast burning is all, unless you can get some of the more dense western species.

Hardwoods are easy. It's all good stuff.
If it's a light bit of cold, burn light wood.
If it's a Heavy cold, burn heavy wood.

There is only one species I WONT burn, and that is Tree of heaven(Ailanthus).
A more wretched stench cannot be found, without dumpster diving behind a slaughter house.
 
I have yet to seen a cold fire, Bun it!

KC
 
pen said:
I've yet to find a wood that can't be burned. The problem is most people are too stubborn or just plain don't understand the importance of seasoning the wood properly. Some take longer than others. All (including pine) are fine to burn when seasoned appropriately.

The Pen in mighty with his keyboard!
 
I'm an equal opportunity burner . . . haven't met a tree species yet that I didn't cut, split, stack, season and get heat out of it when burned . . . just some species burn better than others in certain situations . . . which is why for every species there is a season . . . turn, turn, turn . . . ;)
 
Poison sumac - don't burn it.

(sorry, I had to, just to prove that there is one that is baaaddd. :coolgrin: )
 
Cascade Failure said:
Jags said:
Poison sumac - don't burn it.

(sorry, I had to, just to prove that there is one that is baaaddd. :coolgrin: )

Two more...

The wife's Cherry or Mahogany furniture. That could kill ya!

And another, Brazilian Pepper, aka Florida Holly. It also contains urishiol, but not as bad as poison ivy, sumac, or oak.
 
Burning a single stick of Black cherry (wild cherry) will kill every living creature within 100 feet of it. I suggest everyone truck all their cherry over to me so I can properly dispose of it! :)
 
Yes, and most other hardwoods are just as deadly. I will take the rest.
 
Keith-
I'm one of those "wood snobs". If I'm taking the time to go cut, I'll choose an area heavily populated with oak, locust--or another one of my favorites is cherry (quick to season and fairly nice in the btu dept). I try to stay away from cutting up in the canaan heights area only because there's a lot of birch up there--not one of my favorites. we should go out and cut together sometime--I'll help you with some tree id (by bark). In return, you can take all the birch and pine and I'll take the locust and oak. :) You around this weekend? The girls are out of town and I have some free time to go cut.
 
'Hardwoods that are bad to burn" are like "Ugly supermodels".... or a "bad day fishing" ......an oxymoron. :lol:
 
May go out tomorrow if its not raining - starting to get a nice batch of wood but still looking to find some locust
 
Status
Not open for further replies.