Q&A BTU content of different woods

Question:

I own a woodstove and am interested in determining the best wood to burn. One topic of interest is the heat content for each type of wood in millions of BTUs per dry cord of wood. I typically burn red and white oak which has been seasoned about 12 months. I have had good results with this approach but am wondering if there is another better type of wood that I should be burning.



Answer:

Thanks- I'll check the wood info page. Most all wood has the same BTU content per pound --but the key is that the denser woods have more pounds per cord. Unless you have access to hickory- oak will be the best wood to burn.

A good HearthNet article on various woods is linked below.

Link: Heat Values and Burning Properties of Wood Species