The power of oak

[cuttermark]

Someone the next town over is selling dry split oak for 140 1/2cord.The ad mentions that much oak is as good as almost a cord of dry hardwood when it comes to heat power.Any comments on that?

 

[Wet1]

http://chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm

 

[wendell]

Uh, for the most part, no.

It depends on the hardwood. It will be a little less than some and more than others and there are a few it has double the BTU's of but not many.

http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm

 

[mayhem]

The term "hardwood" here is unclear since oak is also a hardwood. Interprested literally you could say that a half cord of dry oak has almost as many BTU's as a full cord of dry oak.

 

[cuttermark]

Thanks for the link.
The hardwood would have been mostly maple with some birch as well.

 

[CowboyAndy]

there is a difference in btus between maple and oak, but if we are talking sugar/hard maple the in no way is half a cord of oak as good as a cord of maple. if that were the case, i would go from burning 4 cords of maple a year to 2! that would surely be nice!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Yes, all maple are not created equal when it comes to btu. For instance, on our place we have all soft maple. If we had our druthers, we 'druther burn hard maple.

Also, how could you say that oak is worth double what ash is?

It also depends upon how long that oak has seasoned. Most times when buying you still have to give that wood time before it is ready to burn.

All in all, it would be a cold day in Hell before I'd pay $280 for a cord of wood, but I also realize there is a difference in different areas of the country.

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

Thanks for the link.
The hardwood would have been mostly maple with some birch as well.

This late in the season, I'd be hoping for "dry seasoned wood" and nothing else...... be glad it ain't Red Oak...........
but maybe it's mostly Sugar Maple and Black Birch.....wishful thinking.


WB

 

[maplewood]

Someone the next town over is selling dry split oak for 140 1/2cord.The ad mentions that much oak is as good as almost a cord of dry hardwood when it comes to heat power.Any comments on that?

Almost is a relative word. After hearing all the wood seller horror stories here, I'm a skeptic - is it almost a half a cord (64 cubic feet), almost seasoned (20% moisture) and almost a new vocab word ("heat power").

I've burned oak before. Decent wood. Dried well after a year.

Hope it works well for you.
Happy burning.