Type of wood to burn

[gbailey1972]

Evening all. I'm getting a jotul Oslo installed in 8 days!! I have a couple of great guys that I can buy two year seasoned wood. I'm curious about the different types of wood. Around here (Iowa) we have lots of great wood to choose from. One guy in particular has Red Elm, there's also a bunch of Oak as well. Any thoughts? I also have access to other wood as well. Any advice and thrust is appreciated.

 

[begreen]

I would go for the oak, but if possible get some other wood mixed in. Be sure the wood has been split for two years. Otherwise it will not be seasoned and ready to burn. A lot of these "seasoned" wood seller start the clock when the tree is felled. That is not when it starts drying out. It has to be split to expose much more surface area of the wood.

For a mix, I'm not sure my 2nd choice would be red elm. If there is ash in the mix take that instead. It can be burnt in a pinch with a lot less seasoning.

 

[JBinKC]

If you are purchasing wood for this year's use I would probably opt for the red elm because of its seasoning properties. It likely will be ready to burn right away. Oak ideally needs to be seasoned for 3 years. Buy that for next year.

 

[Wood Duck]

I'd go for a mix of species. You'll see that some lighter woods start up faster, while denser woods burn longer. Each wood is unique and I think all have some advantages and disadvantages. That said, it is hard to argue that either oak or Red Elm wouldn't be a good choice. As others have written, the oak is likely to need extra seasoning time. Even though you may have great wood sellers, I wouldn't count on the wood being as well seasoned as you would like. Buy next year's wood now, stack it in the Iowa wind until fall, and it will be a lot better next year than it is this year.

Red Elm, final answer!

 

[oldspark]

Get a cheapie moisture meter and spilt some (have fun with the elm) to see how dry it is now, if it is 2 years old one more summer and it will be good to go, has the wood been split at all.

 

[firefighterjake]

I'm an equal opportunity burner . . . if it is a tree species I will burn it . . . I figure for every tree there is a season and a reason . . . for example, I wouldn't burn eastern white cedar or white pine exclusively in my Oslo, but find that both of these wood species are great for kindling and burning in the shoulder season . . . however . . . that said . . . my normal wood species include American elm, white and yellow birch, sugar and red maple, white and green ash and a smattering of beech and apple. I think next year may be the first time I'll be burning some oak . . . cut that down last year . . . looking forward to experiencing oak.

So to answer the question . . . diversification never hurts . . . doing so you'll find some wood that you will want for kindling, some wood you will want for easier restarts (my wife loves using white birch for reloading after a long burn), some wood you will want for shoulder season burns and some wood you will want for the day in and day out fires and some wood you'll be tempted to keep aside for those long, sub-zero night burns . . .

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Welcome to the forum gbailey1972.

My advice would be to seriously question that 2 years seasoned wood. First, how was it seasoned? No doubt, it has been cut for two years but that surely does not mean it has seasoned or dried!

 

[Intheswamp]

What Backwoods Savage said...

Wood that has been stored in tree length for 2 years is *not* 2 years seasoned wood.

2 year seasoned wood is wood that was cut to firewood length, split, and (hopefully) stacked 2 years ago. From what I understand large firewood producers will often season wood in windrows rather than stacks...the results I would imagine are variable (I'd want to get wood from the outsides of the pile).

Best wishes,
Ed

 

[Mt Ski Bum]

If pine or some other evergreen is a choice, I'd go with that. Pine burns hot & fast, leaves behind minimal ash, seasons quicker than hardwood, & smells good!