What type of wood would you pick?

[new_wood]

Ok so I have finally gotten to the point where I am 1-1/2 maybe 2 years ahead as far a wood supply. This whole supply is mainly silver maple which unfortunately is lower down on the btu scale but so far is has all been free. I live in southwest Ohio so silver maple is very common. I have managed two scrounges but still mostly silver maple. I want to pick up some wood with higher btu output but figure I am going to have to purchase it. This will help add to my 2 year supply plus hopefully make the house a little warmer. I have seen different types for sale such as ash, oak, beech, maple, elm, walnut, locust, etc. I won't need it for this year or next so I don't need to purchase it seasoned because I figure most people really aren't selling truely "seasoned" wood anyway. So I do have time to purchase it cut to the length I want and then let it season. My question is what type would you look to purchase if you were in my shoes? Thanks in advance for your input.

Denny

 

[Wood Duck]

If the prices for all wood are the same, I'd probably buy Black locust because it has a ton of BTUs, seasons a little faster than oak, and rots really slowly. If the locust is Honey Locust then I'd choose that second, about the same as oak. I haven't burned Beech so I don't know about that one, but the rest are generally lower in BTUs than locust or oak, and you said you want lots of BTUs, so I wouldn't choose the others.

Keep scrounging and I bet you'll find some denser wood one of these days. I wouldn't expect a hotter fire with oak or locust than with maple, just a longer burn and more coals.

 

[CageMaster]

if your planning on purchasing in length ash will season very nicely in a years time, and it burns very much the same as oak

 

[firefighterjake]

If I could actually pick and choose what wood to have delivered . . .

I like 'em all honestly . . . but here's my general feeling on the wood species mentioned.

White ash: My favorite go-to wood. Splits like a dream. Decent burn time and BTU. Seasons fast. If I could only pick one wood to burn with and had to exclude all others this is my pick.

White and Red Oak: Haven't burned any . . . yet. Mainly because folks say it takes so long to season. I'm eager to try it out . . . and folks say good things about it . . . but the key being it needs time to season.

Beech: A very good hard wood. I've burned a fair amount of American beech. Up this way, one of the primo woods to burn. Should be ready to go in 1-2 years.

Maple: Depends on what type . . . I've burned both red and sugar with good results . . . sugar maple being one of the better maples in terms of BTU.

Walnut: Never burned any . . . and I don't think we have any up this way.

Black Locust: Burned some odd-ball junks in campfires and was very impressed . . . looking forward to burning some of this next year. Folks say BL is very good in terms of BTUs and seasons pretty quickly -- which I can believe after seeing (and feeling) the heft of this wood after just a year of seasoning . . . and seeing how the bark has fallen right off as it has dried.

 

[clr8ter]

FFJ, I wasn't aware we had any Black Locust around here, either. Is it also called by some other name?

In a perfect world, I'd choose red oak 1st, black birch 2nd, and ash 3rd. Check out the Black birch. Not super common in NH as far as I can tell, but I have been taking wood off a property loaded with it, and it has a VERY high BTU rating. I will also admit, I have a soft spot for soft maple. I burn a lot of that, too. Never tried any Hard Maple.

 

[red oak]

Black Locust 1st, Honey Locust 2nd, Oak 3rd.

Locust, I think, puts out a bit more heat than oak. The reason I like it though, as others have stated, is that Locust seasons in about half the time that oak does. I have more oak around me though, so I tend to burn that more. I find that it splits easier than locust, so that's something at least.

 

[JOHN BOY]

I'd get the locust 1st just cause it seasons faster then oak. Beech is an excellent firewood too. I'd still get all the maple though that you could get for free just leave it in rounds,split it a year out before you need it. It seasons pretty fast.

 

[DBoon]

It's hard to beat hard rock/sugar maple for BTU output and fast seasoning time...

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Ok so I have finally gotten to the point where I am 1-1/2 maybe 2 years ahead as far a wood supply. This whole supply is mainly silver maple which unfortunately is lower down on the btu scale but so far is has all been free. I live in southwest Ohio so silver maple is very common. I have managed two scrounges but still mostly silver maple. I want to pick up some wood with higher btu output but figure I am going to have to purchase it. This will help add to my 2 year supply plus hopefully make the house a little warmer. I have seen different types for sale such as ash, oak, beech, maple, elm, walnut, locust, etc. I won't need it for this year or next so I don't need to purchase it seasoned because I figure most people really aren't selling truely "seasoned" wood anyway. So I do have time to purchase it cut to the length I want and then let it season. My question is what type would you look to purchase if you were in my shoes? Thanks in advance for your input.

Denny

Denny, there is no shame in burning that silver maple and it will give you good heat. I recall one time in northern MI burning nothing but soft maple all winter and we never got cold in the house. Yes, it took a bit more wood than it would have with some other wood but it worked.

Of those woods you listed, they are all good. No doubt the EAB has hit your area by now too so there will no doubt be a glut of ash on the market. That is mainly what we've burned for the last 10 years. We'll probably burn that for another 10 years but I have been trying to cut enough oak for those really cold January nights but other than that, it is mostly ash.

 

[Waulie]

Ash = great firewood. Easy to split, dries fast (actually not really, just starts drier).
Beech = great firewood. I'd wait a couple years as they will all be dead like the ash by then and you'll probably find some scores. I'd take beech over ash by a margin.
Oak = Don't have a clue, but I heard it takes a long time to season.
Maple = Could be anything. All I have is sugar maple. I expect them all to be dead relatively soon too. Better than ash and about the same as beech.
Not to be a downer, but in a few years the "what kind of wood" posts are going to take on whole different meaning as all the forests die.

 

[TMonter]

Ash = great firewood. Easy to split, dries fast (actually not really, just starts drier).
Beech = great firewood. I'd wait a couple years as they will all be dead like the ash by then and you'll probably find some scores. I'd take beech over ash by a margin.
Oak = Don't have a clue, but I heard it takes a long time to season.
Maple = Could be anything. All I have is sugar maple. I expect them all to be dead relatively soon too. Better than ash and about the same as beech.
Not to be a downer, but in a few years the "what kind of wood" posts are going to take on whole different meaning as all the forests die.

What species are readily available in your area and which carry a premium? With the right info we could develop a cost per BTU basis between all the different varieties.

 

[bogydave]

I'd get a mix, ash, oak & locust & separate the oak out for 15/16.
That way you can try it & get the wood that you find works best for you & your set-up.

Good that you are thinking ahead. You'll have some primo dry wood.

 

[firefighterjake]

FFJ, I wasn't aware we had any Black Locust around here, either. Is it also called by some other name?

In a perfect world, I'd choose red oak 1st, black birch 2nd, and ash 3rd. Check out the Black birch. Not super common in NH as far as I can tell, but I have been taking wood off a property loaded with it, and it has a VERY high BTU rating. I will also admit, I have a soft spot for soft maple. I burn a lot of that, too. Never tried any Hard Maple.

Not sure if you have black locust in NH . . . but there's quite a bit of it here in Maine. I don't think it is native, but it was planted by many farms -- partly perhaps due to its ornamental nature, but perhaps also due to the fact that the wood is hard and rot resistant which makes it particularly useful for fence posts.

Apparently black locust has also been used in the past for erosion control as it spreads easily and has fast early growth . . . for this reason besides finding black locust near the site of farms or old farms, I often find it along stream or river beds in populated areas.

According to some quick research black locust may be known as yellow locust, locust, post locust, shipmast locust, false acacia or robinia . . . but honestly I've only heard it called locust or black locust up this-away.


http://plants.usda.gov/java/county?state_name=Maine&statefips=23&symbol=ROPS

http://plants.usda.gov/java/county?state_name=New Hampshire&statefips=33&symbol=ROPS

For some reason the link to the NH link doesn't work for me . . . I'll try adding the entire US map . . . just click on NH . . . it appears as though only one county does not have a signficant amount of black locust.

http://plants.usda.gov/java/stateSearch#

 

[cptoneleg]

If you are going to buy wood to burn in acouple of yrs get Oak, or Locust.

I was in northern Ohio last summer dead Ash trees everywhere, looks to me like the scrounging of these would be easy.

 

[new_wood]

Thanks for all the replies. I am happy with the silver maple because it is plentiful in our area and has been the right price (free). I guess what I am looking to do is add another species of wood to the stack....something that will give me some longer burn times. This will be my second season burning my new stove. I learned a lot last year. Using the silver maple I can load it up before bed around 10:30pm-11pm and I will usually have enough hot coals in the morning to rough up and get another fire going come 6am.

 

[new_wood]

As you mentioned Dennis, EAB has took its toll on the area here as well and so you will see a lot of ash for sell. I was able to get some ash last year on a scrounge unfortunately most of it was really punky....rotten.

 

[mhambi]

<--- shakes fist in easterly direction. (hardwood envy)


I'd go with ash, oak or locust. Maple, when I can score it, is like the top of my list... not the bottom.

Here's what I've been burning the last few years, in order of preference:

Gambel Oak
Canyon Maple
Utah Juniper
Rocky Mtn Juniper
Pinyon Pine
Cottonwood - Aspen - Spruce (sixes) A lot of this gets burned just because there's so much of it available. I'd love 2 years worth of maple!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

As you mentioned Dennis, EAB has took its toll on the area here as well and so you will see a lot of ash for sell. I was able to get some ash last year on a scrounge unfortunately most of it was really punky....rotten.

That is strange that it is punky. We've been cutting the ash since 2002 and only one tree had fallen over. Last year I cut that one and it was beginning to get some punk but not all that much. I feared there would be lots of it go bad so simply gave a lot of wood away just so it wouldn't go to waste.

 

[andybaker]

If EAB has hit your area just keep an outlook for people needing to get rid of it. Here in northern Ohio I've been burning Ash for years now. I have a small wood lot I was able to get permission to cut in and so far the few of us have taken around 60-70 trees out of there. Everyone is so far ahead that I'm the only one left even going there anymore and last I counted there are still 22 dead Ash to get. I'm already about 2 years ahead but I hate to see these trees lie on the ground so I'll go get some of the worse to try and save them. Once they're cut, split and stacked Ash will stay good for a long long time. This past weekend I went over to a friends house and split some of what he had on hand. He was overwhelmed with a tree service coming and dumping 4 loads of Silver in his back property. I will take this Silver and give about two or so and it will be ready to burn for shoulder season. Other than this I won't take Silver because for me it doesn't warm enough in the winter and burns too fast to hold overnight. Silver is good for now when so much heat isn't wanted. It's amazing how fast Silver will dry out. Some of the wood my friend had split two weeks ago was already down to 25% moisture reading. Guess my point is if you start to look around and keep your ears and eyes open Ash will fall your way in abundance.

 

[new_wood]

The ash wood I got come from a downed tree......not sure how long it had been down but after seeing the wood once it was split I am thinking it must have been down for some time. Is there any harm as far as creosote build up in burning partially rotten, punky wood?

 

[Markyboy]

I'd be happy with nothing but cherry, love that smell!