Feel pretty fortunate to have so many different wood sources nearby. It is also possible to find some oak around here.
I've found that each type of wood has a purpose, as well as pros and cons, of course. I think I will try do have the same variety of wood for the next burn season as well. Here is what I learned:
Aspen
Plentiful, easy to cut, easy to load and transport; easy to find good diameter for rounds, easy to find dead standing/dry wood; doesn't drop a mess when carrying to the wood stove although I find that ants really like aspen; when dry and split, it burns easily and very hot; perfect for kindling and to bring a dead fire back to life; burns up very quickly in the stove, great for quick fires; seems to burn quite clean with little ash left behind. This seems like a no-fuss firewood that is extremely plentiful but vanishes quickly in the stove. I like to have a cord on hand. It splits very easy, even by hand, but rots very quickly over time. Bucking limbs is easy with aspen. According to firewood charts, it is a soft wood with far less heat output per LB than other woods. Aspen smoke is pleasant and neutral to me.
My Rating: C
Pine
As plentiful as aspen around here due to beetle kill; a little harder to cut, load, and transport due to the terrain on which it is found; also easy to find good diameter for rounds and easy to find dead standing/dry wood. It can be a little messier with the bark and pine pitch and it seems to always have a beetle or beetles under the bark; it also burns hot and quickly if the wood is really dry but it will also boil and burn slower if the wood isn't seasoned; it is rumored to cause creosote, although this may be more related to moisture content in the wood - so check your chimney. This is also a very plentiful wood and a good choice for this area but also burns up quickly. I also like to have a cord of this on hand. Pine seems to split fine, even by hand. Bucking limbs can be annoying with pine. It is also good kindling when dry and takes off quickly. Heat output is good with pine. Pine smoke is distinct but pleasant to me.
My Rating: C+
Elm
Another plentiful choice for this area; like poplar/cottonwood, elm grows prolifically around here and is generally considered a trash tree; can be found very close by in this area so little effort is required to travel; elm can grow quickly and can be massive diameters, so cutting can be challenging; it is very hard wood and cutting it is very challenging; splitting elm is almost a joke; I make no attempts at splitting elm by hand and it gives my modest wood splitter everything it can handle; I have to shave the rounds down at times; hand splitting maul bounces off of the rounds; as bad or even far worse than juniper for bugs; bugs seem to love elm around here and are plentiful under and on the surface of the bark, such as black widow spiders, tiny black ants, etc.; bark rots quickly and leaves a mess just under the surface (I try to remove and discard the bark); it is rumored to burn cool but I have found it to burn very hot if it is properly split to proper size and fed to an appropriate coal bed; it is not good for kindling or starting fires; it is great for long burns on a hot fire fed with plenty of oxygen; throwing a big round on some mild coals can burn out a fire; I like to mix elm with other wood; burns a long time; is very heavy wood and can require some effort to lift and transport; don't even think about it without a splitter and don't cut diameters too large - 6 inch limb rounds are fine - anything larger requires huge effort to split down and burn; keep the wood pile and insects away from the house; discard the bark; it seems to leave behind double the ash of the other woods; ash has black content as well; the ash left behind seems to come from the bark, whereas if the bark is removed, less ash is left behind. I don't plan to have elm on hand, I take it when I can get it but a cord is fine for my needs. Heat output is similar to fir but elm requires much greater effort to split; yet fir requires a lot of effort to haul off the mountain. Although elm wood doesn't stink, it doesn't seem to be a pleasant smell - it just smells like... elm; elm smoke seems to be neutral to me or at least I haven't noticed anything unpleasant.
My Rating: B-
Fir
Doug Fir, when I can find it around here, is one of my preferred woods. It isn't as plentiful but cuts ok and loads and transports much like pine; also like pine, the bark can leave a mess, the pitch can make a sticky mess, and beetles like fir also. It burns hot and crackles a lot; it is excellent for kindling and starts and burns easily; it has a lot of heat output per BTU and is one of the better wood choices around here; it is similar to elm in heat output but is far easier to split and will also roar away as kindling; it seems to burn clean with normal ash left behind; it splits easily with a splitter and by hand with some effort but is ruthless if you don't have gloves; it splinters into small, very sharp fragments. I try to have as much fir as possible. Fir smoke is neutral to me.
My Rating: A- / B+
Juniper
A great choice for this area as it is a prolific fuel source; very difficult to cut; dulls chainsaw chains due to thick, stringy bark and dirt trapped in bark; found at lower elevations where the temperatures are hotter, so cutting conditions are often hot, sweaty, extremely dusty; more of a shrubby tree so bucking limbs can be miserable; certain permits here allow it to be cut live/green but effort to obtain wood skyrockets cutting green vs. cutting dead juniper; more wear and tear on saws and fallers; lots of strange spiders and bugs in juniper, many of which stay with the wood during transport and come out of the wood when it's placed near a fire; burns very hot and for a very long time; BTU similar to elm and fir but far easier to split than elm; coals very well; in my experience, burns very clean with very little ash left behind; splits fine by hand or splitter, doesn't rot; takes a while to season; can be quite pitchy as well and is very messy to load and transport - bark litters everything; even when split for kindling, it doesn't take off like pine or aspen; seems to be much better wood for long burns or with a fire already established; burns a long time. I try to have as much juniper on hand as possible. Juniper smoke is very aromatic and pleasant to me.
My Rating: A- / B+
Overall, it really takes a lot of effort to obtain juniper but it is usually on pretty flat terrain; permits are cheap and it is convenient to be able to cut green, so juniper is probably the best wood choice for me in this area. You can drive a flat trailer right up to the tree on flat terrain and go to work. BTU per LB is high as well. I deal with the stringy bark during transport (a little extra sweeping) and it burns clean, very hot, and for a long time in my stove. It harbors some strange looking spiders but when cut live, usually has no ants or other proliferation of insects and that is a big benefit as well. It is hard wood but splits fine by hand or splitter as well.
Fir is my second choice and is a good enough wood all around that I would be happy to have 5 or 6 cords of it exclusively each year. It works for kindling and starting fires but also burns hot and reasonably long, depending on the size of the round. Heat output is excellent and is very similar to juniper in my area. The problem is that it is harder to find than juniper and often requires dealing with steep grades and mountainous terrain to get it
I've found that each type of wood has a purpose, as well as pros and cons, of course. I think I will try do have the same variety of wood for the next burn season as well. Here is what I learned:
Aspen
Plentiful, easy to cut, easy to load and transport; easy to find good diameter for rounds, easy to find dead standing/dry wood; doesn't drop a mess when carrying to the wood stove although I find that ants really like aspen; when dry and split, it burns easily and very hot; perfect for kindling and to bring a dead fire back to life; burns up very quickly in the stove, great for quick fires; seems to burn quite clean with little ash left behind. This seems like a no-fuss firewood that is extremely plentiful but vanishes quickly in the stove. I like to have a cord on hand. It splits very easy, even by hand, but rots very quickly over time. Bucking limbs is easy with aspen. According to firewood charts, it is a soft wood with far less heat output per LB than other woods. Aspen smoke is pleasant and neutral to me.
My Rating: C
Pine
As plentiful as aspen around here due to beetle kill; a little harder to cut, load, and transport due to the terrain on which it is found; also easy to find good diameter for rounds and easy to find dead standing/dry wood. It can be a little messier with the bark and pine pitch and it seems to always have a beetle or beetles under the bark; it also burns hot and quickly if the wood is really dry but it will also boil and burn slower if the wood isn't seasoned; it is rumored to cause creosote, although this may be more related to moisture content in the wood - so check your chimney. This is also a very plentiful wood and a good choice for this area but also burns up quickly. I also like to have a cord of this on hand. Pine seems to split fine, even by hand. Bucking limbs can be annoying with pine. It is also good kindling when dry and takes off quickly. Heat output is good with pine. Pine smoke is distinct but pleasant to me.
My Rating: C+
Elm
Another plentiful choice for this area; like poplar/cottonwood, elm grows prolifically around here and is generally considered a trash tree; can be found very close by in this area so little effort is required to travel; elm can grow quickly and can be massive diameters, so cutting can be challenging; it is very hard wood and cutting it is very challenging; splitting elm is almost a joke; I make no attempts at splitting elm by hand and it gives my modest wood splitter everything it can handle; I have to shave the rounds down at times; hand splitting maul bounces off of the rounds; as bad or even far worse than juniper for bugs; bugs seem to love elm around here and are plentiful under and on the surface of the bark, such as black widow spiders, tiny black ants, etc.; bark rots quickly and leaves a mess just under the surface (I try to remove and discard the bark); it is rumored to burn cool but I have found it to burn very hot if it is properly split to proper size and fed to an appropriate coal bed; it is not good for kindling or starting fires; it is great for long burns on a hot fire fed with plenty of oxygen; throwing a big round on some mild coals can burn out a fire; I like to mix elm with other wood; burns a long time; is very heavy wood and can require some effort to lift and transport; don't even think about it without a splitter and don't cut diameters too large - 6 inch limb rounds are fine - anything larger requires huge effort to split down and burn; keep the wood pile and insects away from the house; discard the bark; it seems to leave behind double the ash of the other woods; ash has black content as well; the ash left behind seems to come from the bark, whereas if the bark is removed, less ash is left behind. I don't plan to have elm on hand, I take it when I can get it but a cord is fine for my needs. Heat output is similar to fir but elm requires much greater effort to split; yet fir requires a lot of effort to haul off the mountain. Although elm wood doesn't stink, it doesn't seem to be a pleasant smell - it just smells like... elm; elm smoke seems to be neutral to me or at least I haven't noticed anything unpleasant.
My Rating: B-
Fir
Doug Fir, when I can find it around here, is one of my preferred woods. It isn't as plentiful but cuts ok and loads and transports much like pine; also like pine, the bark can leave a mess, the pitch can make a sticky mess, and beetles like fir also. It burns hot and crackles a lot; it is excellent for kindling and starts and burns easily; it has a lot of heat output per BTU and is one of the better wood choices around here; it is similar to elm in heat output but is far easier to split and will also roar away as kindling; it seems to burn clean with normal ash left behind; it splits easily with a splitter and by hand with some effort but is ruthless if you don't have gloves; it splinters into small, very sharp fragments. I try to have as much fir as possible. Fir smoke is neutral to me.
My Rating: A- / B+
Juniper
A great choice for this area as it is a prolific fuel source; very difficult to cut; dulls chainsaw chains due to thick, stringy bark and dirt trapped in bark; found at lower elevations where the temperatures are hotter, so cutting conditions are often hot, sweaty, extremely dusty; more of a shrubby tree so bucking limbs can be miserable; certain permits here allow it to be cut live/green but effort to obtain wood skyrockets cutting green vs. cutting dead juniper; more wear and tear on saws and fallers; lots of strange spiders and bugs in juniper, many of which stay with the wood during transport and come out of the wood when it's placed near a fire; burns very hot and for a very long time; BTU similar to elm and fir but far easier to split than elm; coals very well; in my experience, burns very clean with very little ash left behind; splits fine by hand or splitter, doesn't rot; takes a while to season; can be quite pitchy as well and is very messy to load and transport - bark litters everything; even when split for kindling, it doesn't take off like pine or aspen; seems to be much better wood for long burns or with a fire already established; burns a long time. I try to have as much juniper on hand as possible. Juniper smoke is very aromatic and pleasant to me.
My Rating: A- / B+
Overall, it really takes a lot of effort to obtain juniper but it is usually on pretty flat terrain; permits are cheap and it is convenient to be able to cut green, so juniper is probably the best wood choice for me in this area. You can drive a flat trailer right up to the tree on flat terrain and go to work. BTU per LB is high as well. I deal with the stringy bark during transport (a little extra sweeping) and it burns clean, very hot, and for a long time in my stove. It harbors some strange looking spiders but when cut live, usually has no ants or other proliferation of insects and that is a big benefit as well. It is hard wood but splits fine by hand or splitter as well.
Fir is my second choice and is a good enough wood all around that I would be happy to have 5 or 6 cords of it exclusively each year. It works for kindling and starting fires but also burns hot and reasonably long, depending on the size of the round. Heat output is excellent and is very similar to juniper in my area. The problem is that it is harder to find than juniper and often requires dealing with steep grades and mountainous terrain to get it
