Types of wood: What is the differences

[woodsie8]

hard vs soft, long burns, short burns, lots of ash, no ask, odor, etc.?

 

[RedRanger]

Hardwoods give you a longer burn time but are hard to come by here in the PNW. Apparently alder is decent in that it produces more coals and ash,hence a little longer heating time. I mostly burn douglas fir seems easiest to come by at a decent price. I also mix that with cedar mill ends.

 

[jpl1nh]

Hardwoods are denser giving more BTU's per log than soft. Softwoods, not being as dense tend to ignite quicker. I generally burn some kind of a mix in most loads, a lot of softer woods this time of year when I don't need so much heat and most fires are starting up from just a few coals. In the coldest weather, my loads are almost exclusively hardwoods loaded on really hot coal beds where the tougher to light hardwood ignites better, and then all the variations in between depending on temps. When I allow my stove to burn hardwoods at max temps I get the most heat, or if I turn the stove down I get the longest burn times with hardwood. I burn lots of different types of wood, from hard to soft, and from small splits to large. You learn the subtle differences in characteristics between them such as ease of burn, quality of coals, heat or long burn capabilities, fragrance, smoke yield, etc. It's my personal perspective that having a mix of stuff on hand allows you to load the optimum charge of wood for any given situation once you know the characteristics of each type. Oh yeah, and no matter what, make sure your wood is seasoned and dry!

 

[fossil]

You didn't say just where you are in the PacNorWest. The closer to the coast you are, the more likely you are to get your hands some Oak or Madrone...either of which should prove to be excellent firewood. In Central Oregon, about the best we can do is get hold of some Western Larch, which people mostly refer to as Tamarack...though it's not the same tree as the Tamarack native to Montana. Larch is a good deal more dense than most of the other Pines, and makes for decent firewood. Juniper makes a good hot fire, but the wood is sort of a pain to deal with, all twisty and shaggy. Other than that, what we find most commonly are Lodgepole Pine, Ponderosa Pine, and occasionally some Douglas Fir. Certainly not the quality firewood that our Mid-Northern and Eastern brethren are accustomed to burning...we tend to burn a lot of it, cord-wise, but then it's much easier to split than the hardwoods. In any case, it's fuel. Rick

 

[bebopin]

I found this list of wood from the U of Nebraska. It is good refreance for wood and how good it is.(broken link removed to http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/g1554/build/g1554.pdf)
Have to copy and paste. sorry.