Wood BTU comparison

[pmac]

Hi all...

Just curious what folks have found online regarding comparison of different kinds of wood. A friend had me and a buddy come take down a couple "butternut" trees which I never heard of before, as well as a somewhat large apple tree (about 15" diameter at the base) which had come down in a storm.

I found some charts online comparing different kinds of wood, the best seems to be (broken link removed to http://chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm) - anything more comprehensive out there? Not like I'll come across more than a fraction of those trees, but I find the info interesting....

thanks!

 

[Jeff S]

That's the chart I use as well,in fact I have I have made several copies of it and handed it to other wood burners who don't own a computer and they also find it very useful.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Without looking I can say that apple should be great. I've never burned butternut so can't say. Personally, I've never went with a chart. Through the years we've cut what needed to be cut mostly and learned by experience what seemed to work the best. After looking at several charts (they agree only partially), I don't agree with most of them. They just give you a rule of thumb, sort of.

 

[Gunks]

Apple has high BTU and the nearby apple farms sell apple logs at premium prices. But then, who wants to burn logs saturated with pesticide.

 

[Cedrusdeodara]

Apple has high BTU and the nearby apple farms sell apple logs at premium prices. But then, who wants to burn logs saturated with pesticide.

Good point!

 

[gzecc]

Gunks, Are you sure that pesticides absorb into the wood and are not just attached to the surface?

 

[smokinj]

Gunks, Are you sure that pesticides absorb into the wood and are not just attached to the surface?

grew up on an orchard the best pesticides is going to last is 10-14 days without rain. The deepest we ever found pesticides in the soil was 1/2 in.

 

[firefighterjake]

Apple = very good BTUs. I like burning apple . . . very fragrant when cutting up and splitting and a nice looking wood to boot . . . burns even nicer than it smells.
My only complaint is that it can be a bit branchy, curvy and on the small side as most of the apple I cut are growing wild now.

Butternut . . . not sure what the BTU is on that . . . the only butternut I am familiar with is butternut squash . .. and I'm pretty sure they have a pretty low BTU rate.

 

[bsearcey]

Butternut is a walnut. Bitternut is a hickory.

 

[Nonprophet]

Butternut is a walnut. Bitternut is a hickory.

Yes. Also, I think Butternut is pretty low on the BTU scale, somewhere around 16 while Black Walnut or English Walnut are up around 23-24. If it's cheap and dry, burn it--but Butternut is nowhere near as good a firewood as Apple is.......


NP