Wood selection

[Jayf19]

I am new to burning wood as a main source of heating and I am running out of wood. I would like to have some advice on which type of wood I should be using. Here's a bit of info:

I live in a cold climate with about 250 days of heating a year, ranging from comfortable 20 degrees down to -40 degrees (before windshield, about 30 days a year).

Wood is readily available in my area, and I can get my hands on white birch (green or dry), tamarack, jack pine and white spruce (all at the same price per cord). I have seen the different charts explaining the MBTU/cord levels, etc. What I am not familiar with is mostly length times; will different woods yield longer burning periods without the need of refueling. I am currently using tamarack and get 6-8 hours of decent burning time, will something else help me achieve comfortable temperatures for a longer time frame?

 

[Ralphie Boy]

I am new to burning wood as a main source of heating and I am running out of wood. I would like to have some advice on which type of wood I should be using. Here's a bit of info:

I live in a cold climate with about 250 days of heating a year, ranging from comfortable 20 degrees down to -40 degrees (before windshield, about 30 days a year).

Wood is readily available in my area, and I can get my hands on white birch (green or dry), tamarack, jack pine and white spruce (all at the same price per cord). I have seen the different charts explaining the MBTU/cord levels, etc. What I am not familiar with is mostly length times; will different woods yield longer burning periods without the need of refueling. I am currently using tamarack and get 6-8 hours of decent burning time, will something else help me achieve comfortable temperatures for a longer time frame?

I don't know what is available to you up there in the Great Frozen North beyond what you've said. I don't get any of those species down here so I can't speak directly about them. The one exception is white birch because of my visits Northern New York. Birch will give you good heat but I don't think you'll get long burn time from it.

I do know sugar and black maple are found in your area and that would be a good place to start. Oak, hickory, should be available as well. All of these would be good for long burn times, especially in a cat stove, but they must be a solid 3 years dry. Oh no! I've opened a can of worms with those statements but I'll stick to 'em! Black and honey locust would be good too but I don't know if you can find them there.

I guess I was pretty much useless!

 

[Jayf19]

I don't know what is available to you up there in the Great Frozen North beyond what you've said. I don't get any of those species down here so I can't speak directly about them. The one exception is white birch because of my visits Northern New York. Birch will give you good heat but I don't think you'll get long burn time from it.

I do know sugar and black maple are found in your area and that would be a good place to start. Oak, hickory, should be available as well. All of these would be good for long burn times, especially in a cat stove, but they must be a solid 3 years dry. Oh no! I've opened a can of worms with those statements but I'll stick to 'em! Black and honey locust would be good too but I don't know if you can find them there.

I guess I was pretty much useless!

Thanks for the reply, although none of the species you mentioned are available in my area, you did confirm that there might be a specie that will give me the best burn time.

 

[Ralphie Boy]

W

Thanks for the reply, although none of the species you mentioned are available in my area, you did confirm that there might be a specie that will give me the best burn time.

Just for giggles and grins what did you find?

 

[Jayf19]

W


Just for giggles and grins what did you find?

Nothing yet; from what you said, you just confirmed that not all wood species burn at the same rate (as I said in my first post, I am new to this new concept).

 

[Jayf19]

W


Just for giggles and grins what did you find?

Ok so from what I've researched, all I need to know is the BTU (which is based off of the wood density). The higher the BTU, the higher the heat; similarly, the higher the density, the longer the duration.

Therefore, white birch (paper birch, betula papyrifera), being a denser, hardwood, with 20 to 24 MBTU per cord(depending on sources), would the be denser wood and would provide the longest fire.

As for the other softwood species, the tamarack (larix laricina) would be my best bet, since it is relatively easy to ignite, and still offers a decent 16-22 MBTU per cord.

Conclusion; if starting from a cold stove, ignite some tamarack; and if starting from coals, throw in some birch.

I will dig this thread back up in a few weeks once I can confirm my assumptions.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

I like white birch. No, it doesn't burn as long as many other hardwoods- but it splits easy, dries quick, and the bark is its own crazy firestarter. (plus- it looks good)

I would go with birch- as dry as you can get it. Keep it off the ground- it rots quickly if it gets wet in warmer months.

 

[Pat53]

White birch is definitely the best of what you have available. It MUST be split to dry properly tho. I burn a lot of it here only because its readily available and a lot of it is dying anyway. There should also be a lot of aspen where you are, and that would be my second choice. Spruce is good for kindling too. Tamarack is hard for a "softwood" but I've never burned it.

Pat

 

[Applesister]

Im gonna jump in with a No Clue. But I was checking out a BTU chart from another link and they had Tamarack pretty high up on the list.
I rely on these numbers posted to get a basic idea not having much scientific knowledge.
I had foresters ID species for me and Ive researched over the years and keep adding. I harvest leaves and copy them into a notebook.
I have compiled info on every species in my woodlot.
In my travels up north, fossel fuels get more and more expensive the further you go. While variety of tree species seems to shrink. But heating with wood seems a sensible choice.
If you want learn what trees you have its not hard to find info posted on the internet to fill in.
Ive read dry weight is a basic factor to BTU output.
Up north you are just faced with processing more wood than further south to get the same BTUs.
Thats not much help in the short run, Im afraid.
The question you asked was drying times. I dont believe oaks and hickories grow very far north but I may be wrong. Its a no worry thing if you dont have them.
If I had pine and larch and aspens I would just get crackin. I have only given those woods 1 year drying times. But they probably benefit from longer drying as well as the heavier woods.
If you have the extra money consider buying a couple of truckloads of logs.
I burn 5 cords a year so for me to get ahead and give the wood 3 yrs drying that would mean putting up 20 cords of wood. Five for current season and 15 for the other 3 years.
Actually, Ive had too much coffee.

 

[Applesister]

Canada puts out some wicked cookstoves. Sorry Jay, it looks like you have already done all that I posted. Im too slow.
I just caught your post about Tamaracks, cool trees and I love the pinecones. They are beautiful.
I spray paint them with Gold Leaf.
Carry On
Adult ADD...lol

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I am new to burning wood as a main source of heating and I am running out of wood. I would like to have some advice on which type of wood I should be using. Here's a bit of info:

I live in a cold climate with about 250 days of heating a year, ranging from comfortable 20 degrees down to -40 degrees (before windshield, about 30 days a year).

Wood is readily available in my area, and I can get my hands on white birch (green or dry), tamarack, jack pine and white spruce (all at the same price per cord). I have seen the different charts explaining the MBTU/cord levels, etc. What I am not familiar with is mostly length times; will different woods yield longer burning periods without the need of refueling. I am currently using tamarack and get 6-8 hours of decent burning time, will something else help me achieve comfortable temperatures for a longer time frame?

Welcome to the forum Jay.

We know of several folks in Alaska that get really good results from burning white birch. With the selection you give, I would think it also would work good for you. But remember that the big key with white birch is that it has to be split soon after cutting. That birch bark was used for making canoes long ago for one very good reason; it did not let the water in. Well, if left on, it also will not let the water out. This is why when you see a birch tree dying, it is usually useless to cut it down as it will usually be all punky on the inside. The birch bark has kept the water in and caused the tree to die from the inside out.

Another thing you can keep in mind is that wood will give about the same btu per pound. One good way to understand that is if you ever cut or lift any white or red oak and then cut something like aspen you'll find a huge difference in the weight. So, the oak will give you the better btu because you can not put as much weight of aspen in the stove as you can the oak. This is perhaps an extreme comparison but it does give you a good picture of the difference.