Firewood: Best burning & Identification?

[Wheel Gun]

Duraflame sucks

I'm thinking about growing a stand of Duraflame trees just to try it out. Should light faster than my oak.

 

[HiredHand]

I'm thinking about growing a stand of Duraflame trees just to try it out. Should light faster than my oak.

Eastern Red Cedar?

 

[_CY_]

as someone that's heated primarily with wood for 6+ seasons .. when you first get started one is not too picky as you've not had a chance to stockpile enough wood for several seasons. until that happens, it's battle to get enough real seasoned wood to last the winter.

sooo one takes what comes up .. but once your stockpile builds up .. it's time to get more picky. for most of Oklahoma, Oak has to be one of the easiest to obtain hardwood with near the top BTU. as someone has already noted ALL wood per pound puts out about same BTU .. density is where the difference lies.

Osage orange is excellent to get your fire going .. if you are lucky enough to find some. very few in select zones are lucky enough to have enough Osage orange to burn as a primary wood, burns really HOT and long ..

what type stove determines how seasoned your wood has to be .. some happily burn green wood cleanly once it reaches full operating temps .. others will not perform properly without very seasoned woods.

tale of the chimney tells the truth .. if you see black smoke after wood stove has long reached operating temps .. you've got problems. a properly operating stove should put out almost no visible smoke after reaching full operating temps.

a clean burning wood stove should be mandatory, even if you don't have neighbors closeby. when my wood stove is running, neighbors care barely tell it's there, only when it's ramping up to temps.

 

[Jeff405]

I had the same problem with our "showplace" fire place, you could sit on the ledge in front of it to feel the heat. Even with the built in blower system, it cooled the house down rather than heating it.

After the ice storm a few years back I purchased a "Great-wall-of-fire" grate and put in a 1/2 inch steel plate I purchased locally in the back with a couple tabs welded out to the front so it could not tip forward.

After our first half hour of fire, we started moving furniture back away from the fireplace, some of it was getting way too hot. The back plate and coals were radiating a lot of heat across the room. The internal blower output temperature was a little higher, but not much.

Granted the fire might not be quite as ascetic, more coals and less flame, but the heat is now exceptional in comparison to what we had before. We are very pleased with the results. I highly recommend it if you would like at least twice the heat. I have thought about a outside air intake, but have not gotten around to it, might be more trouble than it would be worth.

For wood, we had a very large pecan tree come down during that ice storm, still burning some of that wood for the great smell we occasionally get a little whiff of, mostly out of the chimney and back down into some of our cracks.

I remember from a discussion last year about your steel plate, I've kept in the back of my mind and was meaning to do that this year. However, here it is almost burning season and I haven't done it yet. Was yours just on the back wall of the fireplace? None on the sides?

 

[kennedy]

I've had an unusual issue. I have lots of oak and it is very dry. When I put it in the fireplace, it doesn't want to burn. It will sit there and smolder with the gas lighter on. If I slightly dampen the wood, it lights right up and burns great.

 

[Owlcreekok]

Bois d' Arc (Osage Orange) is great as long as when burned in an open fireplace you put a good screen in front of it. It pops like firecrackers.

In my not-very-humble opinion that hackberry is the best all around. Makes a good bed of coals, not terribly hard to split and is abundant in many areas near my ranch in SE OK. Bois d' Arc is TOO abundant on my place, but I am working on that.

 

[okeydoke]

I have to laugh at all the survivalists who dont understand that you have to build a shelter for your fire and your wood, and keep it wet while the fire is burning, using the fire to heat rocks, which you can then safely bury under your sleeping gear. If it sounds like a huge pita, that is because it IS a huge pita.

 

[Jeff405]

I cover my wood with a loose tarp, I also keep my fires in the fireplace. I would never put hot rocks under my mattress though, that sounds dangerous.

 

[cscokd]

Just stumbled across this post. Here is document on common Oklahoma wood that I've kept around forever.


Excellent
BLACK LOCUST
Heating Value: 1 cord = 29.3 million BTU’s
Density: 1 cord = 4,192 pounds
Comments: Moderate to split, few sparks,
slight fragrance, difficult to start, light smoke, excellent
coaling qualities

HICKORY (Also Pecan)
Heating Value: 1 cord = 28.5 million BTU’s
Density: 1 cord = 4,072 pounds
Comments: Moderate to split, moderate
sparks, excellent fragrance,
difficult to start, light smoke, excellent coaling qualities

Very Good
WHITE OAK (Burr Oak, Post Oak, etc.)
Heating Value: 1 cord = 26.4 million BTU’s
Density: 1 cord = 3,776 pounds
Comments: Easy to split, few sparks,
slight fragrance, moderate
to start, light smoke,
excellent coaling qualities

HONEY LOCUST
Heating Value: 1 cord = 25.8 million BTU’s
Density: 1 cord = 3,680 pounds
Comments: Moderate to split,
moderate to start

RED OAK (Blackjack Oak, Black Oak, etc.)
Heating Value: 1 cord = 24.8 million BTU’s
Density: 1 cord = 3,536 pounds
Comments: Easy to split, few sparks,
slight fragrance, moderate
to start, light smoke, good
coaling qualities

WHITE ASH
Heating Value: 1 cord = 24.3 million BTU’s
Density: 1 cord = 3,472 pounds
Comments: Easy to split, few sparks,
slight fragrance, moderate
to start, light smoke, good
coaling qualities

I think this may have been the original source material-
http://www.forestry.ok.gov/Websites/forestry/Images/Firewood - How to Obtain Measure and Burn.pdf

 

[flashover008]

I am a retired firefighter and have made lots of chimney fires because of people burning the wrong wood .Be safe and don't burn any soft wood
Have A Blessed Sunday Afternoon
flashover08
JOHN 15:13