Firewood BTU Ratings

68 thoughts on “Firewood BTU Ratings”

1. Eucalyptus is stated to have approximately 34.5 million btus per cord.

   Is red gum eucalyptus the same? I find that some lists state it has half that.

2. On the eastern chart White Oak is only 24.0 BTUs same as sugar maple and red oak and only .4 above Ash. That seems way off. White oak should be much further up the list by the hickory and locust.

3. What is the Btu of leprechauns? They’re not in your chart. Thanks.

4. Nobody has been able to test one, they are too hard to catch.

5. I would have to say dry pieces will last longer. Other than that I don’t have a good answer because I have never done a split test. But if I was to take a guess I would say split would last longer because they will dry out faster. Maybe someone else can comment.

6. People confuse dry wood with seasoned wood. Dry wood simply means it had not been rained on recently. Hardwoods dry at a rate of 1″ per year under good conditions. Because wood drys alot from the sides also, a 2″ stick . takes 1 yr. to season, a 4″ stick tages 2 years, etc.
   Burning unseasoned wood is 30% less efficient.
   Firewood is not seasoned until the ends turn black and the bark has fallen off.

7. Wood is wood especially when you are cold. Bring on the sun and Spring/Summer!

8. The chart does not include one of the favorite firewoods in the Cascade Range, Tamarack, aka Larch. The primary firewood here is Doug Fir, but most of us would rather have Larch if we can get it. Doug Fir has more Btu/cord than many hardwoods. Of course it is stronger and harder than many “hardwoods”.

   I looks like most of the Western Softwoods have about 8,600 Btu/lb dry while the Hardwoods are about 7,500 Btu/lb.

9. First I would concur that Estimates are of course somewhat Stratified with Rating of burning quality as percentage dry weight, actual burning conditions, ambient testing temps, so, but some like Cherry, apple, and Oregon white oak do seem low in overall value. British Thermal Units may not also stand up to the true BTU Ratings as equally across the board in terms of Systematic Oversights of Certified Testimonials of these Estimates.

10. is ash wood good for firewood
    is it ok to burn in wood stove opr fireplace

11. What is the BTU’s for hawthorn?

12. What is the btu rate for pin cherry?

13. Any one hear of Black Oak? Know a guy selling at &180 but I never heard of this variety.
    Any info would be helpful!!

14. From personal experience as a tree worker in the tree industry (east coast, PA), whatever trees that we have to remove that are viable for firewood, we save the wood, cut it up into rounds, split it, and then sell it (that is, unless, we decide it’s a log we want to mill up and use for woodworking later on…)
    That being said, I’ve seen several questions about tamarack/larch for west coast vs East coast,as it’s not listed on the west coast chart. They’re the same species here on the east coast as that on the west coast, or Midwest/Rockies….idk if the chart is accurate in terms of btus here….but the only difference, theoretically, between east and west coast larches, would have to be based on environment it was grown in (availability of water, rate of growth, elevation, phototropic tendencies, type of soil…) they all play into the factor of how dense the tree will grow. It’s been said on this thread before, and I must agree, that density of the wood is the main determining factor for btu’s, so whatever conditions larches thrive in the most, (they’re more of a west coast tree naturally) will most likely give a higher yield of btus (also higher altitude, longer cold seasons, drought….as well as other factors), will naturally cause trees to grow more densely than if you had grown it at a lower altitude with wet spring seasons, as well as bountiful room to grow and lack of other tree competition….(this is how a lot of them will grow on the east coast).

    If I lost you on the Larch/tamarack subject, I’m basically saying that, assuming the chart is accurate, you can use the btu rating for the tamarack from the east coast chart for the west coast as a rough rating for btus, but west coast/ mountain region larches and tamaracks will probably have a higher btu rating due to the fact that they tend to be a denser wood because of environmental factors. Just add on a couple btus to east coast. It’s pretty much the same because it is the same species. But there’s have to be more testing on that to see exactly what the difference would be.

    I saw a question as to whether or not ash was a good firewood…I would say it burns cleaner than red oak, but faster than white oak… it’s a decent firewood, and very abundant these days since the emerald ash bore is killing all of them….but the best part about ash is that it’ll burn even if it’s green. Not even “dried”. Good luck doing that with oak or tulip poplar or birch. Lastly…tulip poplars….they are very water dense when they are alive, but once cured, they are very very light and they burn hot and fast. Tulip poplar is considered to be a useable firewood (unlike say…katalpa) but I wouldn’t say it’s sought after by any means

15. Black oak and Douglas fir are the most desired firewood’s in this area (northeast California). Cedar and juniper are also desirable. Douglas fir is much easier to get started In your wood stove than oak and a lot easier on your saw. The btu difference between the two is negligible. Douglas fir is the best firewood around.

16. What is the BTU for Pinion Pine?

17. Here to answer all your questions.
    Oak is best hardwood for firewood.
    Eucalyptus quickest to grow hardest to split, makes it 2nd best.
    The rest dont matter. Everything is ok, walnut, almond, hackberry, ash, pine, etc etc. I just made prices go up for oak and euc.
    Leprechauns keep drinking with the guys sorry.

18. Ya..Rocky mountain juniper is usually a very dense hard wood that produces heat superior to split oak..of course they have grouped all species of this type of wood into one name..there are at least 3 or 4 types where I live in nm alone..the yellow scrup cedar we have here is the hardest and heaviest of all of what they call Rocky mountain juniper..then we have scrub red cedar which is fairly dense and heavy then we have alligator bark juniper which is fairly soft and has a medium density and we also have shag bark juniper which is about the same as alligator juniper and then there’s red cedar that will grow huge and tall which has a decent burn rate..one tree will fill 3 long bed trucks..what I’m wondering is why do they group all of these different trees into the same exact name..it’s puzzling to me because even though they are obviously in the same family they have unique properties .. strange..the guy above that mentioned black locust..he knows what he is talking about as far as firewood goes..that stuff burns hot and splits easy… Chinese elm..you won’t really see a lot of that around what you are actually seeing is Siberian elm and it all depends on how it is cut and processed and what it grew in as to what you will get..the Chinese elms can be distinguished by their globe shaped canopy ..nice trees..and although they are invasive they don’t look horrible like Siberian elm..and the wood is much denser..it makes nice furniture and sturdy doors.. anyway this chart needs some work because it isn’t accuarate for the part of the country I live in..also mesquite?..ya that’s one of the hottest longest burning woods anywhere..no wood that I know of will beat it..Osage orange or bodark can’t hold a candle to it and neither can any oak I’ve encountered..desert Holly comes close but cannot match mesquite.. mesquite burns as hot as forge coal and will burn your grates out of your woodstoves.. anyways I’m out of here.