Burning pine for firewood. Not a simple answer

[werner.reiche]

Here's one from Ontario Woodlot. Red Oak is 27 and on this webpage Red Oak is 21

https://www.offroaders.com/tech/firewood-BTU.htm


Table: 2 – Heating Value of Ontario Tree
Species
Species Gross Heating Value
(million BTU) *
Rock Elm 32.0
Shagbark Hickory 30.6
White Oak 30.6
Sugar Maple 29.0
Beech 27.8
Red Oak 27.3
Yellow Birch 26.2
White Ash 25.0
White Elm 24.5
Red Maple 24.0
Tamarack 24.0
Black Cherry 23.5
White Birch 23.4
Hemlock 17.9
Trembling Aspen 17.7
White Pine 17.1
Basswood 17.0
White Cedar 16.3
White Spruce 16.2
Balsam Fir 15.5

The Ontario Woodlot's numbers are definitely suspect.
Red Oak everywhere lists at near 24.
Also, do you think Hemlock, white pine and basswood all contain the same BTUs?
Not likely.

[MikePal]

Here's one from Ontario Woodlot. Red Oak is 27 and on this webpage Red Oak is 21

https://www.offroaders.com/tech/firewood-BTU.htm

Surprised the Ontario list doesn't include Eastern Hornbeam (Ironwood) . We have a lot of it around here and is by far the most dense of the hardwoods and has a BTU of 27.1 (according to the chart below).

When we were logging the bush we used to kept it set aside...that's Jan/Feb overnight wood.

I've also planted Black Locust..great wood for heat !!

Even among the hardwoods, some burn hotter than others, churning up more BTUs per cord. For the sake of comparison, here are the BTUs per cord of some of the hardwoods commonly found in the eastern United States:

Osage orange, 32.9 BTUs per cord
Shagbark hickory, 27.7 BTUs per cord
Eastern hornbeam, 27.1 BTUs per cord
Black birch, 26.8 BTUs per cord
Black locust, 26.8 BTUs per cord
Blue beech, 26.8 BTUs per cord
Ironwood, 26.8 BTUs per cord
Bitternut hickory, 26.5 BTUs per cord
Honey locust, 26.5 BTUs per cord
Apple, 25.8 BTUs per cord
Mulberry, 25.7 BTUs per cord
Beech, 24 BTUs per cord
Northern red oak, 24 BTUs per cord
Sugar maple, 24 BTUs per cord
White oak, 24 BTUs per cord
White ash, 23.6 BTUs per cord
Yellow birch, 21.8 BTUs per cord
Red elm, 21.6 BTUs per cord
Hackberry, 20.8 BTUs per cord
Kentucky coffee tree, 20.8 BTUs per cord
Gray birch, 20.3 BTUs per cord
Paper birch, 20.3 BTUs per cord
White birch, 20.2 BTUs per cord
Black walnut, 20 BTUs per cord
Cherry, 20 BTUs per cord
Green ash, 19.9 BTUs per cord
Black cherry, 19.5 BTUs per cord
American elm, 19.5 BTUs per cord
White elm, 19.5 BTUs per cord
Sycamore, 19.1 BTUs per cord
Black ash, 18.7 BTUs per cord
Red maple, 18.1 BTUs per cord

[smitty55]

Here's one from Ontario Woodlot. Red Oak is 27 and on this webpage Red Oak is 21

https://www.offroaders.com/tech/firewood-BTU.htm

That chart shows ash way higher than oak and also shows elm easy to split, no way I'd pay attention to that one. I've had pieces of twisty piss elm that my maul would just bounce off.

[73hunter]

Selkirk recommends against using steel bristles in their chimneys. The little pamphlet said nylon or brass.

Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk

Thx, a friend recommended plastic/nylon for stainless chimneys too

[sawbill]

That chart shows ash way higher than oak and also shows elm easy to split, no way I'd pay attention to that one. I've had pieces of twisty piss elm that my maul would just bounce off.

You got that right! You couldn't give me a cord of elm free unless it was already split.

[73hunter]

Great thread, lots of interest and knowledge being passed on

I am surprised that Cherry is so far down on both lists, I always thought it was one of the denser hardwoods.

[FirewodGuy]

I will be doing a video on such numbers in the future.

[FirewodGuy]

They have the same shaped leaves even.

[FirewodGuy]

Cherry is mediocre, black cherry is the hard stuff. when you look at the sapwood and heartwood, you can tell that its more solid the cherry

[FirewodGuy]

No osage orange here guys so don't start looking for it