Hardwood vs Softwood

Heat production is dependent on weight. Pound for pound, all wood has approximately the same BTU content, but a cord of seasoned hardwood weighs about twice as much as the same volume of softwood because it is denser. It contains almost twice as much potential heat. This means that you will have to load your stove or fireplace less often if you purchase hardwood. Hardwoods tend to be the best firewood types for heat and for cooking. However, they are more difficult to get ignited in the first place.

Softwoods are less dense and also tend to be more resinous. This means they ignite much faster, and thus can be good as a starter wood to get your fire going. However, they tend to give off less heat and burn faster.


Some examples of hardwoods
Best Firewood - Ash, red oak, white oak, beech, birch, hickory, hard maple, pecan, dogwood, almond, apple (incense-like perfume, nice scent); high heat, easy to burn, no heavy smoke, overall excellent

Good - Soft maple, cherry, walnut; medium heat, easy to burn, no heavy smoke.

Fair - elm, sycamore, gun, aspen, basswood, cottonwood, yellow poplar (bitter smoke); low to medium heat, can be a bit harder to burn, medium smoke, ok for kindling but not as much heat and more smoke.

Some examples of softwoods:
Good - southern yellow pine, spruce, fir, resinous so easy to burn, has medium heat but burns out quickly, and easy to burn but heavy smoke, ok if you want a quick warming fire or short fire that will burn out before you go to bed.

Good for kindling - eastern red cedar, medium heat, easy to burn, medium smoke, pops a lot and throws sparks, good for kindling.

Fair - cypress, medium heat, a bit harder to burn, medium smoke.


NEVER burn any construction scraps of treated or painted wood, especially treated wood from decks or landscaping ties. The chemicals used can release dangerous amounts of arsenic and other toxic compounds into your house. Never burn plastic because it releases toxic chemicals.

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