Firewood Quality

American Persimmon Tree

I am not the original author of the national firewood quality data you will see below. I archived it for myself several years ago, long before the idea of this website. My apologies for not providing the proper credit.

Whether it’s your fireplace, woodstove, or campfire, having some knowledge of wood properties and how a particular species will burn is a good thing, and in some cases a necessity. If you are interested in firewood quality for your specific area, in addition to the chart here, do an online search using “your state firewood quality.” You may be surprised what you will find.

Personally, my favorite firewood is common persimmon. It smells really good, sparks less, and coals better than any other wood in my opinion. Even older semi-rotten persimmon burns good. Now I need to get to work on my woodpile…

Here are some other campfire articles you may like too:

• 1 degree; Wilderness Fire Starting Considerations
• Join the Kneel Diamond Fan Club
• The S’moreo
• Your Campfire and the Weather
• Flora of North America – see the sections on Identification and Properties under Wood Technology if this article interests you.

Alder:  Poor heat output and short lasting.  A low quality firewood.  Produces nice charcoal that burn steady and is useful for homemade gunpowder.

Apple:  Great fuel that bums slow and steady when dry, with little flame, sparking or spitting. It has a pleasing scent.  It is easier to cut green.  Great for cooking.

Ash:  Considered one of the burning wood with steady flame and good heat output.  It will bum when green, but not as well as when dry.  Easily to saw and split.

Beech:  Similar to ash, but only burns fair when green. If it has a fault, it may shoot embers out a long ways.  It is easy to chop.

Birch:  This has good heat output but burns quickly. The smell is also pleasant.  It will burn unseasoned.  Can cause gum deposits in chimney if used a lot.  Rolled up pitch from bark makes a good firestarter and can be peeled from trees without damaging them.

Blackthorn: Burns slowly, with lots of heat and little smoke.

Cedar:  This is a great wood that puts out a lot of lasting of heat.  It produces a small flame, a nice scent, and lots of crackle and pop.  Great splitting wood.  Best when dry but small pieces can be burned unseasoned.  Good for cooking.

Cherry:  A slow burning wood with good heat output.  Has a nice sent. Should be seasoned well.  Slow to start.

Chestnut:  A mediocre fuel that produces a small flame and weak heat output.  It also shoots out ambers.

Douglas Fir:  A poor fuel that produces little flame or heat.

Elder:   A mediocre fuel that burns quickly without much heat output and tends to have thick acrid smoke.  The Hag Goddess is know to reside in the Elder tree and burning it invites death.  Probably best avoided.

Elm:  A variable fuel (Dutch elm disease) with a high water content (140%) that may smoke violently and should be dried for two years for best results.  You may need faster burning wood to get elm going.  A large log set on the fire before bed will burn till morn.  Splitting can be difficult and should be done early on.

Eucalyptus:  A fast burning wood with a pleasant smell and no spitting.  It is full of sap and oils when fresh and can start a chimney fire if burned unseasoned.  The stringy wood fiber may be hard to split and one option is to slice it into rings and allow to season and self split.  The gum from the tree produces a fresh medicinal smell on burned which may not be the best for cooking with.

Hawthorn:  Good firewood. Burns hot and slow.

Hazel:  An excellent fast burning fuel but tends to burn up a bit faster than most other hard woods.  Allow to season.

Holly:  A good firewood that will burn when green, but best if dried a year.  It is fast burning with a bright flame but little heat.

Hornbeam:  Burns almost as good as beech with a hot slow burning fire.

Horse Chestnut:  A low quality firewood with a good flame and heating power but spits a lot.

Laburnum:  Completely poisonous tree with acrid smoke that taints food and is best never used.

Larch:  Crackly, scented, and fairly good for heat.  It needs to be seasoned well and forms an oily soot in chimneys.

Laurel:  Produces a brilliant flame.

Lime:  A poor quality fuel with dull flame.  Good for carving

Maple:  A good firewood.

Oak:  Oak has a sparse flame and the smoke is acrid if not seasoned for two years.  Dry old oak is excellent for heat, burning slowly and steadily until whole log collapses into cigar-like ash.

Pear:  Burns with good heat, good scent and no spitting.  Needs to be seasoned well.

Pine:  Bums with a splendid flame, but apt to spit. Needs to be seasoned well and is another oily soot in chimney wood.  Smells great and its resinous wood makes great kindling.

Plane:  Burns pleasantly, but is apt to throw sparks if very dry.

Plum:  Wood provides good heat with a nice aromatic sent.

Poplar:  A terrible fuel that doesn’t burn well and produces a black choking smoke even when seasoned.

Rowan:  A good firewood that burns hot and slow.

Rhododendron:  Old thick and tough stems burn well.

Robinia (Acacia):  Burns slowly, with good heat, but with acrid smoke.

Spruce:  A poor firewood that burns too quickly and with too many sparks.

Sycamore:  Burns with a good flame, with moderate heat. Useless green.

Sweet Chestnut:  Burns when seasoned but tends to spits continuously and excessively.

Thorn:  One of the best firewood. Burns slowly, with great heat and little smoke.

Walnut:  Low to good value to burning.  It a nice aromatic scent.

Wellingtonia:  Poor for use as a firewood.

Willow:  A poor fire wood that must be dry to use.  Even when seasoned, it burns slowly, with little flame. Apt to spark.

Yew:  This burns slowly, with fierce heat. The scent is pleasant.  Another carving favorite.

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