What is the best wood to burn in a wood stove?
Originally as a city girl, I had a lot to learn. Lucky for me, I married a very skilled country boy who is knowledgeable in many things about rural life.
With a little bit of extra effort, we have a frugal source of heat to last us through the winters on our rural Nebraska prairie.
The other alternative for us would be to use propane for a heat source and that’s just way too expensive. So, we make the frugal choice of sourcing our own wood and using our wood stove to keep this farmhouse warm.
Wood to Avoid Burning in a Wood Stove
Before I get into the list of the best wood to burn in a wood stove, I’d like to share a few of the worst woods to burn or what to avoid using.
Soft Wood
Soft woods such as evergreens, pines, and firs, for example, can create a soot buildup in the chimney which would make it unsafe to burn. They also don’t provide much heat.
Green Wood
This is wood that hasn’t had time to dry out or properly season. Fresh cut wood needs time to dry out before it can be burned. It is usually impossible to light and does not stay lit very well making for a frustrating experience. Ask me how I know. Ha.
Treated Wood
Wood scraps from a project that you have laying around isn’t a great idea for indoor burning in a wood stove, especially if its been treated with any sort of chemicals. Once it starts to burn, toxic fumes fill the air, which is definitely not a good idea for anyone to inhale.
Best Wood to Burn in a Wood Stove
This is a list compiled by my bearded lumberjack. Don’t tell him I just called him that ha. These are his favorite local woods to source when he’s out cutting wood for our homestead.
Ash
This is his number one choice of fire wood. It burns pretty well and provides great heat. My lumberjack says it splits very well, even when green.
Oak
Oak is great for providing a good steady burning fire.
Maple
Maple wood burns really hot, perfect for those super cold days.
Chinese Elm
This is another wood that burns really hot and can almost become too hot. I like to mix it with some other random pieces and use on those really cold mornings to warm up the house for the day.
Cottonwood
Great fast start burning wood. It does burn out quickly, but we love to use it to get a fire started fast. It can be difficult to split when its green and a little soft.
A Few Random Tips
Fire wood is easiest to split when its been dried or seasoned.
A hydraulic splitter is worth every penny, according to my handsome bearded guy.
Moving, splitting, and carrying wood is one of the best workouts out there! I just don’t recommend it when 8-9 months pregnant. Ha.
What about you? What are your favorite wood for burning in a wood stove?
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Osage Orange, or Hedge is a fantastic wood for the fire! It is incredibly dense and will burn very hot.
Awesome, thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
Birch makes a good hot fire, lots of glowing Embers! Alter does just as well, I found out burning back bits gets a ripping fire going in a wood stove too almost too hot of a fire!!!
Thanks for sharing, Tiffany! 🙂
Black walnut seems to burn rally well and puts out some nice heat!
Pine has a bad rap. As long as it;s seasoned, preferably more than one year, and the bark is off it, it burns hot and fast. I usually split my dry pine into thin kindling. But, inn some parts of the world where hardwoods aren’t available pine is used very effectively. Oak is my favorite.
We prefer to avoid pine because of the build up it creates in the wood stove. 🙂
Pine is fine as long as it’s well dried and you don’t choke the fire down with the damper. Let it burn and the fire will push the smoke and byproducts through the chimney. If you restrict the draw that’s where you run into trouble. The lower temperature allows for the creosote to start building inside the flue. Another wood that has a really bad reputation is sycamore. Given time to dry (a LONG time), it burns great. My stove likes elm and maple best.
Does anyone know about burning Almond wood? There is a lot available near me but I don’t know anything about it. We usually just burn oak.
I personally don’t have any experience with burning almond wood. I asked around a little bit and it doesn’t seem to be a common thing for most folks. Hopefully someone can chime in on this for you. If you find success with it, let us know. 🙂
Black locust – bout the same as Osage orange and lasts many times longer than treated wood for earth contact – watch out for thorns! Ash can be burned that year when cut down green early in spring/summer. To use wood efficiently use only what you need to keep the fire going, catalytic combustor working – no need to fill the burn chamber except when going to bed.