Wood Burning Guide - which wood is best for logs?
When it comes to choosing the type of timber for your Wood burner or fire, we thought it would be helpful to know which trees make the best wood burning logs.
Below we have made a guide to describe and show the most well-known trees and given them rating for their burning quality.
Alder
Low Quality. Although Alder wood tends to burn quickly when fully seasoned, it gives off little heat.
Apple
Extremely hard stuff once seasoned. Applewood burns with a gorgeous aroma and doesn’t tend to spark or spit.
Ash
One of the best woods for fuel producing lovely flames and great heat, even when green. Use the branches for kindling.
Beech
Very good firewood which produces both heat and flame. Beech can sometimes give off a few sparks. Best seasoned for a year.
Birch
Good firewood producing a great fire and burns fairly quickly, even unseasoned. Can use the bark as kindling.
Blackthorn
Although the logs are small, Blackthorn burns slowly and gives off lots of heat and little smoke.
Cedar
Not a good wood to burn on open fires as it spits and sparks. Lovely aroma. Ideal for kindling. Needs long seasoning. Good heat if used in Woodburner.
Cherry
Season well. It burns slowly without spitting. Pleasant smell.
Douglas Fir
Produces little flame or heat and burns very quickly.
Elder
Smoky quick burner. Not much heat and not commonly used for firewood.
Elm
Huge water content so needs long 2-year seasoning. Good firewood, burns slowly, giving constant heat.
Eucalyptus
Not commonly used as firewood. Burns quickly without spitting. Needs seasoning as oils can start chimney fire.
Hawthorn
Excellent firewood burns hot and slowly. Even the smaller twigs are worth using.
Hazel
Excellent firewood when seasoned. No spitting, burns quickly.
Holly
Good firewood when seasoned.
Hornbeam
Good firewood, producing a hot slow-burning fire. Tip – prepare before seasoning as it is a very hardwood.
Horse Chestnut
Lots of spitting but good flame and heat. Needs long seasoning.
Larch
Tendency to spit and produces an oily soot in chimneys.
Laurel
Produces a lovely flame, little heat.
Lime
Poor, low-quality wood for fuel with a dull flame.
Maple
A good quality fuel-producing wood. Good flame and heat.
Oak
Excellent firewood. It burns slowly, giving off plenty of heat. Oak that hasn’t been seasoned long enough, 2 years ideal, can give off an acrid smoke.
Pear
Good heat, as well as a gorgeous aroma. Season well.
Pine
Good flame and scent but spits and leaves an oily soot in your chimney.
Plum
OK as firewood, good heat and scent.
Poplar
Poor quality firewood. Lights quickly and burns quickly so generally not worth the effort in cutting it up. Black smoke.
Rowan
Good firewood. Produces a good, hot, slow-burning fire.
Spruce
Not a good firewood, burning too quickly and producing lots of sparks.
Sweet Chestnut
Not suitable for an open fire as it spits excessively all the time. Needs seasoning but burns quickly.
Sycamore
Good firewood, burning well but produces only moderate heat. Needs seasoning.
Walnut
Burns well with a pleasant smell.
Willow
It burns slowly even when seasoned properly. Little flame, can spark.
Yew
One of the best. It burns slowly and produces lots of heat.
Further reading
Now you've decided on your firewood, what you need is a proper Dorset Log Store to season the logs and keep them in tip top condition for burning.
For more hints and tips on using logs and how to make a fire burn for maximum efficiency visit our sister website OutWoodly.co.uk to read about Buying & Seasoning Logs.
