How do different woods burn? what type is good for what?
I recently found some great fatwood- from some pine ROOTS of all things! the tree had fallen over and must have fallen in the winter when the sap was in the roots, because you could light these roots like a candle.
https://lumberjax.com/what-is-the-best-firewood-to-burn-your-guide-to-staying-warm-and-toasty/
https://www.southyorkshirefirewood.com/wood-burning-characteristics.html
This chart is for cured wood
Fresh cut wood burns like shit--it has to be cured for a year before it will burn at temperatures close to what this chart lists.
If you're in the woods you need to look for deadfall or standing dead--don't try to use live trees for firewood.
alright but that's kind of, noob shit, right? i know that. just wanted to know what wood is good for what.
that chart is a bit lacking, tempertaure? speed of burn? light? smoke?
I hear walnut is good for high temp flames with minimal sparks. Grilling/Oven and and cooking charcoal, that kind of stuff.
Oak is king, but marginally more.
The only time oak should ever be used as firewood is when it's dead or gets struck by lightning. Felling a big beautiful oak simply for firewood is the equivalent of shooting a deer and not retrieving the kill.
Who the fuck burns walnut? You make furniture, floors, desks, gun stocks etc. with it. It's far too valuable to be used as firewood.
Fairly common to see it at lumber yards by the cord. It has its uses as a combustible.
Ah well, then again, I'm not a retard that buys a cord of wood for $500 roflmao.
Those are special woods for specific uses, brainlet. You're the retard that doesn't understand why a lumberyard grades is firewood.
>Maple, cherry, walnut
>"special wood"
You are special ed if anything you drooling retard kek
That's not terrible, I've seen it go up to 900 on some species in dry seasons.
Beech is the best, because it's ugly as shit, not weather resistant (meaning you can't use it in axe or tool handles) and has a near identical BTU to oak, except you don't fell oaks for the express purpose of burning them because it's a holy tree with beautiful wood. Beech is literally the perfect firewood.
Spruce is the worst because it has the lowest BTU and produces a lot of soot and smoke when burnt.
European Beech is used for loads of tool handles including axe handles. Its pretty good for that and the rot resistance being low doesnt matter once its had a coat of oil
That may be, but it‘a still ugly as shit and I would never use it for that purpose. Ash is the king of axe handles.
Beech is a beautiful tree imho. Very desirable. They are moderately rare here. Oaks on the other hand grow like weeds. Post Oak, Live Oak, Water Oak and Laurel Oak are just ubiquitous. There are like twenty different kinds and I wouldn't think twice about cutting one unless it was an old Live Oak.. which has a special status I guess but that is such a job to cut a tree that size you wouldn't do it anyway. Not that there's any shortage of them.
I guess it all depends where you live though. I'd never cut a Beech, Elm, Ash, Walnut though. I have a soft spot for hickories too though even though they are common.
Also not to gloss over it too much I wouldn't cut some of the rarer ones like Willow Oak, White Oak, Chestnut Oak or something. Moderate rarity would be maybe a Red Oak or Scarlet Oak. There are so many though some even more rare than these I guess.
Once one gets big though they are just too much trouble. People think of Post Oak and Water Oak as sort of higher end trash trees here.
True but dont discount spruce as an easy firestarter
>what type is good for what?
are you asking in terms of heating, cooking, or both?
both
idk about heating but i assume it would be whatever local hardwood thats the cheapest. picrel is just a guide but everyone has their own preference, i for one smoke exclusively with maple beacuse i source it for free and it works well
Oh damn smoking with Sassafrass would be cool. That is hands down the most amazing smelling tree there is. Genuinely fascinating tree and very common too.
I have a few growing around my house everytime I walk by I tear some leaves off and rub them in my hands or stick them in my shirt pocket. Lol gf always complains because the dryer ends up filled with old dried up leaf bits lol.
>the dryer ends up filled with old dried up leaf bits
outist problems
Worth noting that pine and spruce burn pretty good in modern catalytic woodstoves. The excess smoke and soot get diverted and combusted too, just makes a little more ash compared to "better" woods.