What is the Best Firewood to Burn? Your Guide to Staying Warm and Toasty

We all hate the feeling of choosing the opposite of the best firewood to burn. The situation goes like this:

You have company over for dinner and drinks, and you want to top the night off with dessert and conversation by a nice roaring fire. But when you go to ignite it, the wood fizzles, pops, and blows smoke in your face. It does everything except give you that comforting glow you crave.

The longer you kneel there trying to get the flames going, the more embarrassed you get. You can feel everyone looking at you and judging you for the lackluster flame you’re fanning.

How did it get this way? Where did you go wrong?

The answer lies in this adage: “All firewood is not created equal.” Settling for any old wood is a great way to set yourself up for the embarrassing situation described above.

Want to impress your guests and enjoy a fire that’s easy to light, burning hotter and longer? Then we recommend you keep reading! We’ve compiled everything you need to know about the best firewood to burn and offer it free of charge!

You can also click the button below to check out our complete guide to kiln-dried firewood and learn even more about creating the best fires. 

What Makes Good Firewood?

The best firewood to burn will excel in these two categories: density and dryness.

Denser wood tends to burn better because it gives the fire more substance to consume. However, if that high-density wood is too moist, the fire must expend extra energy to burn off the excess water. As a result, it will not burn as brightly or for as long as it could if the wood were drier.

That’s why firewood needs high density and dryness to be at its absolute best.

So, what types of woods fit that bill? Let’s examine the kinds of firewood that burn longest, hottest, cleanest and smell the best.

Which Firewood Burns the Longest?

If you’re looking for a longer burn, you need to ask yourself one crucial question: Is this firewood hardwood or softwood?

The difference between the two types of wood lies in the types of trees they come from. Hardwoods come from trees that lose their leaves in the winter and include popular woods like oak, hickory and ash. On the other hand, softwoods come from evergreen trees, such as pines, firs or spruces.

Because hardwood trees grow slower than softwoods, their wood is denser and thus takes longer to burn. So, while some softwoods may be easier to light than hardwoods, the fire tends to fizzle out quickly as it blazes through the less dense material. For this reason, it can be a good idea to start a fire using softwood but keep it going using hardwood.

Ultimately, hardwood gives you a longer burn for your money. This means that, given the choice, we recommend going with hardwood over softwood every time.

Which Firewood Burns the Hottest?

Hardwoods also burn hotter than softwoods. However, not all hardwoods provide an equal amount of heat. For example, hardwoods like oak, ash, birch and hickory have a higher heat value than walnut and elm. However, those woods have higher heat values than softwoods like pine and cedar.

We measure the amount of heat a type of wood gives off using a unit of measurement called the British Thermal Unit (BTU). The U.S. Energy Information Administration defines one BTU as approximately the amount of heat given off by burning one match. To put this into perspective, one cord (128 cubic feet) of oak wood contains about 29 million BTUs. That’s a lot of heat!

You can view a rundown of the heat values of popular types of wood in our best firewood to burn chart below.

Which Firewood Burns Cleanest?

While it’s great to have wood that will burn long and hot, if it’s not a clean burn, then what’s the point? Wood must burn efficiently and produce minimal smoke to be worth the effort or money you spend on it.

The best way to get these results is by burning wood that has been adequately dried.

The moisture level of your firewood needs to be below 20% to produce a clean burn. Anything above 20% will be challenging to light, messy to burn and much too smokey.

The traditional way to lower the moisture level of firewood is called seasoning. You can season firewood by leaving it to dry for six months to a year after cutting it. Make sure you stack it in a well-ventilated space protected from the rain so it doesn’t get wet or moldy during storage.

The problem with seasoning wood is it can only get wood so dry. Usually, this means the wood will be near the 20% threshold but not below it, and the resulting burn will not be as clean as possible.

To get the cleanest possible burn, we recommend kiln-dried firewood. Drying the wood in a kiln speeds up and perfects the seasoning process. Rather than waiting months for the wood to be adequately dried, it can be ready in hours. Plus, since the kiln creates a controlled atmosphere, it easily reduces the moisture content to an optimal level below 20%.

As a result of this process, kiln-dried firewood comes ready for the cleanest burn possible. Its low moisture content ensures it will burn efficiently with minimal smoke. The wood also comes free of mold, pests and other defects that can stunt the burning process.

Which Firewood is Best for Cooking?

Want to cook some delicious meat or pizza with your firewood? Then you shouldn’t use just any wood for the job. Instead, you want cooking wood with the following characteristics:

1. Kiln dried to less than 20% moisture for the perfect amount of clean smoke
2. Hardwood species like oak, hickory, cherry or sugar maple add delicious flavor
3. Split to the correct size to fit inside your pizza oven, grill or smoker

That third point is especially important for cooking wood since smaller ovens and smokers often require wood split to 6 or 8 inches in length.

If you need some specially sized kiln-dried cooking wood, we recommend checking out our friends at Hot Box Cooking Wood. They deliver their quality wood throughout the country with free two-day shipping!

Which Firewood Smells the Best?

Let’s not forget about the aroma of firewood. After all, it doesn’t matter how well the wood burns if it stinks. Truthfully, not all wood smells as good as the bonfire-scented candle you’ll find at a department store. Some smell downright gross!

Once again, dryness is a crucial factor here. If the wood hasn’t been properly dried, then there’s a good chance it won’t smell too good. There are a couple of reasons for this:

1. The high moisture content will produce unpleasant-smelling smoke.
2. The wood will probably also contain mold and fungus, which smell awful when burned (and can be potentially toxic!)

The best way to prevent malodorous wood is to have it kiln-dried. Only the controlled environment of a dry kiln can ensure the moisture will be reduced enough and the mold removed for good-smelling wood.

But beyond the moisture content, different types of wood also smell better than others. The most popular kinds of wood for their aromas include cherry, hickory, oak, cedar and pine. As you might expect, cherry gives off a pleasing fruity aroma. Hickory has a bold, savory scent, and oak is subtler. The softwoods cedar and pine are also pleasant-smelling, but as mentioned above, they don’t burn quite as well as their hardwood counterparts.

What Type of Firewood Will You Choose?

Ultimately, choosing the best firewood to burn for your fireplace, firepit or woodstove is up to you. Remember, if you pick wood with a high density and low moisture level, you’ll be fine, and your party guests will thank you for the fantastic fire!

Looking to purchase quality kiln-dried firewood in Northern Illinois or Southern Wisconsin? At Lumberjacks, we have a large selection of top hardwoods, including hickory, oak and apple. You can choose convenient pickup at one of our locations in Woodstock, IL, or Lake in the Hills, IL, or prompt delivery to your home!