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The 12 Very Best Trees To Cut For Off-Grid Wood Heat

The 12 Very Best Trees To Cut For Off-Grid Wood Heat [1]

Nothing beats the enveloping warmth from off-the-grid wood heat through the winter, and autumn is a perfect time for collecting firewood for your wood stove or fireplace. Use the following tips and you’ll fill your woodshed with the right wood from the right trees.

Your primary concern must be safety when looking for trees. Pro lumberjacks have the highest rate of work-related deaths of any other U.S. occupation. It doesn’t end there. A total of 25 amateurs, who were cutting down trees, died in 2012 [2]. When adding safety to the decision of selecting firewood trees, consider the following:

Certain tree types favor hot-burning firewood. When a choice exists, look for hardwood, selecting trees with higher density. Dense, or heavy wood once dried, contains higher heat per volume when burned. That means your firewood will burn hotter and longer.

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Desirable tree types in descending order, based on dry density measured in pounds per cord of firewood and rated as “excellent” for heat, are:

  1. Osage orange 4728
  2. White oak 4200
  3. Black locust 4016
  4. Ironwood 4016
  5. Shagbark hickory 3952
  6. Apple 3888
  7. Bitternut hickory 3832
  8. Honey locust 3832
  9. Burr oak 3768
  10. Mulberry 3712
  11. Maple 3680
  12. Red oak 3528
The 12 Very Best Trees To Cut For Off-Grid Wood Heat [4]

Image source: Pixabay.com

All wood types burn, so when no other choice exists, go ahead and take firewood from softwood trees. Just understand that in most cases, you’ll be burning more softwood to get the same heat value you’ll receive from most hardwood trees.

The above list of the dense firewood varieties is based on dry wood. Green, or wet wood, greatly hinders the heat production value of your firewood. If you cut green trees for firewood, give your new firewood at least two years of drying time in order to gain the full effect of dry wood heat value. Besides providing less heat, when you burn green wood, you fill the flue and chimney full of tar and creosote, which has the potential of turning into chimney fires if not removed.

Another option to obtaining dry firewood is to get your wood from trees that are already dead, since they already enjoyed some drying time, thereby cutting down on your overall firewood drying time. Just realize the following aspects about cutting down dead trees for firewood:

Finally, enjoy your firewood gathering efforts. There’s nothing better than hoisting around hefty chunks of oak firewood for getting great exercise. Plus, you breathe clean air while looking forward to excellent off-the-grid wood heat this winter.

Sources: University of Nebraska, Utah State University.

Which is your favorite tree for winter heat? Share your advice in the section below:

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