# White oak vs red oak.



## Microduck17 (Nov 9, 2019)

I have a stash of white oak and a stash of red oak. So far it seems like the white burns slower and makes more coals. What do you think is the overall best red or white ?

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## CentralVAWoodHeat (Nov 9, 2019)

I believe white oak has more BTUs per cord than red.  I also like the way white oak smells.  Vanilla and cinnamon when fresh cut.


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## Microduck17 (Nov 9, 2019)

It does smell nice and seems to split easier than red. 

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## peakbagger (Nov 9, 2019)

My bet would be growing conditions would impact the Btu content between individual samples from each species.


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## Microduck17 (Nov 9, 2019)

You are probably right I never considered the growing conditions but it would make sense that a tree growing where there are ample nutrients and water would be healthier and likely have denser wood. 

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## billb3 (Nov 9, 2019)

Give me a choice between 4 year seasoned white oak and 4 year seasoned red oak and I'll take the white, please.
If I have to split it all I'd have to pause because I don't think white oak splits easier than red at all. Especially if you are splitting it by hand (with a maul).


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## Jags (Nov 9, 2019)

My white always seems to be a longer burn than red.  Simply my experience with it.


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## BigJ273 (Nov 9, 2019)

Red oak splits like butter with an axe. Nothing like feeling that “pop” on a big round when it gives way. Easy sailing from there


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## jatoxico (Nov 9, 2019)

Haven't had a lot of white oak. Checking old posts it looks like the red oak that will be my primary wood this year,  was split in 14'. I remember it looked like I could use it for flooring when I split it. Beautiful stuff but even 3 years out anytime I stole a stick from that stack it sizzled.


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## Microduck17 (Nov 9, 2019)

The red seems to be stringy and the white seems like it just pops when split on the splitter. 

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## HisTreeNut (Nov 9, 2019)

Not really sure. I will volunteer for an experiment. Bring me a couple of cord of the red and white oak, I will split them, stack them, and in 3 years I will you know which is better...
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I have mainly had red oak and some white oak, but have never compared the two.

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## Sawset (Nov 9, 2019)

From what I see here, white oak is harder to cut, split, season, light to burn. Gives off more heat. Trees grow slow, tend to have tight and numerous knots around branches. They seem to hesitate seeding in in numerous qty, as in an open prairie.
Red oak usually cuts easier, splits without being stringy, seasons faster due to being open pored, lights easier. Reds can grow very quickly, reproduce easily, seem to be the first succession tree of choice if oaks are nearby.
Tree rings on reds can be 1/16" - 1/4".
Tree rings on white usually 1/16".

Both have about the same ash.

Plug in white oak, northern red oak. They have slightly different growth densities:


			Tree Age Calculator


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## Medic21 (Nov 9, 2019)

I have a bunch of both.  White oak is by far better firewood.  It is denser, burns hotter and longer.  
I would not turn either down.


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## Grizzerbear (Nov 10, 2019)

All of my firewood is mostly oaks of the red or white species with maybe 20% hickory. As far as heat output....white oak seems to put out more heat with better coal bed as well. The difference is pretty slim in my opinion and i dont go to the stack dead set on either one for the stove. Red oak is for sure easier to split and i happen to love that funky red oak stinch when fresh split.


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## xman23 (Nov 10, 2019)

I'm on top of an all oak mountain. White, and rock oak. Don't think I have red. The white oak is stringy splitting. The rock explodes when you hit it with aa maul. I think they burn about the same.


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## weatherguy (Nov 10, 2019)

I prefer white oak, it burns a bit longer and is denser. I find it to be stringy when I split it and use a hatchet when Im splitting it.


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## Woody Stover (Nov 10, 2019)

White Oak is a notch up from Red in output. Burns long, but is harder to start, sort of like Black Locust but not as bad. I usually only throw White in when I have a good coal bed to load on. Red Oaks are mainly what die here, so that makes up most of my stacks. Not sure what they  succumb to..White Oak or Hickory only die or blow down occasionally. That's OK with me, Red Oak is a great all-around wood; Starts fairly easily, burns fairly long. Only negatives are the long dry times and punky, crumbly sapwood. I end up peeling a lot of that off with a hatchet, if it comes off real easy. If you let dead ones stand or lie around long enough, sometimes all the sapwood will be rotted off..the heart lasts a long time.


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## davidmc (Nov 12, 2019)

I like white but red does good too.
I have access to both......these logs came from 3 large white oaks that were growing together as a trio. One was blown down so I went ahead and cut all three.








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## davidmc (Nov 12, 2019)

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## Paulywalnut (Nov 19, 2019)

I’ll take the white oak off your hands.


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## Kevin Weis (Nov 19, 2019)

White Oak is a lot slower growing tree than Red.  Therefore it is usually more dense.  It usually burns slower but hotter .  Will tend to grow on poorer soils better than Red Oak.  I would prefer to burn the White.


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## Ashful (Nov 19, 2019)

I’ve been burning 8-9 cords of oak per year the last several years, plus another cord of mixed ash and/or sassafras, and agree with everything stated above. Red oak splits and smells nicer, white has marginally higher BTU content. But around here white is often kept for lumber, while red is easy to grab for firewood. It does seem a shame to burn much white, as it’s in shorter supply here, and is such a nice rot-resistant wood for things like historically-correct boat and window components.


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## Woody Stover (Nov 19, 2019)

Ashful said:


> I’ve been burning 8-9 cords of oak per year the last several years, plus another cord of mixed ash and/or sassafras, and agree with everything stated above. Red oak splits and smells nicer, white has marginally higher BTU content. But around here white is often kept for lumber, while red is easy to grab for firewood. It does seem a shame to burn much white, as it’s in shorter supply here, and is such a nice rot-resistant wood for things like historically-correct boat and window components.


There's quite a bit of White here but not as much as Red. The Whites just keep on growing and seldom get blown down or succumb to disease like the Reds do, so I've got a lot more Red in the stacks. BTU of White is substantially higher. I see a lot of charts with Red the same as hard Maple, about 24 mBTU. White OTOH they say is 25.7. That's noticeable, for sure. But yeah, the sapwood on White holds up longer than on the Red, and probably the wood does too.
Red Oak smells better? I can't remember too well how fresh White splits smell, but it's gotta be nicer than Red.  I've split some White rounds that had been lying around a couple years before I split 'em, and the smell was heavenly..sweet vanilla and Oak fragrance, like bourbon.


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## Sawset (Nov 19, 2019)

Woody Stover said:


> The Whites just keep on growing and seldom get blown down or succumb to disease like the Reds do


About 4 years ago oak wilt really became noticeable here.  The progression here was west to east, so western WI had 50% oaks dead 10yrs ago (total red and white). 5yrs ago saw the first white oaks die here. Now, there are a dozen dead on 20ac. All white. Plus all the red oaks from before. Seems they show signs a decade before according to the last 10 tiny rings left behind. Look for many tiny water sprouts, dead branch tips, leaves that just never seem glossy green and healthy, then shrooms on the trunk. If you don't see it now in southern Indiana, chances are you will shortly.


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## Grizzerbear (Nov 19, 2019)

Sawset said:


> About 4 years ago oak wilt really became noticeable here. The progression here was west to east, so western WI had 50% oaks dead 10yrs ago (total red and white). 5yrs ago saw the first white oaks die here. Now, there are a dozen dead on 20ac. All white. Plus all the red oaks from before. Seems they show signs a decade before according to the last 10 tiny rings left behind. Look for many tiny water sprouts, dead branch tips, leaves that just never seem glossy green and healthy, then shrooms on the trunk. If you don't see it now in southern Indiana, chances are you will shortly.



I havent noticed a widespread white oak disease here but the red oaks have really been hit hard here. I have tons of standing dead that i will sadly never get to. Im not sure what it is but from judging pictures from what i can make of it the disease is called hypoxylon canker. It literally has killed tons of mature red oaks in this part of country.


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## Woody Stover (Nov 19, 2019)

Sawset said:


> About 4 years ago oak wilt really became noticeable here.  The progression here was west to east, so western WI had 50% oaks dead 10yrs ago (total red and white). 5yrs ago saw the first white oaks die here. Now, there are a dozen dead on 20ac. All white. Plus all the red oaks from before. Seems they show signs a decade before according to the last 10 tiny rings left behind. Look for many tiny water sprouts, dead branch tips, leaves that just never seem glossy green and healthy, then shrooms on the trunk. If you don't see it now in southern Indiana, chances are you will shortly.





Grizzerbear said:


> I havent noticed a widespread white oak disease here but the red oaks have really been hit hard here. I have tons of standing dead that i will sadly never get to. Im not sure what it is but from judging pictures from what i can make of it the disease is called hypoxylon canker. It literally has killed tons of mature red oaks in this part of country.


Yep, Reds getting slaughtered in our part of the country. I'll have to ask my brother what he's seeing in WI. He has some land out near the Mississippi in western WI, and resides northwest of Milw. He may also be seeing the progression that you've observed, Sawset.


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## Ashful (Nov 20, 2019)

Woody Stover said:


> Yep, Reds getting slaughtered in our part of the country. I'll have to ask my brother what he's seeing in WI. He has some land out near the Mississippi in western WI, and resides northwest of Milw. He may also be seeing the progression that you've observed, Sawset.


Around here the big whites (not a reference to the Haitian revolution) also seem to rot up the center from the ground, I’ve taken down or cleaned up several very large ones in that condition.  You’ve probably seen the photo of some 48” - 49” oak rounds that I’ve posted several times, and they came from a white oak that was rotten from the ground up to a height of 15 feet, where it was broken off by hurricane Sandy.  When I cut the stump about 18 inches above the ground, it was 60 inches in diameter, but only had a shell about a foot thick of solid wood all around, the middle 3 feet was mostly hollow.





If I recall, this was another white oak:




... and this one:




I can’t remember if this one from last winter is white or red:


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## weatherguy (Nov 20, 2019)

Ashful said:


> Around here the big whites (not a reference to the Haitian revolution) also seem to rot up the center from the ground, I’ve taken down or cleaned up several very large ones in that condition.  You’ve probably seen the photo of some 48” - 49” oak rounds that I’ve posted several times, and they came from a white oak that was rotten from the ground up to a height of 15 feet, where it was broken off by hurricane Sandy.  When I cut the stump about 18 inches above the ground, it was 60 inches in diameter, but only had a shell about a foot thick of solid wood all around, the middle 3 feet was mostly hollow.
> 
> View attachment 251818
> 
> ...


Holy smokes that's a big tree, nice firewood.


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## hickoryhoarder (Nov 23, 2019)

It's personal preference and what's available.  Seasoned red oak makes much better kindling.  And makes for more active fires.  I like 60% of my wood to be red oak, but like everyone else I burn what I can get.


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## paredown (Nov 26, 2019)

Around here, we're getting some kind of fungus that stunts the root growth on the red oaks--I lost a cluster in Hurricane Sandy, and my neighbor came over to look at the roots, and they had problems.

Not so many whites around here--I'm still feeling sad about the big fella we took down that was starting to crack the house foundation...

There's some good pictures here of the grain structure and leaves:






						Distinguishing Red and White Oak | The Wood Database
					






					www.wood-database.com


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