# So what's ya favorite wood?



## ruserious2008 (Dec 13, 2011)

Well merrily entering my 2nd season burning and spent many a days this spring/summer/fall scrounging wood anywhere I could find it, cutting some trees down, chunking, hauling, splitting stacking etc. . Been joyfully burning this year and have been feeding many different species into the stove. As I was doing that tonight I was thinking about what species I would target going forward and which I would pass on. I was wondering what you folks would call your overall favorite wood to burn (and before anyone says "the kind that I can light on fire" let me beat you too that taking into account everything from dropping to chunking to splitting (by hand) to seasoning time to burning/btu's. If you had an abundance of wood potential and could afford to pick and work with only one species which would it be?
I guess so far I  would vote for ash. Seems pretty easy to split, dries fast and is still a nice heavy chunk when dry and gives nice long burns at a good temp. Second I'm leaning towards White Birch. Seems to split without too much effort. Around here we call the white birch "paper birches" as the bark peels into rolls even on live trees and that stuff acts like built in kindling flaming hot and fast and making for easy fire starting. Don't have enough seasoning experience with it and I think it burns faster overall when compared to ash but still like it. Got about a cord of apple this year and it went from 36% to 26% this year and burned a piece but it was hissing. Heavy heavy stuff to handle in big chunks and bit of a bear to split but I think we tackled most of ours the day we rented a splitter so no bad memories splitting it. I know Oak is BTU king but man I have some big (24" and larger) chuncks I cut up this past spring that have been seasoning on pallets and while there is some cracking its still like hitting a piece of granite with those suckers, even trying to take splits off the edge and targeting the direction of the cracks in the wood. Guess those suckers will have to wait for a "rent a splitter day" And I have some 3 year old oak that I bought as a mixed species score of split wood that are about 22" in lenght and were seasoned in a pile as opposed to a stack of wood, in the shade also, that still hisses so I'm hoping in a few years I will fall in love with the oak but right now I'm not sure I'd jump on a CL ad for a down oak to cut up. 
Thems my thoughts- how about yours?


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## trailmaker (Dec 13, 2011)

My favorite wood is Madrone.  It seems to have pretty good BTU and it splits easily and dries relatively quickly.  It's also mostly covered with a paper like bark that comes off easily.


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## Bigg_Redd (Dec 13, 2011)

ruserious2008 said:
			
		

> So whatâ€™s ya favorite wood?



Anything that's free that I can get my truck close to (except cottonwood - I'll leave that)


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## blacktail (Dec 13, 2011)

The woods typically available to me are hemlock, alder, maple (bigleaf), and douglas fir. That list is roughly in order of how available they are to me. Maple is my favorite. It makes for a long hot burn, splits easily, and is very clean to handle. No mess, no pitch, no splinters. 
Fir would be my second choice as it provides long hot fires. I'd be happy if I had a steady supply of fir, the older the better. It can have more knots and take more effort to split, and it can be pitchy. Burn quality is top notch. I think most people around here would choose douglas fir as their first pick. My dad's a firewood junky and will go to great lengths to get old growth fir. It's good stuff. 
Although alder doesn't put out the most heat or burn the longest, I still like it. It splits easily, it's clean, and it's easy to find. One nice thing about alder, is that IT DRIES FAST. I just bought my house a few months ago so I'm not ahead on my wood supply. A lot of what I'm burning this year has been bummed from my dad's supply. My dad cut a bunch of dead alder in September that had been cut down the previous day. I've been burning it and it's good stuff. 
Hemlock is my least favorite. It's still ok. The best thing about hemlock is that it's readily available. It grows all over the place where I have access to cut. Difficulty splitting depends on the tree. Sometimes they grow with a twisted grain which is a total PITA to split! It seems to turn punky a little quicker than the others. Hemlock has helped me a bunch already this year though. I've cut a bunch of it and some of the stuff I cut just a couple months ago, which had been down for a couple years, is already good to burn. The temps here were in the 20's last night and I was burning hemlock that I cut in early October. It takes off and burns just fine. 

I have managed to score a bunch of really nice maple for next year. Some of the maple I've cut recently has been down and off the ground for about 2 years so I've been letting some dry near my insert and mixing it in with my other wood as it's ready. I'll be out tomorrow getting more. I was pretty happy to nab a bunch of maple rounds that a road crew left on the side of the highway this fall.


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## blacktail (Dec 13, 2011)

Ditto on the cottonwood. Let it dry long enough and it'll burn, but I don't even bother.


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## CTYank (Dec 13, 2011)

Toss-up between sugar maple, black locust, shagbark hickory and various oaks.

Stove burns best IMHO with a mix of species, including any of the above.

For shoulders: red pine.


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## IanDad (Dec 13, 2011)

Black Locust. Dries Fast, splits easily, burns long, burns hot, cool sparks when in the stove. Just about the perfect fuel.


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## SolarAndWood (Dec 13, 2011)

Another vote for Locust, Honey or Black.


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## fahmahbob (Dec 13, 2011)

For shoulder season, I like white birch and ash. Cherry is nice, but pretty messy to deal with (lots of splinters when split), although the smell is awesome. For main-season burning I really like oak and hickory. White oak is my favorite to burn, but red oak is easier to work with. It splits much better, is a little bit lighter (every ounce counts by the end of the processing day), dries a bit sooner, and best of all I have acres of the stuff out my back door.
Lots of people seem to like Locust, but I've never cut or burned it so I have no opinion on it.


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## stephiedoll (Dec 13, 2011)

Honey locust would be my favorite, got a fair amount of it this year, but if I can only burn 1 wood it would be silver maple. Dries super fast, easy to split and lots of it to be had in this area. Oak has not done anything for me yet, even stuff down 2-3 years.


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## pen (Dec 13, 2011)

When processing, anything that splits easily.

When burning, anything that is dry.

Preferrably hardwoods.

pen


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## trumpeterb (Dec 13, 2011)

I like oak for the BTU's it produces, cherry for the smell, and ash for the convenience of splitting and drying time.  Oak, maple, and cherry seem to be the most predominant species around me.  I have often wanted to try other kinds, like birch or hickory, but I just can't seem to find any of these in the areas where I cut.


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## oldspark (Dec 13, 2011)

The one that keeps me warm.
 Above 10 degrees or so no wind, elm, green ash, cherry, silver maple
 Below 10 degrees or windy oak, white ash, black locust
 But as others have said the stove works best with a mix


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## stejus (Dec 13, 2011)

1. Black Birch
2. White Oak
3. Red Oak
4. Ash

The only stuff I can find around here!


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## firefighterjake (Dec 13, 2011)

I love all the wood . . . equal opportunity burner here . . . haven't met a wood species I didn't like or would not burn.

There's lots of favorites: apple and cherry for their smell, cedar for the smell and usefulness as kindling, maple for the all-around good wood, yellow birch for its smell and burning time, white birch for how easy it is to get lit . . . next year I'll experience the joy of burning black locust and oak so I am quite excited.

However, if I had to pick just one wood that is my favorite it would be white ash . . . splits like a dream, seasons well and burns fantastic.

Fortunately though I don't have to pick just one wood . . . since variety is the spice of life.


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## gerry100 (Dec 13, 2011)

2 year dried Hickory


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## Adios Pantalones (Dec 13, 2011)

If I have to cut/split etc- then I'll take ash.  Dries quick, splits easy, plenty of heat.


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## seeyal8r (Dec 13, 2011)

I like the way hickory and pecan smell but prefer white oak for the heat.


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## Lumber-Jack (Dec 13, 2011)

Reading all the previous posts the two main characteristics that people are looking for in their fire wood are fast drying, and easy to split. Those two reasons are why I pick lodgepole pine as my wood of choice. 
Because of itâ€™s long straight grain trunk and lack of major branches it is very easy to split. As for quick drying, lodgepole pine has every other type of wood beat hands down, not because itâ€™s so quick drying, but because itâ€™s already dry when I cut the trees down. 
Thanks to the prolific pine beetle and our arid climate there is an abundance of standing dead lodgepole pines in my area (and most of BC), and as long as I seek out a grove that has been dead for many years, discernable by itâ€™s sparse and withered needles, I can be pretty certain the moisture content of the wood will already be below 20% and ready for burning in the stove as soon as itâ€™s cut. No extra drying (seasoning) time required.

As far as the other characteristics that people look for like fragrance, pine obviously has a great smell, in fact that â€œfresh pine scentâ€  is a sales feature to many scented products on the market. 

And as BTUs go, lodgepole pine is on the top of the softwoods list, and beats out many of the so called hardwoods like cherry, birch, elm and silver maple. 

In my book lodgepole pine is the perfect all-round firewood.

BTU reference


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## oldspark (Dec 13, 2011)

Carbon_Liberator said:
			
		

> Reading all the previous posts the two main characteristics that people are looking for in their fire wood are fast drying, and easy to split. Those two reasons are why I pick lodgepole pine as my wood of choice.
> Because of itâ€™s long straight grain trunk and lack of major branches it is very easy to split. As for quick drying, lodgepole pine has every other type of wood beat hands down, not because itâ€™s so quick drying, but because itâ€™s already dry when I cut the trees down.
> Thanks to the prolific pine beetle and our arid climate there is an abundance of standing dead lodgepole pines in my area (and most of BC), and as long as I seek out a grove that has been dead for many years, discernable by itâ€™s sparse and withered needles, I can be pretty certain the moisture content of the wood will already be below 20% and ready for burning in the stove as soon as itâ€™s cut. No extra drying (seasoning) time required.
> 
> ...


 Some charts dont list lodgepole that high, chimney sweep has it at 15.1.


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## Battenkiller (Dec 13, 2011)

Black birch.  Denser than oak, dries twice as fast, and is the burningest stuff I've ever used.  Starts up and gets going so much easier than oak or locust, too.

Of course, I wouldn't pass on any shagbark, either.  That stuff warms you deep inside you just looking at it in the stacks.


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## bluedogz (Dec 13, 2011)

For me, black locust & hickory because my yard is already full of them.  If someone offers me free maple or oak that may change.


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## jeff_t (Dec 13, 2011)

I like silver maple for a quick, hot start and establishing a coal bed. Then top it with ash and three years seasoned red oak. It's all I have right now. Add cherry in there for next year, and a bunch of white oak the year after that.


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## fahmahbob (Dec 13, 2011)

Battenkiller said:
			
		

> Black birch.  Denser than oak, dries twice as fast, and is the burningest stuff I've ever used.  Starts up and gets going so much easier than oak or locust, too.
> 
> Of course, I wouldn't pass on any shagbark, either.  That stuff warms you deep inside you just looking at it in the stacks.



Black birch is a great firewood. But, like cherry, it tends to splinter a lot when splitting it, and it doesn't seem to coal quite as well as oak. At least that's my experience with it. But it sure smells awesome when it's cut or split!


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## ryanm527 (Dec 13, 2011)

I am surprised no one has mentioned Osage Orange. Of the few species I've burned so far, it's probably my favorite.  It burns long and hot and I enjoy watching the blue flames and showers of sparks inside the stove. In terms of splitting, Honey Locust is my favorite because it's very easy. The Osage really isn't too tough though.


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## Lumber-Jack (Dec 13, 2011)

oldspark said:
			
		

> Carbon_Liberator said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



They probably have it confused with Jack Pine which is an Eastern cousin of Lodgepole pine, but doesnâ€™t grow the same, or burn the same. I have noticed many Easterners here make the same mistake calling Lodgepole pine Jack pine.
I have burned Elm, birch and maple and they all burn pretty closely to lodge pole, so I can vouch for the accuracy of that Western compiled BTU chart.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Pine


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## thewoodlands (Dec 13, 2011)

Ironwood - 1
Beech - 2
Sugar Maple - 3 

Cherry - 4 / which we burn the most, seems like mother nature brings the Cherry down more than any other tree. Next heating season will be the first that we have more of 2 & 3 then the Cherry.


gibir


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## NextEndeavor (Dec 13, 2011)

I burned a lot of Osage Orange (hedge) last year to mix with the wet oak using at the time.  Much better this year.  I don't advise doing that.  The sparkler show is really cool but one got over my head and made it's mark in the carpet 4 foot away.  At any rate, my stacks should get high marks for "diversity".  A little of everything out there.  Soft/lighter weight types (including soft maples and yes, cotton wood) in warmer weather; high BTU types for cold nights or when striving for plenty of coals at wake up time.


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## mecreature (Dec 13, 2011)

I kind of like cherry.


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## Jack Straw (Dec 13, 2011)

I love ash for how easy it is to split, but hickory gets me through the coldest winter nights.


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## bigguy0602 (Dec 13, 2011)

I mostly burn Oak so that would be my choice just by availability.  I am burning Ash for the first time this winter and that is great stuff.  I unfortunately do not get much of it.


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## oldspark (Dec 13, 2011)

"I have burned Elm, birch and maple and they all burn pretty closely to lodge pole, so I can vouch for the accuracy of that Western compiled BTU chart"
 That's a big 10-4, it seems like no matter how many charts I look at there is always a few types of wood that I disagree with.


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## James02 (Dec 13, 2011)

IanDad said:
			
		

> Black Locust. Dries Fast, splits easily, burns long, burns hot, cool sparks when in the stove. Just about the perfect fuel.




I always wondered about the sparks...what causes that...


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## LLigetfa (Dec 13, 2011)

I'm definitely an Ash man.  One time I saw a pickup parked near my log pile so I walked over to see what the guy was up to.  He says to me "I was just admiring your Ash", to which I replied "I hope for your sake, that you don't have a speech impediment".

Around here Birch is the #1 choice for most people but I don't like the mess of bark or how I tend to get slivers from handling it.  Ash is cleaner, smells nice, splits nice, and is relatively sliver free.


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## Lumber-Jack (Dec 13, 2011)

oldspark said:
			
		

> "I have burned Elm, birch and maple and they all burn pretty closely to lodge pole, so I can vouch for the accuracy of that Western compiled BTU chart"
> That's a big 10-4, it seems like no matter how many charts I look at there is always a few types of wood that I disagree with.


Yeah I agree, I guess itâ€™s hard to quantify every type of wood when so many of them are so closely related. If you look at what Wikipedia has to say even with just â€œLodgepole pineâ€ there are three main subspecies and they all seem to have their own specific region and growth characteristics.  The subspecies I am familiar with, and seems to be the only kind we have around here, is called â€œ Pinus latifoliaâ€, and judging by what it says on Wikipedia, it is a lot different that the other two subspecies. My latifolia grows tall and straight, but they describe the coastal main species â€œ Pinus contortaâ€ as growing twisted and bent. That doesnâ€™t sound like it would be easy to split.    

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodgepole_pine


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## basswidow (Dec 13, 2011)

This is my 4th burning season, so I am still a rookie whose not sampled ALL wood species yet.  

I prefer OAK (Red) for easy splitting and BTU's.  Well seasoned oak is like nuclear fuel in my stove.  I can immediately tell oak's heat from other woods I burn.  

Other favorites,  Cherry, Mulberry, ash, black locust.  I have some maple that carried over that is 2 years old.  It's made an impression on me vs splits from the same tree I burned last year.  This maple was originally seasoned in a HH.  At the end of the season, what was left - got restacked into straight rows.  Now that it is 2 years old, the splits feel like rock and it burns great.  Some BL also carried over and is 2 years old.  Good stuff!  

There are woods I will pass on.  Yes - I am a wood snob.  I will run from Elm and drive right past Poplar, big tooth aspen, and other various light weight wood.  It's simply not worth processing for the heat it gives,  except for shoulder season.  With all the wood downed in recent storms - I can afford to pick and choose.


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## Blue2ndaries (Dec 13, 2011)

Any deciduous, non-conifer that I can scrounge is a real treat here in the PacNW, but I will pass on poplar and cottonwood.  I like madrone which seems to dry quickly, burn hot, and leaves very little ash, but is hard to come by.  I really, really like oak when I can get it and when it is dry.  Every once in a while I can get cherry and maple; cherry is a close second to oak for me.  Then there is the venerable Doug Fir...I'll burn it, but am beginning to pass on the larger dia trees as they have way too many knots and are hard to handle, split, and process.  Smaller dia firs, 16-18", are real easy to split and dry.


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## Singed Eyebrows (Dec 13, 2011)

I burn whats free & around here there is a lot of sugar maple. Nothing to complain about though as this is great wood when dry. Large splits take about 2 years, small ones 6 months, Randy


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## bogydave (Dec 13, 2011)

"Gotton wood" is the best.
Here, Birch is my favorite of the few choices.


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## Backwoods Savage (Dec 14, 2011)

James02 said:
			
		

> IanDad said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Termite turds exploding.


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## Backwoods Savage (Dec 14, 2011)

Ash is great and so is oak. Either white or red oak is fine with us. We also like soft maple for mix and for spring and fall. We also burn some cherry and elm and a few others but those are the main woods for us. For scent, it is difficult to beat sassafras so I cut some occasionally but it is not the best for burning. Just love the smell of it.


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## golfandwoodnut (Dec 14, 2011)

Locust, Oak, Hickory, Beech, Cherry and Maple in that order.   Beech is great stuff because the bark is nice and smooth and it seasons fast and burns well.  Just not as good as Locust Oak and Hickory.  I do get tons of Sassafrass around here, it is super easy to split, smells good but I hate burning it.  I like the smell of Cherry even better and it season super quick and burns nice, just not long.


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## xman23 (Dec 14, 2011)

Our area is full of Red and White Oak, a few maples but not much else. I haven't burned anything that is as sweet as oak. Such dense wood. You know when you pick it up. It's three times the weight of anything else I have.


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## wetwood (Dec 14, 2011)

Any wood that is dry and fits in the stove, but mulberry, hack berry, honey locust, and ash are some of my favorites.


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## onetracker (Dec 14, 2011)

i can't always get these but:

1- shagbark hickory
2- honey locust
3- white oak

been burning 2 year seasoned white oak the last couple of weeks. 
simply amazing...deep, warm-you-to-your-bones heat, long burn times, lots of dense coals.
if i had my druthers i would have left it season 1 more year since i had no choice but to stack it 4 rows deep. 

got about a cord of hickory in the queue...if i've timed it right we should be hitting the hickory about new years day. then its all locust after that. my best year ever in 35 years of burning.

i hear osage is supreme but we never see it around here. 


OT


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## Vic99 (Dec 14, 2011)

Tie between white birch (splits easy, smells good, bark is kindling, medium heat) and white oak (high heat).


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## Flatbedford (Dec 14, 2011)

Red oak
Black Locust
White Ash

I nice mix of all three would probably be best.

Being three years ahead, I pass on most everything else now. All of them are easy to hand split and burn very nicely in my Fireview. Black Locust can be tough to get burning, but once it is going it will keep on going for a long time and leave very little ash.


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## mywaynow (Dec 14, 2011)

Always like to see Cherry coming off the pile due to it's pleasant odor.  It burns nicely too.  Like Walnut for similar reasons.  At night I want the Oak and Ash for length of burn.


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## JustWood (Dec 14, 2011)

I'd have to say American and Hop Hornbeam. Stuff rarely grows much bigger than 8"= not much splitting. Grows fairly straight and burns HOT. Plus it's plentiful here.


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## Oregon Bigfoot (Dec 14, 2011)

Madrone, Douglas Fir, Big Leaf Maple, Oregon White Ash, Red Alder, Hawthorn.  I don't include Oregon White Oak, because the effort for the little bit extra BTU's is not worth it.  You get 10% extra BTU's, but it takes twice as long to split, twice as long to season, and it seems twice as heavy.  But if it's available, I'll still take Oregon White Oak.

Oregon Bigfoot


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## ruserious2008 (Dec 15, 2011)

Man "termite Turds exploding" was the funniest! ROFLMAO but that wasn't the question was it 
Well .......interesting replies and it certainly seems the choices are first governed by regional location  as the only Locust I've ever seen were of the insectoid flavor that were  eating my wife's garden 
As I look back I guess I left maple off my list only because I only scrounged about 1/2 cord of it this year and its in my 2012/2013 stacks and while I know I have been burning some from my 4 cord mixed bunch that I bought for short money that I have not been paying much attention  to as far as what species I am throwing into the fire but as I think of it I'd imagine Maple would be right up there as my number two as I have no memories of problems splitting that stuff by hand and what I think is maple I have been more than willing to feed it into the stove for my last feed of the night (how's that for a fracking run on sentence? LOL ). Someone else said they were 3 years ahead as I think I am (we'll see after this season thus that's why I asked thinking I may have the luxury of being picky for a while and actually may  get to do some fishing next year instead of scrounging 
Guess for my region, availability and temperament I'll remain an "ash" man


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## fire_man (Dec 15, 2011)

blacktail said:
			
		

> Ditto on the cottonwood. Let it dry long enough and it'll burn, but I don't even bother.



Hey you guys, quit pick'in on my Cottonwood! I've been happily burning that stuff all season. It seasons quick, lights easy,burns hot,it's the perfect shoulder season wood (and its been a looooong shoulder season in the North East!). Also good for stretch fires. 

Yea, Yea, I know, it's hard to split, too heavy when wet for it's BTU's, and doesn't smell so great.  :long:


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## KodiakII (Dec 15, 2011)

White Oak, especially when it is in the barrels that are used to age my favorite beverages, that are associated with post firewood processing.

Good God my English teacher would have cringed at that ros!


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## 575xp (Dec 15, 2011)

Hornbeam


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## iod0816 (Dec 16, 2011)

Hickory, sugar maple and black birch. Tho others maples are fun bc of how quick they season. Got both kinds of locust for next on hand. 

Had a fire of all sugar and one red maple last night. Good size splits, loaded to the brim. Loaded at 7. Today at 5 I kid you not, I KID YOU NOT, I had enough fist size coals to start the fire I have tonite. Yep, love the sugar.


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