Whats the best wood to burn in a fireplace?
The hotter the wood burns, the warmer the house, obviously, and the more heat for your money if you are buying cords of wood. A few other hot hardwood benefits include less creosote in your chimney and a more efficient burn with less smoldering, resulting in less air pollution. Hardwood’s, like madrone, live oak, eucalyptus, walnut, black oak etc., are the choice of the serious fire burner. You may pay $300 for a cord of oak, and only $250 for a cord of fir. BUT, because the oak is more dense, it weighs much more than the fir. So you actually get more for your money with hardwood. In fact, you may get almost twice the fire for the money! Because hardwoods are denser, they provide more available fuel in the same space. So, hardwoods burn longer. If hardwoods are properly seasoned, they do burn very hot. (Look for oak mixed with madrone.) The fuel available in hardwood enables stoves or inserts to sustain high temperatures for significantly longer periods. Also, unless the stove is shut
