Firewood: Hardwood verses Softwood

I try and burn hardwood in my stove where possible. But recently I received a load of mixed softwood instead. It was interesting to note how quickly it burned in the stove compared with hardwood. This meant much more tending of the fire.

The end result is that I will always try and obtain hardwood where possible from now on.

Comparing wood. Generally all timber contains the same amount of heat energy per kg of weight. Therefore the density of seasoned timber indicates its potential heat output. Below is a list of various common seasoned timber densities. The difference between hardwood and softwood is immediately apparent:

Read more “Firewood: Hardwood verses Softwood”