Chatting to a friend's father, when they were in to renovate my bathroom last year, he mentioned a poem he part remembered (I have a wood burning stove as my only central heating). Naturally, I went hunting... ;-) Below the line is the assorted information I collected as a result.

Speaking from my own experience over the last couple of years, the most important thing is to make you sure that you lay in enough wood! It's a good idea, I think, to buy it in the early spring, and then stack it somewhere under cover. That way, even if it's not as dry as the seller claims, it should have a good 6 months to season. Having to burn wood less than perfectly seasoned is a pain!

The woods I've had so far have been poplar (mostly), chestnut (at the moment, not fully seasoned), willow & conifer (probably leylandii) from my own garden. Willow, as with chestnut & conifer, will spit, but since all of this has burnt inside my stove, I'm not fussed. I've not so far encountered any of the problems cited above or below with any of the woods. Except for the wood being damp - the cure, if you have to, is to get as much of the damp stuff stacked around the stove / fire as you can (provided it's safe to do so) while you've you've still got dry wood to burn!

I suspect that the comments about poplar being smoky and / or poor fuel are more in relation to improperly seasoned wood than anything else. Seasoned, it certainly burns well enough, though quickly. I suspect most softwoods, being less dense, will do this.

Apart from this my advice is only the obvious - small pieces are good for starting or encouraging a fire, but burn fast (greater surface area / volume); big lumps are better for long burning fires. I like hitting things with an axe, so splitting my own wood is not an issue, indeed preferable. I tend to accumulate a range of kindling & trimmings for fire-starting; middling size bits & 1-2" thick branch sections for the next stage of building, & for packing; and once that's settled down to burning well & levelled out, I'll add 2 or 3 large pieces, pack some more middling bits around, & keep the fire burning like that.

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LOGS TO BURN

Logs to burn, logs to burn,
Logs to save the coal a turn
Here's a word to make you wise,
When you hear the woodman's cries.
Never heed his usual tale,
That he has good logs for sale,
But read these lines and really learn,
the proper kind of logs to burn.

OAK logs will warm you well,
If they're old and dry.
LARCH logs of pine wood smell,
But the sparks will fly.
BEECH logs for Christmas time,
YEW logs heat well.
SCOTCH logs it is a crime,
For anyone to sell.

BIRCH logs will burn too fast,
CHESTNUT scarce at all
HAWTHORN logs are good to last,
If you cut them in the fall
HOLLY logs will burn like wax
You should burn them green
ELM logs like smouldering flax
No flame to be seen

PEAR logs and APPLE logs,
they will scent your room.
CHERRY logs across the dogs,
Smell like flowers in bloom
But ASH logs, all smooth and grey,
burn them green or old;
Buy up all that come your way,
They're worth their weight in gold.




Note that all woods burn better when seasoned and some burn better when split rather than as whole logs. In general the better woods for burning that you are most likely to come by (including non-native species) are:

Apple and pear – burning slowly and steadily with little flame but good heat. The scent is also pleasing.

Ash – the best burning wood providing plenty of heat (will also burn green but you should not need to do this!)

Beech and hornbeam – good when well seasoned

Birch – good heat and a bright flame – burns quickly.

Blackthorn and hawthorn – very good – burn slowly but with good heat

Cherry – also burns slowly with good heat and a pleasant scent.

Cypress – burns well but fast when seasoned, and may spit

Hazel – good, but hazel has so many other uses hopefully you won't have to burn it!

Holly – good when well seasoned

Horse Chestnut – good flame and heating power but spits a lot.

Larch – fairly good for heat but crackles and spits

Maple – good.

Oak – very old dry seasoned oak is excellent, burning slowly with a good heat

Pine – burns well with a bright flame but crackles and spits

Poplar – avoid all poplar wood – it burns very slowly with little heat – which is why poplar is used to make matchsticks.

Willow – very good – in fact there is growing interest in biomass production of coppiced willow as a fuel.

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A Different variant on the same subject...

Beechwood fire burns bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year.
Store your beech for Christmastide
With new year holly cut beside.
Chestnut`s only good they say
If for years `tis stored away.
Birch and firewood burn to fast
Blaze too bright and do not last.
Flames from larch will shoot up high
Dangerously the sparks will fly.
But ashwood green and ashwood brown
Are fit for a Queen with a golden crown.
Oaken logs if dry and old
Keep away the winter cold.
Poplar gives a bitter smoke
Fills your eyes and makes you choke.
Elmwood burns like churchyard mold
E`en the very flames are cold.
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread
So it is in Ireland said.
Applewood will scent the room
Pearwood smells like flowers in bloom.
But ashwood wet and ashwood dry
A king may warm his slippers by.

As can be seen from this old English poem the best woods to burn are Ash, beech, birch, hornbeam, sycamore, oak, holly, apple, and cherry, and nearly all the coniferous woods burn freely when really dry. Sweet chestnut, elm, Turkey oak, and larch are less poplar, as they throw out sparks and splutter as they burn. Alder, willow and poplar all rank as poor firewoods owing to their high water content , unless well seasoned.

It is very important to remember that you must dry any wood out very thoroughly before you burn it, in your stove or open fire. If you try burning unseasoned wood you might as well use the contents of your wallet as fuel. If the wood contains water or sap any heat will first be used to boil any water in the wood, and this will come off as steam before any real heat is given off.

It is often said that ash will burn green, and it does so better than any other wood. This is because ash has a very low moisture content, when I have taken a 10inch diameter x 3 foot log of ash to a show in the summer to turn on my pole lathe. I notice the cleft billets dry out so quickly and a quarter section can be dry in a couple of days, where as oak will retain its moisture for week or months.

It is always best to cut any wood for whatever purpose in the winter when the sap is down, avoid cutting in the spring as the sap is rising, I have heard of tree surgeons getting sprayed with sap when working in the spring.

Split the wood into the size you want to use it in, and stack in place where the air circulates freely and wait at least a year before using it. With this in mind, the wood should be piled in a place where the sun can warm it and the wind can blow through it. As the sun heats and evaporates the water from the wood pile the wind blows it away. When its time to burn it indoors, try and have a big stack next or near your fire so it can really finally dry out before burning. The less water in the wood the more heat you will get from it.

Do clean your chimney regularly as a chimney fire, if not caught in time will spread to the rest of your home.

If you have access to them, burn softer woods like poplar, willow, aspen and birch in the autumn and spring and save the more valuable fuels like ash and oak for the coldest part of the winter.

Wood is a carbon neutral fuel, as it is part of a natural cycle of trapping carbon and then releasing it when the tree dies and rots. In theory it is an ecologically sound and sustainable energy source if the same, or preferably a lot more, of trees are planted for the ones cut down. The key to this is to ensure that the forest remains healthy, maintains a stable level of variously aged trees and provides a good habitat for a diversity of other species, both plants and animals.

You can do your part by insisting that your firewood is harvested using sustainable forestry practices. Ask your firewood supplier about where the wood has come from and make it clear that you are concerned about the sustainability of our forest resources. Don't demand a load of perfectly uniform pieces; there are better uses for long, straight logs than burning them.

Do not use firelighters for lighting your fire, this is just pure laziness and you are using none sustainable fossil fuels by doing so. The number of times I have seen people try and light their fires using a box of firelighters and 3 big logs is just mad.

If you cut your own logs then do as our forefathers did, and cut up every branch and every twig, then all you will need is one sheet of newspaper and the ready prepared kindling in the form of twigs and smaller branches. There is nothing wrong with burning small diameter logs especially if you are not going to leave this brash in piles for the wildlife.

It is easy to make your own kindling by choosing a straight grained, knot free log and splitting it into smaller pieces by chopping with an axe. When the pieces get so small that they fall over do not hold them and swing the axe or you might chop a finger instead. Rest the axe on top of the wood, hold it in place as you lift the wood and axe up with your other hand and drop down removing your grip on the wood just before it hits the chopping block, this way you can split each piece exactly in half each time.


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And a slightly different variant of the second...

Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year,
Chestnut's only good they say,
If for logs 'tis laid away.
Make a fire of Elder tree,
Death within your house will be;
But ash new or ash old,
Is fit for a queen with crown of gold.

Birch and fir logs burn too fast
Blaze up bright and do not last,
it is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood burns like churchyard mould,
E'en the very flames are cold
But Ash green or Ash brown
Is fit for a queen with golden crown.

Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke,
Apple wood will scent your room
Pear wood smells like flowers in bloom
Oaken logs, if dry and old
keep away the winter's cold
But Ash wet or Ash dry
a king shall warm his slippers by.