A Connoisseur's Guide to Fuelwood

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Creosote buildup is affected not just by the wood you burn, but by your stove's efficiency. Ironically, the less efficient your stove is, the less likely you are to have a creosote problem. This is because an old, drafty stove burns wood faster and hotter than a tight, modern stove. By the same token, you'll get more creosote if you close down the draft regulator and let a fire smolder before the wood has burned down to coals — another good reason to take the chill out with a small, quick, hot softwood fire rather than a longer, slower burning hardwood fire.

Special Effects

While a chimney fire is pretty spectacular, it's not exactly the sort of special effect you would welcome. Popping and throwing sparks, on the other hand, is a characteristic that can be enjoyable — in moderation. The denser hardwoods tend to crackle only when you poke the fire. Some of the softwoods, by contrast, keep up a running commentary that can get downright annoying.

The most vociferous softwoods — cedar, hemlock, juniper, larch, southern pine, spruce, and tamarack — contain fluid resin trapped in pockets. As the wood burns, its resin evaporates into gases and water vapor that build up pressure until the pocket explodes. Although seasoning minimizes popping by reducing moisture, for safety reasons these resinous woods are best reserved for the wood stove. In a fireplace, burn them only with caution.

One special effect that nearly everyone enjoys is the splendid aroma produced by some species of wood. My own favorite winter smell comes from the cedar kindling that we use to light our wood stove on cold mornings. Other wonderfully aromatic woods are hickory, pine, and logs cut from nut and fruit trees, particularly apple. The smoke produced by fruit wood vaguely resembles the fragrance of the tree's fruit.

While many people enjoy the smell of wood smoke, most would agree that a little smoke is usually more than enough. The smokiest woods are the denser softwoods — Douglas fir, southern pine, larch, and tamarack. Dense hardwoods are the least smoky. All others fall somewhere in between.

Fuelwood Sources

The best way to make sure you get a good variety of firewood is to cut it yourself. If you own a woodlot, you are likely to have plenty of trees that are unusable for other purposes because they are poorly shaped, diseased, or of an undesirable species that takes up space needed for the growth of more valuable trees. While you solve two problems at once by cutting down undesirable trees for fuelwood, avoid the ones that have begun to rot. Not only have they lost much of their heat content, but they are likely to contain bugs that you don't want in your house.

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