A campsite isn’t full with out a crackling campfire.
Roasting marshmallows, sharing tales and staying heat across the hearth are a few of my favourite issues a few night time out tenting.
But you may’t simply take any outdated wooden you discover and set it alight. In truth, burning sure sorts of wooden can really be actually harmful.
In this text, you’ll discover out which kinds of wooden are the very best to burn, and which kinds of wooden to keep away from burning in any respect prices.
Ready to seek out out extra?
Let’s get began!
8 Best Types Of Wood For A Campfire
Most of the wooden species that burn nicely are hardwood timber. Softwood burns so much faster, so if you’d like your hearth to remain alive longer, hardwood is a significantly better selection.
Softwood is nice for kindling and tinder, although.
Here are a few of the finest kinds of wooden to make use of whenever you’re constructing a campfire:
- Ash
- Oak
- Maple
- Birch
- Hickory
- Beech
- Black Cherry
- Dogwood
Luckily, you’ll be capable of discover plenty of them fairly simply across the US, relying on the place you’re.
Ash
This is a species that’s pretty straightforward to seek out in lots of locations all through the US. It’s nice to make use of as firewood, as a result of it offers off a very good quantity of warmth, and it has a low moisture content material.
Ash wooden can be pretty straightforward to cut up with a hatchet, and it doesn’t weigh an excessive amount of both, though it’s a troublesome hardwood.
Oak
Oak burns even slower than ash, making it a good more sensible choice for campfire firewood.
There’s additionally loads of it rising everywhere in the US, so that you shouldn’t have an excessive amount of hassle discovering it. There are numerous completely different varieties, and so they all give off numerous warmth, so you may’t go unsuitable.
Red oak is simpler to separate than white oak, however in the event you’re having a tough time you may strive freezing the wooden. It ought to be simpler to separate when it’s frozen.
Good issues come to those that wait – and oak firewood is not any exception. While most hardwoods solely take a yr to season, oak wants double the time to dry out correctly, so simply pay attention to that as nicely.
Maple
Maple isn’t fairly as dense as oak, so that you’ll must have a bigger amount, nevertheless it’s nonetheless an excellent choice nonetheless. You can discover it fairly simply, too – whether or not it’s sugar maple, exhausting maple, black maple or silver maple.
It’s straightforward sufficient to separate (even with a hatchet), and it burns good and clear. Plus, it smells completely beautiful whereas it’s burning, which is a welcome bonus.
Birch
Another strong choice is birch, nevertheless it does burn fairly a bit faster than different kinds of wooden like oak.
If you’re utilizing birch, it’s a good suggestion to have another slower burning species to combine in. That approach, you may hold your hearth going for longer with much less wooden.
What’s nice about birch although is that it doesn’t give off plenty of smoke, nevertheless it does give off a pleasant quantity of warmth.
Hickory
Many individuals argue that hickory is the very best of the very best with regards to firewood.
It’s tremendous robust, heavy and dense, so it burns good and gradual. It additionally offers off a improbable aroma because it burns within the hearth pit, which makes it a stellar selection for campfire cooking.
The proven fact that it’s so exhausting does make it a bit exhausting to separate, although. You’ll undoubtedly want a significantly good, sharp axe to get the job achieved.
Beech
In components of the northeastern US, you could find beech timber that make wonderful firewood.
It’s often fairly straightforward to separate, however some timber generally is a little bit of a problem. In any case, it burns splendidly, giving off plenty of warmth and never too many sparks, or an excessive amount of smoke.
Another beauty of beech timber is that the graceful, silver bark doesn’t flake off. That makes dealing with the sort of wooden so much much less messy than another varieties.
Black Cherry
You can use any form of cherry wooden as firewood, however black cherry is a bit higher than different varieties.
Cherry wooden gained’t give off fairly as a lot warmth as another kinds of wooden like oak, maple, or hickory. It nonetheless does so much higher than softwood like pine, although.
And it certain does odor scrumptious whereas it’s burning within the hearth pit. It additionally produces minimal smoke, which is one other essential high quality. Overall, I’d say it’s a reasonably sensible choice.
Dogwood
Dogwood timber are native to the japanese US and northern Mexico. The wooden is tremendous dense and heavy, making it nice for firewood.
It offers off a pleasant quantity of warmth, and it has good coaling qualities. It can, nevertheless, be a little bit of a problem to separate it up.
Also, these timber are fairly small. That means you gained’t get an entire lot of firewood out of a single tree. And that’s regardless of on a regular basis it takes to course of a dogwood tree, due to how exhausting it’s to separate.
5 Types Of Wood You Should Never Burn
So now you already know which kinds of wooden are going to burn the very best.
But, it’s additionally tremendous essential that you already know which kinds of wooden to keep away from.
Here are the kinds of wooden it’s best to by no means burn:
- Willow
- Driftwood
- Poisonous Trees & Plants
- Endangered Species
- Any non-local wooden
Certain kinds of wooden give off poisonous smoke after they burn. So you undoubtedly wish to keep away from throwing these species onto the fireplace, or you might be placing your self and the individuals round you in critical hazard.
Willow
Technically you need to use willow for firewood, nevertheless it’s undoubtedly not the only option.
Willow smells robust whenever you burn it, and it doesn’t produce an entire lot of warmth. It additionally takes round 4 months to dry it out sufficient to have the ability to use it. That’s a very long time to attend for subpar firewood.
If you don’t dry it out sufficient, it’ll give off an excessive amount of smoke, suffocating and briefly blinding anybody that comes close to it. This goes for all species. Whatever you employ, you must make sure that it’s correctly seasoned wooden.
Driftwood
A pleasant, huge log of driftwood would possibly seem to be the proper gas to throw onto your seaside bonfire. But in actuality, driftwood releases dangerous chemical compounds when burned, so it’s best to by no means use it as firewood whilst you’re tenting.
You see, driftwood accommodates plenty of salt. When this salt burns, it releases chlorine ions that may flip into dioxins and furans. Definitely not one thing you wish to be inhaling!
Poisonous Trees & Plants
There are numerous toxic vegetation on the market. These embody poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak. To be protected, I typically keep away from any timber which have vines rising on them. Burning any of those toxic vegetation will launch harmful, poisonous smoke into the air.
The identical goes for oleander. Burning any a part of this plant – the flowers, leaves or branches – will create toxic smoke. Never use oleander to gas your hearth below any circumstances.
Endangered Species
And, after all, it goes with out saying that it’s best to by no means chop down any timber which might be endangered for firewood.
Some species discovered within the US which might be endangered embody:
- Maple-leaf oak
- Boynton’s sand submit oak
- Blue ash
- American chestnut
- Florida yew
- Virginia round-leaf birch
- Four-petal pawpaw
- Kentucky espresso tree
If you’re shopping for your firewood, you don’t have to fret. It’s extremely unlikely you’ll come throughout any endangered timber within the firewood you discover on the market. But earlier than you go chopping any timber down, be sure you establish them first so that you might be certain it isn’t an endangered species.
Non-Local Wood
Finally, it’s best to all the time make it possible for the firewood you employ doesn’t come from various miles away.
Transporting firewood over lengthy distances is without doubt one of the predominant causes invasive pests are in a position to wreak havoc in forests they by no means would’ve reached on their very own.
When you’re shopping for firewood, don’t overlook to all the time ask the place it’s from.
Wrapping Up
Whenever you’re in search of firewood, make sure that it’s hardwood, not softwood.
Any of the species I talked about will work brilliantly for a campfire, however there are many different kinds of hardwood on the market that’ll work simply as nicely.
Always make it possible for your firewood is dry sufficient (not inexperienced), and that it has been seasoned correctly earlier than you burn it.
Avoid driftwood, non-local wooden, endangered species, and toxic timber and vegetation.
Once you’ve discovered your firewood, it’s time to construct that campfire or bonfire. If you wish to learn the way, you may comply with the simple steps on this article we wrote.
You’ll be roasting marshmallows very quickly!