| Whether you are using wood to heat your home, a | | | | Softwoods have less energy but are easier to ignite. |
| campfire or to cook people often want to know | | | | This makes them good for starting fires and getting |
| what the best burning firewood is. | | | | intense heat quickly. |
| There really is no best all around wood for burning. | | | | Hardwoods come from trees with broad leaves like |
| Different types of wood have their advantages and | | | | maple, oak, hickory and walnut. Hardwoods are |
| disadvantages depending on what your wood burning | | | | usually more dense than softwoods, burn slower and |
| needs are. If you want your wood stove to put out | | | | release more total heat energy over a longer period |
| a lot of heat over a long period of time the idea | | | | of time. This makes them good for wood stoves |
| wood will be different than if you want a nice | | | | when you want them to put out heat over a long |
| crackling fire in your fireplace with big flames. | | | | period of time. |
| There are many different burning characteristics of | | | | Hardwoods are good when you want to maintain |
| wood to consider but wood can be classified in two | | | | heat to heat your home or to make coals for |
| different categories, hardwood or softwood. | | | | cooking or campfires. Softwood is good for kindling, |
| Hardwoods are usually more dense and harder than | | | | starting fires, getting intense heat from a fire quickly |
| softwoods but there are exceptions. Hardwoods and | | | | or for when you want nice big flames in your |
| softwoods are not distinguished by their hardness or | | | | fireplace or campfire. |
| softness but what type of tree they come from. | | | | All wood burns if it's dry and whatever wood you |
| Softwoods come from cone bearing trees called | | | | have will probably work for what you need but might |
| conifers. These trees usually have needles or scales | | | | not be ideal. The exception would be for cooking, |
| for leaves like fir, spruce, pine and cedar. Softwoods | | | | some woods you just don't want to use. For both |
| are less dense, burn faster than dense hardwoods | | | | home heating I like to have a mixture of both |
| but sometimes with a more intense flame. | | | | hardwood and softwood. |