For this reason, pine, eucalyptus, birch, aspen, and a few other species do not make the best logs for a wood burning stove. Birch is considered one of the best woods to burn in the hardwood family, along with ash, red oak and maple. Birch is an excellent firewood, however it burns quickly, so it is best when mixed with other slower kiln dried firewood such as Elm and Oak. Birch is a good firewood to burn because it burns well and produces a moderate amount of heat. It splits fairly easy and dries fast once split.
Birch bark makes great fire starter because of its similarity to paper. Hardwoods such as maple, oak, ash, birch, and most fruit trees are the best burning woods that will give you a hotter and longer burn time. These woods have the least pitch and sap and are generally cleaner to handle. That being said, there are a few species of trees that produce less smoke than others….
Fresh-cut wood has a high moisture content, which makes it hard to get burning. It also gives off more smoke. Late winter and early spring are ideal times to cut and store wood for the following year. It allows wood to dry over the summer months, seasoning in time for colder weather. Birch can season in 1 year or less if split and stacked right away. Black Birch can season even faster. Yellow Birch takes a little longer. To get the most energy out of your firewood, the wood should be seasoned.
A good rule of thumb is to cut firewood this year so you can use it next year. Burning green wood decreases the amount of heat generated by the fire. As the green wood burns, the energy created from the fire is used to evaporate the moisture resulting in wasted heat. Buy an inexpensive easy to use moisture meter like this one , to ensure your split wood is ready for the fire.
Birch is good firewood and it will burn similarly to Cherry, which has a BTU of 20 million per cord. One BTU the amount of energy required to heat one pound of liquid water by one degree Fahrenheit. A cord of firewood is equal to cubic feet of wood. Typically firewood is cut into 16 inch lengths and is tightly stacked in three rows, 4 feet high and 8 feet long, totaling cubic feet.
Birch falls somewhere in the middle in terms of BTUs per cord. At the high end would be Eucalyptus at On the low end you have Ohio Buckeye at Green wood tends to smoke and smolder creating the possibility for creosote to form in the chimney.
Creosote is nothing more than a condensation of small, unburned particles contained in the smoke that coats the chimney surface as it exits. The creosote will stick to the sides of the chimney and can ignite, causing a chimney fire. All wood creates creosote. Hardwoods, like Birch, burn slower and lower, so the smoke lingers longer inside the chimney, creating more opportunity for creosote build up.
You can reduce the amount of creosote by properly seasoning your firewood. Native Americans used Birch bark canoes for hundreds of years because it is waterproof and rot resistant. Another use for Birch bark is to make tea. There are many different firewood species to choose from. However, not all of the options will be available to you since some trees only grow in certain parts of the country. I thought I had gems when I hauled the load of Sycamore home years ago when I was young and burned wood.
When you cut down a tree, the inner bark could be moist, full of sap, and sometimes even green colored.
You will waste more thermal energy evaporating sap and water in the wood than creating ambient heat energy. To optimize seasoning and preferred moisture content, cut the wood into slender planks and stack them into a cord. You must allow freshly chopped wood to air dry in the elements for at least a year before it can be seasoned. Looking for a firewood rack so that you can season your own firewood this year? You may find our reviews of the best firewood racks of helpful in your search.
But, it does have enough moisture content to require lengthy seasoning of up to a solid year or more. You can expect a final moisture content of around 8-percent with properly seasoned Birch firewood.
Well under the percent moisture content, or less, recommended for optimally burnable firewood. Like many other popular types of firewood used for home-heating, Birch burns easily once seasoned and puts out little to medium levels of smoke. With a properly vented wood stove or fireplace, Birch smoke is easily dissipated. Green Birch on the other hand, if burned indoors, could fill your entire home with harmful smoke and fumes.
Birchwood burns easy when seasoned and gives off a pleasant, if not only slightly scented, smelling smoke. Most species of Birchwood smell particularly sweet or give off a wintergreen type of aroma most often found in pine and evergreen wood.
Unseasoned green wood has a high moisture and sap content. When you burn green wood, you are mostly just evaporating the moisture content within, not creating warming thermal energy. Burning green wood is a bad idea too because it can create a latent and spontaneous fire hazard.
Creosote is an accumulation of unburned word particles that cling to smoke when you burn greenwood. As green wood burns, creosote coats the chimney walls as the smoke rises. Creosote can spontaneously reignite and cause a chimney fire. Remember to season your wood for a year or more. Chop your Birch into slender planks to maximize the seasoning process. Arrange the wood into a cord so that air flows through them.
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