There are significant benefits from burning the right type of wood on your stove. We have spoken at length about about burning correctly seasoned wood. However, it’s been a while since we outlined the (best) types of wood. Burning the right wood has the following benefits:
- Less in smoke
- Less spitting from the wood (usually sap)
- Less tar build up in the flue
- Reduced chances of blackening of stove window
- You produce a clean burn for a cleaner environment
Below are five of the most popular and arguably the best woods to burn on your wood burning stove – in no specific order.
.
Ash – Ash is thought to be one of the very best woods for burning. Ash creates a steady flame and a good heat output. Unlike other wood, ash can be burnt when green, but like with most wood burns at it’s very best when it is dry. Ash tends to have a very low moisture content when live, which is the main reason why you can burn it when it is green. Ash can cover White Ash, American White Ash, European Ash, Blue Ash. It has many other names too however, most simply know it as Ash.
.
Beech – Like ash, beech burns very well. However, it does not burn well when green due to it’s much higher moisture content when live. Beech can be identified by it’s pale cream colour with a pink or brown hue.
.
Hawthorn – This type of wood has a slow burn rate, and a good heat output. The bark is brown-grey, knotted and fissured, and twigs are slender and brown and covered in thorns. It often hybridises with the UK’s other native hawthorn.
Oak – Probably the best know wood in the UK for a range of reasons. It is a popular wood for furniture but also it makes great firewood. It burns very slowly and makes a small flame. It burns best when seasoned for a very long time (usually 2yrs+).
.
Yew – Slow burn and produces a great, intense heat. Burning yew also produces a pleasant scent, which makes it stand out a little more over other woods. Yew is poisonous so be careful, and certainly resist the urge to try and eat it – not that we would ever expect you would do such a thing!
.
There is other wood which is popular. For those that cut their own wood, they may not have a wide selection of wood, and so the type of wood may be limited. If you are to burn wood, which may not be ideal, you should as a minimum ensure it is correctly seasoned.
See the diagram left, to show how moisture content impacts on heat output.
