Choosing the right type of wood for your fire pit is extremely important. If you use the wrong type of wood your fire will extinguish in a half and hour and the whole yard will be filled with thick smoke. So let’s see how you can avoid that and how to choose the best wood for your fire pit.
The best wood to burn in a fire pit is hardwood. Hardwood burns longer and emits less smoke than softwood. The best hardwood comes from: oak, ash, maple, walnut, mahogany, hickory and beech.
So in general hardwood is considered the best for fire pits, but not all hardwood burns the same, some is better than others. And in some situations softwood can be a great choice. So let’s take a closer look at each wood type and see which one is the best.
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Hardwood for Fire Pits
Hardwood is a type of wood that is considerably denser and heavier than other types of wood. Due to its density it burns longer, brighter and cleaner, so this makes it perfect for fire pits.
A common way to measure how good a type of wood is for burning, is the BTU (British Thermal Unit) scale. A BTU is essentially the measure of heat necessary to heat one pound of water 1 degree Fahrenheit.
A typical way to represent this amount of energy in firewood is the BTU value per cord of wood. A cord of wood is a pile of firewood measuring 4 feet high, 8 feet wide, and 4 feet deep.
So let’s take a closer look at the most common hardwood available and see which one is the best according to the BTU scale.
Oak – 24,2 BTU
Oak is usually considered the best burning hardwood, and it might actually just be. While there is hardwood with higher BTU, they are not that easy to find and they are almost never available in store.
The only problem with oak is that it’s not that easy to light, so you might want to use some other type of wood first, to start the fire, and then add the oak. Other than this there is no disadvantage to oak.
Hickory – 23,7 BTU
Hickory is an amazing choice, it has a very high BTU, and it also has an amazing smell when it’s burning.
But just like in the case of the oak, it can be a little hard to start a fire just with hickory, so you might need some smaller pieces of wood set aside to start the fire.
Beech – 23,7 BTU
Just like the oak at the hickory, great at burning for long periods of time, but kind of hard to start a fire with.
Overall a great choice for a fire pit.
Ash – 21,1 BTU
Ash is one of the most popular choices for fire pits. It has a great BTU rating, so it will last for a while, it produces little to no smoke, and it’s easy to find in most stores as well as online.
One thing to keep in mind is that there are multiple types of ash, there is black, green, orange and white ash. All of them have a great BTU rating, with the exception of black ash which has only 17,9 BTU, so it’s not as great as the rest.
Maple – 21,1 BTU
While maple is not popular as ash, it burns just as bright, and for the same period of time. Overall it’s a great choice for fire pits.
Mahogany – 21,0 BTU
Mahogany is a great fire wood, the only problem that I noticed is that it can be hard to find. But depending on your area this might not be a problem.
Overall a great fire wood.
Walnut – 20,0 BTU
While walnut has a lower BTU rating than the rest of the hardwoods on this list, it’s still a great choice. The difference is not that big.
Alder – 14,8 BTU
While alder is considered a strongwood, it’s actually not that great for burning. My suggestion is to stay away from it.
Alder can be a great hardwood for furniture, but that is it. When it comes to burning you have a lot of better options.
Avoid Green Hardwood
Regardless of the wood you choose it’s important to keep in mind that you should avoid green wood.
Wood that has been recently cut off will be green on the inside. This means that there is still a lot of moisture inside it. If you try to burn it like this you will see that it will take considerably longer to burn, there will be less flames, and a lot of smoke.
Before a wood can be burned efficiently it first has to be seasoned.
Seasoned Wood
Seasoned firewood is wood that has been split, stacked and dried for a certain period of time.
Each type of wood requires different amounts of time to be completely dry, for most hardwood you have to leave it dry between 6 and 12 months.
So if you want to use your firepit right away you should make sure that you get seasoned wood, not green wood.
Softwood for Fire Pits
Normally softwood is avoided because it doesn’t burn as long as hardwood. But if it’s used right it can be a great addition to a fire pit.
The fact that softwood burns very fast is generally considered a disadvantage, but it can also be a great advantage when you start the fire. As you have noticed, most hardwood lights are very hard. So having a small pile of softwood at hand can be a great way to light up the fire and then add the hardwood.
Or if you notice that the fire has died down and smoke has started to come out, you can add some softwood to the fire pit to light things up again and get rid of the smoke.
Another great thing about softwood is that it usually has a very pleasant smell. So adding from time to time some softwood to the fire pit will give the area a nicer smell.
So even if softwood doesn’t burn as long as hardwood, it still has its uses in a fire pit.
Wood That You Should Avoid
One final thing that I would like to cover is the wood that you should stay away from.
Brides greenwood that I already covered, you should also stay away from driftwood, construction wood, wood with things grown on it and vines.
Driftwood tends to be soaking in saltwater. The moisture from this wood makes it difficult to ignite, and the salt-water saturation may release harmful chemicals when burned.
Wood used in construction is usually dipped in chemicals to prevent temporary mildew during the construction process. Burning this type of wood can cause harmful toxic smoke.
Old wood that has things growing on it can sometimes be harmful. Not everything that grows on wood is harmful but there is a good chance that it is. Unless you know exactly what is growing on your wood you shouldn’t burn it since it might be toxic.
Vines, just like in the previous case can be poisonous, so unless you know exactly what you are burning, you shouldn’t do it. You might by accident burn poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, or Oleander which can be very toxic.
Final Thoughts
So the best wood for a fire pit is hardwood, which one you choose is up to you. If you choose one from this list you shouldn’t go wrong:
- Oak
- Ash
- Mapl
- Walnut
- Mahogany
- Hickory
- Beech
Just make sure that the wood you choose is seasoned and not green, if you get green wood you will have to leave it to season for at least 6 months.
While softwood is not a great choice for a fire pit, it can be a great addition as you can use it to light the fire or add pleasant smell.
And remember to stay away from driftwood, construction wood, wood with things grown on it and vines.