# Trees for firewood



## wruebs

I have some idle land that I was thinking about planting some trees for firewood. The land is sandy that drys out in the summer. I read recently that it takes 7.2 acres of properly forested managed land to heat 1000sq. ft. of home every heating season in my area. In other words someone with a 1350 sq.' home would only need 10 acres of land to heat their house. What it didn't say is what kind of trees are the most efficent for firewood. Anyone practice this?


----------



## love2fish93

Pine is sufficient for starting and burning but burns quick. If you can get some hard wood, it really goes a long way. 2-3 pieces during and just enough to keep it going at night.


----------



## Direwolfe

Burning of wood is a chemical process that (primarily) takes carbon in the wood, unites it to oxygen creating CO2 (along with some other compounds). The uniting with the oxygen is exothermic (gives off heat) and thats what keeps the reaction going and warms the house. I give that chemical tidbit to explain that in heating your house its a question of how much carbon you need to burn to generate the amount of heat you want. The amount of heat given off by wood is related to weight (dry weight, the amount of carbon) not volume. A cord of poplar gives off a lot less heat than a cord of oak. Thus you want the property to grow the most biomass (dry weight of wood) the fastest.

Add to this your comment that the land is sandy. Certain hardwoods may not grow there. This keeps one from having a hard rule as to how many acres are needed to heat a house. Talk to your extension agent about what you can grow there. Then select the one that produces the most biomass per year. In this way you might find poplar gives you the most heat because it'll grow while oak won't. In this way black locust and willows are used in some areas because when all inputs are measured they produce the most biomass in those particular soils/climates.


----------



## wruebs

Thank's for the insight. That's exactly what I was looking for. The most biomass/per acre/ per year. This used to be (marginal) farm land so it is not extremely dry. Oak will grow there, but how slow? It has some cottonwood right now. My white pine seems to be doing real well also. I guess I was looking if anyone had experience with different species of trees for purpose of firewood. I'll drop the extension agent a line, thank's.


----------



## chemo13

There are several nurserys sell a speices of tree that is fast growing and has a higher BTU. I am not sure of the nursery try Lawyer nursery, they have a hugh selection. They could also point you in the right direction.


----------



## Michigan Mike

I was just looking at this a couple of days ago
for a similar reason.

http://www.mb-soft.com/juca/print/firewood.html

mike


----------



## chevyjam2001

Check with coldstream farms. They have something about using hybrid poplars as firewood in with their catalog. Fast growing and almost as good of a btu output as oak or maple. Plus it was able to be cut in only 5 years if I remember correctly.


----------



## Whit1

If you are planning on growing your own firewood from seedling plantings you'll have a long, long wait until they are mature enough for cutting. Yes, there are some hybrid poplars that do grow fast, but even then it'll take at least ten years, if ever, to get any wood from it on the soil you're describing. For the most part when you see that "ten acres to heat a house" they are usually referring to ten acres of mature and maturing hardwoods, especially the harder hardwoods such as maple, oak, ash, and cherry.

I haven't checked out the latest development in fast growing poplars, but the ones that were available twenty years ago needed decent soil to grow as rapidly as claimed.


----------



## wolverine301

Ironwood burns slow and HOT, but unless you are looking for something for your kids to heat the house with...


----------



## Lyle7289

Hybrid Poplar!

They grow fast and can be harvested for fire wood at 5 yrs!!

www.hybridpoplars.com


----------



## johnhunter

Direwolf, great post.

When it comes to a fast growing tree that thrives in well-drained soils and also has terrific density, it's tough to beat black locust. It's as heavy as hickory and ironwood, and heavier than sugar maple, beech, ash, and anything in the red oak family. Rot-resistant too - there's black locust fence posts in the south that are over 100 years old and still functional.


----------



## Tom Morang

In the northern edge of Huron County one of the woodlots that I hunt is loaded with a stand of black locust trees. In the last twenty years they have grown at a very vast rate that out paced the maples and the deer like to eat the locust pods when they fall.


----------



## MarkSend

If the black locust has thorns on it, you will curse the day you planted it.


----------



## chevyjam2001

I thought it was the honey locust that had thorns and produced a seed pod?


----------



## Bobby

Lyle7289 said:


> Hybrid Poplar!
> 
> They grow fast and can be harvested for fire wood at 5 yrs!!
> 
> www.hybridpoplars.com


I planted poplars from this site 4 years back. Planted for a screen, not firewood. Read thru this website it may be your answer. My trees are 30 feet high and 4 to 5 inches diameter. You will have firewood quick. This wood doesn't have the biomass mentioned above but on a time scale it gets you firewood very quickly.


farmlegend said:


> ............black locust. It's ......- there's black locust fence posts in the south that are over 100 years old and still functional.


This stuff grows fast too. I have this on my property and I fight it each year as it spreads. I burn a good deal of it. It burns well but can be difficult to start. I add it after I have a good base in the stove.



MarkSend said:


> If the black locust has thorns on it, you will curse the day you planted it.


Yes it does


----------



## Steve

I have lots of oak growing in sandy soil.


----------



## scott m

$20.00 for a wood permit at dnr you can cut dead and down wood only theres wood all over state land.


----------

