What is the best firewood available

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Not all firewood is created equal. Some species of trees are able to produce much more heat per cord of wood. A cord is the amount of wood in a well-stacked woodpile measuring 4 feet wide by 8 feet long by 4 feet high.
Following are heat values (in million BTUs) per cord for various species of trees. The higher the value, the better the wood.

Ash, Green            22.8
Cottonwood          15.9
Elm, American     19.8     Difficult to split
Elm, Siberian        20.9     Difficult to split
Hackberry             21.0
Honeylocust         25.6
Locust, Black       28.3     Difficult to split
Maple, Sugar        24.0
Maple, Silver        18.9
Mulberry               25.3
Oak, Red               24.0
Oak, Bur               24.9
Oak, Post              25.6
Osage Orange (Hedge)     32.6     Sparks, do not use in open fireplace
Sycamore             19.5     Difficult to split
Walnut, Black     21.8
The Kansas Forest Service has a publication titled “Managing Your Woodland for Firewood” that is quite helpful. See http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/bookstore/pubs/mf773.pdf  .
Remember to obtain firewood locally. Emerald Ash Borer is now in Kansas because of transported wood. (Ward Upham)
photocredit-Amanda

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