With increases in fuel prices, interest in using fire wood for heating increases. Especially, now with the sub-zero and near sub-zero temperatures, heating expenses are rising and using a wood stove can help supplement reduce costs. The first key when purchasing fire wood is to understand what species have greater numbers of BTUs per cord of wood. The table below lists 5 tree species and various characteristics that are important when harvesting, fragrance and smoke created.

Table 1. Fire wood characteristics

WOOD TYPE HEAT/FULLCORD (BTUs) WEIGHT/
FULLCORD
GREEN (lbs) WEIGHT/
FULLCORD
DRY (lbs) EASE OF SPLITTING
American elm 20,000,000 4456 2872 Difficult
Bur oak 26,200,000 4960 3768 Easy
Green ash 20,000,000 4184 2880 Easy
Paper birch 20,800,000 4312 2992 Medium
Cottonwood 15,800,000 4640 2272 Easy

There are several ways that firewood is sold, so it’s important for you to ask how the wood is measured. There are three types of cord measurements that wood is sold:

Full Cord—A stack of wood with dimensions 4 feet high x 8 feet wide x 4 feet long or 128 cubic feet

Face Cord or Fire Place Cord—A small stack of wood 4 feet high x any length (usually 12-18 inches) x 8 feet wide or 32 to 48 cubic feet.

Pickup Load Cord— The size of a full-size pickup’s box 4 feet x 2 feet x 6-8 feet or 48-64 cubic feet. The wood is usually randomly stack and will contain more air and less wood and one neatly stacked.

In comparing the type of wood and its weight and cord size, the savings based on using wood heat vary as much as the prices of traditional fuels. (See Table 2.)

Table 2. Wood fuel values compared to conventional fuels.
Conventional energy source Wood
1 gallon #2 fuel oil 22.2 pounds
1 therm (100 cu. Ft.) natural gas 14 pounds
1 gallon propane 14.6 pounds
1 kilowatt/hour electricity 0.59 pounds
1 pound coal 1.56 pounds

In Nebraska, the Cooperative Extension Service makes the following statement as to how much wood will you need to heat your home. “Depending upon the type and quality of wood stove used the type of wood burned; and the size, insulation and desired temperature of the area to be heated; you may need 4 to 7 full cords of wood per year to heat your home. If you use wood heat as a partial heat source for your home, you may need only 2-3 full cords of wood per year. If you use a fireplace occasionally, you may only need one-half cord of wood per year” For North Dakota Conditions, you would want to increase the amount needed the further north from Nebraska.

A note of caution to citizens of Jamestown. We are still battling Dutch elm disease in the pursuit of saving our highly valued American elm trees. It is important that we control the movement of any elm wood. Whether it came from a diseased tree or healthy tree. It makes no difference its Siberian elm or American elm wood. Elmwood with the bark attached is illegal in the City of Jamestown. The stipulation is in the attachment of the bark. If the bark is removed the wood is ok to have within the city limits. The reason being is that the elm bark beetle that carries the Dutch elm disease fungus likes to lay eggs between the bark and wood. I am asking for your support in this effort. If you have elm wood currently with the bark intact, just peel it off and the wood is rendered safe. Some people will ask me; well what do I do with the bark. You can burn it or throw it away, use it for garden mulch. By removing the bark you have make it inhabitable by the elm bark beetle. If you don’t know what elm wood looks like, give me a call and I will meet with you to check out the wood. Thank you for your efforts in this cause.

More information on firewood can be obtained over the internet at the University of Nebraska website at www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/forestry/g881.htm. This extension publication is titled Heating with Wood: Producing, Harvesting and Processing Firewood.

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