If you are depending on wood to heat your home for the winter, it is a good idea to use wood that burns efficiently and is readily available.

Oak is great for firewood because it produces a lot of heat, burns clean and is abundant in the United States. Oak is known for its long, slow burns. The fire from well seasoned Oak in your wood stove can’t be beat! 

Keep reading to learn more about Oak and what makes it a great choice for firewood.

Common Characteristics of Oak Trees

Oak trees can look pretty gnarly with their huge trunks and crazy looking branches!

Oak is a hardwood which means it will burn hotter and will provide the most heat for the weight. It burns clean with no smoke and it throws very few sparks when seasoned.

There are around 600 species of Oak, both deciduous and evergreen. The United States has around 55 species of Oak trees and there are some characteristics that are similar to them all.

Acorns are the easiest way to spot an oak tree. If the tree produces acorns, its an Oak tree! Lots of animals like to feed on acorns like deer, squirrels, chipmunks, wild turkeys, crows, rabbits, quail and raccoons.

Lobed leaves are the leaves that have rounded or pointed knobs extending out from the center line. While a few Oaks do not have lobes, all of the leaves are generally symmetrical.

The leaves of evergreen Oaks are shiny and dark green all year, but most Oaks will turn colors in the fall.

Bark on Oak trees is variable, but it is generally made up of small, hard, and scaly bits of bark. This is different from the large, flaky chunks of pine tree bark or the wallpaper-like bark on birch trees.

Oak trees are usually large in size and can reach 70 feet in height and 9 feet diameter.  Most live over 200 years.

Common varieties of Oak trees used for firewood

Most oaks fall into one of two main categories: White Oak and Red Oak.

White Oak acorns take one year to reach maturity. Leaves are rounded. Common white oak varieties include Eastern White Oak, Chestnut Oak, Bur Oak, and Post Oak.

Red Oak acorns take two years to reach maturity. Leaves usually come to a point at the end of each lobe. Common Red Oak varieties include the Northern Red Oak, Black Oak, Scarlet Oak, Pin Oak, and the Southern Red Oak.

Working with Oak Firewood

What does Oak smell like?

All types of wood can be used as firewood but some are better than others. Besides investigating how much heat is produced you also need to consider the aroma of the wood. Most woods produce fruity, nutty, or piney fragrances.

Oak is known for having a sour smell, somewhat like vinegar. It’s smell is very distinctive and you wouldn’t want to smoke food with it.

Is Oak sap messy?

Oak is a clean wood when compared to Pine, which is very sappy and full of resin. The sap from Pine trees will stick to your clothes, gloves and chain saw. Best advice when cutting a Pine tree is to wear clothes and shoes that you don’t mind ruining or plan to throw away because the sap gets everywhere!

How hard is Oak to split?

Green Oak is very heavy and solid but the sooner you can split your Oak and begin the seasoning process, the sooner you will have good firewood. Letting your rounds sit for a couple months before splitting them may make them a bit easier to split, but not a whole lot. Oak tends to stay wet even if the bark has been removed.

Red Oak tends to have a straight grain that splits well. White Oak tends to be a lot tougher to split. If your Oak is very knotty, it won’t matter what type you are splitting. Your job will be much more difficult.

Another tip to make splitting Oak easier is to split it when it’s frozen. When Oak is frozen it will come apart easier. Also, don’t split it on the bare ground, but on a stump. The ground will absorb too much of the energy and make splitting more difficult.

Of course, if you are using a hydraulic splitter, it won’t make much difference whether you split it right away or wait till its frozen.

How long does Oak take to season?

Don’t get in a hurry with Oak. Oak takes a long time to dry so the sooner you get it split the faster you will have good firewood to burn. Oak firewood is good after the second year of drying, but if you can wait 3 or 4 years, it will be even better for you! If you can be patient and burn something else in the meantime you will be well rewarded.

To get the most energy out of your firewood, the wood should be seasoned. Seasoned firewood is described as having 20% moisture content. Buy an inexpensive easy to use moisture meter like this one, to ensure your split wood is ready for the fire.

Burning green wood decreases the amount of heat generated by the fire. As the green wood burns, the energy created from the fire is used to evaporate the moisture resulting in wasted heat and Oak has a lot of moisture to be evaporated.

Does Oak burn clean?

Oak is known for its long, slow burns. The fire from well seasoned Oak in your wood stove can’t be beat! Oak burns clean if you have seasoned it properly. Burning green Oak firewood will result in a lot of smoke and creosote build up.

If Oak is not seasoned and completely dried out, your firewood will sizzle, hiss and it will not burn very long.

Heat Output and Efficiency of Oak

Depending on the species, Oak produces anywhere from 24.0 to 25.7 million BTUs per cord.

On average a cord of Oak is equal approximately to the following common heat sources:

• 23,963 cubic feet of natural gas.
• 272 gallons of propane.
• 179 gallons of heating oil.
• 7,283 kilowatt hours of electricity.

BTU stands for British Thermal Unit. One BTU the amount of energy required to heat one pound of liquid water by one degree

Fahrenheit.

A cord of firewood is equal to 128 cubic feet of wood. Typically firewood is cut into 16 inch lengths and is tightly stacked in three rows, 4 feet high and 8 feet long, totaling 128 cubic feet.

How does Oak compare to other types of firewood?

Oak is one of the best firewoods out there. It has a high BTU rating and burns hot unlike Aspen that has a BTU of 14.7 or Cedar with a BTU of 12.2.

It does have a distinct smell, but if it is seasoned well, it shouldn’t bother you much  unlike Elm and Eucalyptus, seasoned or not, have smells that most people find unpleasant.

Fire quality, amount of smoke and creosote.

Green wood tends to smoke and smolder creating the possibility for creosote to form in the chimney. Creosote is nothing more than a condensation of small, unburned particles contained in the smoke that coats the chimney surface as it exits. The creosote will stick to the sides of the chimney and can ignite, causing a chimney fire.

The truth is that all wood creates creosote. Hardwoods, like Oak, burn slower and lower, so the smoke lingers longer inside the chimney, creating more opportunity for creosote build up. You can reduce the amount of creosote by properly seasoning your firewood.

Be sure to clean your chimney at least once a year to prevent chimney fires. You can sweep your chimney yourself or hire a professional. No matter what type of firewood you are burning, this is an important preventative chore you shouldn’t overlook.

The Pros and Cons of Burning Oak as Firewood

Pros

• Burns hot and long.
• Found abundantly in the United States.

Cons

• Takes a long time to season.
• Can be hard to split.
• Unpleasant odor.

Other Common Uses

Oak is used in making furniture like tables, chairs, cabinets, and bookcases. Many houses have wood flooring that is made of Oak.

There are many different firewood species to choose from. However, not all of the options will be available to you since some trees only grow in certain parts of the country. In my opinion, Oak is a great choice of firewood because it burns hot and long.

Tell me what your favorite type of firewood is in the comments below.