Wood BTU's

[daysaver1]

Generally, in my VFT boiler I burn a blend of whatever I pull off my wood pile. This is a combination of whatever the neighbors happen to cutting down and I get there in time to haul it home. The past few years this has been eucalyptus, mullberry, cherry, acatia, hackberry and a few I don't know the names of. However last fall we cut down a 22" soft maple in our own back yard and now it's getting nice and dry; i.e. easy to split.

This past weekend at the B&W Resort amoung 14 other steam boats, burning only the maple, I couldn't keep my pressure above 75 lbs. and to make matters worse, I went through four bags of wood in only about three hours of steaming, about twice my normal usage. Burning the maple caused my boat to be slow enough that it made me late for the picnic and more importantly, the tailgate swap meet.

So this message is a request for a link showing the BTU's of the various types of wood.

[DetroiTug]

I've been wondering about this myself as it seems firewood varies a great deal. So by the looks of it, balsa may be light but it's not worth burning.. I noticed the similarity, the better bow woods are near the top. Osage Orange or Bois D'arc being the best.

I found this:

Firewood Chart A: Sorted by BTU Content
Common Name Species Name Pounds/Cord MBTU/Cord
Osage Orange (Hedge) Maclura pomifera 4,845 30.0
Hop Hornbeam (Ironwood) Ostrya virginiana 4,250 26.4
Persimmon, American Diospyros virginiana 4,165 25.8
Hickory, Shagbark Carya ovata 4,080 25.3
Dogwood, Pacific Cornus nuttallii 3,995 24.8
Holly, American Ilex Opaca 3,995 24.8
Birch, Black Betula lenta 3,910 24.2
Oak, White Quercus alba 3,910 24.2
Madrone, Pacific (Arbutus) Arbutus menziesii 3,825 23.7
Oak, Post Quercus stellata 3,825 23.7
Locust, Honey Gleditsia triacanthos 3,825 23.7
Hickory, Bitternut Carya cordiformis 3,825 23.7
Beech, Blue (Ironwood) Carpinus caroliniana 3,825 23.7
Mulberry Morus rubra 3,740 23.2
Locust, Black Robinia pseudoacacia 3,740 23.2
Maple, Sugar Acer saccharum 3,740 23.2
Beech, American Fagus grandifolia 3,655 22.7
Oak, Oregon (Garry) Quercus garryana 3,655 22.7
Oak, Bur (Mossycup) Quercus macrocarpa 3,655 22.7
Oak, Red Quercus rubra 3,570 22.1
Birch, Yellow Betula alleghaniensis 3,570 22.1
Ash, White Fraxinus americana 3,485 21.6
Myrtle, Oregon (Pepperwood) Umbellularia californica 3,485 21.6
Apple Malus domestica 3,485 21.6
Ash, Green Fraxinus pennsylvanica 3,400 21.1
Maple, Black Acer nigrum 3,400 21.1
Walnut, Black Juglans nigra 3,230 20.0
Maple, Red Acer rubrum 3,230 20.0
Ash, Oregon Fraxinus latifolia 3,230 20.0
Birch, White (Paper) Betula papyrifera 3,230 20.0
Tamarack (Larch) Larix laricina 3,145 19.5
Birch, Gray Betula populifolia 3,145 19.5
Hackberry Celtis occidentalis 3,145 19.5
Juniper, Rocky Mtn Juniperus scopulorum 3,145 19.5
Cherry, Black Prunus serotina 3,145 19.5
Coffeetree, Kentucky Gymnocladus dioicus 3.060 19.0
Sorrel (Sourwood) Oxydendrum arboreum 3,060 19.0
Elm, Red Ulmus rubra 3,060 19.0
Eucalyptus (Red Gum) Eucalyptus camaldulensis 2,975 18.4
Elm, American Ulmus americana 2,975 18.4
Sycamore, American Platanus occidentalis 2,890 17.9
Maple, Big Leaf Acer macrophyllum 2,890 17.9
Elm, White (Russian) Ulmus laevis 2,890 17.9
Ash, Black Fraxinus nigra 2,890 17.9
Boxelder (Maple Ash) Acer negundo 2,890 17.9
Pine, Norway (Red) Pinus resinosa 2,890 17.9
Fir, Douglas Pseudotsuga menzies II 2,805 17.4
Maple, Silver Acer saccharinum 2,805 17.4
Pine, Pitch Pinus rigida 2,635 16.3
Pine, Lodgepole Pinus contora latifolia 2,465 15.3
Hemlock Pinaceae tsuga 2,465 15.3
Spruce, Black Picea mariana 2,465 15.3
Catalpa (Catawba) Catalpa speciosa 2,380 14.8
Pine, Ponderosa Pinus ponderosa 2,380 14.8
Alder, Red or White Alnus rubra or rhombifolia 2,380 14.8
Pine, Jack (Canadian) Pinus banksiana 2,380 14.8
Spruce, Sitka Picea sitchensis 2,380 14.8
Willow Salix 2,295 14.2
Pine, White (Idaho) Pinus monticola 2,236 14.3
Fir, Concolor (White) Abies concolor 2,295 14.2
Basswood (Linden) Tilia americana 2,210 13.7
Aspen, American (Poplar) Populus tremuloides 2,210 13.7
Butternut (White Walnut) Juglans cinerea 2,125 13.2
Pine, White (Eastern) Pinus strobus 2,125 13.2
Fir, Balsam Abies balsamea 2,125 13.2
Cottonwood (Balsam Poplar) Populus trichocarpa 2,040 12.6
Spruce, Engelmann Picea engelmannii 1,955 12.1
Cedar, Eastern (Redcedar) Juniperus virginiana 1,955 12.1
Buckeye, Ohio Aesculus glabra 1,955 12.1
Cedar, White (Whitecedar) Thuja occidentalis 1,870 11.6
Bamboo Poaceae bambusoideae 1,615 10.0
Balsa Ochroma pyramidale 935 5.8

[Lopez Mike]

Great list. Now all I need is to find a grove of Osage Orange.

I have experienced similar variations in firing my VFT. One thing to totally avoid is any wood that shows any sign of rot or fungus. It must turn it into ersatz balsa!

I get a nice boost from thick dry Douglas Fir bark. One of the best fires I've has was some local pine that been kiln dried for flooring. I got a big box of the cut offs and I'm saving them for the local steam drag races.

I think that all of those energy figures are based on fairly low moisture content. I find it remarkably hard to judge that. Fir firewood that has been split and stacked for a year doesn't heat worth poop but Doug fir stud cut offs from building my shop really crank up the pressure. I dunno.

I have a couple of boxes of presto logs that I haven't experimented with yet.

I'm told that a slice off of a creosote pile makes things rumble! Cough!

Mike

[farmerden]

I burn what is growing on my property. Douglas Fir and Arbutus [Madrona] The arbutus burns like coal! If I want quick steam Western Red Cedar. Really hot but disappears in minutes! Wet wood -forget it-the only steam you make is in the wrong side of the boiler-up the chimney! Arbutus sells here for $400 a cord,Fir $200 So I guess you get what you pay for.Any wood I burn is seasoned for at least two years.And yes Mike I have noticed dead Fir lacks BTU's but I think if you cut a living tree down,cut it ,split it and store it results might be different. And old growth fir bark-to die for! Den
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[daysaver1]

Is it fair to generallize that a tree that grows faster should burn faster producing less BTU's? We have lots of fruitless mullberry trees in our area mostly because landscapers know they grow very fast. It's easy to get a 12" diameter trunk in seven or eight years. I don't have a background in trees, but mullberry is pretty high on the list and I have more of them offered to me than I have room in my back yard. Should I start to accept, or this version of the tree not worth the effort?

[farmerden]

I guess it would depend on the size of your back yard! Have you considered getting wood pallets and cutting them up? I once got a brand new prefinished oak floor out of a dumpster.The floor had not been aclimatized to the new house and had cupped so out it came. Icut it to fit my boiler and the cardboard box and it staced so well that I had virtually a solid block of wood with no air spaces. Free other than labour And hot!! I don't know how much of an enviromental disaster I created by burning the pre-finish on the wood but it was smokeless-so what you see can't hurt-Right? Den