Top 5 Types of Wood to Burn in Your Firepit
September 7, 20226 min readWalden Backyards
Campfires are great for two things: cooking and keeping warm. When you're planning some nights outside with your fire pit, you want to use the best possible wood.
The Three Categories of Firewood
Before you pick a species, it helps to know which of the three groups it belongs to. Each group behaves differently once it is on the fire.
Hardwoods
Oak, maple, hickory, beech, and ash. Hardwoods burn hot and slow, hold a steady heat for hours, and give off less smoke than softer woods. Hardwood is what you want as the main fuel in your fire pit.
Softwoods
Pine, spruce, fir, and cedar. Softwoods light easily and throw a bigger flame, but they carry resin, so they smoke more, pop more, and burn out faster. The practical compromise is to mix them with hardwoods: use softwood to get the fire going, then build on it with hardwood for the long burn. Keep softwoods out of a cooking fire. Poplar and aspen in particular make more ash and can affect the flavor of your food.
Where Cedar Fits
Cedar is a softwood. It smells excellent and throws good heat for a short evening fire, but it is resinous, it pops, throws sparks, and smokes more than hardwood. Use it in small amounts for aroma or as kindling. Do not use it as your main fuel, and do not cook over it.
Fruitwoods
Apple, cherry, and other fruit trees. Fruitwood burns hot and smells good, which is why it gets used for smoking meat and cooking over an open flame. It is harder to source and costs more than oak or ash, so most people save it for the nights they are cooking rather than burning it as everyday fuel.
5 Types of Firewood to Use in Your Firepit
With so many different types out there, it can be hard to determine which will provide the best experience. These five firewood types are the absolute best for your campfires.
Oak
Oak wood is abundant. There are varieties of oak trees all over the United States. Consequently, it's an easy resource for those who want reliable firewood to use in their fire pit. There are two types, including red oaks and white oaks. The best way to determine whether or not a tree is an oak is by looking for the addition of acorns. Fires made using oak wood are long-lasting and hot. You can expect to stay warm and comfortable without excess smoke. Lower sap content also means your fire won't be emitting too many sparks. Another benefit of oak wood is that it's great for cooking. An oak wood fire is highly versatile, offering plenty of heat and the nutty smoke needed to cook your favorite meals.
Cherry & Apple
Much like nut-bearing trees, fruit trees can also provide wood suitable for cooking. Both cherry and apple trees are often used for smoking meat as well as cooking other meals. These are also common trees to find throughout the United States. Those who have worked with these types of wood find that the scent is very pleasant. You won't get a lot of smoke or sap with either type, which is great when you want to sit around the fire pit after you're done cooking. While apple and cherry trees are quite abundant, it's not too easy to find apple wood that can be used for regular fires. It tends to be valued as a cooking tool. That makes it a great option to use in your fire pit.
Beech
Beechwood isn't as widely-available as oak, but it does offer properties that are nearly as valuable. Growing mostly in the eastern states, beechwood is great for a hot, slow burn that will produce useful coal. While the smell of burning beechwood might not be as enjoyable as apple or cherry wood, it's still considered pleasant by most. That said, it is worth noting that splitting beechwood can be quite a task. In areas where beechwood is available, it can be considered a worthy alternative to oak wood.
Maple
Maple can be tricky to work with because there are many varieties. You'll get the best results by seeking out hardwood maple. This is also an option that typically only grows in the northeastern states as well as some areas of eastern Canada. In terms of the heat that your fire provides, maple wood is somewhere in the middle of the road. You may not get the most heat or efficiency, but the results will still be a lot better than some other options out there. Furthermore, it's worth keeping in mind that maple trees contain more sap than the other choices covered here. You might notice that the fire in your pit pops from time to time. Keep a healthy distance, and there shouldn't be too many issues.
Ash
When it's available, ash wood is one of the best options you can choose for your fire pit. It's easy to work with and doesn't contain a lot of sap. There are white ash and green ash varieties, both of which are typically found in the eastern United States. You won't see a lot of smoke or sparking while working with ash wood, but you will get plenty of heat. This wood is perfect for spending cooler evenings outside next to the fire pit. If you choose to, you can cook with this wood. It may not offer the same quality for smoking as cherry or oak, but the coals will certainly be hot enough to get the job done.
Cut Your Logs to the Right Size
Species is only half of it. Log size decides how efficiently the wood actually burns. Use splits about the thickness of your wrist or smaller. They catch faster, burn more completely, and hold a cleaner flame than big rounds, which tend to smolder and smoke while the center stays wet.
Dry the wood before you burn it. Green wood is hard to light, gives off less heat, and smokes heavily. That drying process is called seasoning, and you can read how to do it on our blog here.
Seasoned hardwood still needs air to get going. Sure-Fire Starters will light a stack in wet weather without lighter fluid, and the Stoker Poker lets you blow air straight into the coal bed to bring a slow fire back up without leaning over it.
Woods to Avoid in Your Fire Pit
- Treated, painted, or pressure-treated lumber, manufactured particleboard, and pallet wood. Burning these releases toxic chemicals into the smoke you and everyone around the pit are breathing.
- Resinous conifers such as pine and spruce as your main fuel. The resin means heavy smoke and popping sparks. Use them for kindling instead.
- Green or unseasoned wood of any species. It smokes, hisses, and never gets the pit up to temperature.
- Poplar and aspen in a cooking fire. They make excess ash and carry into the flavor of the food.
Set the Fire Up to Burn Well
Good wood burns better on a grate that gets air underneath it. The Original Fire Pit Grate with Ember Catcher raises the stack off the ash bed so the fire draws from below, and the Fire Pit BBQ Grilling Grate sits over the coals when you move from burning to cooking.
Fire Pit Accessories - Fire Pit Grates - Fireside Tools
Stoker Poker - Fire Pit Grate with Ember Catcher - BBQ Grilling Grate - Sure-Fire Starters
