Kevin's Tree Service

For colder nights, camping trips, smoking, or grilling, you need firewood, but not all wood can give you the fire you’re looking for. Ideally, firewood should be seasoned with a low moisture content for it to burn well. But how can you tell if you’re buying quality firewood? 

  

First, you’ll want to determine whether your firewood bundle is made of hard or softwood. Softwood will ignite faster, but hardwood will produce the hottest fires with less wood, meaning you’ll get the most bang for your buck. Hardwood comes from deciduous trees, such as birch, ash, and oak, and is typically much denser and heavier than softwood. Whoever you buy from should be able to tell you whether you’re buying hard or softwood.  

  

Next, you’ll need to determine if your wood is well seasoned; you want well-seasoned firewood as opposed to freshly cut green wood. Even if made from dense hardwood, seasoned firewood will be heavy but still lighter than green wood. This is because green wood hasn’t had the chance to lose its moisture content, making it wetter and heavier. Seasoned firewood, whether hard or soft, should have a moisture content that’s no higher than 25 percent for the wood to burn well, but if you don’t have a moisture meter, there are a few ways to identify well-seasoned firewood visually.  

  

Green wood will look freshly cut on the ends, while well-seasoned firewood will have dark ends that are cracked or split. Additionally, if you hit two pieces of firewood together, they should make a clear, almost hollow clunking sound, unlike the deep thud of green wood. Finally, wood that hasn’t been dried will have a higher terpene content, meaning it will smell much more potent than firewood. If your wood has a powerful smell before you burn it, it’s likely too fresh and won’t burn very well.  

  

Luckily, here at Kevin’s Tree Service, we’ve taken out all the guessing for you and can guarantee quality cords of well-seasoned oak firewood for sale; with our selection, you can light a roaring fire every time.