BTU | ByTheCord

Firewood Guide BTU Rating Chart

Type of Wood	Heat Output	Easy to Burn	Easy to Split	Heavy Smoke	Spar ks	BTUs per Cord	Rating
Ash Black	Medium	Yes	Yes	No	No	19.1 Mil	Excellent
Ash Green	High	Yes	Yes	No	No	20.0	Excellent
Ash White	High	Yes	Medium	Np	No	23.6	Excellent
Red Oak	High	Yes	Yes	No	No	21.7	Excellent
White Oak	High	Yes	Yes	No	No	26.5	Excellent
Live Oak	High	Yes	Yes	No	No	25.0	Excellent
Beech	High	Yes	Yes	No	No	21.8	Excellent
Beech Blue	High /span>	Yes	Yes	No	No	26.8	Excellent
Birch Black	High	Yes	Yes	No	Mediu m	26.8	Excellent
Birch Grey	High	Yes	Yes	No	Mediu m	20.3	Good
Birch Paper	High	Medium	Medium	Medium	No	20.8	Fair
Birch White	High	Medium	Medium	Medium	Mediu m	20.3	Good
Birch Yellow	High	Yes	Yes	No	Mediu m	23.6	Excellant
Box Elder	Medium	Medium	No	Medium	No	18.3	Fair
Buckeye Ohio	Low	Medium	Medium	No	No	13.8	Fair
Butternut	Low	Medium	Yes	Medium	No	14.5	Fair
Catalpa	Low	Medium	No	Medium	No	15.5	Fair
Cedar Eastern Red	Medium	Medium	Medium	Medium	Yes	17.1	Fair
Coffeetree Kentucky	High	Medium	Medium	No	No	21.6	Good
Hickory Bitternut	High	Yes	Yes	No	No	26.7	Excellent
Hickory Shagbark	High	Yes	Medium	No	No	27.5	Excellent
Hard Maple	High	Yes	Yes	No /span>	No	29.7	Excellent
Pecan	High	Yes	Yes	No	No		Excellent
Dogwood	High	Yes	Yes	No	No	24.3	Excellent
Soft Maple	Medium	Yes	Yes	No	No	19.1	Good
Cherry	Medium	Yes	Yes	No	No	18.5	Good
Black Cherry	Medium	Yes	Yes	No	No	18.6	Good
Walnut	Medium	Yes	Yes	No	No	20.3	Good
Elm American	High	Medium	No	Medium	No	20.00	Fair
Elm Red	High	Medium	Yes	Medium	No	21.6	Good
Elm Rock	High	Medium	No	Medium	No	23.5	Good
Elm Siberian	High	Medium	No	Medium	No	20.9	Fair
Hackberry	High	Yes	Yes	No	No	21.2	Excellent
Sycamore	Medium	Medium	No	Medium	No	18.5	Fair
Gum Black	Medium	Medium	No	Medium	No	18.1	Fair
Gum Sweet	Medium	Medium	Medium	Medium	Mediu m	18.7	Good
Mesquite	High	Medium	No	Medium	No		Good
Aspen	Low	Yes	Yes	Medium	No	14.5	Fair
Basswood	Low	Yes	Yes	Medium	No	12.6	Fair
Cottonwood	Low	Yes	Yes	Medium	No	12.2	Fair
Chestnut	Low	Yes	Yes	Medium	Yes		Poor
Yellow Poplar	Low	Yes	Yes	Medium	Yes	16.0	Poor
Southern Yellow Pine	High	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Good
Douglas Fir	High	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	21.4	Good
Cypress	Medium	Medium	Yes td>	Medium	No		Fair
Redwood	Medium	Medium	Yes	Medium	No		Fair
White Cedar	Medium	Yes	Yes	Medium	Yes	17.5	Good
Western Red Cedar	Medium	Yes	Yes	Medium	Yes	17.5	Good
Mulberry	High	Yes	Yes	Medium	No	25.8	Excellent
Eastern Red Cedar	Medium	Yes	Yes	Medium	Yes	17.5	Good
Juniper	Medium	Yes	Yes	Medium	Yes		Good
Piinon	Medium	Yes	Yes	Medium	Yes		Good
Eastern White Pine	Low	Medium	Yes	Medium	No	15.8	Fair
Western White Pine	Low	Medium	Yes	Medium	No	15.8	Fair
Sugar Pine	Low	Medium	Yes	Medium	No	15.8	Fair
Ponderosa Pine	Low	Medium	Yes	Medium	No	17.0	Fair
True Firs	Low	Medium	Yes	Medium	No	19.5	Fair
Tamarack	Medium	Yes	Yes	Medium	Yes	20.8	Fair
Larch	Medium	Yes	Yes	Medium	Yes	20.8	Fair
Spruce	Low	Yes	Yes	Medium	Yes	15.9	Poor
Alder	Medium	Fair	Yes	Medium	Yes	17.6	Fair
Apple	Medium	No	No	Medium	Few	17.6	Fair
Ironwood (Hornbeam)	Very High	Yes	No	No	Few	24.7	Excellent
Black Locust	Very High	Yes	No	No	No	26.5	Excellent
Honey Locust	High	Yes	Medium	No	No	25.8	Excellent
Magnolia	Medium	Yes	Yes	No	No	18.0	Fair
Madrone	High	No	No	No	No	30.0	Excellent
Willow	Low	No	Yes	Fair	Fair	14.5	Fair
Ratings are variable, moisture content effects results firewood should be well seasoned and dry for its optimum BTU rating. Firewood is easier to split while it is still green.Firewood with High or Very high heat output 1 cord = 21,000,000 – 24,000,000 BTU = 200-250 gal. of fuel oil or 250-300 cu. ft. of natural gas.Firewood with Medium heat output 1 cord = 17,000,000 – 20,000,000 BTU = 150-200 gal. of fuel oil or 200-250 cu. ft. of natural gas. Firewood with Low heat output 1 cord = 12,000,000-17,000,000 BTU = 100-150 gal. of fuel oil or 200-250 cu. ft. of natural gas. Consider the cost of 1 cord of firewood vs the cost of fuel oil or the cu. ft. of natural gas. The cost of firewood is usually more stable than the cost of fuel oils or gas and should prove to be a huge savings on your heating bill.