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Fire wood

Discussion in 'Little Spoon's Stupid Questions' started by Little Spoon, Jan 18, 2026.

  1. Little Spoon

    Little Spoon Well-Known Member

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    Been a while since there has been a stupid question from me but here we go. Been fishing out of a permie with a wood stove. And just been buying gas station bags of wood i think it's a mix of spruce and something else find it dosent burn great. Wanting to buy a truck load what type of wood should I be looking for?
     
    Little Spoon, Jan 18, 2026
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  2. Dave

    Dave Well-Known Member

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    Firstly make sure the wood is properly seasoned (dried) but after that the species, for a permie IMO doesn’t much matter. In my wood stove I have burnt: Oak, Ash, Elm (grown on the same property), White Poplar, Willow, White Spruce, Pine and Birch. Also my FIL burns Tamarack and likes it.

    Wood heating has some inconvenience but the radiant heat is so comfortable.
     
    Dave, Jan 18, 2026
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  3. Cam

    Cam Well-Known Member

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    www.firewoodmanitoba.ca. You can buy a tote of kiln dried tamarac, burns super clean with no smoke. One tote of wood fits my 5’8” truck bed to the rail if stacked properly. Right around a hundred bucks. Way cheaper in the long run than those gas station bags. He’s just outside stony mountain. Great guy to deal with.
     
    Cam, Jan 18, 2026
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  4. glennie_rapala

    glennie_rapala Well-Known Member

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    If you buy tamarack, be aware it burns very hot compared to other wood as it’s so dense. As mentioned, any wood you buy you’ll want it dried/seasoned. Otherwise creosote and proper burning will be issues for you.
     
    glennie_rapala, Jan 18, 2026
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  5. Mike B.

    Mike B. Well-Known Member

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    Two seasons of buying firewood, and you coulda bought a decent chainsaw off marketplace.

    If you think of gathering firewood as an enjoyable day in the bush, like I do, a chainsaw is the way to go. You can pick and choose what you burn. Firewood permits are cheap.

    I like jack pine and birch, mainly, and mix in some ash and maple if you can find it
     
    Mike B., Jan 18, 2026
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  6. Dave

    Dave Well-Known Member

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    I enjoy cutting and splitting about 1 cord a year which we use at the cabin. I have 2 “I wish I had done” when we had our home built. Not having a wood stove is one. Oh the rush when the log splitter cracks a stubborn log…SNAP.
     
    Dave, Jan 21, 2026 at 8:32 AM
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  7. Mike B.

    Mike B. Well-Known Member

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    Just got a portable wood stove to make my double hub into a hot tent, so I'm really looking forward to burning some jack pine once this cold snap is done
     
    Mike B., Jan 22, 2026 at 8:02 PM
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  8. chrism

    chrism Well-Known Member

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    A mix of Spruce/Jackpine with some Birch is a pretty good combo -

    Wood heat in the cold winter is good therapy.
     
    chrism, Jan 22, 2026 at 8:27 PM
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  9. Coward

    Coward Well-Known Member

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    We primarily burn a mix of ash and birch in the house. The length of burn over the pine we were burning before is substantial. The ash also throws noticeably more heat than anything else we’ve burned.
     
    Coward, Jan 22, 2026 at 11:33 PM
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  10. Mike B.

    Mike B. Well-Known Member

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    For home heating, I don't think there's a better species of wood, in our region, than Ash.

    My Father in law heats with wood and that's by far his best stuff-- nice seasoned Ash...although he says Ash will burn when it's still pretty green (not seasoned much at all, if any)

    I find oak kinda smells like soil when it's burnt. It's my least favorite. Ash smells good.
     
    Mike B., Jan 23, 2026 at 10:00 AM
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  11. Gord

    Gord Well-Known Member

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    I burn birch only in the house. Outside I burn poplar I have lots on my property.I don't use my inside stove as much as I should, but the latest cold snap has me burning more and more. The art of controlling the burn is something I was taught a long time ago when I was doing Dutch Elm control with the City. We had atco trailers with a small wood stove in them, controlling the heat was a must.
     
    Gord, Jan 23, 2026 at 10:20 AM
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