With the high price of natural gas, propane and electricity nowadays, millions of people have decided that firewood logs are a cheaper and more efficient way to heat their homes and or camp sites. Knowing which wood to burn and which logs will burn the longest and hottest is a real plus. Finding a good price on firewood logs for sale can really save you a lot of money throughout the year on your heating bills also.

Each type of hardwood has it's own heat value. Knowing the heat value for the kind of firewood you're going to burn is the best way to get the most out of your hard earned dollars. When buying firewood logs for sale always ask what kind of wood it is you're purchasing.

The heat value for red oak and hard maple and yellow birch for example, is a heat value of 127. that means that a cord of these hardwoods will have the same heat output as if you were burning 127 gallons of #2 heating oil. White oak has a heat value of 135 so that's like getting heat from 135 gallons of #2 heating oil for your cord of wood. Hickory wood is the best you can buy with a heat value of 146 gallons per cord.

It's quite common to have mixed hardwoods in a cord of wood. Always ask the seller which hardwoods are the most dominant in your load of firewood before you purchase it. Poplar wood has the lowest heat value at 74, so poplar firewood would be the least expensive to buy because it would burn the fastest and give off the least amount of heat. Soft maple, black cherry and paper birch all have a heat rating of 110.

When you purchase a cord of firewood and you have determined what kind of wood you are getting, make sure you get a full cord of wood. A cord of wood isn't just a truck load dumped on the ground. A cord of firewood actually measures 128 cubic feet and measures 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet when stacked properly. A pick up truck full of firewood is not a full cord of wood. Most pick up trucks can hold about 1/3 of a cord so be aware of this before you purchase it.

Wet green hardwood gives off the least amount of heat and can leave a build up of creosote in your chimney. This creosote can possibly cause a chimney fire resulting in smoke damage to your home or worse, so stay away from green firewood if at all possible. Be sure and put your firewood logs on plastic and not directly on the ground and cover them as soon as possible to keep they dry and out of the weather. Buy local firewood to avoid spreading dangerous diseases and unwanted insects that can kill millions of trees. Rule of thumb, buy firewood logs locally and burn your firewood logs locally.