Is Oak Good Firewood? White, Red and Bur Oak Compared
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Yes, oak is good firewood for heat. In the Utah State University Extension table of firewood species, oaks rank near the top for heat per cord. White oak holds 29.1 million BTU per cord, third highest of the 44 species listed. Only osage-orange (32.9) and Gambel oak (30.7) hold more.
The catch is weight. Oak is heavy, and a cord of freshly cut oak holds a lot of water. This page uses the USU numbers to show what you get and what to expect.
Oak compared: heat and weight per cord
All values are for a full cord (128 cubic feet, stacked). "Water lost" is green weight minus dry weight.
| Oak | Million BTU per cord | Dry weight (lb) | Green weight (lb) | Water lost (lb) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak, Gambel | 30.7 | not listed | not listed | not listed |
| Oak, White | 29.1 | 4,200 | 5,573 | 1,373 |
| Oak, Bur | 26.2 | 3,768 | 4,960 | 1,192 |
| Oak, Red | 24.6 | 3,528 | 4,888 | 1,360 |
By rank in the full table, white oak is 3rd, bur oak 9th and red oak 12th out of 44 species. The USU table gives no weights for Gambel oak, so this page cannot say how heavy a cord of it is.
How oak compares with other firewood
Heat per cord, from the same table:
| Wood | Million BTU per cord | Compared with red oak |
|---|---|---|
| Oak, White | 29.1 | 1.18 times as much heat |
| Maple, other (not silver) | 25.5 | 1.04 times |
| Oak, Red | 24.6 | baseline |
| Ash, White | 24.2 | 0.98 times |
| Birch | 20.8 | 0.85 times |
| Cottonwood | 15.8 | 0.64 times |
| Pine, White | 15.9 | 0.65 times |
The math: ratio = million BTU per cord of that wood ÷ 24.6.
Red oak holds about 1.56 times the heat of a cord of cottonwood (24.6 ÷ 15.8). White oak holds about 1.83 times the heat of a cord of white pine (29.1 ÷ 15.9). Put another way, for white pine to be as good a buy per unit of heat as white oak, a cord of pine would have to cost about 55% as much as a cord of white oak (15.9 ÷ 29.1). Use the price converter to turn real quotes into cost per million BTU.
Red oak is close to white ash (24.2) and a little below maple (25.5). If you can get any of the three at a similar price, the heat difference is small.
Oak is heavy, so plan for it
- A full cord of dry white oak weighs 4,200 lb, or 2.1 tons. A cord of dry red oak weighs 3,528 lb.
- A face cord of 16-inch pieces is one third of a cord, so about 1,400 lb of dry white oak or 1,176 lb of dry red oak.
- Check your truck's payload rating in its owner's manual before hauling a full cord of oak.
Why oak should be dry before you burn it
White oak has the highest green weight of any species in the table, at 5,573 lb per cord. Drying takes it to 4,200 lb, so over 1,300 lb of water per cord has to leave the wood. Red oak loses about 1,360 lb and bur oak about 1,190 lb. Wet wood wastes heat boiling that water off.
Oak is not the wettest wood in the table. A cord of cottonwood loses 2,368 lb of water as it dries. But oak is dense, and its heat value in the table assumes dry wood. The U.S. Department of Energy gives 20% moisture or less as the standard for firewood. The USU table does not give a drying time for each species, so use a moisture reading, not the calendar, to decide when wood is ready. The seasoning guide explains how.
Quick answers
- Is oak the best firewood? Gambel oak and white oak are among the three highest in the table for heat per cord, but osage-orange is higher still. See the full BTU chart by species.
- Is red oak as good as white oak? White oak holds about 18% more heat per cord (29.1 versus 24.6).
- Does oak beat pine? For heat per cord, yes by a wide margin. Pine is lighter and cheaper to haul, so compare cost per million BTU rather than price per cord.
Sources
- Utah State University Extension, Wood Heating, Table 1: million BTU and weight per cord by species.
- U.S. Department of Energy, Wood and Pellet Heating: 20% moisture standard.