Does Cedar Make Good Firewood?

Summary

• Cedar firewood is beautiful but ranks lower in BTU compared to oak and ash.
• Cedar types of wood burn hot and fast, consuming more logs, so multiple cords may be needed for heating.
• Season cedar logs for at least nine months to maximize heat output and minimize smoke production.

Cedar types of wood are recognizable for the reddish coloring, which makes it a beautiful and popular choice in a variety of building projects. Cedar wood appears in everything from paneling to flooring to furniture. But the way a wood looks doesn't have much to do with how well it burns!

Is cedar a good firewood for burning? Look past the pretty color and the inviting smell, and take a hard look at exactly how these logs burn!

All the Details About Cedar Firewood

How do these logs stack up as a source of heat?

Cedar wood has actually been used in building since ancient times. Settlements in the Egyptian Empire and ancient Greece had buildings made of cedar. There is no question that this wood is a dream in construction. But what about the fireplace, the BBQ smoker, the campfire, or your backyard fire pit? Assess the wood by its burn qualities, heat output, and all the little extras that happen when you're learning how to work with the natural world.

Cedar firewood ranks lower on the BTU scale than more popular types of firewood, like oak and ash. An average cord of cedar will produce about 15 million BTUs, which is equivalent to 138 gallons of propane.

Since cedar burns hot and fast, using it alone, rather than with other types of wood in your fire, will increase the amount of wood your fire consumes. If you plan to use cedar wood to heat your home, expect to use multiple cords per season.

It’s easy to light cedar firewood. The wood contains a high amount of oil that speeds up the burning process, which makes it a low producer of coals. Almost all of a cedar log is burned up as smoke, leaving little left behind.

Different Types of Cedar Trees

How do different types of cedar burn?

Cedar (Cedrus) is a type of coniferous tree that's part of the larger pine tree family. Cedar has needles, rather than leaves, and they are popular landscaping trees that are often seen inside homes as Christmas trees. There are many different types of cedar trees around the world, but only a handful are most commonly found in the US as firewood.

Because cedar types of wood are easy to light but burns quickly, you can maximize the heat produced by mixing logs with another firewood variety. Hardwoods like oak or almond can be challenging to light without sufficient kindling. Adding in some cedar firewood is a great way to generate enough heat to get all logs burning.

How to Properly Season Cedar Wood Logs

Logs won't burn at their best unless they're seasoned well

While cedar can be seasoned in as few as six months, it’s better to let your logs season for nine months. Cedar logs might have as much 55 percent moisture when first harvested. Ideally, you should burn cedar firewood when the internal moisture content is less than 20 percent.

• Wet wood always creates more smoke when burned than dry types of wood.
• Well-seasoned firewood logs will start a clean-burning fire that produces a moderate amount of smoke.

Some cedar wood varieties will need to season for a year to reach the ideal internal moisture content. However, cedar seasons much more quickly than other hardwoods like oak or almond.

Green cedar wood, wood that is still too moist, will still light quickly due to the high oil content of the wood. However, the fire will sputter and spark significantly, while also burning at a cooler temperature than seasoned wood.

It’s easy to season your cedar!

• Stack the firewood logs off the ground with at least 2 to 3 feet of space around the stack on all four sides to maximize airflow.
• You should protect firewood from getting wet with rain, but make sure to keep cut edges exposed to air.

Wood harvested in the winter months has less moisture content than wood harvested in the spring or summer. Harvest wood in winter to shorten the time required to season your firewood.

Cedar is often described as volatile firewood because it has a high oil content mixed with resin. When the wood is heated, gases are released inside the wood causing smaller pops and larger explosions. These explosions can cause embers and sparks to escape the fire, putting your hearth, floor, and home in danger. You can burn cedar indoors, but you must have a fire screen in place or burn the wood in a closed wood stove. It’s also a good idea to mix cedar with another type of firewood to reduce the number of sparks.

Be careful not to over-season cedar if it is the only types of wood you’re using in your fire. Cedar firewood should always have more than 10 percent moisture content when you’re using it for firewood. Cedar wood that is too dry is very volatile and can easily create a dangerous fire that gets out of control. Mixing cedar with hardwood firewood is an excellent way to make a safer fire. Aim for wood that has between 10 and 20 percent moisture for the best possible burn.

Cedar Firewood Burn Qualities

What's it like around the cedar log fire?

Conifer trees like cedar produce a significant amount of resin. The high resin content of cedar wood makes it easier to light on fire. However, it does create a more volatile fire.

• There are pockets of resin hidden within cedar that spark and pop when burned. You need to use a fire screen to prevent rogue embers and sparks from escaping your fireplace when burning cedar firewood.
• Despite the high resin content, cedar wood is typically easy to split. Green and seasoned cedar will split with low to moderate difficulty. Because of this ease, cedar has an advantage compared to other high-resin woods that are very difficult to break when green.
• You need to be careful of creosote build-up when burning cedar. Creosote is a liquid-like soot left behind by some types of wood. Cedar's high resin and oil content will cause creosote to build up faster than other woods.
• If you are frequently burning cedar, you should clean your chimney once per year. Regular cleaning will prevent creosote deposits from building up too much and creating a fire risk.

Using Cedar Wood for Food

Cedar is an excellent wood for smoking food. Many cooks enjoy the aroma and flavor the smoke imparts into the food. However, you shouldn’t burn cedar in your smoker due to the wood's high oil and resin content.

• It’s not recommended to use cedar as firewood for cooking.
• It’s very difficult to create a consistent bed of coals, resulting in large temperature swings when cooking.
• Even if you cook food fully covered, the compounds released when cedar burns could create unpleasant flavors in your food.
• It’s better to use a hardwood like oak or almond if you want to cook with fire.
• When cedar burns, these compounds are released into the smoker and can create an odd taste in your food.
• To flavor food with cedar smoke, use a cedar plank. It will flavor the food without burning the cedar and releasing volatile compounds.

The Sweet Scent of Cedar Firewood

Cedar has one of the most recognizable smells. It is a scent that is used in perfumes and cleaning supplies. When burning cedar ood, you can expect a pleasant smelling fire that permeates the room. Eastern and western red cedar smell earthy, rich, with a slight citrus note. Incense-cedar is more woody, like a freshly sharpened pencil. That's because incense cedar wood is used to make many pencils!

Some varieties of cedar produce more scent when burned. If you are looking for a high fragrance producing cedar, consider incense cedar or western red cedar firewood. These logs produce a more intense fragrance when burned. Eastern red cedar can be a good option for those looking for a more softly scented cedar fire.

Are You Burning to Try Burning Cedar Wood?

The reality of cedar is that it is highly unpredictable, and it's better if it doesn't stand on its own in any fireplace.

Cedar types of wood have a lot of good qualities. The pleasant look and pleasant smell would seem to make it a natural and easy choice for the fireplace, but this wood is not the best firewood. It's dangerous to burn cedar logs indoors, which makes it far from ideal as fireplace wood.

When it comes to heat output, ease of splitting, and other important factors, cedar looks like a pretty handsome firewood choice. But the reality of cedar is that it is highly unpredictable, and it's better if it doesn't stand on its own in any fireplace.