Firewood type education

• WOOD TYPES ARE LISTED FOR EDUCATION PURPOSES ONLY AND DO NOT GAURANTEE AVAILIBILTY. 

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COMMON NAME: PINE (ALEPPO PINE) 

LATIN NAME:  Pinus Halepensis

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The most common pine in Arizona.  It is okay to be burned indoors, but is best for bonfires and camping. 

MAIN USES: As a pleasant fast burning outdoor firewood.

EASE OF LIGHTING: Very easy to light

CLEAN TO HANDLE: Clean bark and clean to handle

CLEAN TO BURN: Puts off more creosote than most wood types.  If you burn it indoors, we recommend getting your chimney swept seasonally. 

LENGTH OF BURN: One of the fastest burning wood types available, great starter wood.

HEAT OUTPUT: Very low BTU output, usually not used for heating.

AROMA: Has a very pleasant Pine scent.

CRACKLE/POP: Can be somewhat explosive with popping.

COAL BED: No useable coal bed.

EASE TO SPLIT: Can be tricky to split. Best split when bone dry.

COMMON NAME: ALLIGATOR JUNIPER 

LATIN NAME: Juniperus deppeana **DISCLAIMER: Alligator juniper can be barkless. The bark will fall off the longer the firewood has been seasoned.  

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: ALLIGATOR JUNIPER bark on a mature tree resembles the thick square scales of an alligator hide. Sometimes mistakenly called Cedar. Best aroma of any wood available.

MAIN USES: One of he most popular firewood types in Arizona! Great aroma and clean bark. Best when mixed with a hardwood. 

EASE OF LIGHTING: It is very easy to light when seasoned properly.

CLEAN TO HANDLE: It is very clean to handle, clean or no bark.

CLEAN TO BURN: It burns relatively clean, better than most soft woods and not quite as good as hardwoods.

LENGTH OF BURN: It burns longer than pine, but faster than most hardwoods.

HEAT OUTPUT: Generally not used for heating low BTU output. Perfect fireplace wood for the greater Phoenix area!

AROMA: The best aroma and most sought after of any wood available in Arizona.

CRACKLE/POP: Crackles and pops the most of any other wood type we carry.

SMOKE: With proper seasoning and ignition it burns relatively clean.

COAL BED: It does not produce a great coal bed.

EASE TO SPLIT: This is one of the easiest woods to split.

COMMON NAME: ALMOND

LATIN NAME:   Prunus dulcis 

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: A Northern California nutwood, very good for cooking and smoking, compare to Hickory, Oak and Pecan.

MAIN USES: Smokers, grills, pizza ovens.

EASE OF LIGHTING: Hard to light.

CLEAN TO HANDLE: Very clean to handle.

CLEAN TO BURN: One of the cleanest burning wood types.

LENGTH OF BURN: A longer burning hardwood, compare to Oak.

HEAT OUTPUT: Very high BTU's

AROMA: Subtle, great in smokers.

CRACKLE/POP: None.

SMOKE: Very light smoke.

COAL BED: Makes a great bed of coals.

EASE TO SPLIT: Don't try this at home. 

COMMON NAME: MESQUITE 

LATIN NAME: Prosopis

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Highly romanticized southwestern hardwood, used primarily for pit BBQs. Most Arizona resorts burn  Juniper and mistakenly call it Mesquite. 

MAIN USES: Great for heating and cooking.

EASE OF LIGHTING: Can be difficult to light by itself, use kindling. Best in fireplace 

when mixed with Juniper.

CLEAN TO HANDLE: Can be messy, usually dusty, contains insect holes that drop sawdust.

CLEAN TO BURN: When properly lit, it burns extremely clean.

LENGTH OF BURN: Burns relatively fast into a great coal bed.

HEAT OUTPUT: Super high heat output, one of the hottest woods to burn.

AROMA: Distinctive aroma, but not as fragrant as the Junipers or Pinyon. Can be a stinker when wood is green.

CRACKLE/POP: Very little crackle and usually no popping.

SMOKE: Virtually no smoke when burning properly.

COAL BED: Makes the best coal bed of any hardwood.

EASE TO SPLIT: Can be very difficult to split by hand, Mesquite typically grows very twisted and crooked. 

COMMON NAME: PECAN (PECAN HICKORY, DOMESTICATED HICKORY)

LATIN NAME: Carya illinoensis  

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Most sought after cooking wood in Arizona. Like its wild cousin Hickory, Pecan is a great cooking and heating wood, it is one of the densest "Nut Woods".   

MAIN USES: Used primarily for heating and cooking. Wins more BBQ championships than any other wood type. Highly recommended pizza oven wood.

EASE OF LIGHTING: Can be difficult to light, needs kindling. 

CLEAN TO HANDLE: Very clean bark and very clean to handle.

CLEAN TO BURN: It is one of the cleanest of all wood types to burn.

LENGTH OF BURN: Burns very long.

HEAT OUTPUT: Very high heat output, compare with Mesquite and Oak.

AROMA: Pleasant, not too strong aroma, preferred by people with allergies.

CRACKLE/POP: Can pop and crackle.

SMOKE: If burning properly there is little, if any smoke.

COAL BED: Makes a great bed of coals.

EASE TO SPLIT: One of the hardest woods to split, don't even attempt by hand.
 

COMMON NAME: OAK

LATIN NAME: Quercus

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: A "Nut Wood". Southwestern Oaks are typically the densest of all Oaks, locally available Oak types include: Arizona White Oak, Live Oak, Blackjack Oak, Gamble Oak and Emory Oak to name a few. 

MAIN USES: Used primarily for cooking and heating. Very popular for pizza ovens. 

EASE OF LIGHTING: Oak can be one of the hardest woods to get burning properly, it has a tendency to smolder, should be turned  occasionally. 

CLEAN TO HANDLE: It is a relatively "clean to handle" wood.

CLEAN TO BURN: If lit properly and fire tended to occasionally it can burn very clean, if not, it may smolder. Best mixed with a juniper or pine. 

LENGTH OF BURN: One of the longest burning woods.

HEAT OUTPUT: It burns very hot.

AROMA: Smells like a great cookout only not as strong.

CRACKLE/POP: Virtually no popping or crackle.

SMOKE: Very clean when burning properly, smoky when not lit correctly.

COAL BED: Makes a great bed of coals.

EASE TO SPLIT: Can be hard to split by hand.
 

COMMON NAME: APPLE

LATIN NAME: Malus domestica, in the rose family (Rosaceae) 

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: A fruit wood. 

MAIN USES: Smoking, Cooking, Heating.

EASE OF LIGHTING: Compared to other hardwoods it is much easier.

CLEAN TO HANDLE: A very clean to handle wood.

CLEAN TO BURN: One of the cleanest burning wood types.

LENGTH OF BURN: A faster burning hardwood.

HEAT OUTPUT:  Very high BTU's in a short period of time.

AROMA: Subtle, great for smoking meat!

CRACKLE/POP: Not noticeable.

SMOKE: Properly combusting, virtually no smoke.

COAL BED: Nice hardwood coal bed.

EASE TO SPLIT: Can be split by hand.

COMMON NAME: HICKORY, PECAN, PECAN/HICKORY, (WILD HICKORY)

LATIN NAME:   Carya 

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Very dense hardwood in the same family as Pecan. (Pecan is actually a variety of Hickory, if you read the bottom of many Hickory retail bags, it will be described as "nogal americano" which means Pecan!

MAIN USES: In Arizona it is used primarily in Smokers.

EASE OF LIGHTING: Very hard to light.

CLEAN TO HANDLE: Very clean to handle.

CLEAN TO BURN: Very clean to burn.

LENGTH OF BURN: Very long burning, see Pecan.

HEAT OUTPUT: Very high heat output, compare with Pecan,  Mesquite and Oak. 

AROMA: Very good for smoking meats.

CRACKLE/POP: Can crackle and pop.

SMOKE: Very light smoke.

COAL BED: Very good coal bed.

EASE TO SPLIT: Very hard to split by hand. 

COMMON NAME: PINYON (PINYON PINE, MEXICAN PINYON) 

LATIN NAME: Pinus cembrioides

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Most fragrant Pine, known for it's "Santa Fe" smell. 

MAIN USES: Burned mostly outdoors for its aroma and ambiance.

EASE OF LIGHTING: Harder to light than most pines, but easier than hardwoods.

CLEAN TO HANDLE: Clean to handle but can be sticky or sappy even when seasoned.

CLEAN TO BURN: Not the cleanest burning, better for burning outdoors. If burning indoors, we recommend getting your chimney swept seasonally. 

LENGTH OF BURN: Burns longer than most pines, but not as long as Shaggy Juniper or hard woods.

HEAT OUTPUT: It burns relatively hot BTU output is medium.

AROMA: Distinctive "Santa Fe" smell, might be a little strong for some.

EASE TO SPLIT: It splits fairly easy by hand.

COMMON NAME: SHAGGY JUNIPER (UTAH JUNIPER) 

LATIN NAME: Juniperus osteosperma

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: SHAGGY JUNIPER is also called Cedar and is often confused for Mesquite. The Junipers are the most popular wood types to burn in Arizona.

MAIN USES: A top choice for ambiance, excellent choice for mixing with a hardwood. Best wood for camping, indoor & outdoor burning. Great in Chimeneas.

EASE OF LIGHTING: It is easy to light, the messy bark acts as kindling.

CLEAN TO HANDLE: It has a messy bark.

CLEAN TO BURN: It burns relatively clean, better than most soft woods and not quite as good as hardwoods.

LENGTH OF BURN: It burns as long as most hardwoods and longer than most softwood.

HEAT OUTPUT: It burns relatively hot BTU output is like an eastern Oak.

AROMA: Next to Alligator Juniper it has the best aroma of all the wood types. Most of Arizona Resorts burn Shaggy Juniper and Alligator Juniper!

CRACKLE/POP: It crackles and pops more than any hardwood,but not as much as any softwood.

SMOKE: With proper seasoning and ignition it burns relatively clean.

COAL BED: It does not produce a great coal bed, but it works great for camping and indoor burning.

EASE TO SPLIT: This is one of the easiest woods to split.

COMMON NAME: SHAGGY JUNIPER without bark (UTAH JUNIPER) *Formerly called Barkless Juniper (BL)

LATIN NAME: Juniperus osteosperma

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: BARKLESS JUNIPER is also called Cedar and is often confused for Mesquite. The Junipers are the most popular wood types to burn in Arizona.

MAIN USES: A top choice for ambiance, excellent choice for mixing with a hardwood. Best wood for indoor burning. Great in Chimeneas.

EASE OF LIGHTING: Very easy to light.

CLEAN TO HANDLE: Cleanest juniper to handle because it does not have any bark. 

CLEAN TO BURN: It burns clean, better than most soft woods and not quite as good as hardwoods.

LENGTH OF BURN: Burns longer than most softwood.

HEAT OUTPUT: It burns relatively hot BTU output is like an eastern Oak.

AROMA: Next to Alligator Juniper it has the best aroma of all the wood types. Most of Arizona Resorts burn juniper. 

CRACKLE/POP: It crackles and pops more than any hardwood but not as much as any softwood.

SMOKE: With proper ignition it burns relatively clean.

COAL BED: It does not produce a great coal bed, but it works great for indoor burning and camping. 

EASE TO SPLIT: This is one of the easiest woods to split.