By Kelly Miller
Anyone with a home fireplace is well aware of the importance of firewood selection. Choosing wood for a fire pit is more flexible, since you don’t have to worry about indoor air quality. However, the same principles apply for choosing wood that lights easily, burns slowly, and doesn’t pollute the environment or cause safety hazards.
Below, we’ll identify the types of wood that you should avoid using in your fire pit. Then, we’ll cover the basics of choosing the ideal firewood for outdoor use.
Types of Wood to Avoid Burning in a Fire Pit
For firepit purposes, the condition of a piece of wood is more important than the tree species it came from.
Some wood species burn better than others, but they’ll all burn. On the other hand, wood that’s in poor condition may burn poorly or be difficult to ignite. More importantly, wood that contains toxic chemicals could pose a threat to your health or the environment.
Here are the types of wood you shouldn’t put in a fire pit.
Transported Firewood
Never transport untreated firewood across long distances. Doing so risks spreading insects and diseases that could harm the local ecosystem. Transported firewood is especially threatening for trees, due to the potential spread of invasive insects such as spotted lanternfly and emerald ash borer.
Always use local firewood or wood that was heat treated to kill pests. Properly heat-treated wood is identified with the USDA APHIS seal or a state-based certification, such as one from a US state’s department of agriculture.
Painted Wood, Pressure-Treated Wood, and Plywood
Don’t burn chemically treated wood. This includes painted wood, pressure-treated wood, plywood, or wood that was glued, stained, or finished. Additionally, don’t burn chemically-treated paper, such as glossy paper. Chemicals in these materials may damage fire pits while emitting foul odors. Most importantly, the burning of toxic chemicals such as lead or arsenic can pollute the air while posing serious health hazards.
Ocean Driftwood
Ocean driftwood is saturated in salt and is not a good wood for a fire pit. Even after long-term drying, driftwood maintains a high moisture content and releases corrosive steam that may damage a fire pit. Worse, burning salty driftwood releases dioxins. Dioxins are toxic carcinogens that pollute the environment and can cause serious health impacts, such as immune system damage.
Green Wood
Green wood is freshly-cut wood that hasn’t had time to season, or dry out. Green wood has a high moisture content, which makes it an unfavorable choice for burning. Compared to seasoned wood, green wood is harder to ignite, less likely to stay lit, produces less heat, and produces more smoke.
Wet, Moldy, or Rotten Wood
Wood that’s wet, moldy, or rotten should never be burned indoors. These types of wood can release chemicals that damage an appliance or harm indoor air quality. Plus, rotten or moldy wood may not burn very well due to its low density and high moisture content.
Outdoors, it’s safe (although not ideal) to burn degraded wood, such as logs that are rotten or coated in fungus/mushrooms. Be more cautious with moldy wood, which can release harmful spores into the air during burning.
Which Types of Wood Are Best for Burning in a Fire Pit?
For a successful fire pit blaze, you just need kindling, dry logs, and patience. That said, the species and condition of a wood log affect its usefulness in a fire pit. Here are some tips on selecting the best-burning wood for a fire pit.
Seasoned Wood
The best wood for a fire pit has been seasoned, i.e. dried for at least six months, or rapidly dried in a kiln. Seasoned or kiln-dried wood has a moisture content of 20% or lower. The benefits of properly dried wood (compared to green wood) include:
- Ignites quickly
- Stays lit and burns at a consistent pace
- Produces less smoke and emissions
To tell if firewood is dry, check the ends. Splits, cracks, peeling bark, and dark coloring (with no green shading) indicate seasoning.
Hardwood vs. Softwood
As long as your firewood is dry and cut into manageable logs, you can expect it to ignite and burn relatively well. But, if you want to master your fire pit management, it’s helpful to understand the differences between hardwood and softwood.
- Hardwood comes from deciduous (leaf-dropping) trees
- Softwood comes from needle-leaved or coniferous trees
Hardwoods tend to be stronger and denser than softwoods. They’re generally considered better for burning because they burn slower and produce more heat. The most popular hardwood species for firewood are ash, oak, beech, birch, and elm.
If you have both softwoods and hardwoods on hand, use softwoods as kindling. Evergreen softwoods like pine, spruce, cedar, and fir are especially high in resins that make the wood very flammable and thus useful for fire-starting. Wood from evergreens typically burns hot, fast, and may produce more smoke than hardwoods. It’s not ideal to make a fire using only wood from evergreen, but you can mix it with some hardwood logs.
Firelogs
Along with traditional chopped firewood, another option for your pit is firelogs, such as Duraflame logs. These are manufactured logs designed specifically for burning, made from compressed sawdust and other plant material. Compared to chopped logs, firelogs are designed to ignite more easily, burn longer, and burn at a more consistent pace. They may not be ideal for cooking foods, though, so be sure to look for food-safe logs if your plan is to cook hot dogs, marshmallows, or food placed on a cooking grate.
Get More Ideas for the Perfect Backyard Fire Pit
Along with the right firewood, a successful fire pit blaze needs kindling. Good kindling materials include dry leaves and sticks, pine cones, and non-glossy paper. Wax-dipped pine cones are ideal fire starters that you can make at home. Here’s our how-to guide for this fun and easy craft project.
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