A dense hardwood, with good fragrance and medium smoke, but it pops a lot. Make sure you have a good fireplace screen. Lighter woods can be easily split to provide kindling for starting a fire. Make sure the fire burns brightly for 15 to 20 minutes before stoking with larger pieces of dense hardwoods. Seasoning Wood must air-dry for six months to a year, depending on the type of wood, to make it acceptable for burning.
Dense woods take longest to dry.
Wood that has more than 20 percent moisture will smoke and contribute to the buildup of creosote, a black, tarlike residue from burning wood that builds up in any kind of fireplace and can explode into a flash fire without warning. Moist or green wood also will not put out the heat that a dry wood will. Buyer beware Make sure the person you're buying wood from is reliable. Get a recommendation from someone, or at least cut into the wood you are buying to make sure it is not green or sappy. Some dealers deliver, while you must haul your own wood from others.