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Firewood and wood heat buying guides

From the woodlot to the woodstove.

Practical guides for people who cut, split, stack and burn their own wood. We compare log splitters, chainsaws, axes, racks and wood stoves by the numbers that matter: splitting tons, cycle time, bar length, firebox size, heating area and moisture.

Read the buying guides Use a firewood calculator

Size it before you buy it

  1. Splitter: species, round diameter and knots set the tonnage, not the price tag.
  2. Wood supply: home size, climate and wood species set how many cords a winter takes.
  3. Stove: heated area, insulation and floor plan set the size class you need.
  1. CutChainsaws, bars, chains and the safety gear to buck rounds.
  2. SplitGas, electric and kinetic splitters, mauls and wedges.
  3. Stack & SeasonRacks, covers and moisture meters to get wood under 20%.
  4. BurnWood stoves, inserts, fans and fireplace tools.

Shop by category

Chainsaws Chainsaws for cutting firewood, storm cleanup and clearing land: gas saws from homeowner to… Chainsaw Gear Everything that keeps a saw cutting and its operator safe: chains, bars, sharpeners and… Log Splitters Log splitters for every woodpile: 4 to 10 ton electric splitters for a cord… Axes and Mauls Splitting axes, splitting mauls, wedges, felling axes and hatchets. Guides compare head weight, handle… Firewood Handling Firewood handling gear that saves your back: log carts, log tongs, cant hooks and… Firewood Storage Firewood racks, covers, log holders, sheds and indoor log carriers. Guides compare capacity in… Wood Stoves Wood stoves, fireplace inserts, cookstoves and outdoor wood boilers. Guides compare heat output, heating… Stove Accessories Stove fans, stove thermometers, fireplace tools, chimney brushes, firewood moisture meters, ash vacuums and…

Popular picks

Roundups with quick picks, a spec comparison and who should skip each pick.

Firewood calculators

Free, no sign-up, and every formula is shown on the page.

Firewood Cord CalculatorTurn a stack's length, height and depth into full and face cords, and estimate how much wood a winter takes.Log Splitter Tonnage CalculatorPick the wood species, the biggest round you split and its condition to get the splitter tonnage to shop for.Wood Stove Size CalculatorEstimate the heat output and stove size class for your space from square footage, insulation and climate.

The hottest firewood species

Typical heat per cord of air-dried wood. Compare all species by heat, splitting and seasoning time.

Osage orange 32.9 million BTU per cord Black locust 27.9 million BTU per cord Hickory 27.7 million BTU per cord Hophornbeam 27.3 million BTU per cord Mesquite 27.0 million BTU per cord

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How we pick

Every pick comes from published specifications, listing details and warranty terms, scored the same way across guides. We do not run our own product trials. Our method

Safety first

Chaps and a helmet for the saw, one operator at the splitter, and stoves installed to code with a yearly chimney sweep. Firewood safety

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