Everything You Need to Know About Tamarack Firewood

Tamarack trees are premium softwoods widely cultivated for paper-making or building posts and poles. Even its bark is used to make tea to relieve colds, sore throats, upset stomachs and fatigue.

With all its versatile benefits to humankind, can we add good firewood to its many uses?

In this article, let’s look at tamarack’s unique fire characteristics and how it compares to other popular types of firewood in the market.

Is tamarack a good firewood?

Tamarack is a decent-quality firewood producing 22.6 million BTUs per cord with low smoke and a mildly pleasant fragrance. It is a great kindling wood for shoulder seasons or for indoor and outdoor burning with other firewood.  

Tamarack firewood is suitable indoors and outdoors because of its moderate heat output and low smoke and creosote production. 

However, because it contains a fair amount of resin, it tends to pop and spark when burning. So, you still have to take extra precautions when burning them in an open fireplace.

Here’s a table of tamarack’s characteristics as firewood.

Tree Name	Tamarack
Common Name	Larch
Scientific Name	Larix laricina
Family	Pinaceae
Height	40 to 80 feet
Life Span	180 to 300 years
Type of Wood	Softwood
Dry Weight (lbs per cord)	3,271
Green Weight (lbs per cord)	3,995
Seasoning Time	6 to 12 months
Heat Content (million BTUs per cord)	22.5
Resin Content	Average
Splitting Difficulty	Easy
Smoke	Low
Smell	Mildly Pleasant
Coal Production	Low
Creosote Build-up	Low

What are the fire characteristics of tamarack wood?

Tamarack firewood is easy to split with moderate heat output, average resin content, and mildly pleasant smell but with a low moisture level, creosote build-up, smoke output and coal production. 

Read on and learn about each fire-burning property. 

1. Easy to Split

Tamarack is straight-grained firewood with a few knots, making it easy to split. It’s best to split it while it’s still green because once it begins to dry out, it will be harder to break the wood fibers. 

You can split this wood manually with an ax. But to more effectively deal with the wrist-jarring knots at the crotch of the tamarack wood, we recommend using a hydraulic splitter to crack on the gnarly part of the firewood.

2. Average Resin Content

Conifer trees contain a lot of resin, and tamarack is one of them. It has moderate resin content that leads to pops and sparks while the firewood burns.

So, if you’re setting this firewood ablaze in an open fireplace, stay vigilant for carpet burns or fires.

3. Mildly Pleasant Smell

Tamarack emits a mildly pleasant smell. It has a gentle yet noticeable fragrance that can fill up your home as it burns.

Unfortunately, tamarack is not recommended for cooking, meat smoking or grilling because it burns fast and does not add much flavor to the food or provide an even temperature profile.

4. Low Moisture Level

Tamarack is also called a hard softwood because of its low moisture level. In fact, when it’s freshly cut, its moisture level reaches only up to 60%, much lower than cedar or sycamore wood. 

5. Moderate Heat Output 

Generally, dense woods, like hardwoods, produce more heat. But in tamarack’s case, it’s a dense softwood producing a moderate heat output of 22.5 BTU million per cord.

You can combine tamarack with other wood varieties to maximize the heat production.

Check out the table below to see how tamarack compares with other firewood.

Firewood	Heat Output (million BTUs per cord)
Osage Orange	32.9
Gambel Oak	30.7
Beech	27.5
White Ash	24.2
Tamarack	22.5
Chesnut	18
Cottonwood	15.8
Basswood	13.8
Buckeye	13.8

6. Low Creosote Build-Up

Burning tamarack firewood will not leave you with creosote in your chimney, as long as the wood is properly seasoned. 

Still, check your flue or chimney at least once a year to clear up the tar-like creosote to prevent any fire hazard in your home.

7. Low Smoke Output

Another perk of using tamarack firewood is its low smoke output. Most people use tamarack in wood stoves or fireplaces with doors that can contain smoke.

Of course, you’ll only enjoy this benefit when you burn seasoned wood. Otherwise, burnt green wood will leave your house covered in smoke.

It’s also inefficient to burn unseasoned wood because the fire will only use its energy to evaporate water from the wood fires rather than give out more heat. 

8. Low Coal Production

When burnt wood creates coals, it helps retain the heat, with less refilling of wood to the fire and makes it easier to re-ignite the fire after a few hours. However, tamarack firewood produces little coal, causing it to burn out quickly. 

Pros and Cons of Using Tamarack as Firewood

Below is a comparative table of the pros and cons of using Tamarack firewood.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Moderate heat output	Pops and sparks when burned
Low smoke and creosote output	Low coal production
Mildly pleasant smell
Rot-resistant

Tamarack emits moderate heat levels with a mildly pleasant smell, low smoke, and creosote build-up. These make it a great kindling firewood for shoulder seasons.

Because of its resin content, Tamarack produces excessive sparking, so it’s best to use them in covered fireplaces.

You can store as much tamarack firewood as possible because they’re rot-resistant. They’re more rot-resistant than most softwoods without resin content.

Unfortunately, tamarack doesn’t produce a lot of coal, which means it burns fast. To extend its burn time and maximize its heat output, you can mix it with other types of firewood.

How does tamarack compare with other firewood?

Tamarack has a high heat output of 22.5 BTU million per cord compared to most softwoods.

Although it’s also quite dense for a softwood, Tamarack contains straight grains and few knots, making it easy to split. 

Tamarack is the exception from the general rule that hardwoods produce less smoke and creosote than softwoods since it emits very low amounts of the smoke and creosote when burned.

Here’s how tamarack compares with other firewood.

Firewood	Heat Output (million BTU per cord)	Splitting Difficulty	Coal Production
Tamarack	22.5	Easy	Low
Bur oak	26	Easy	Good
Maple	25	Easy	High
Green Ash	20	Easy	Good

How long should you season tamarack wood?

Tamarack firewood dries out as quickly as within six months in hot and dry areas. But for those living in cooler areas, you’ll need 12 months to dry this firewood thoroughly.

Tamarack seasons faster than other premium hardwoods, so you can leave your stockpile and use it later in the year.

You can speed up seasoning time by splitting the wood into smaller pieces and stacking them in a dry storage space with regular airflow. Just make sure to cover the wood using a shed or a tarp to protect it against rain and snow.

FAQs on Tamarack Firewood