People ask me all the time "Dave, what's the best kind of wood to burn?" & I tell them its simple - hard woods that are well seasoned will give you the most heat while producing the least amount of soot and creosote in the flue. Oak, Ash, Maple & Beech are some of the best. Pine, Cedar, and other "soft" woods are about the worst. An easy way to tell whether a split piece of fire wood is hard or soft is to just hold it in your hand. Maple has more than twice the density of White Pine so it feels much heavier to hold. Seasoning wood, by letting it dry for 6 months to year after cutting and splitting it, will also make a big difference in how much heat the wood delivers pound for pound. Green (unseasoned) wood results in a cooler, smokier fire, and the steam created by the water (literally) boiling out of the wood creates a lot more soot and creosote up in the flue. Well seasoned wood will usually have many cracks on each end that form as the moisture evaporates. One last thought - be sure not to burn rotten wood in your fireplace or woodstove. Wood (hard or soft) that has been stored out in the weather for too many years, will become water logged and unusable. Always be sure to have your fireplace screen in place during the fire, Happy Burning!