Ceder as firewood question

[MarksInnerDemon]

I ended up on a small island this weekend covered in ceder trees. The island was pretty much all the dead wood we could find all ceder, and I am pretty sure most of the soil was decomposing ceder needles. With that said we stayed the night (kayaked out) so we me made a bed of dry sea shells and started a small fire. Here is the question as we went through the night the wood burned out without burning completely. Granted we didn't use limbs any bigger then half wrist, and kept the fire small but once the center burned down a bit it would just smolder for a long time. All it took was a little plastic tube and some blowing for the fire to light back up, but I was wondering if this normal ceder properties? Did I end up with the worst possible firewood for a constant flame? (Although it was really easy to start back up)

Thanks for any knowledge.

[dixieangler]

Ceder as firewood question. All it took was a little plastic tube and some blowing for the fire to light back up, but I was wondering if this normal ceder properties? Did I end up with the worst possible firewood for a constant flame?

Woods do have different burning characteristics depending on the type. Soft woods like pines (I think Cedar may fall into this category) give off a bright light but the wood burns down quickly so you need "a whole lot" of it if this is all you are using. It is also not a good wood to cook food on due to any resin in the wood that may taint the food. Hard woods like oak give off a low light but not as much wood is needed as it burns down slowly. It is great for cooking food on and adding flavor to the food. Medium woods like willow, maple, and poplar fall in between the soft and hard woods for burning characteristics. The light they give off is neither real bright or low light but in between and the amount of wood needed would be more than hardwood but less than softwood. Taste of food over medium wood should be fine although not as good as hardwood. Hope this helps.

[Kingoftheflock]

welcome to the forums

id say that the wood was damp. from my experience with pine tree type wood, it does burn out pretty fast. ive used it to start fires and then used bigger branches/logs from decidous type trees. it also depends on the location. if they air is dry, its easier to stat a fire, if the air is damp, its much harder to start one.