Firewood

A roaring fire in the hearth is a surefire way to banish the winter blues. However, to build and more importantly sustain such a fire, it is essential to make the right choice of firewood. Obviously the longer the fire burns, the better it would be. Other important factors for determining the correct choice of firewood would include a pleasant smell and if less residue is built up in the fireplace and/or chimney, so much the better. So how to get the best firewood?

While there would be varying opinions about the best firewood to be used, I would think that it is safe to say that hard woods are, generally speaking, a better option than soft woods. Wood from most fruit trees is usually hard and also will burn longer on average. However, some fruit tree wood may not smell too good for a home fireplace. Oak is a very good choice for home fires. This type of firewood when properly dry, not only lights easily but also burns longer and has a decent smell as well. Best is to use hard oak which has been well dried by being cut and split for a length of time before it is used. About six months of being set aside after being cut is ideal. The firewood is then said to be seasoned. Hard maple is an alternative to oak and will have similar properties too when burnt. Cherry and apple tree wood is also good for burning.

Although hard woods burn for longer, yet they burn slower and thus do not generate as much heat as softer woods. It would be a good idea to mix hard and soft woods in equal measure to get the best of both options. The soft wood will give more heat while the hard wood would keep the fire burning that much longer. However, soft wood like pine should be avoided since it deposits tar and residue in the chimney, which could possibly spark off a chimney fire over some time.

Another factor to keep in mind is the size of the firewood being used. Obviously the shorter the pieces, the easier they would be to handle. The more uniform the length of the different pieces of firewood, the better it is. Variation of more than 2 inches in length of the individual pieces means that the firewood is not of standard quality and could cause difficulties in loading the furnace, stove or other appliance or even the fireplace. Ideally firewood should be split to sizes between 3 to 6 inches each, so that while the smaller pieces will ignite quickly, the longer pieces would burn for a reasonable period of time.

It is also important to stack and store the firewood properly. If stacked incorrectly, the firewood will not season well and will not burn effectively either. It is best to stack firewood in separate rows some distance from one another an covered only at the top as protection from rain. Also it is best to keep the firewood off the ground on pallets and to keep the stack sides uncovered. To be properly seasoned, while soft woods can take up to six months, harder woods like oak and maple would need to be kept aside for one year for them to dry out fully.

Firewood pellets are also emerging as an alternate to firewood. These pellets are used in pellet stoves, which being automatic, take care to maintain the room temperature at a constant level by feeding the stored wood pellets into the flame. Wood pellets are made from compressed sawdust or wooden waste from sawmill operations.

When it’s chilling winter outside, the only way to keep ourselves warm and cozy is to sit next to the fireplace and enjoy the warmth. But is it very easy to maintain a furnace with long lasting fire? Well, with few tips, it is very easy to maintain the furnace as well as the Bundled Firewood.

What to check while Buying Bundled Firewood?

Bundled Firewood has become easily accessible these days with help of few sellers who are selling through online shopping. Just that, the quality should be ensured since you do not get to see the wood stack before you buy it. Probably you can ask for an option where you can check the bundle using the moisture meter first and then pay the money.

You may also check if the bundled Firewood is kiln dried or seasoned. Kiln drying is a process where the wood is completely dried using artificial heating like industrial kiln. Wood produced through this is absolutely clean and definitely easy to light up. It burns for long as well since it is completely dry. Seasoned wood is where the wood is split first and then kept for drying under natural sun, wind for about twelve plus months.

If there is no moisture meter available, one can pick up two burning sticks from the bundle and knock these two sticks together. If the sound is dull then they aren’t completely dry compared against a sharp sound where the wood is totally dry. Cracking the edges of the wood is another method of checking the moisture.

Tips for a long and steady fire

While arranging the wood you must ensure to add news papers for an easy ignite. This will slowly ignite the fire and give sometime for the wood to pick up the fire.

The arrangement must be neat and spacious. First news papers should go into the grate of the fireplace. Then gently place the fat-wood above the grate. Keep firewood pieces on top of fat-wood. Then slowly light the newspaper and give it time of five minutes so that it slowly picks up and lights up the wood as well. But the arrangement of these fat-wood and firewood logs should have enough spacing in between so that while burning you can add more wood pieces.

If the spacing is not enough in between the wood, fair chances are that the fire may not last for long. Sometimes if the wood is seasoned then it doesn’t dry completely. Even then, the fire gets slow and dies quickly.

Storage tips

Bundled Firewood should always be stored away from the moist. Best place is to store it indoor. If there is a space constraint and it has to be kept outside, it should be placed on something high and should be totally covered so that the moist doesn’t attack from ground and through air.

Even while storing indoor, it should always be kept as bundled. Wood pieces which are not bundled are prone to get wet quickly compared against bundled wood.

Birch is a deciduous hardwood tree which has broad leaves.

These are short lived species and are closely related to the oak/beech family. Birch belongs to the hardwood family like Oak and ash. The characteristics of birch firewood are different from the other firewood. They produce a high quantity of heat and look and smell attractive. These firewood are sewn first and then split and lastly are kiln dried to reduce the moisture content to less than 20%, so that it can be used immediately.

Birch firewood is dried in log burners and can fit in it well as their length is about 25m to 30m. It is efficient for heating purpose and is required for open fires and storage heaters. It is pretty useful. There are several different species of birch and they are usually fast growing species. For the purpose of firewood, black birch and yellow birch are the best species to burn. White birch and grey birch are both average species. The quality of the birch firewood ranges from moderate to excellent which depends on that species of the birch which are being used. These are medium to small size trees which grow in lowland areas and have roots systems that are shallow. These trees are known for their barks which are unique.

There are various species of birch which is in the birch family but the black birch and yellow birch produces the best firewood.

Yellow Birch- it is also known as the swamp birch and can be identified by its yellow silver smooth barks. Unique appearance of the birch is portrayed as it grows old which starts to curl. These are dense, strong and hard wood which are used for making furniture. This birch is an excellent choice for use due to its high density. It gives a wintergreen aroma which is emitted while burning. But the drawbacks of this birch are that it takes time to dry and is hard to split.

Black birch- it is also known as mountain mahogany, cherry birch and sweet birch. It is the most desirable birch firewood among the birch family. The dense fibers of the black birch allow it for burning hot and long. It is considered as prized firewood. For optimal seasoning of this firewood, it is advisable to split and cut it as soon as possible after the tree felling. It has a high content of sap and is the best choice for firewood.

White birch – it is also known as paper birch and is commonly used for its barks which are paper like, dark and thin with horizontal stripes. The barks of the white birch are white but the fibers of the wood is not strong and dense which results in light or inferior quality of firewood as compared to the black and yellow birch. This tree is unable to hold moisture which makes it difficult to season. These wood decays faster that’s why it has to taken care for.

Birch firewood is highly recommended for heating purposes because of their quality which includes ease of use and high heating value.