In fact, among softwoods, there are some species that put off as many BTUs per cord as hardwoods. Some hardwoods with higher BTU values include:. In the end, having a mix of hardwoods and softwoods on your wood pile can help you to control your burn. While hardwoods take longer to catch fire and will burn longer, softwoods ignite quickly and burn fast. Much of the wood for sale now is actually green, and needs another year to season. Often this year's wood is really intended for next year's fires.
Seasoned wood burns better than green wood, because it produces more heat and less creosote build-up in the fireplace. Green or unseasoned wood, on the other hand, is hard to light and difficult to keep burning. If your wood smolders and burns poorly with little heat, it's probably green wood. That's because unseasoned wood has a lot of liquid inside.
In fact, one fresh-cut cord of oak is said to have enough water to fill as much as six gallon drums, according to mastersweep. You can tell if a wood is seasoned by looking at it. On the outside, seasoned wood probably looks gray and dusty from sitting around for a while. But on the inside, it's often dry and white, usually lighter than on the outside.
New wood, on the other hand, looks like it came fresh from the lumber mill with the same color throughout the wood. If you can't get your hands on seasoned wood, then look for ash or fir. These woods will burn better than many while still rather green; although they all will burn best when seasoned. Hardwood versus Softwood: For the serious fire lover, you may want to invest in hardwoods like madrone, live oak, ash, hickory, walnut and fruit trees like apple or cherry. Hardwoods are generally more dense than softwood and therefore burn for longer and produce more heat.
Hardwoods are also less resinous than softwoods and are therefore less likely to result in a build up of tar deposits in your flue, reducing its efficiency or increasing the risk of a flue fire. Despite providing a more efficient fuel source, hardwood can be difficult to ignite from cold. Softwood kindling is therefore best used to get a fire started, the resinous and fibrous nature of softwood helping it to burn from cold.
Once a fire is established and there is some heat in the base of the fire, it should be fuelled with hardwood to maintain a slow burning fire with a good heat output. Softwood can produce a very pleasing flame to look at but it will burn very quickly and you will get through a large volume of wood in a very short time.
All wood should be well seasoned before burning. Different woods have different initial water content, often determined by where a tree grows. Willow, for example, likes to grow in wet soils or besides water bodies, therefore the wood from this tree has a high water content and requires longer seasoning.
The density of the wood also affects how long it needs to be seasoned for. Oak is a very dense wood and can take up to 2 years to season fully. The following is a list of common firewoods with a brief description of their burning characteristics. Opinions vary but it is generally considered as a poor firewood. It burns quickly and gives off little heat. How to Use Wood Ashes in the Home A Brief History of the Woodstove. Staying Warm in Winter.
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