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If you did not grow up in a house with a wood burning
stove, you are probably wondering what is involved in
burning wood for heat and enjoyment. Here are some of
the most frequently asked questions about wood.
Q: What is the best wood for a wood burning stove ?
A: On a pound-for-pound basis all wood contains just
about the same amount of energy. However, on a volume
basis there is a great difference in the heat given off by dif-
ferent woods. As a general rule, so-called "hardwoods"are
more dense than "softwoods". They burn longer and give
off more heat than softwoods. The following table should
help you in choosing which woods to burn.
Species Having High Heat Value
(1 cord = 21,000,000 - 24,000,000 BTU = 200-250 gal. of fuel
oil or 250-300 cu. ft. of natural gas)
Species Having Medium Heat Value
(1 cord = 17,000,000 - 20,000,000 BTU = 150-200 gal. of fuel
oil or 200-250 cu. ft. of natural gas)
Species Having Low Heat Value
(1 cord = 12,000,000-17,000,000 BTU = 100-150 gal. of fuel
oil or 200-250 cu. ft. of natural gas)
Q: Where do I get firewood?
A: For many people the most satisfying way is to cut
yourown. Even if you do not own a woodlot, you may find
that someone who does would be happy to have you
improve his woodland by culling out poor quality hard-
woods. In many states you are allowed to cut in state
forests. You can find out by contacting your county forester
or your state's department in charge of parks and forests.
As pointed out elsewhere in this presentation, even if you
have to buy firewood, you can invariably savemoney over
buying other kinds of fuel. You can usually find firewood
vendors listed in local classified pages, online, and on local
list serves. Look for someone who is honest about the
types of wood they offer and how well seasoned it is.
There is nothing wrong with buying green, unseasoned
wood as long as the price reflects the fact that you cannot
use it until you have taken the time to stack it and dry it.
(More about that, below). It is important to understand the
unit of measure most commonly used for wood: the cord.
Q: How much wood is in a cord?
A: Depending on the size of the pieces of wood and the
care with which it is stacked, the actual amount of wood in
a cord will vary considerably. It is legitimate for a cord to
be as much as 1/3 air. However, no matter what length of
firewood you buy, it must stack up to 8' x 4' x 4' to be a
cord. Note: If you buy a cord of 4 foot lengths of wood and
cut it up yourself, the resulting pile will take up less than a
cord because of all the sawdust you create. A cord put into
16-inch or 24-inch lengths will shrink by 14 percent, or 18
cubic feet, in volume. Another measure by which wood is
sold is the run. A run is 1/3 of a cord and measures 8 feet
by 4 feet by 16 inches.
Q: So, what is a "face cord"?
A: Wood is often advertised as so much per "face cord",
you should be very careful about buying wood on this
basis. A"face cord" is a non-standard measurement that
should never be confused with a cord. It measures 8 feet
long by 4 feet high, but is only as deep as one length of
wood. Obviously, it is possible for a face cord to contain
considerably less than one cord of wood. Before buying a
face cord of wood, you ought to use your calculator to fig-
ure how much you are paying on a cord basis; you may be
unpleasantly surprised.
Q: Everyone says you should let your wood dry for a year
before using it. Is it really necessary to burn seasoned
wood?
A: The simple answer is yes. Seasoned wood will burn bet-
ter, provide more heat, and cause fewer problems than
green wood. When first cut, wood is often more than 50%
water by weight. It takes a lot of energy to drive off this
water -- which is what has to happen before the wood can
burn. So green wood is hard to light, doesn't produce
much heat, and smokes a lot. The water in green wood can
also cool the catalytic combustor to the point that it will no
longer function and/or cause smoke to condense on the
inside of your chimney's walls as creosote. What is impor-
tant is the dryness of the wood (optimally 15-25%water
content), not the period of time it has been drying. At one
extreme, some professional firewood suppliers use wood
kilns to dry wood in only a few days. At the other extreme,
unsplit, improperly stacked wood will rot long before it is
ever dry enough to use.
American Beech
Apple
Hickory
Ironwood
Red Oak
Sugar Maple
White Oak
Yellow Birch
Big Leaf Maple
Eastern Larch
Elm
Red Maple
White Ash
White Birch
Aspen
Cottonwood
Hemlock
Red Alder
Redwood
Sitka Spruce
14
Wood Burning Basics
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