Good firewood is a must. How to choose and store firewood for the fireplace?
The amount of heat emitted, the burning time, the smell, the cleanliness of the fireplace and fireplace flues – all this depends on what kind of wood you burn. How to choose the right fuel and how to store it to enjoy the cozy warmth of a fireplace fire for a long time, without excessive smoke, soot and ash?
To burn in the fireplace consumes up to a dozen cubic meters of wood per season, if someone relies heavily on this source of heat. Taking into account current prices – that’s several thousand zlotys. So it’s good to know what we spend this money on and choose the most suitable wood. What do you need to pay attention to? Three things are important – energy content, moisture content and how the wood is stored.
Birch, oak, pine or beech?
What amount of heat you will get when burning in the fireplace is significantly influenced by the species of wood. The amount of ash that remains after burning and the cleanliness of the glass and chimney flues also depend on it.
Specialists advise against burning coniferous wood. It has a lot of resin, which during combustion settles on the walls and glass and in the chimney. At the same time, it burns quickly and gives off a lot of smoke. As a last resort, you can use, for example, pine sap as fire starter, but only in small amounts.
So the best wood for the fireplace is hardwood. The general rule is that the harder, the better. Therefore, it is worth buying primarily oak, hornbeam or beech wood, which produces the most heat during combustion. At the initial stage of burning or when you want to quickly get a higher temperature, softer woods such as birch will work well.
The energy quality of wood is determined by its calorific value – the lighter it is, the less calorific it is. For example, birch weighs about half that of oak – so you need twice as much birch wood to get the same amount of heat energy as when burning oak wood.
At points selling chimney wood, hornbeam or oak and birch are most often available – a good combination. It is worth buying them in a 2:1 ratio, that is, for example, for two meters of hornbeam, one meter of birch. The bark of the latter is great for kindling, so we can replace artificial kindling with it.
Sometimes the question is also asked about the “fireplace value” of fruit trees. It is not bad, for example, the wood of apple trees is quite hard, but when burning fruit wood you have to reckon with a rather intense smell. There is a reason why this species of wood is used for smoking food.
Seasoned – that is, what kind of wood?
For the quality of firewood, its moisture content is of considerable importance. When the tree is freshly cut, there is up to 70 percent water in it! Such wood is unsuitable for burning – it will smoke a lot and will ignite only after it has dried a bit in the fireplace. In addition, the fumes suspended in water vapor will settle on the walls and glass of the fireplace and in the flue.
Therefore, the wood after cutting must dry, that is, season. For at least a year, and preferably two years, it should be kept under a roof in an airy and dry place. Then its moisture content will drop below 20 percent, and only such will be the most effective as fuel.
Wood can be seasoned in logs or already chopped into billets. The latter method is better, as chopped wood dries faster and is already suitable for burning a year after cutting.
For storing and seasoning wood, it is important to have a properly prepared place – preferably a wood rack, which will provide not only protection from rain or moisture from the ground, but also adequate ventilation.
The amount of heat emitted, the burning time, the smell, the cleanliness of the fireplace and fireplace flues – all this depends on what kind of wood you burn. How to choose the right fuel and how to store it to enjoy the cozy warmth of a fireplace fire for a long time, without excessive smoke, soot and ash?
To burn in the fireplace consumes up to a dozen cubic meters of wood per season, if someone relies heavily on this source of heat. Taking into account current prices – that’s several thousand zlotys. So it’s good to know what we spend this money on and choose the most suitable wood. What do you need to pay attention to? Three things are important – energy content, moisture content and how the wood is stored.
Birch, oak, pine or beech?
What amount of heat you will get when burning in the fireplace is significantly influenced by the species of wood. The amount of ash that remains after burning and the cleanliness of the glass and chimney flues also depend on it.
Specialists advise against burning coniferous wood. It has a lot of resin, which during combustion settles on the walls and glass and in the chimney. At the same time, it burns quickly and gives off a lot of smoke. As a last resort, you can use, for example, pine sap as fire starter, but only in small amounts.
So the best wood for the fireplace is hardwood. The general rule is that the harder, the better. Therefore, it is advisable to buy primarily oak, hornbeam or beech wood, which produces the most heat during combustion. At the initial stage of burning or when you want to quickly get a higher temperature, softer woods such as birch will work well.
The energy quality of wood is determined by its calorific value – the lighter it is, the less calorific it is. For example, birch weighs about half that of oak – so you need twice as much birch wood to get the same amount of heat energy as when burning oak wood.
At points selling chimney wood, hornbeam or oak and birch are most often available – a good combination. It is worth buying them in a 2:1 ratio, that is, for example, for two meters of hornbeam, one meter of birch. The bark of the latter is great for kindling, so we can replace artificial kindling with it.
Sometimes the question is also asked about the “fireplace value” of fruit trees. It is not bad, for example, the wood of apple trees is quite hard, but when burning fruit wood you have to reckon with a rather intense smell. There is a reason why this species of wood is used for smoking food.
Seasoned – that is, what kind? Match the stand to the garden.
In addition to the practical advantages of Hörmann wood racks, their aesthetic qualities are also important. They come in two designs – Classic and Modern, which coincides with the range of garden houses, so you can create any combination you want.
You can also choose the right color. There are 9 colors to choose from as standard, but for an additional fee you can request any of the more than 200 colors found in the RAL palette.
If you prefer a more natural finish, you can choose a stand with a golden oak decorative surface (but only in the Modern pattern).
Hörmann garden stands and cottages are delivered pre-assembled, which speeds up the assembly process. They can be placed on a hard surface, such as paving stones, but you can also order a stand or cottage with a corrugated metal floor. In the basic version, they are equipped with an aluminum floor frame for protection against corrosion and to ensure adequate stability.
Efficient combustion
Finally, a few more words about how to burn in a fireplace to make the most of the energy stored in the wood. First of all, you need to remember to use fine wood for kindling and from lighter species, such as birch. Only then do we add hornbeam or oak logs. The fireplace should also be equipped with the ability to regulate the air draft. Immediately after the wood is lit, this supply should be reduced to a minimum at which the wood is not overly flared.
In the world, the method of burning “from above” is gaining more and more recognition. It consists of arranging the wood in the form of a pyramid, with thicker pieces at the bottom and thinner pieces at the top. We set fire from the top, and the fire gradually occupies lower and lower “floors”. In this way, the wood burns more slowly, we have more control over its combustion, and we can put more of it in at one time without worrying about the whole insert igniting at once.
For the quality of fireplace wood, its moisture content is of considerable importance. When the tree is freshly cut, there is up to 70 percent water in it! Such wood is not suitable for burning – it will smoke a lot and will ignite only when it has already dried up a bit in the fireplace. In addition, the fumes suspended in water vapor will settle on the walls and glass of the fireplace and in the flue.
Therefore, the wood after cutting must dry, that is, season. For at least a year, and preferably two years, it should be kept under a roof in an airy and dry place. Then its moisture content will drop below 20 percent, and only such will be the most effective as fuel.
Wood can be seasoned in logs or already chopped into billets. The latter method is better, as chopped wood dries faster and is already suitable for burning a year after cutting.
For storing and seasoning wood, it is important to have a properly prepared place – preferably a wood rack, which will provide not only protection from rain or moisture from the ground, but also adequate ventilation.
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