We get fulfillment by building a solid woodpile knowing that it will warm us all winter. Our 10 acres of woody acreage puts out a lot of first-class trees for fuel, but as we don’t have much time, we pay for two or three cords each fall to fill out what we gather ourselves. Through familiarity, we’ve caught on to some facts about making fuel that might aid you if you’re thinking of heating your home with a wood stove.
The job of gathering firewood is made easier with some advance planning. Getting in the fuel at least a year before burning it ensures that it’s had time to properly dry out. Cured firewood has hardly a trace of moisture and burns with minor creosote. Keeping it in a woodshed enclosure that receives adequate air movement is the perfect system to cure firewood. Piling it handily in the open air in a sunlit site is an acceptable substitute.
Green wood is astonishingly effortless to split. We stopped splitting firewood manually years ago, but even with our wood splitter, the responsibility goes quicker when we work with fresh wood. Splitting also speeds up the seasoning process since more surface area of the log is uncovered. Uncured firewood sells for less money than seasoned logs, which has allowed our splitter to pay for itself within two years of purchase.
Softwood gets bashed for poor heat productivity. However, this statement is only somewhat correct. All woods put out the same number of BTUs. The difference is that soft woods are less heavy, so it takes more firewood to emit the same amount of heat.
Don’t get me wrong-we adore hardwood as an energy source, and our woodlot has so much deadfall that we have more of it than we can use. But if we didn’t have this resource, we would run across some suspicions about bringing in only hardwood. Obviously, your decision on this topic will rely on your local conditions.
When paying for firewood, evaluate the mix of pieces in the lot to discern how much is hardwood and how much is softwood types. The greater quantity of softwood in the batch, the less the fuel ought to cost.
Wood for heating is normally offered for sale in “face cords,” which is four feet high and wide if it’s piled. Stick length ought to be about 16″. If they’re greatly smaller, you’re not getting your money’s worth; if they’re bigger, they might be too big for your fireplace.