Do you have a nice pile of wood that will be good for kindling in the winter? And isn’t it too humid? It’s not just that it will burn harder. Wet wood is uneconomical and unecological to burn.
Do you heat with wood?
Wood is still a good choice and not only when you want to save on heating. The flickering flames behind the glass of the fireplace stove are simply wonderful peeps that create a pleasant feeling of comfort and make every space cozy. However, with fireplaces and stoves also comes concern for wood.
In order for the wood to burn well, it must not only be from a specific type of tree, because it matters a lot, but also how well the log will burn, whether it will not crackle or what its calorific value is. The wood must be dry enough.
The author of this post from the YouTube channel BostonFirewood.com will also advise you on how to recognize wet wood.
Source: Youtube
It is not enough to just cut down the tree and flood it with wood
How long was the wood dried? It is usually left to dry for two years, hard denser wood for 3 years. For this, it must have suitable conditions, i.e. air circulation is necessary. Anyone who cuts down a tree and cuts wood knows when he got it.
But if you are buying wood, you have to rely on what the seller tells you. In the case that you are buying meter-long half-rounds, further drying in the built border and definitely also processing are taken into account. At this length, it certainly won’t fit into any stoves, but halved or quartered meter logs dry better.
Already during wood processing, you will feel how big the difference is not only between soft and hard wood, but also well-dried pieces that literally ring when they are split, just as the author of the video post illustrated.
Dry wood emits a louder and clearer sound when tapped, slightly dry wood more rumbling, deeper. The wood is dry to the touch, but also lighter. Freshly felled wood is very moist and half its weight is water. Dry wood contains roughly 20% water and is therefore a quarter lighter, which is already known. But don’t be fooled by hardwood, which is generally denser and therefore definitely heavier than soft wood, such as spruce.
Is the wood dry? Try the plastic bag trick
But if you buy already processed wood, you don’t cut it, you don’t chip it and you don’t work with it in any way, you simply don’t have this knowledge and it’s kind of in your hand. How else to find out if the wood is dry enough?
In addition to the sound, an ordinary bag will also tell you. Seal the log in plastic and leave it in a room at room temperature for 24 hours. If moisture precipitates appear on the walls inside the bag, it will be clear that the wood is too wet, although at first glance it seems to be quite fine.
Also, don’t forget that you also have to store the wood well, otherwise it can naturally get damp outside. Stacked wood should not lie directly on the ground. Insulation or elevation is suitable. Air should circulate between the stored wood, there must be a roof or a cover on top so that it does not rain or snow on the wood.
Sources: drevostavitel.cz, piwakawakavalley.co.nz
