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How to Buy Firewood
Overview: The heat from burning
firewood is really stored solar energy from the
sun, the source of all earth’s energy. Through
photosynthesis trees store solar energy as chemical
energy that we use for heat. Burning wood is the
process of reversing the store energy in the wood
to heat our homes.
Sounds complex, not really.
Unlike the burning of fossil fuels such as gas and
oil, which we believe is upsetting our climate for
the worst, burning firewood releases no more
harmful greenhouse gases than would be released if
the wood just rotted on the forest floor. If we are
responsible in the ways we select, cut, and burn
firewood, wood burning can actually be a better
choice than fossil fuels for protecting the
environment.
All firewood contains water. Freshly cut wood can
contain up to 45% water, while well seasoned
firewood generally has 10 to 15% moisture content.
Seasoned firewood is easier to start, produces more
heat, and burns cleaner. If your wood is cut 6
months to a year in advance and properly stored,
the sun and wind will do the seasoning for free. If
you burn green wood the heat produced by combustion
must dry the wood before it will burn which uses a
large percentage of the available energy in the
wood. The result is less heat from your wood, and
literally gallons of acidic water in the form of
creosote going up your chimney.
Knowing how to buy firewood is critical to insure
that you are getting what you are buying. You can
determine if the firewood you intend to buy is
seasoned or not. Well seasoned firewood generally
has darkened ends with cracks or splits that are
visible. It is relatively lighter than green wood
and makes a clear "clunk" when two pieces are
knocked together. Green fire wood is much heavier
and the ends look fresher.
It is best to buy firewood in the spring
before you intend to burn it and store it properly.
Seasoned firewood can be ruined if improperly
stored. If exposed to constant rain or covered snow
the wood will reabsorb large amounts of water
making it unfit to burn and causing it to rot. Wood
should be stored off the ground on racks or pallets
and protected from moisture.
The ideal place for firewood storage is in a wood
shed with a roof but open on the sides for air
circulation to promote drying. An alternative is to
keep the wood piled in a sunny location and cover
it on rainy or snowy days. With the proper storage
you can turn green wood into great firewood in just
six months although a year is preferred for optimum
burning. Properly stored firewood can last three or
four years.
Firewood is called cord wood and generally sold by
volume by the cord. Other terms often used such as
a face cord, rick, or just a truckload. A standard
cord of firewood is 128 cubic feet of wood measured
as a pile 8 feet long by 4 feet tall by 4 feet
deep. A face cord is also 8 feet long by 4 feet
tall, but it is only as deep as the wood is cut. A
face cord of 16" in length wood actually is only
1/3 of a cord, 24" in length wood yields 1/2 of a
cord. A
rick of firewood is simply a pile or a truck load.
Truck sizes vary so you should be more specific at
what you are buying before agreeing on a price.
Always buy firewood by volume; cord, 1/2 cord, or
other fractions of a cord.
Pound for pound all firewood wood has approximately the same BTU content but a cord of seasoned hardwood weighs about twice as much as the same volume of softwood such as pine, consequently seasoned firewood contains almost twice as much potential heat as soft firewood.
Related articles:
Installing a Wood Burning Fireplace
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