Burning Wood
How to Burn Wood in your Woodburning Stove / Woodburner
The most appropriate fuels are seasoned, cleaved hardwoods. Coal is most appropriate when slow burning is required. It is not appropriate to use the following as fuel: wet, tarred, treated or painted wood; sawdust or wood shavings; fine coal, paper or cardboard (except when lighting).
1. Burning Wood.
Wood should be cut, split and then stored under cover with sides open to the air for at least a year. (It takes two years for some hardwoods to season fully.) Store it inside the house for a few days, or in the warm log store for a few hours before it is actually used in the woodburner.
Wood that is too wet will not burn properly and will give off little heat. Heat from the fire will be lost as it is used to evaporate the water vapour from the wood. It will cause excessive pollution and darken the glass.
When refueling, place wood towards the back of the stove where it will burn hotter and more efficiently. Try to place logs length ways so that any spitting from the end grain does not go onto the glass window.
2. Types and Characteristics of Wood
The quality of firewood is based upon various characteristics such as its speed of burn, heat given off, tendency to spark (spit), ease of splitting, time required to season, etc
Grade: 1 = Poor
Grade: 2 = Low
Grade: 3 = Good
Grade: 4 = High
Wood |
Characteristics |
Grade |
|
Alder |
A low quality firewood |
1 |
|
Apple |
Needs to be seasoned well. Burns well with a pleasant smell and without sparking/spitting. |
3 |
|
Ash |
Considered to be one of the best woods for firewood. It has a low water content (approx. 50%) and can be split very easily with an axe. It can be burned green but like all wood is best when seasoned. Burns at a steady rate and not too fast. |
4 |
|
Beech |
Beech has a high water content (approx. 90%) so only burns well when seasoned well. |
3 |
|
Birch |
Birch is an excellent firewood and will burn unseasoned. However, it does burn very fast so is best mixed with slower burning wood such as Elm or Oak. |
3-4 |
|
Cedar |
A good firewood which burns well with a pleasant smell. Gives off a good, lasting heat. Doesn't spit too much and small pieces can be burned unseasoned |
2 |
|
Cherry |
Needs to be seasoned well. Burns well with a pleasant smell and without spitting. |
2-3 |
|
Elm |
A good firewood but due to its high water content of approximately 140% (more water than wood!) it must be seasoned very well. It may need assistance from another faster burning wood such as Birch to keep it burning well. However it gives off a good, lasting heat and burns very slowly. Dutch Elm Disease is producing a constant & plentiful supply of small dead hedgerow Elm trees of a small diameter. Larger pieces of wood will prove difficult to split. |
2-3 |
|
Eucalyptus |
Allow to season well since the wood is very wet (sappy) when fresh. Can be difficult to split due to stringy wood fibre. Best method is to slice into rings and allow to season during the summer, the rings will start to split themselves. Burns fast with a pleasant smell and without spitting. |
2-3 |
|
Hawthorn |
Good firewood. Burns well |
3-4 |
|
Hazel |
Excellent firewood. Allow to season. Burns fast but without spitting |
4 |
|
Holly |
Can be burnt green. A good firewood |
3 |
|
Hornbeam |
Good firewood. Burns well |
3 |
|
Horse Chestnut |
A low quality firewood |
2 |
|
Larch |
Needs to be seasoned well. Spits excessively while it burns and forms an oily soot within chimney's. |
1 |
|
Lime |
A low quality firewood |
2 |
|
Oak |
The best firewood. When seasoned well, it gives off a good, lasting heat. Burns reasonably slowly. Very high energy value, approaching that of coal. |
4+ |
|
Pear |
Needs to be seasoned well. Burns well with a pleasant smell and without spitting. |
3 |
|
Pine |
Needs to be seasoned well. Spits while it burns and forms an oily soot within chimney's. Very light when dry, with a low calorific value. Burns quickly. |
0 |
|
Plane |
A usable firewood |
3 |
|
Poplar |
Considered a poorer firewood (see comments below), but not as bad as sometimes made out to be. |
1 |
|
Rowan |
Good firewood. Burns well |
3 |
|
Spruce |
A low quality firewood |
2 |
|
Sweet Chestnut |
Burns when seasoned but spits continuously and excessively. Not for use on an open fire and make sure wood-burning stoves have a good door catch |
1-2 |
|
Sycamore (Maples) |
Good firewood. Burns well |
3 |
|
Walnut |
A low quality firewood |
2 |
|
Wellingtonia |
Poor for use as a firewood. |
1 |
|
Willow |
Willow has a high water content so only burns well when seasoned well |
2 |
|
Yew |
A usable firewood |
2-3 |
Additional notes courtesy of Kevin Twelvetrees, HETAS fitter, selling firewood for over 50 years, main work teaching how to season and dry wood for people with wood stoves.
"Pine is too general a description. Some pine softwoods, when seasoned and dry, are excellent for a fast hot fire with no residue in the flues. Some Stoves are on for just a few hours when busy people come home and want a fast quick warm stove, and seasoned dry Leyllandii is excellent. It wont last long but that's not what the busy household wants. North America and Canada, Scandinavian Countries all burn Pine on stoves.
Some woods burn green, but that is only in open fires where the flue gases are fast up and out the chimney. All wood must be seasoned and dry. Ash and Birch must not be burnt green in a Stove.
Your Stoves are Excellent, the Arctic is one of my favourites for its value and looks".
