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Burning Wood
Burning only seasoned timber is
not only cost effective (it produces almost 50% more heat energy than freshly felled timber),
it is also safer, producing far less corrosive tar and hydrocarbons and less sparks.
To ensure a supply of seasoned timber, a proper regime needs to be established. Ideally,
timber from trees felled in the preceding winter or early spring needs to be stacked on a
sunny site until the following autumn and then stored under cover to prevent re-absorption of
water. It is best to bring logs into the house a few weeks before burning to complete the
drying cycle. The optimum thickness of logs for burning is 10cm as wood is a poor conductor
of heat.
Although it is well known that wood from broadleaf trees (beech, oak, ash, etc.)
has the best burning efficiency and calorific value, it is sometimes more difficult
to obtain. Pine
and Douglas Fir (provided they are properly dried in the prescribed way)
will still give around 80% of the effective heat energy obtainable from the
broadleaf trees, but be aware that
pine (along with elder) is the worst wood for producing sparks. On the subject
of sparks, if you are using an open fire, logs will spark less on a bed of
ashes on the hearth than if
burnt in a log basket.
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