Spruce
Many woodworkers wrinkle their noses at the mention of spruce, because the heat output from using it is usually small and it burns to ashes, leaving no embers. But this variety of trees still occupies its niche among the wood suitable for use as firewood. Spruce burns easily and gives off heat quickly, so it's excellent if you need to quickly warm up a cold house.
In addition, due to its structure, spruce is easier to chop into small chips, and no firewood supply is complete without spruce chips for lighting. So-called firewood for baking in special ovens is often made from finely chopped spruce (or aspen) precisely because such firewood burns quickly and evenly. By frequently adding a small amount of spruce wood, once every three to five minutes, you can maintain complete control over the heat. Previously, spruce firewood was called that - kitchen firewood, but birch firewood was called firewood for the living room.
According to an old Norwegian tradition at Christmas, the fireplace was stoked with spruce wood. A Christmas bundle - a small woodpile that was specially prepared for Christmas and kept inside the house - was traditionally assembled from spruce logs. Many made it from raw wood for the smell and did not heat it with this firewood until Easter itself.
Spruce has a fairly dense internal structure. This causes the wood to crackle and bounce as the tar pockets explode in flames. Therefore, they are best used in a stove or fireplace with a glass door. Many people like this crackle - it gives a feeling of life in a fireplace.
Due to the high demand for birch firewood, loggers often sell spruce firewood quite cheaply. The difference in price turns out to be much higher than the difference in heat output. On average, the density of spruce is 380 kilograms per cubic meter, possible variations are from 300 to 600 kilograms. Late spruce is heavy and full of energy.
Which one is best for the oven
Any wood can be used as fuel. The main thing is that they are. Each region has its own preferences, depending on which trees grow in a given area. Many believe that birch or alder are the best. The choice is yours.
To the bath
The choice of logs for heating the bath depends on the design of the stove. Many prefer:
- Alder. They give a persistent heat, burn almost smokelessly. There is a belief among the people about their healing power;
- Birch. It burns evenly, the heat is strong;
- Willow. Heat dissipation is low, you will need a lot of them, but the spirit in the bath will be especially light.
It is not recommended to use oak ones - they burn out for a long time, the heat is hard, they emit a large amount of carbon monoxide. Periodically, aspen is used to clean the chimney. If the furnace furnace is remote, the main selection criterion is heat transfer.
For home heating
Hardwood firewood has the best qualities, and they are used more often. Birch, oak, linden - any, depending on their availability and needs. The main thing is to be dry. In fireplaces, it is better to use those types that smoke less, do not “shoot”.
Heating with wood can be caused both by necessity - due to the lack of another type of fuel, or by one's own desire. Logs burning in the stove create an unsurpassed atmosphere of warmth and comfort, emit a lot of heat, and for the most part provide a healing effect.
Subtleties and nuances
- Worst of all, if you have raw aspen firewood. This type of wood emits a small amount of heat, so aspen firewood will be very difficult to kindle. Logs under the influence of temperature will slowly smolder, releasing very little heat.
- A good option for quickly kindling raw logs would be birch or spruce. Despite the fact that these tree species emit a lot of soot and soot when burned, they are optimal for quick kindling.Fire is caught on chips and birch bark in just a matter of seconds.
- The original method of quick drying of wood was invented by our ancestors. Salt should be sprinkled on damp firewood in large quantities. Salt will draw out some of the moisture, and the firewood will become usable.
- If we kindle a fire in nature and we have flammable liquids in our arsenal, for example, diesel fuel, gasoline, kerosene, then it is quite possible to pour wood chips with these compounds. If we want to use flammable liquids in the oven, then we can moisten a rag with them and put it between the logs. The characteristic smell from such liquids after kindling a fire will disappear quickly enough.
- Some experts recommend putting an empty bottle of vegetable oil in the firebox. With its help, you can quickly get the required amount of fire.
Note that firewood is always bought raw. It is best to do this in winter, stocking up for the next season, when equipment easily enters the forest. In this case, firewood will lie with you for a whole year before use. It is required to store them in a woodpile, closed from precipitation and blown by the wind.
As you can see, there are no particular difficulties with kindling raw firewood, the main thing is to approach this issue thoughtfully, to carry out preparatory work with high quality. With a little patience, you'll have a nice, intense fire that gives you warmth.
wood density
Of course, for extreme cases, any kind of firewood is suitable, including those obtained from a broken wooden box. But if we are talking about constant heating, then it is better to choose wood species that are characterized by the highest heat transfer. The heat transfer coefficient depends on several factors, including the density of the material.
Hardwoods are the same that are widely used in construction and decoration: oak, birch, beech. The greatest heat transfer is characteristic of oak, but, since oak belongs to the category of valuable wood species, it is rarely used as a fuel.
It is worth paying attention to birch: birch gives heat 18% more than pine, and 25% more than aspen. It's perfect for the oven.
- Medium-hard - these include conifers - spruce, pine, larch, and species of fruit trees - apple, pear. Logs from them give less heat, but quickly flare up, and spread a wonderful aroma.
- Soft ones - alder, aspen, are characterized by low heat transfer, but, due to the low moisture content, they burn out, almost without forming soot. Such firewood is great for a fireplace, since the latter often serves as a decorative element than a real source of heat, like a stove.
It is no secret that logs from freshly cut wood, regardless of the species, burn poorly: they do not flare up for a long time, give less heat, smoke, and so on. In order for the combustion process to provide maximum heat, the wood must be well dried. Moisture content should not exceed more than 15-20%
To determine the degree of dryness, you can conduct a sound test: if a ringing sound is heard when two logs collide, then the firewood is ready for use.
Birch
This is the queen of the Norwegian forests. Birch has a deservedly high rank in Norway, so high that other good varieties of trees are in the shade and are preferred by many.
Nevertheless, the status of a national firewood tree has a good justification: there is a lot of birch (it makes up 74% of all deciduous trees), and it grows large and even. The exception is mountain birch, which can be twisty and difficult to place in small ovens. But in a birch growing in valleys and lowlands, if the trees are dense, a long trunk without branches is formed.
In terms of processing, birch is just a lumberjack's dream compared to spruce and pine. The twigs are thin, the leaves do not stick to gloves and tools, like needles. In the oven, birch firewood behaves incomparably.Their combustion coefficient is high, they do not throw sparks into the room and turn into bright embers. In addition to everything, birch bark flares up easily and helps with ignition.
But birch has its own requirements: it needs good drying and quickly deteriorates if it is attacked by fungus and mold. If undried birch is left lying on the ground, it will quickly rot.
Birch grows most actively up to 50 years and rarely lives more than 200 years. Downy birch can grow up to 20 meters, drooping birch - up to 30 meters. The average density of wood is 500 kilograms of dry raw materials per cubic meter.
Firewood for a bath from deciduous trees
Hardwood is more often used for heating baths than coniferous firewood. Ash, alder, birch, fruit trees are suitable for these purposes.
Consider the brief characteristics of firewood from several species of deciduous trees:
Aspen firewood is not very suitable for heating a bath, because it is difficult to catch fire, but it burns quickly and gives little heat. Aspen wood gives a long flame without soot, so they are used mainly for cleaning soot from the chimney. An additional component that increases the effectiveness of cleaning is potato peel. During joint combustion, aspen firewood and potato peels loosen dense soot, which leaves the chimney due to traction.
- Alder, numbering more than a dozen species, was used in Russia for heating baths for the nobility. Such firewood is easy to dry, even without creating special conditions for it. The main thing is that the logs were harvested from a tree that grew on not very wet soil. Alder firewood does not lose its natural aroma for a long time. The advantages of alder firewood are quick ignition, a large amount of heat, no smoke due to the low resin content. The aroma of alder has a beneficial effect on health, helping to overcome colds, depression and fatigue. Like aspen, alder firewood is used to clean soot from the chimney. Alder firewood is considered an excellent option for barbecue. You can read more about this in the article “Features of choosing firewood for barbecue”.
- Linden firewood is slow to ignite but gives off an effective, persistent heat. The steam from the linden is considered healing, especially if honey is added to the oven and the patient's body is smeared with it. These firewood are considered the best for a bath, but they have one drawback - they can be stored for no more than two years.
- High-quality oak firewood, selected from middle-aged trees, is classified as a prestigious type of fuel. Steam from oak logs is tart, smells like a forest and helps with some chronic diseases, it is recommended to keep children healthy. Oak wood is ideal for fireplace inserts.
- Birch firewood has antibacterial properties. The steam in the bath, heated with birch firewood not older than two years, is light, fragrant, good for the respiratory system, and helps fight colds.
Birch wood is hard, in terms of heat transfer it is second only to oak, significantly surpassing aspen and pine. To get rid of soot that clogs the pipe, at the end of the firebox with birch firewood, aspen logs are added to the stove.
- Willow is an affordable, fast-renewable wood. It burns hot, burns out quickly, does not smoke, requires significant reserves.
- The wood of fruit trees - cherries, pears, apple trees, plums - is a fairly common option for heating a bath. Such firewood is fragrant, burns hot and smokeless, especially apple wood. Essential oils are used to enhance and change the aroma. If you can use old fruit trees with a rotten core for a firebox at home, then this option is suitable for a bathhouse.
After choosing the type of wood and cutting the logs, you need to take care of their proper drying and subsequent storage. To do this, they arrange a woodpile in the open air or in a barn not far from the bathhouse. Firewood is laid up with bark and not directly on the ground, but on a stand made of beams and poles.More information about the methods and features of drying lumber and firewood can be found in the article "How to dry wood properly".
Primary requirements
The best firewood for furnaces is dry. Humidity should be within 20%. This is the main requirement. The calorific value of wood is highly dependent on its moisture content.
Dry wood flares up and burns well, emits more heat, smokes less. Logs should not be rotten, saturated with water. Water logs are unsuitable for heating furnaces.
Good firewood leaves little ash. It is desirable to harvest wood in late autumn or winter, when the sap flow stops, the wood is denser.
The size of firewood for the stove depends on the size of the firebox, usually the length is 35-40 centimeters. Thickness - medium, thick logs split. Small logs are easy to kindle. They also burn quickly, which must be taken into account when harvesting them.
Rare types of firewood
Oak
- the best firewood for the stove. The wood is dense, burns for a long time, gives a high heat transfer, it turns out to be very economical, because compared to other firewood, much less is consumed to heat the same area. Due to its high cost, it is more often used as an additive to other wood. A couple of oak poles will make the burning more intense and longer.
Good oak firewood comes from middle-aged trees and releases a pleasant, tart flavor when burned. Oak firewood is ideal not only for stoves, but also for fireplaces.
Excellent, but also one of the most expensive - alder
firewood. They burn hot, without smoke and soot, spreading a pleasant aroma.
You can’t confuse alder with any other firewood; on the cut, it has a color from yellow to deep red. Perhaps this is the best firewood for the fireplace, they burn with a bewitching even flame of a beautiful shade. A big plus is that alder firewood is stored for a long time, it can be harvested for future use for 5-6 years.
Rare woods include linden. Although linden is common, but linden firewood is not common. The wood is hot, however, it flares up for a long time, but then the stove heats up very quickly. The aroma that comes from the linden when burned has healing properties. A bath heated with linden firewood is useful for colds, diseases of the bronchi and lungs, and has a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin.
Regardless of what type of firewood you buy, make sure that the wood is not rotten. The benefits of rot are zero. In order for firewood to burn, giving off heat to the maximum, it must be dry. Uncured wood burns poorly, produces a lot of smoke and little heat.
For thousands of years, our ancestors used wood (firewood) as fuel. And today, despite the widespread use of natural gas or coal, they remain a popular type of fuel.
In the country or in the countryside, you can not do without them. The wood of various trees can be used as fuel. All of them have their own characteristics.
