Times have changed now, and a lot of people have begun to use gas stoves instead of their firewood counterparts. However, it’s interesting to see that a specific cross-section of people still finds the traditional firewood stove more efficient. Users claim it to be better in all respects, especially when compared with its gas and electronic successors. Also, when it comes to outdoor and heavy-duty use, firewood stoves have no match. And because these stoves are so popular, there has never been a dip in the demand of firewood. Firewood is also a necessity for your fireplace if you are not a big fan of electric fireplaces.
What kind of firewood is best for your stove?
Well, if you want to explore your stove’s full potential, then you should burn the right wood. Now, what is right for your stove? Hands down! It’s ready to burn firewood. Now, you must be wondering why this wood variety is called so. That’s because the moisture content in it is 20% or less. With low moisture content, these logs of wood are indeed ready to burn.
Let’s now try to understand why ready to burn or dry wood is so much better than routine wood. When there is a fire, heat energy gets generated. Also, when you burn dry wood, the energy involved is focused on producing heat. But when you burn wet wood, the same energy has first to boil the water that is present in the logs. So, it is very obvious that the heat which should have gone into warming up your room has instead got wasted in boiling the water present in the wood. And that is why ready to burn firewood, which is essentially dry, is a far better option than normal wood having water content that exceeds 20%.
Some people tend to believe that dry wood is a less efficient option because it burns faster. In reality, fast burning is equal to better efficiency in the usage of heat energy.
Combustion value comparison-
Compare a tonne of wet wood with a tonne of dry firewood. Due to moisture in the former, the combustion value is lower as compared to that of dry wood. As ready to burn firewood is dried correctly using the right approach, it burns faster. On the other hand, in burning wet logs, a lot of energy gets wasted, as discussed above.
Also, due to the presence of moisture in them, wet logs are heavy. But they cannot be burned readily or drastically, which explains its poor burn value.
Further, it’s not just the burn value that is low; even the combustion quality is poor in case of wet logs. That is why they let out a lot of smoke when you burn them. Since creosotes and tar are also produced in the process, the flue of your chimney could also get damaged. So, dry logs are not just good for your health but also the health of your appliances.
In autumn, when you get your first load of dry wood delivered, you stack it away and wait for the winters to arrive. After all, that’s a joy only winter lovers can understand. Evenings spent in front of a good log fire, thumbing through your favourite book, or simply watching a good flick, make beautiful memories. The only thing that you need to keep in mind while you get ready for all those beautiful experiences is that the wrong wood could turn these experiences sour. So, invest in ready to burn wood and enjoy winters!
