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Which wood should you use ? Different types of wood have different heat capacities and do not burn in the same way. Generally speaking, you should choose hard wood such as oak, beech, ash, hornbeam or fruit trees. They produce lovely flames and lots of embers, which glow for a long time. Drying Whatever wood you choose, it should be really dry. Damp wood provides a great deal less heat and a large amount of the energy is used just to evaporate the water it contains. Sapwood - as the soft wood just beneath the bark is called - can contain up to 75 % water. Moist wood also releases a lot of smoke, produces few flames and causes the stove, its glass door and the chimney to get dirty and soot up. Big logs should be chopped up to dry better. Wood should be covered or sheltered from the rain but well ventilated. Generally speaking, you should allow two years for the wood to dry properly. You will soon learn to estimate the dryness of the logs by holding them in your hand. The drier they are, the lighter they will feel and they will produce a clearer sound when you knock them together. To be avoided Wood that has been treated chemically, railway sleepers, and chipboard, which soon make appliances and chimneys dirty and can give off toxic fumes. |
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Beech (1) and ash Firewood to be recommended : they dry quickly and are readily available. They should be stored under shelter as soon as they have been cut or split, otherwise they rot very quickly and lose their heat capacity. They are easy to ignite, provide good fires and bright flames. Oak (2) An excellent fuel, but as opposed to other wood, must remain unsheltered for two years so that the rain can wash away the tannins it contains. Then it should be stored under shelter for another year or two before being suitable for burning. There is a significant proportion of sapwood (which burns too quickly) in small branches. Oak burns slowly, provides a steady fire and gives lovely embers. It is ideal for a barbecue and for slow burning. Hornbeam (3), cherry wood (4), fruit trees Excellent fuels but scarce. These are hard woods providing lovely steady flames, and give good embers. They are ideal for a barbecue and for slow burning. Birch (5), lime, chestnut, poplar, robinia, acacia These are broad-leaved trees producing soft wood. They provide nice, lively flames and few embers. This wood burns fast and can be used to light or rekindle the fire. Warning: poplar produces abundant and volatile embers. Robinia and acacia can cause embers to spit. Conifers They produce a lot of heat but burn quickly ; they spit embers and the resins they contain dirty the chimney. They should be avoided. |
