The basic rule for home heating: The higher the heat value of the wood, the more efficiently it will warm your home. According to fireplace, hearth, and chimney supplier Northline Express, sugar maple, ash, red oak, beech, birch, hickory, pecan and apple are among the hardwoods with the highest heat values.
Most types of hardwood, for instance Ash (generally regarded as the best), Birch, Beech, Oak and Elm can be used. However, avoid burning woods with a high resin content. As a rule of thumb, the heavier the wood, then the greater the heat output and the longer burn time – the time between refills.
Ideally, you will want wood that burns hot and for as long as possible with minimum smoke and soot. Top of your list should be hard woods like Ash, Oak or Alder.
Watch out for any wood covered with vines. Burning poison ivy, poison sumac, poison oak, or pretty much anything else with "poison" in the name releases the irritant oil urushiol into the smoke. Breathing it in can cause lung irritation and severe allergic respiratory problems, the Centers for Disease Control state.
Seasoned hardwoods make the best firewood. Hardwoods like oak, cherry and maple are denser than softwoods like pine or cedar. Due to their density, they burn longer and produce more heat or BTUs.
Wood burns best at a moisture content of less than 20 percent. Test wood with a wood moisture meter before you burn it. Start fires with newspaper, dry kindling, or all natural fire starters, or install a natural gas or propane log lighter in your open fireplace.
The King can burn for 40+ hours on low or produce a tremendous amount of heat for 12 to 16 hours, depending on your installation and wood type.
Wood needs to be dried for at least a year before it will be suitable enough to burn effectively. Wood with a moisture level above 20% wastes most of the heat it generates boiling the water in the wood. Wood that burns cold, burns slow and produces smoke which can make your stove glass go black.
The Wood Isn't Dry Enough
Wood that is wetter than the recommended 20% or lower moisture content for firewood can prevent your wood stove from getting hot, because more energy from the fire is required to burn off the excess moisture before being able to produce heat.
Wood burned inside the home should always be dry and seasoned for at least 6-12 months. Wood burns most efficiently when the moisture content is at 20% or less. Damp wood burns at a cooler temperature, resulting in incomplete combustion, more smoke, and dangerous creosote build-up in the chimney (a fire hazard).
It's important to find the right spot to season your logs in. It needs to be protected from rain, yet still with plenty of room for air to circulate. Preferably, it should also get some sun to help the process, though this isn't as important as air circulation – without this, mould can form.
Over the rainy season, bring your stack into a shed, but let the air in during the warmer, drier summer months. A little rain doesn't hurt the seasoning process, but a thorough soaking will slow things down. Sunshine Helps - Placing your logs where they can benefit from sunlight will help them dry faster.
Seasoning Your Firewood
You should leave your wood exposed to air and sunlight while allowing it to properly season, but once it's dry, it should be covered. You should not pack unseasoned firewood into a tight space or shed to dry.
Ideally, firewood should remain uncovered so it can be properly dried, but this is not practical when rain, snow and ice can quickly coat winter firewood. A good cover over the top of your woodpile will protect it, and be sure the cover is slanted to shed moisture away from the pile's base.
During the winter, treating wood is more technical because of the moisture present in the air. Unfortunately, the fungus that produces the dry rot loves the moisture. The fungi will eat away the wood by breaking down the cellulose and hemicellulose of the wood.
The bottom line is that you can split both wet and dry wood. The latter is usually easier to split, though many people prefer to split the former so that it dries out more quickly. But if you use a log splitter, you shouldn't have trouble splitting either wet or dry wood.
Wait at least 6 months and up to 12 months for dry firewood depending on type of wood. Hardwoods like oak and maple dry more slowly than soft woods like pine and spruce. To ensure dry firewood, wait at least 12 months before burning. To test, bang two pieces together; dry wood sounds hollow, wet wood sounds dull.
Split the Wood
First things first you must split the wood, Splitting the wood before seasoning increases exposed surface area which subsequently speeds up drying time. Use either an axe or a maul, position the wood on a chopping block and split along the radial lines.
Heating Systems
If your home has a wood stove, plus a forced-air system for backup, you can run only the fans on the backup system. Turn the thermostat down to about 55 degrees. There's usually a manual switch for the fans. Simply running the fans when the stove is burning will move warm air throughout the home.
The answer is, yes. Timber that is too dry can ignite and burn quickly and aggressively, using large volumes of air, which in turn can increase particulate emissions. It's about getting the balance right. A small percentage of water is actually beneficial for wood burning, between 12 – 20%.