How to Recognize Quality Firewood

Firewood can be used for a variety of purposes; it’s highly durable, versatile, and is an essential source of energy. However, there are important things to keep in mind when purchasing firewood. Different wood types burn differently; factors such as water content, density, heat value, and type of wood determine how efficiently the wood burns. 

Identifying good quality firewood can be tricky; many people pick a few random logs, thinking that they’ll do the trick. To ensure efficiency, effectiveness, and minimum to no emissions, we are here to tell you how to recognize quality firewood.

Dry Firewood

Wet firewood is not quality firewood; before buying wood, you must make sure that its moisture content falls below 20%. Your firewood must be seasoned or dried so that it can burn effectively. Examine the ends of the logs to find out whether the firewood is well-seasoned. Opt for firewood with splitting and dark ends. You can also compare the weight of different logs as wet wood is much heavier than dry wood. Dry wood also makes a hollow sound if you hit two logs together. Moisture meters can also be used to measure the firewood’s moisture content. The reason why you should avoid burning wet firewood is that it will combust quite poorly and result in more smoke. This happens because much energy will be directed toward burning the excess amounts of water in the logs. Because your stove won’t be able to burn the tars and creosote that is in the smoke, they will build up in the chimney and the flue pipes. Besides, burning wet wood is very harmful to the environment as it partakes in pollution and results in great levels of emissions. 

Seasoning Firewood

It’s important to keep in mind that just because the firewood is seasoned doesn’t automatically mean that it’s dry. Typically, it takes up to three years for firewood to naturally season. When you’re purchasing firewood, most sellers will claim that the logs have been down for two years, leading you to believe that the logs are dry, but that’s not always the case. The UK firewood distributors at https://www.buyfirewooddirect.co.uk/ recommend that you purchase kiln-dried wood to avoid this hassle. Wood that is seasoned naturally must be sawn into logs, split, then covered and stored. If you buy wood that is not kiln-dried, you must use a moisture meter to measure the moisture level inside the logs. 

Not All Woods Burn the Same

The most important thing to consider when buying firewood is that not all woods burn the same. If you want longer fires, opt for hardwoods like beech, ash, and oak as they burn slowly. For more intense, but shorter fires, you should buy softwoods like spruce and pine. Avoid burning manufactured wood, pallet wood, construction timber, or treated or painted wood. If you are using firewood in your home you should consider installing some fire doors.

You must always buy quality firewood to prevent large amounts of smoke and tar build-up, and ensure that your logs won’t spit or burn too quickly. When buying firewood, the most important thing to keep in mind is the moisture content. If the moisture content is too high, this will affect the quality of your firewood.