Fuel

Wood burning tips

Don’t burn wet or unseasoned wood.

It is less efficient and greatly increases the risk of heavy tar and soot deposits which can result in a chimney fire or corrosion damage.  Moisture content is critical. Freshly cut wood will contain a moisture content of around 65-90%. This wood should never be used. For best results wood should have a moisture content of less than 20%. The process of removing the excess moisture is called seasoning. Natural seasoning is air drying the wood and can take up to two years depending on the tree species, when it was felled, and the drying conditions. Kiln dried wood is wood that has had an accelerated seasoning by being force dried in a kiln to the required moisture content.

Also don’t burn varnish or plastic-coated wood, wood treated with preservatives or household waste as these can generate emissions that damage the environment and can be harmful to health.

Don’t burn wood slowly in slumbering conditions over prolonged periods

In closed wood stoves this can cause high concentrations of corrosive materials to build up and attack the metal liner thus reducing its lifespan.

Hardwood or softwood?

In an effort to assist each woodstove owner to make an informed, personal decision on which type of wood to burn we have produced the following simplified list of the positives & negatives and related issues of both hardwood and softwood. It considers the wood’s properties, its availability/supply chain, seasoning required, environmental impact and cost, based upon the current wood fuel industry in Cornwall & Devon.

Hardwood

• Hardwoods derived from slow-growing broadleaf trees will burn at a slower rate for sustained output. Therefore, hardwood logs burn slower and last longer than softwood logs. It is generally recognised that hardwoods are twice as dense as softwoods so on a volume basis you would need twice as much softwood than the equivalent softwood volume.
• Hardwood is generally sold unseasoned due to the longer seasoning process required.
• Hardwood is generally more expensive per cubic metre, so the longer rate of burning is negated by the cost.
• Hardwood is not sustainable as a source for firewood as it develops extremely slowly.
• Hardwood is harder to get as it is in limited supply. It cannot meet current & future demand due to the slowness of growth, lack of hardwood forest in Cornwall & the rest of the UK. Therefore, availability of hardwood as a wood fuel in Cornwall diminishes each year and most hardwood is now sourced from outside the County.