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I have confirmed it's not the fireplace but the wood. Last night I had 3 bundles of those plastic wrapped wood from the store and it all burned really well. Once it got going the fire was toasty for several hours. This morning there is not one trace of smell from the fireplace.
So I'm convinced my wood is still very green because it doesn't burn well, still has good weight to it, and leaves that smokey smell after attempts to burn.
There's really 3 possibilities:
- It's unseasoned, or not fully seasoned
- High ambient humidity is keeping the moisture content high
- The wood is seasoned but got wet, and hasn't dried out yet
I deal with the last 2 in the PNW quite a bit. Wood can be seasoned but the constant rain and high humidity in the winter keeps the moisture content high. The only thing that really works is to store the wood in a low humidity environment for a few days. Softer woods seem to be more susceptible to this.
Just keep what you plan on using stacked on or near your stove (only when your home of course). I have been doing this for years to dry out the wood I'm gonna be putting in the stove in a few hours and no problems/works great.
Can someone explain more to me about this ? How do we know the wood is seasoned or dried out?
Wow thread revival, as said above it's to me more a difference of the word choice than technical definitions. I left the wood alone all winter with just a tarp on top and once the snow stopped had it completely uncovered. This summer it has burned great and started easily. You can tell sometimes by the weight alone. Seasoned wood is much lighter.
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Firewood:
*hardwoods* burn the best - give more heat and burn longer.
Pound for pound, all wood has about the same latent heat content.
So ..., the harder the wood (the more dense),
the less *room* it takes to have the same heat.
Avoid woods that have a lot resins in it.
The best woods to get the most heat per pound: in order (first one is best)
iron wood, rock elm, hickory, oak, sugar maple, beech, yellow birch, ash, red elm, red maple, tamarack.
The smaller the pieces, the easier to light.
Let at least sit (split) for a year or longer in a covered area.
Stack properly to allow for air circulation.
Do not stack over 4 feet.
Ends of stack should be criss-cross stack, to make a square row end.
If there is room enough stack in rows of one log each.
Less chance for rodents to build their nest.
Also, wood dries from the ends, not from the sides,
so you need room between the rows.
Bring into the house (next to fire place in rack) at least three days before burning.
What *I* do to start a fire in the fireplace
I get one box of those fire logs when *on sale*.
I take one log, and slice off a one inch thick slice.
Use an old axe and a 10 pound hammer !
Then cut the slice in four pieces.
Each piece can then be used to start the fire.
I heat solely with wood (our house is all electric and rather old ...)
I have a *deal* with wood cutters (tree maintenance people),
where they drop off the large pieces in my yard.
(they get paid for dropping off in the landfill
but instead drop off in my yard for free
then they *pocket* the drop off fee !)
The wood will sit there for one year, covered with a tarp.
The next year I split the wood
I built my own splitter, took pics of commercial splitters,
*talked* to my friend named Google,
downloaded manuals,
and then made sketches and parts list,
and had a small metal shop built me the monster !
We actually have so much wood supply that neighbours often come by
and get a few logs for their *camp fires*.
In return, they help during my *once a year* wood splitting sessions,
and have a good time with the neighbours.
Last but not least:
You MUST have your chimney cleaned, once a year, by a professional !!
The drier the wood, the less smoke it generates, the less soot the chimney will have.
Can you *see* if wood is seasoned or not ?
Look at the ends of the wood.
The greyer/grubbier and older looking, the longer it has been *seasoned*.
Fresh *green* wood, has a nice wood look to it.
Wood longer seasoned than one year, even develops cracks on the ends.
Smell it ! Green wood smells like wood, old wood does not smell like wood.
Just as a good for nothing info tidbit:
Making your own firewood requires you
to pick up wood 7 times, at least, before it burns !
a big difference between ....seasoned...... and ..........dried out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DONBY
Can someone explain more to me about this ? How do we know the wood is seasoned or dried out?
Quote:
Originally Posted by K'ledgeBldr
I believe its more Colloquialism/Vernacular than anything else.
"Dried" by definition would be "forced", like kiln-dried. That a lot of expense for "firewood"- if you get my drift.
"Seasoned" is just that- its gone through the "seasons" of a year. Naturally losing its moisture content/drying out.
Not quite.
The key is in the next line of the post, which wasn't quoted:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Teddy52
If it is just wet from outside moisture, I used to set up on edge the pieces needed for the day near the stove in the basement and they would be dry in a day.
Seasoning - Allowing cut firewood to set, or season, for a year to allow the cellular moisture to escape so that the wood can burn hotter.
Drying out - Allowing firewood that is wet from rain to set for a few hours to allow the surface moisture to evaporate.
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It makes sense.
