Conventional Wood

The size of logs affects the speed of combustion. Large logs catch fire and release their energy more slowly than small logs.

 

Type of Wood

Several varieties of wood are used for heating, and the choice of these varieties will have an effect on the efficiency of your heating appliance. Wood is generally sold by volume, known as a cord, which means that the energy in each cord can greatly vary from one type to another. Thermal energy in logs also varies greatly according to type

 

Humidity Content

The humidity content in wood determines the speed and efficiency of combustion. The humidity content in wood varies between 35 and 60% of the total weight. The humidity of wood is the most common heating problem. The energy created by combustion serves to evaporate humidity, which creates a loss in efficiency.

 

Combustion

Up to half the weight of a freshly cut log is made of water. After sufficient drying, the content is reduced to 25 or 30%. As much as the wood is heated in the combustion chamber, the water evaporates while consuming thermal energy to make the water evaporate. That's why firewood whistles, crackles and is hard to burn.

The emission of smoke as the temperature of the wood rises above the point that water boils gets mixed with the smoke. The smoke is a concrete sign of the decomposition of hardwood which is evaporated in a cloud of combustible gas and drops of tar. The burnt smoke produces bright flames that are characteristic of wood combustions. Nevertheless, the smoke that doesn't burn in the combustion chambre leaves the appliance through the stove pipe and the chimney, where it condenses and forms deposits of creosote, or even escapes into the atmosphere in the form of pollution. Unburned smoke represents a loss of efficiency since it contains a large part of the total energy provided by the wood.

 

Sparks and Explosions

The crackling and explosion? of wood in a fire is due to small pockets and bubbles of alcohol produced in the wood. We must pay particular attention to that when it happens.

 

Storage

Even well dried wood can be ruined if it is poorly stored. Wood exposed to rain or snow will reabsorb a large quantity of water. This could also cause the wood to mould and rot. Therefore it must be stored in a way to protect it from bad weather.

 

Risk of Introducing Insects

Once colder weather arrives in the fall, one thinks mostly of finding refuge in front of a nice warm fire. That's when it's time to bring the firewood into the house. However, we are not alone in wanted to warm up - insects are also looking for a home. Unfortunately, many choose our firewood, and indeed, many species of insects live under the bark and in the cracks of wood, others are present in the larvae state and thus not visible. When the wood is brought in, the change in temperature encourages the insects to waken. Most insects that are living in wood adapt easily to this new environment, and can cause great damage as well as being a disagreeable nuisance in the house.

 

Cords of Firewood

When it's time to shop for firewood, we always have a dilemma. The unit of measure used are as numerous as the types of wood. Should we order a cord, a bush cord, a city cord, a face cord, etc... As well, we must worry about whether it is split or needing to be split, is it split into small or large pieces, or if they are logs. What length, what type of wood, maple, beech, birch, oak etc... Each type of wood gives a different calorific value as it burns. Is the wood dry, semi-dry, green? How long ago was it cut. Was it recently split, was it corded or stacked/piled? These are all the questions to ask before buying that will determine whether the output is a good return on our investment.

 

Handling

Upon reception of the firewood, the quality and type of wood received must be verified against the order. It's also very difficult to verify the accuracy of the cord since it arrives in a truck. It requires much hard work since now the wood must be cut and cleaned of dirt.

 

The qualilty of wood that you burn can have a incredible effect on the efficiency and usefulness of your stove. The four main factors that affect the characteristics of wood combustion heat are:

1. Humidity content,
2. Size of the pieces
3. The quality of wood
4. The type of wood used

Conventional firewood varies greatly because of these factors. Fortunately, our ecological wood is very uniform in all these factors. Look now at the comparison chart.

 

Price Comparison

Conventional log

  • number of logs in a cord of wood measuring 48 X 96 inches
  • approximately 170 logs
  • market price for dry hardwood by the cord varies from $120 to $150 for example $130
  • therefore $130/cord divided by 170 logs(number of logs per cord) = about 77 cents/log
  • This price doesn't take into account the cost of labour per cord brought to the house.

Ecological wood

  • One palette contains 60 boxes of 12 logs with Firestarters.
  • palette price $485 divided by 60 (number of boxes) =$8.08 box. cost for one match stick 30 cents. deducting the price of firestarters from box = $7.78 box
  • $7.78 divided by 12 logs = about 64 cents/log.

But the green ecological wood releases 3 times more heat.

 

 

Ecological wood

                  

Conventional wood

Fire

100% hardwood, 6% humidity, burns cleaner and longer

 

inconsistent due to the 35% humidity content, burns more quickly


Heat

heat: releases 3 times more BTU than a conventional log

 

less heat, more smoke and creosote


Emissions

minor particles are emitted

 

more than 90% more emissions


Ambiance

more consistent flame and less smoke

 

high degree of humidity increases smoke and flame


Maintenance

low ash production rate and no creosote deposits

 

more ashes to clean and danger of chimney fires caused by creosote


Environmental

made 100% of hardwood sawdust, releases fewer particles

 

trees must be cut, and more smoke means more pollution


Manageability

easy to manoeuver logs of uniform size

 

contains dirt, impurities and insects, and soils the storage area. Logs are different sizes


Storage

comes packaged in boxes of 8 logs that can be piled in a closet or garage

 

must be stacked in cords outdoors, then brought in the house


Flame quality

good flame consistency

 

varied, inconsistent flame


Ignition

comes with match sticks, only one match and the pile lights

 

must use kindling and paper


Safety

Less risk of chimney fire, doesn't produce sparks and explosions

 

more chance of chimney fire, must always look out for explosions


Fire maintenance

once the match sticks are lit, the fire is lit

 

logs must be shifted often to maintain the fire