A Connoisseur's Guide to Fuelwood

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Cold winter days call for a fire built from a long-burning, dense hardwood. Of all the hardwoods, oak burns with the most uniform flame and, like other hardwoods, produces steady, glowing coals that continue yielding warmth long after the flames die down.

By contrast, softwoods and soft hardwoods burn hot and fast. A fire made from these fuels isn't suitable for producing all-day warmth because it needs replenishing more often than most of us have time for. But it's just what's needed to banish the morning chill on days when the sun soon takes over as the main heat producer. Softwood's also great for warming up the place before going to bed because it doesn't produce long-lasting, unpredictable coals and so will be more easily and assuredly extinquished.

The same properties causing softer woods to produce hot, fast fires also make them great kindling. Softwoods are resinous and ignite more easily at lower temperatures than hardwoods. They also tend to be easier to split into kindling pieces.

The most difficult woods to split are black gum, elm, and sycamore, which is why you'll rarely see any of them used as kindling. The denser hardwoods, especially those with twisted grain or lots of knots, can also be difficult to split. Regardless of its density or species, green wood is easier to split than seasoned wood.

HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?

For most of us, figuring out how much fuelwood to stockpile for the winter is pretty much a hit or miss proposition. One year we get too much, the next year not enough. If you're among those who like to go about things a bit more scientifically, this formula will help you determine how much wood you'll need to get through a typical winter in your area:

(sq ft. of area to be heated) x (Btus needed/sq ft) x degree days

BTUs per Cord

To heat each square foot of well-insulated living space, you'll need 28 BTUs. If your house is poorly insulated, figure about 45 BTU/sq ft.

Degree days represent how much the mean outdoor temperature varies from 65°F during the heating period. For example, a day with an average temperature of 25°F has 40 degree days (65 minus 25). Ask a local distributor of gas, oil, or electricity if you're not sure.

Let's say the space you want to heat is 15 x 30 ft (450 sq ft) and is well insulated (28 BTUs needed per sq ft). The local gas guy tells you that your area has 4,000 degree days and you're lucky enough to have a good source for white oak, which will give you 23,300,000 BTUs per cord:

450 x 28 x 4,000 = 2.12 cords at 23,300,000 BTUs per cord

Theoretically, you'll need about 1 3/4 cords to get through a typical winter. I say theoretically because the actual number of BTUs produced by the wood you use will depend on how dry the wood is, how resinous it is, and the volume of solid wood per cord (in other words, how tightly it's stacked). Any chart listing BTUs per cord lists only averages determined under ideal conditions. Still, such a chart gives you a good starting place for your calculations. You should be able to get a comprehensive chart listing the BTU values of most firewood species from your nearest forestry or extension office.

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