Choosing wood heat over conventional central heating has never been more easy, or even more worthwhile. With electricity and gas prices going up significantly year after year, (funnily enough, always in winter…) it has never made more sense to invest in becoming self-sufficient for your everyday heating.
Wood burning stoves are a fantastic way to enjoy wonderful heat which certainly doesn’t feel lacking this – wood is a far cheaper fuel than electricity or gas, is in abundant supply, and using wood burning stoves to heat your home is easier than ever before with the innovations which have been forged by a number of stove manufacturers such as Dunsley stoves, Aarrow and Charnwood.
Saying that, every little helps so we have prepared a short guide to help you get the very most out of each log. The best thing is the most obvious, of course. Cutting your firewood 6 months (or longer) in advance can prevent the production of creosote when you burn – something which robs your stove of efficiency significantly.
Did you know that “green” or undried wood contains up to 50% of its weight in water? Your wood burning stove will have to bring this mass of internal water up it its vaporization point before it can even burn the log, so do consider the importance of properly trying out your wood.
A lot of mistakes rookie wood burners make is not letting it breathe. Dumping wood outside isn’t enough, as the elements can make the wood wet enough to rot. Furthermore, putting it under a tight-fitting tarp isn’t an option. Yes, a tarp might protect your wood from the elements, but it also won’t let it breathe. Consider using a pallet to store your wood, to keep it off the ground, but don’t make the mistake of filling the pallet with wood in a row-to-row manner.
Doing this will mean that the wood simply won’t get the ventilation it needs in order to breathe, and also to dry out. A word to the wise: Using older, ragged tarps to cover the newer ones, and shield the wood from destructive ultraviolet light.
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