Wet firewood and its combustion problems

Contents

Knowing which is the best firewood for our fireplace or wood stove is essential. With the right firewood, we will enjoy a wood stove with a correct combustion, besides helping to obtain a good maintenance.

When obtaining firewood, there are two aspects that you must take into account: the humidity and the type of firewood.

The humidity of the firewood should always be less than 20%. If the firewood is humid, the heat that it will give off once we light the stove, will serve to vaporize the humidity and not to heat.

Remember: Use dry, non-resinous firewood. Click here and we will show you how to light the stove, what type of firewood we use for our stoves and how it should be placed.

What happens if you use very wet firewood?

Fire operation with dry wood and wet firewood

 

Firewood with 50% or 60% moisture content does not heat and burns very poorly, creates a lot of soot and gives off excessive water vapor. This will lead to harmful deposits on the appliance, glass and flues.

When you use wet wood, you will notice that the glass door is more burnt and more dirt starts to be deposited. In addition, it will take a long time to burn out, so the heat generating capacity is lower. Finally, we will get a very weak fire, more soot and a large amount of smoke.

Do I have to store the firewood in a place away from the rain? What happens if it gets wet?

When we talk about firewood moisture, we are not talking about rain-soaked firewood. Still, you need to know how to store firewood properly. At Panadero, we recommend always keeping firewood in dry places and protecting it properly from external agents.  

Usually, firewood manufacturers cut firewood and store it in dry areas until it dries out. Once a certain period of time has passed after cutting, they store it outdoors and then it can get wet from rain.

Properly storing firewood outdoors

Wet firewood or green firewood is firewood that has not been properly dried. This can happen for two reasons: after cutting the firewood, not enough time has passed and it has not had time to dry properly; or, its handling has not been correct. Therefore, it has nothing to do with rain or water.

What is the best month to buy firewood?

The best time to buy firewood and store it in our homes is the time before winter. From August to the end of October is the period when we recommend buying logs for the fireplace.

Tips for storing firewood

In the post “How to store firewood correctly at home” you can find all the information you need to keep firewood correctly and keep it in perfect condition for a long time.

Even so, we emphasize four important tips:

  • You should try to store firewood in a completely dry area.
  • Store the firewood respecting the passage of air. Firewood should be aired to ensure proper drying.
  • Be careful not to cover the firewood completely. It is fine to cover the firewood with a tarpaulin or a woodshed, but, we must know that if we cover it completely we will be making it impossible for it to ventilate properly.
  • The area or place where you store the firewood should be leveled for greater safety. We will achieve that the firewood is stable and the logs do not roll out.

Have you found this article useful? Take a look at our blog and find solutions and recommendations to help you with your fireplace or wood stove.

If you still haven’t got your fireplace or wood stove for this winter… what are you waiting for? Visit our online store of Panadero wood stoves.


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