Summer Is Perfect for Seasoning Firewood

With the heat of summer in full force, your firewood supply is probably the last thing on your mind; however, the warm months of summer provide an excellent opportunity for you to prepare your firewood to be the best fuel for your winter fires. To burn wood effectively, efficiently, and safely, it helps to have a supply of thoroughly seasoned (or dried) firewood. Chim Cheree, The Chimney Specialists would like to tell you more about seasoning firewood by sharing with you some tips from the non-profit Wood Heat Organization on how to best choose, store, and season your wood so that you can have the ultimate firewood supply for the next fireplace season.

Look for the harder species of wood when choosing firewood.

The best wood for burning are dense, such as ash, maple, oak,and hickory. Denser wood burns longer and creates hotter coals. The problem with finding harder species of wood has to do with the fact that many hardwoods are protected as endangered species because they are so rare. You can find a list of wood species ranked from hardest to softest at The Wood Heat Organization to help you find a type that is easily available in your area to allow you to be prepared for the coldest months of the year.

The most important characteristic of high quality firewood is being thoroughly dried and seasoned.

Trying to burn wet wood can be difficult and dangerous because a fire from wet wood produces a lot of smoke and creates an excessive amount of creosote. Creosote, a natural compound that forms during the condensation process of burning wood, sticks to the inner walls of your chimney, and large accumulations of this flammable compound could possibly ignite a chimney fire. Although all wood contains moisture, the drying and seasoning process of firewood can reduce the moisture content to 15 to 20%. This low moisture content allows you to safely burn the wood more efficiently and effectively.

To help your firewood season quickly and thoroughly, store your wood wisely.

The Chimney Institute of America (CSIA), the Wood Heat Organization, and other industry experts state that firewood should be dried and seasoned for at least six months to ensure the moisture content is low enough for best burning practices. How you store your firewood over the summer can help your wood become properly seasoned. You should always remember to keep your firewood off the ground to prevent moisture from the ground from getting back into the wood. To aid the drying process, you want to stack the wood in a criss-cross fashion and alternate the direction of each level to allow air to flow freely through the piles and help dry out the wood.

If you are interested in seasoning your own firewood this summer, call us at 864-895-4204 to learn more. We love educating our customers on the best ways to successfully burn wood.