Hardwood or softwood for fire/stove

Yorky

Is hardwood or softwood better for burning on an open fire / wood burning stove?

It will be seasoned for about a year beforehand.

Also, what's the going rate for bulk purchase (120 fertiliser bags) of either wood?

Thanks in advance.

jack of all

Hardwood firewood has more heat value than softwood. Softwoods tend to spark and are not really suitable for use in an open fire although this doesn't arise in a closed stove or appliance.

Yorky

Got a load of hardwood delivered today but it's very wet and heavy. It had been lying in field before being cut to lenth and split recently.

It will be stacked in a covered and ventilated wood shed and won't be used for possibly nine months - will it have dried out by then? The supplier reckons so as hardwood doesn't absorb as much water as softwood.

It is very wet and heavy though.

endasmail

yea it ll be fine by then
id go with the hardwood anyday
softwoods ,as the last poster said spits embers and sparks can be dangerous in an open fire

dardevle

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moisture content is key....


if properly stacked (covered on top with good air circulation all round) then 3 seasons should be adequate drying time,but since the moisture content of each wood type varies ( ash 30% when green , willow 70%+) it does depend on what type you have as to how long to leave it( why ash is sought after as fuel),i would be less inclined to worry about soft vs hard as when properly dried, the calorific value for both will be good....it is the moisture content that will affect the heat output and also the effects on the chimney.


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Yorky

Below are links to photos of one of the logs:

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff250/Kilnadrain/P1070367.jpg
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff250/Kilnadrain/P1070366.jpg
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff250/Kilnadrain/P1070365.jpg


Is this hardwood or softwood? What type of timber is it?

Thanks in advance.

dardevle

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can't say for certain without a pic of the bark what type it is but judging from the large seasonal growth of the rings i would say it is a softwood (maybe spruce)

it would be my opinion that the best firewood should be a mix of hard and softwood, since hardwood takes longer to ignite than the softwood, so softwood will carry the flame.




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reilig

Looks like spruce, its definitely not a hardwood as the rings on it are too far apart. Soft wood grows fast and each line is a year of growth. Hardwood grows much slower and the rings are much closer together

ipod

its larch.put it in the stove it burns well dont put it in the open fire.