Seasoning firewood

Saabster

Hey all,
I'm looking for advice about seasoning firewood - I have enough room to store a few tonnes so I'm figuring I might buy roughly that amount of freshly cut Douglas Fir and season it myself over the summer. What's the best way to do this? Inside or out? I have some sheds where it could be stacked that are well ventilated and I have room outside as well. Cheers...

quentingargan

Ideally, firewood should be dried for two or three years before use. The first year or two outside, but with its top covered, and the sides open to the wind, and the last year indoors. However, we have dried wood indoors over a shorter spell and it works fine. Split the wood when it is green and it will dry more easily.

But Douglas Fir? Its a beautiful timber and seems a shame to burn it, unless it is small thinnings and stuff... We used it as frame timber for our house and it was just wonderful stuff to work with.

Saabster

Thanks for the advice Quentin - I don't know anything about working with wood so it won't matter what I'm burning as long as it's dry and ideally from a renewable source. The fuel merchant I made enquiries to offered me a tonne of dry Ashe (20% m.c. or there abouts) for €120 or a tonne of green Douglas Fir for €70. The latter of these two seems like a good deal if I season it myself over the summer. I burned roughly a tonne of coal last winter so I'm figuring I'll need about twice that weight of dry firewood to give the same amount of heat. That being said, the more I look into it, buying on a per volume basis seems like a better way of doing things and I've just spoken with a chap who is offering a truck-load of Ashe, which I reckon is about 3 metres cubed for €180. It's just recently been cut but it seems dry enough to the touch. Thanks again.

Judgement Day

I have always shied away from burning conifers as they are very sappy and full of turpentine which can cause damage to the flue. Anyway they burn away too fast, better off sticking to the Ash and let it dry out well too. If you're using the fire a lot be sure to have your chimney swept every year - especially if you're tempted to burn any conifer timber.

MASTER...of the bra

Burn a little bit of "Blue stone" Copper sulphate if your worried bout your chimney. You'll get it in your local Co-op. Farmers give it to cows for something and that's why sometimes you'll see a tint of blue if you buy the really low fat milk.

By little I mean like a half teaspoon a week.

edwinkane

MASTER...of the bra wrote: »

Burn a little bit of "Blue stone" Copper sulphate if your worried bout your chimney. You'll get it in your local Co-op. Farmers give it to cows for something and that's why sometimes you'll see a tint of blue if you buy the really low fat milk.

By little I mean like a half teaspoon a week.

We've burnt timber for years, usually ash and usually seasoned. In the days before we had a stove, we tried the blue stone copper sulphate but its use seems to make no noticeable difference to the chimney. I was always curious to know how a teaspoon of it could stop the walls of the chimneys from becoming sooty, and certainly in practice it didn't seem to work.

The longer timber is kept, usually the better is is in that the drier it burns, the better the heat, and the more pleasing the fire.

MASTER...of the bra

edwinkane wrote: »

We've burnt timber for years, usually ash and usually seasoned. In the days before we had a stove, we tried the blue stone copper sulphate but its use seems to make no noticeable difference to the chimney. I was always curious to know how a teaspoon of it could stop the walls of the chimneys from becoming sooty, and certainly in practice it didn't seem to work.

The longer timber is kept, usually the better is is in that the drier it burns, the better the heat, and the more pleasing the fire.

Ah no, it definitely works, I have a stove and throw a bit in when I think of it and you can here the soot falling down at night sometimes.

I clean the chimney once a year and there's nearly never anything up there cuz I've taken it out of the soot box (above the stove) once a month or so during the year, which is an easy job.

[FONT=times new roman, times]Cleaners that contain copper sulfate will coat any soot in the chimney and act as a catalyst to allow soot to burn away at lower than normal temperatures.

Chemical cleaners are intended to be used after chimneys are cleaned or new. Use the chemicals as directed--- approximately 1 ounce per week.[/FONT]

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