Buying firewood and enjoying a warm, relaxing fire during the winter months is such a lovely thing to do as the temperature drops during this time of year. In the UK this is very much a tradition enjoyed by so many. In fact, you could say this is a very British thing. Obtaining your firewood is the next step you need to consider for winter. The most obvious way to get firewood is to cut it down yourself though this is very much easier said than done. It is therefore best to buy it in locally from a tree surgeon or specialist log supplier. It is likely too that they will also help to deliver it too.
When it comes to firewood, you have two options: you’re either buying it, or you will be cutting it. Both options work, but how you handle each option is very much down to you. It is best to think about this in good detail. See too if you get a company locally who offers firewood delivery as an option also.
Going from summer and into winter – what you need to know, in detail
The summer is coming to an end and on from there you will be in to winter well before you know it. Winter is a long and cold season but it can be made enjoyable with the right preparation and activities lined up to enjoy. You might not be able to tan on the beach or go boating, but hot chocolate, skiing or snowboarding, and the holiday season are things to enjoy. It is also the season that can be most comfy if you keep the home heated and the fire stoked. It seems like a rather backwards idea to call winter a comfortable season.
This is a time of year that can be cold, long, and certainly, a lot of time spent indoors but there are a lot of benefits of staying dry and warm inside. You can save money, read books, develop some personal skills on your own and enjoy some peace and quiet. What you need to know before winter hits are the ins and outs of buying the perfect firewood. Thi to help keep you nice and toasty all year long. Not every piece of firewood is the same so it is important that you understand how useful it is to know what types there are, how to properly set up a fire, and other necessities for a warm winter. Here is your ultimate guide for the best winter fire you can have.
Choosing the correct logs
While its average heat value isn’t as fantastic as Hickory, Ash is a very popular choice for fireplace lovers. It burns efficiently, clean with no smoke and it throws few sparks so it is safe to use without a glass door (but always recommended). Because it is readily available, prices are not going to make you sad every time you burn a log. There are many, many wood species you can enjoy as firewood. But not all of them will be available in your area. To protect our environment, we recommend choosing wood that is grown in your area to avoid unnecessary transportation.
There are many different types of firewood for you to choose from and know about
The types of hardwood that work well for fires include:
- Birch – Burns very well, splits easily, dries quickly, and is great as a starting kindle wood for a fire.
- Maple – Common wood type, good heat production, clean-burning, and smells good.
- Oak – Another common type of wood makes it easy to find, combined with a great amount of heat produced, clean-burning smell, and slow and long burn potential.
- Walnut – Not as commonly found, but the heat it can produce is good, and the smell it produces is the best trait about this hardwood.
- Ash – Low moisture level makes it easy to split, easy to burn, clean wood to handle, and burns with no scent if the aroma is something you want to avoid indoors.
The types of softwood that work well for fires include:
- Pine – Very abundant species of tree, easy to burn, great as kindling but used as indoor firewood could vary because of sap/resin found in this wood but smells good regardless.
- Cedar – Hot-burning softwood that can be used for kindling, can spark and pop which means proper precautions have to be in place (screens), smells good, and burns well.
- Fir – Easy to cut into kindling pieces to start a fire, good burn and heat produced, smaller chance of sparking,
- Balsam – Good for starting a fire, burns quickly so tending the fire is a must, can pop and crack as well, it can rot quickly when it is not properly stored or seasoned.
- Poplar – Fast burning but hot, easy to split, but has a propensity to pop like cedar and smoke if not fully seasoned, but otherwise a good choice for softwoods.
There are a number of ways for you to get hold of firewood
Obtaining your firewood is the next step you need to consider for winter. The most obvious way to get firewood is to cut it down yourself. But it is not as easy as walking into your backyard or the forest with an axe. Using a chainsaw is much easier than an axe, first of all, but secondly, you need to obtain a permit in some instances to cut the wood down. Check your local laws and regulations around foresting. See if you need that permit and search for your regional tree species. Do so to determine which wood is available in your area and cut down your winter wood. Cutting down your own wood is the time old way to get wood. Also, it is cheap once you get prepared.
Having seasoned firewood
Seasoning is just an industry term for drying out. A season word will have less wet resin and water molecules embedded in the wood. This helps the wood ignite quicker, burn longer, and smoke less. Depending on the type of wood, these are all variable. A full seasoning can take up to two years, so be patient. Have a good dry place to and rotate your supply. Wood may be split and burned immediately but burning before seasoning will be difficult. The water content in the wood will hinder any attempts to ignite.
Then, once ignited, the wood will smoke – too much for indoor use. It will also demand your constant stoking. Adding new wood to an already lit fire will leach all the energy out of the existing blaze and likely extinguish it. Unseasoned wood burns at a lower temperature because not all of the energy is going into the fire; some is going into evaporating the water inside the wood. Seasoned wood works in the opposite way; all of the energy is put into burring the wood and therefore burns much hotter. If you’re in a pinch and need so start a fire, use what you can. Make sure the wood is not poison oak or some other wood containing harmful oils or substances. If you have the choice and are building you fire inside in a fireplace, choose a seasoned wood.
Overall
Buying firewood, there’s nothing better than enjoying a warm, relaxing fire during the winter months. But if you want the experience to be the best that it can possibly be, you need to buy the right kind of wood. Burning so-called “green wood” fresh off the tree will result in a low quality fire. It will smoke a lot and might not even burn properly at all. With all of this in mind, it is best not to rush the process. Have a good think as to how you choose and buy in your firewood. Look in detail at what type of wood there is to choose from. From this, then buy wood that will be easy to burn. Above all else, easy to help make your property warm in the winter months of the year.
