The disadvantages of using firewood to heat your home

Last week, I talked about using firewood as a home fuel source. This week, I will continue with this topic. I will begin by defining some nebulous terms associated with trees in general. “Hardwoods” are simply defined as deciduous trees, and the term has little to do with the actual “hardness” or density of the wood itself. “Softwoods” are conifers, but their wood may be far harder than some hardwoods, such as willow, basswood or poplar. Some softwoods, like pine or red cedar, produce lots of smoke and also shoot sparks due to resin pockets. Black locust is a hardwood that burns very hot, but it often has vapor pockets in the wood that explode and shoot sparks. It is not a good choice for fireplaces unless there is a sturdy screen to block the sparks.

The moisture content of any species of wood affects burning characteristics. The hardwood species which contains the least amount of water, while still alive, is ash. Right now there is an abundance of ash firewood in New York, because so many of our ash trees have succumbed to the emerald ash borer.

If you are desperate for wood to burn, you can cut down some white ash and burn it somewhat green, but trying to burn very green hickory or oak will often put your fire out. A sixteen-pound bolt (a bolt is a small log) of green (freshly cut) red oak maybe eight inches in diameter and perhaps 15 inches long. It will weigh twice as much as a wellseasoned (dry) piece that is the same size.

Picture a gallon container of water or milk and consider that a single, 16-inch bolt will contain that much water inside it. Before the wood in the log begins to burn and yield those British Thermal Units, or BTUs, that entire gallon of water needs to be boiled off. It takes just about one thousand BTU’s to evaporate one pound of water.

Sometimes dead elm trees will remain standing for years, providing almost instant dry firewood. Unfortunately, elm is the most difficult wood to split and it is really not all that dense. Unless you have access to a wood splitter, forget about splitting elm by hand. Ashwood that is straight without many knots is perhaps the easiest wood to split but any wood with many knots or multiple branches can be difficult.

There was a time when I split all my firewood by hand, with a splitting maul (sometimes called a “go devil”) or with steel wedges, but now I have neither the inclination nor the stamina to do this.

The past few years I have only cut down trees with a small enough diameter to not need splitting.

I no longer need to burn as much wood as I once did, since I spend five months in warm Florida. I can get by now at home with perhaps a face cord, which is defined as a wellstacked single row that is four feet high by eight feet long but maybe from 12 inches to 24 inches wide.

If you buy firewood, make sure you and the seller are specifying full or face cord volumes.

Fireplaces in Florida are for show and not for survival. That’s OK with me. After breathing the fumes of wood smoke for more than 40 winters, I think I will be a bit healthier as a result of giving it up.

Breathing wood smoke fumes, which are loaded with carcinogens and particulate matter, is not the only downside to heating with wood. No one who lives in a suburban area should ever consider burning wood as a main home heating source. Even outdoor wood furnaces pol

lute the surrounding air to a great extent, and, in my opinion, they should be banned from any suburban area. I don’t think

that people, especially children, should be exposed to breathing wood smoke while waiting for the school bus each morning.

Woodstoves are also responsible for chimney fires that can threaten a family’s entire life. Woodstoves

require a dedicated chimney of their own and demand frequent inspections and maintenance by professionals.

Firewood is dirty, often comes into your house with all sorts of insects living in it, and leaves distinct odors indoors that

many people find objectionable. Cutting down trees and turning them into firewood is one of the most dangerous activities a person can engage in. Indeed, people who are engaged in the profession of logging pay the highest rate of workman’s compensation

in America.

The cost and maintenance of a chainsaw and associated woodworking tools are also pretty significant. A wood splitter, chainsaw, chaps, helmet, oil, gas and other assorted tools far exceed the cost of the stove itself.

Think hard before you decide to try to save some money by burning wood this winter.