[Greenbuilding] wood split or not, make a difference?

RT ArchiLogic at yahoo.ca
Tue Dec 28 13:29:26 CST 2010


On Tue, 28 Dec 2010 12:34:10 -0500, Corwyn <corwyn at midcoast.com> wrote:

> On 12/28/2010 12:02 PM, Sacie Lambertson wrote:
>
>> Still wondering about split versus non-split and if there is a
>> difference in the heat produced.  Wood is wood is it not?  Maybe the
>> burn temps are entirely dependent on the species, not the fact it is
>> split or not?

I haven't seen Sacie's original message yet (it hasn't shown up in my  
mailbox) so I'm shooting blind.

Years ago a farmer who sold firewood in winter opined,recently after I  
moved to this area (probably thinking I was a "City Slicker" who had no  
experience with cutting/splitting/storing/burning wood when in fact I had  
been cutting & heating with wood ever since I was a university student  
living in a rented, drafty century-old farmhouse):

  "You've got to get it (green logs) split right away or it'll never dry  
properly".

And I tend to agree with him.

For small sticks, say under five inches in diameter, leaving them round is  
okay but anything larger, I'd say that it should be split, as soon as it  
is cut, and stacked, protected from rain and snow wetting.

To do otherwise, you're likely to end up with firewood that is at various  
stages of decay providing less than its optimal fuel value.

As for heat output, the amount of combustion taking place is a direct  
function of exposed surface area. Split wood provides more surface area.   
Also makes for a tidier stack inside the firebox making it easier to  
"build" a good fire.



-- 
=== * ===
Rob Tom
Kanata, Ontario, Canada
< A r c h i L o g i c  at  Y a h o o  dot  c a >
manually winnow the chaff from my edress if you hit "reply"
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com 




More information about the Greenbuilding mailing list