Ban on house coal and wet wood

[EddieM]

apparently it is anything over 20% moisture content ? meaningless to me.

I think it is properly seasoned when it burns down to nothing on a relatively small fire,
If I know it is freshly cut (from fallen tree in the last 6 months, oak ash beech birch) I weigh bits after spliting when stacking, will expect these to loose 30% of their weight before they become good burners.
I also get a lot of dead elm (loggers hate the stuff, difficult to split, hence why I get it free) some of that stuff has probably been standing 20 years since it died, you can burn that on the same night, wonderful stuff apart from its a bugger to split.

20% moisture content is apparently the optimum for pollution, go lower or higher than that an pollution goes up. Somewhat counterintuitive regarding the less than 20%

 

[festive]

For our main heating we used a wood burning stove, i switch between two log stores, one per season. I always check the output with a simple moisture gauge as mentioned around 20%.

Probes are cheap as on Amazon


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Valiant-FI...071KQ2NPP/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

[Munroast]

just found two bits of silver birch cut from a fresh tree late summer 18
1846g when cut to 1194 today = 35% lighter
1548g when cut to 926 today = 40% lighter

this stuffs perfect for burning

 

[festive]

There's a poem or something iirc about types of wood for burning. We have a few silver birch they've always gone rotten before i've had a chance to log and stack them.

 

[Brigadier]

20% moisture content is apparently the optimum for pollution, go lower or higher than that an pollution goes up. Somewhat counterintuitive regarding the less than 20%

Especially as, once the wood starts to warm up, any moisture will begin to be driven off anyway....

 

[EddieM]

I think the reason for the lower than 20% is bad, is because the wood burns too quickly, leading to incomplete burning as the wood "explodes" (very small explosions it has to be said) this leads to more particulates being emitted.

(I think that's the reasoning, but more than happy to be proved wrong) Anyway it was the results of some scientific research.

 

[Munroast]

I think the reason for the lower than 20% is bad, is because the wood burns too quickly, leading to incomplete burning as the wood "explodes" (very small explosions it has to be said) this leads to more particulates being emitted.

(I think that's the reasoning, but more than happy to be proved wrong) Anyway it was the results of some scientific research.

think when it gets too dry it crackles and sparks a lot, which tends to burn holes in the carpet (or me if I am asleep on the floor getting toasted) so yet more pollution (and swearing)

anyone burn sea coal - that really does pop, set fire to the curtains at the other side of the room. its like firework night. Folk who burn a lot of it tie the guard to the wall cause it will knock that over - brilliant stuff.

 

[Brigadier]

20% makes scientific sense for a standardised sphere of defined density and even "wetness", but I can't see how it can be rigorously applied in the real world.

 

[EddieM]

think when it gets too dry it crackles and sparks a lot, which tends to burn holes in the carpet (or me if I am asleep on the floor getting toasted) so yet more pollution (and swearing)

anyone burn sea coal - that really does pop, set fire to the curtains at the other side of the room. its like firework night. Folk who burn a lot of it tie the guard to the wall cause it will knock that over - brilliant stuff.

Personally I wouldn't have an open fire, or a free standing wood burner as such, I'd have a log burning insert.