heat

[sapper063]

anyone know which wood has the highest heat output for a multi stove please

[Cranfield]

This is the old guide I use for logs for my multi fuel fire.

 

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Alder: Poor in heat and does not last,

 

Apple: Splendid/ It bums slowly and steadily when dry, with little flame, but good heat. The scent is pleasing.

 

Ash: Best burning wood; has both flame and heat, and will burn when green, though naturally not as well as when dry.

 

Beech: A rival to ash, though not a close one, and only fair when green. If it has a fault, it is apt to shoot embers a long way.

 

Birch: The heat is good but it burns quickly. The smell is pleasant.

 

Cedar: Good when dry. Full of crackle and snap. It gives little flame but much heat, and the scent is beautiful.

 

Cherry: Burns slowly, with good heat. Another wood with the advantage of scent.

 

Chestnut: Mediocre. Apt to shoot embers. Small flame and heating power.

 

Douglas Fir: Poor. Little flame or heat.

 

Elder: Mediocre. Very smoky. Quick burner, with not much heat.

 

Elm: Commonly offered for sale. To bum well it needs to be kept for two years. Even then it will smoke. Vary variable fuel.

 

Hazel: Good.

 

Holly: Good, will burn when green, but best when kept a season.

 

Hornbeam: Almost as good as beech.

 

Laburnum: Totally poisonous tree, acrid smoke, taints food and best never used.

 

Larch: Crackly, scented, and fairly good for heat.

 

Laurel: Has brilliant flame.

 

Lime: Poor. Burns with dull flame.

 

Maple: Good.

 

Oak: The novelist's 'blazing fire of oaken logs' is fanciful, Oak is sparse in flame and the smoke is acrid, but dry old oak is excellent for heat, burning slowly and steadily until whole log collapses into cigar-like ash.

 

Pear: A good heat and a good scent.

 

Pine: Bums with a splendid flame, but apt to spit. The resinous Weymouth pine has a lovely scent and a cheerful blue flame.

 

Plane: Burns pleasantly, but is apt to throw sparks if very dry.

 

Plum: Good heat and aromatic.

 

Poplar: Truly awful.

 

Rhododendron: The thick old stems, being very tough, burn well.

 

Robinia (Acacia): Burns slowly, with good heat, but with acrid smoke.

 

Spruce: Burns too quickly and with too many sparks.

 

Sycamore: Burns with a good flame, with moderate heat. Useless green.

 

Thorn: Quite one of the best woods. Burns slowly, with great heat and little smoke.

 

Walnut: Good, and so is the scent. Aromatic wood.

 

Willow: Poor. It must be dry to use, and then it burns slowly, with little flame. Apt to spark.

 

Yew: Last but among the best. Burns slowly, with fierce heat, and the scent is pleasant.

[sapper063]

This is the old guide I use for logs for my multi fuel fire. thank you

 

-----

 

Alder: Poor in heat and does not last,

 

Apple: Splendid/ It bums slowly and steadily when dry, with little flame, but good heat. The scent is pleasing.

 

Ash: Best burning wood; has both flame and heat, and will burn when green, though naturally not as well as when dry.

 

Beech: A rival to ash, though not a close one, and only fair when green. If it has a fault, it is apt to shoot embers a long way.

 

Birch: The heat is good but it burns quickly. The smell is pleasant.

 

Cedar: Good when dry. Full of crackle and snap. It gives little flame but much heat, and the scent is beautiful.

 

Cherry: Burns slowly, with good heat. Another wood with the advantage of scent.

 

Chestnut: Mediocre. Apt to shoot embers. Small flame and heating power.

 

Douglas Fir: Poor. Little flame or heat.

 

Elder: Mediocre. Very smoky. Quick burner, with not much heat.

 

Elm: Commonly offered for sale. To bum well it needs to be kept for two years. Even then it will smoke. Vary variable fuel.

 

Hazel: Good.

 

Holly: Good, will burn when green, but best when kept a season.

 

Hornbeam: Almost as good as beech.

 

Laburnum: Totally poisonous tree, acrid smoke, taints food and best never used.

 

Larch: Crackly, scented, and fairly good for heat.

 

Laurel: Has brilliant flame.

 

Lime: Poor. Burns with dull flame.

 

Maple: Good.

 

Oak: The novelist's 'blazing fire of oaken logs' is fanciful, Oak is sparse in flame and the smoke is acrid, but dry old oak is excellent for heat, burning slowly and steadily until whole log collapses into cigar-like ash.

 

Pear: A good heat and a good scent.

 

Pine: Bums with a splendid flame, but apt to spit. The resinous Weymouth pine has a lovely scent and a cheerful blue flame.

 

Plane: Burns pleasantly, but is apt to throw sparks if very dry.

 

Plum: Good heat and aromatic.

 

Poplar: Truly awful.

 

Rhododendron: The thick old stems, being very tough, burn well.

 

Robinia (Acacia): Burns slowly, with good heat, but with acrid smoke.

 

Spruce: Burns too quickly and with too many sparks.

 

Sycamore: Burns with a good flame, with moderate heat. Useless green.

 

Thorn: Quite one of the best woods. Burns slowly, with great heat and little smoke.

 

Walnut: Good, and so is the scent. Aromatic wood.

 

Willow: Poor. It must be dry to use, and then it burns slowly, with little flame. Apt to spark.

 

Yew: Last but among the best. Burns slowly, with fierce heat, and the scent is pleasant.

[DSPUK]

Old kitchen unit's -- really good heat and smells a bit outside - kills the envionment but I don't care - and it's free if you look around.

 

dave

[Cookiemonsterandmerlin.]

Beech best BTUs by a mile .

 

Crannys guides is good but is only general very rough guide as it states popular to be trully awful .

 

Not all popular is awful if you are luckly to come across black popular its a great burner maybe a little to quick .

 

Cheers OTH

[twitchynik]

Not always about the BTU or heat. For example, to get best out of oak you need to burn it in a good, hot fire otherwise it gets a bit moody. Sycamore is a popular wood for fires as it grows relatively quickly for a hardwood but as a result it burns with a high heat but not a long burner. So I tend to start with a faster burner to get the heat up then lay on the slower stuff.

 

All fruit trees as a rule of thumb will be good and pines/softwoods poor. It you can find some, eucalyptus will make a great fire but season well.

[Conygree]

It all depends on if it's an open fire or logburner, as some pine & spanish chestnut will spit. and some woods need to burn at a higher temp as in a logburner. Oak has a higher water content so need longer to dry out but makes for good night logs. Horse chestnut and lime will burn but give out lots of fine ash dust. You can control the heat of the fire by mixing different woods or by adding some damper wood. Ash can be burnt soon after winter (low sap time)felling. In general I get all my firewood in after the game season and have say 15 tonnes all split and stacked at home by easter to dry off over the summer. This year I fitted a heavy winch to the back of my L200 to pull out some very old oaks safely on the estate I work. I have 1 small saw x2 medium and x2 large chainsaws and have already stacked felled ash trees in a wood ready for next year when the ground drys out so as not to rut up the woods.

 

With logburners becoming so popular and the rise in fuel oil, firewood prices will follow and so will people raiding woods etc but as most members have permission to shoot on farms they could ask about clearing fallen boughs and if you make a good job of them that could be of use.

 

 

The only additions to Cranfields list is most country folk won't burn Elder as by burning it you invite the devil into your house. Most Elm is from dead trees from hedgerows so is already very dry, and to state again Laburnum is poison.

 

Last one don't use a chainsaw without all the PPE, have a look on 'Mister solutions' for cheaper PPE.

Edited December 27, 2010 by Conygree

[berties]

Beech best BTUs by a mile .

 

Crannys guides is good but is only general very rough guide as it states popular to be trully awful .

 

Not all popular is awful if you are luckly to come across black popular its a great burner maybe a little to quick .

 

Cheers OTH

Same here beech ,trees shed off the dead branches,easy to cut large rings split fairly Easy, small branches for the open fire big logs for the Rayburn to get the ray burn hot or cooking time we use a sack of off cuts from a roof truss maker all free

[BaconBoy]

Same here beech ,trees shed off the dead branches,easy to cut large rings split fairly Easy, small branches for the open fire big logs for the Rayburn to get the ray burn hot or cooking time we use a sack of off cuts from a roof truss maker all free

roof truss timber is normally treated with a clear treatment(protim) which i thought gives off nasty fumes when burnt?

[V8landy]

I can not see scaffold boards or pallets on the above list :unsure:

[njc110381]

If I can get it I will always burn Beech. Great wood! Second to that would be Ash, which is lucky because that's what grows here!

 

Holly, Yew and Hawthorn/Blackthorn is very good but is much more picky to process. Generally I never split it and just cut up small brances into lengths to fit the fire. Having to split it can be a pain in the arm!

[berties]

roof truss timber is normally treated with a clear treatment(protim) which i thought gives off nasty fumes when burnt?

The stuff we get is clean 3 by 2 we been using it to light the fire for years,another chap gets it to heat his swimming pool,how about old window frames etc I know loads of people burning that on rayburns,the Only stuff we don't burn is mdf and don't like fibre board,we mainly use logs but have to light the fire with something dry when it goes out and to boost the heat in the oven when needed,other than logs most wood has some sort of treatment on it

[njc110381]

The only additions to Cranfields list is most country folk won't burn Elder as by burning it you invite the devil into your house.

 

 

Most old folklore has a reason behind it. Years ago burning Elder was seen to be "inviting the devil into your home". I think that's because it gives off some serious toxins when it burns and if your flue isn't drawing well the fumes can kill you! So Elder on the fire = bad stuff happenning.

[Conygree]

Most old folklore has a reason behind it. Years ago burning Elder was seen to be "inviting the devil into your home". I think that's because it gives off some serious toxins when it burns and if your flue isn't drawing well the fumes can kill you! So Elder on the fire = bad stuff happenning.

 

Interesting njc, for me I've seen people throw it out of a log pile, plus I have never brought it in.

 

On fumes I have seen alot burning treated wood - time for a new old saying," never burn treated wood as it invites the enviromental health dept into your house"