THE RIGHT FIREWOOD FOR YOUR FIREPLACE.

The quality of your fuel affects the heat input, duration of combustion and operation of the device.
Soft woods, low in calories, generate high and rapid combustion, while hard woods, high in calories, burn long and produce more calories.

Good fuel is essential for the proper functioning of your fireplace, stove, barbecue, etc.
We show a small guide of what you can find and the different fuels suitable for each device and need.
Wood for open fire, in a good stove any wood burns well. However, for closed fires, not all woods are appropriate.

Unwanted sparks.

Coniferous wood does not easily let out the gas that forms inside the log. Therefore, it may happen that the piece of firewood, when heated, produces a large amount of gas that finally finds its way to the outside. In this resounding explosion of gas, a large number of burning splinters are ejected, which can sometimes reach a distance of several meters from the fire. These sparks can be dangerous to carpets, furniture, and the clothing of people sitting near the fireplace. Those people who do not want to do without the temperament of coniferous firewood should protect the area near the fire with the corresponding grates. Fir firewood produces less soot than pine wood.
Good flames The wood of leafy trees allows the gas that forms inside the log to escape more easily.
Therefore, sparks are ejected less frequently. If you want a bright, crackling fire, you can use oak, ash or acacia firewood. The hotter the fire, the faster gas will be produced inside the log. If this gas cannot escape, sparks will also occur in the firewood of leafy trees.
Because the constitution of the wood of trees is as individual as the constitution of people and nature can always surprise us: an open fire must always be monitored.

What firewood to choose?

The different essences of wood have different calorific powers, and not all of them burn in the same way; In general terms, it is best to choose hard woods, such as oak, beech, ash, hornbeam, or fruit trees, which produce both beautiful bonfires and a large quantity of embers, whose incandescence will also be very long-lasting.

When to buy firewood?

The best time: August, September and October.
Your firewood distributor collects firewood during the pruning months. It cures and dries the firewood sold for fireplaces in winter in its warehouses for a period of at least 8 months.

Selection of firewood for the fireplace

Thanks to its white bark, birch wood is one of the favorites for fireplaces. However,
There are also other types of firewood suitable for making a fire in the fireplace.
For a good selection, you will need to stock up on various types of firewood. A
good assortment could be:

• Birch wood for its white bark.
• Beech wood (or maple or fruit trees) so they heat up.
• Ash and oak wood for their lively and crackling flames.

This entire natural and logistical process makes the months of August, September and October the ideal periods to collect our firewood at home.
If we purchase firewood during the harsh winter months, the firewood we buy will be dry, it will not be green, but it may be served to us wet, if it is a rainy winter.
Stacking millions of kilograms like firewood distributors store and storing them indoors for months is economically unfeasible.

The natural drying of firewood in the air and in the sun is the guarantee of obtaining a product free of moisture and in optimal combustion conditions.
Ideally, store in summer like little ants and consume in winter.

How is it sold?

As a general rule, it is sold by kilos, by cubic meters or packaged in bags.
If we are regular consumers and have space to stockpile, the best option is to buy a couple of tons, the more quantity, the more interesting the price will be. Packaged in bags or shrink-wrapped, it is the best option for sporadic consumers or customers with limited space.

Drying.

Whatever the wood chosen, it must be very dry; Wet wood heats much less, because much of the energy is used to evaporate the water it contains; The sapwood (this is how the new wood that is just below the bark is dominated) can contain up to 75% water.
In addition, wet wood gives off a lot of smoke and few flames, thus dirtying the hearth, glass and chimney.
To promote drying, it is very important to make some slits in the large trunks, as well as cover the firewood to protect it from the rain, but always keeping it well ventilated. In general, you must have a minimum of two years of drying; As you gain experience, you will learn to calculate the degree of dryness of the logs by weighing them; The drier they are, the less they will weigh, and the sound when they hit each other will be clearer.

Forbidden.

Use wood that has been subjected to any chemical treatment, railway sleepers, and chipboard, which will quickly dirty the home and could produce toxic fumes.

The resinous ones.

They give off a lot of heat, but are consumed quickly; They project the embers and the resins they contain dirty the chimneys; avoid its use.

Types of Wood:

The beech, the ash.
They are more recommended firewood; Quick drying and easy to obtain. They must be stored under shelter immediately after drying and cracking, because they rot very quickly and lose their calorific value.
They are easy to light and offer dynamic lights and very bright flames.

The Oak
It is an excellent fuel, but, unlike other woods, they have to be left uncovered for two years so that the rain washes away and eliminates the tannins it contains; Afterwards, it is placed under some type of shelter for another year or two before being used. The proportion of sapwood (which burns too quickly) in the small twigs is important, but apart from that, oak is a slow burning firewood, providing a quiet fire and good embers. It is ideal for making barbecues and for use in continuous fire mode.

The hornbeam, the wild cherry tree, the fruit trees.
Excellent fuels, but rare; They produce beautiful, calm flames and good embers; ideal for barbecues and for use in continuous fire mode.

The birch, the linden, the chestnut, the poplars, and poplars, the robinia or false acacia and the acacia.
They are very leafy trees with tender wood; They produce beautiful and harmonious flames, but lively and few embers. They burn quickly and are best used to stoke the fire.

ATTENTION: poplars and poplars produce abundant and volatile ash.
The rewinder (false acacia) and the acacia produce significant spark projections.