Burning Foraged Wood

[Ships Cat]

Hi all.

 

As a long term stove and open fire owner it's occurred to me that lots of people seem to not be very happy with their stoves.

 

Then it occurred to me that you're all out there collecting wood to burn.

 

Well and fine but ALL wood burnt in a stove must be seasoned down to 20% moisture content. You need a water meter to test it, and cut it to test it, not on the outside.

 

Thing is, there's no where to season wood on an NB.

 

If you burn wet wood, firstly your stove has to clear the water before it gets to burning the wood. The fire will be cool, reluctant to get on with the business of burning and the moisture will go up your chimney.

 

Water makes things heavier.

 

Soot gets wet, gravity takes effect ...

 

And unseasoned wood has other stuff in too. Tar. Sticky stuff.

 

Keep your flues clear!

 

Leylandii, pine - the stuff that smells nice and burns REALLY WELL: don't. It needs 2 years of seasoning to shift the turpenes and oils and will clog up your flue and your glass very quickly.

 

Sadly, I can't think of a way round it bar buying in seasoned wood. But you still need a moisture meter, when it arrives you test it and if it's above 20% you should challenge the supplier - it's not seasoned, you say, and negotiate a discount.

 

Kiln dried should be at about 50% but that's a bit more expensive.

 

Compressed sawdust - very eco and they burn in a stove very very well - is more expensive still but bone dry and easy to store as it comes in waterproof bags. My choice though

 

 

Now, down to the stoves.

 

Wood burns by taking air from above, so you burn it on a flat bottom and supply top air.

 

Coal burns by taking air from below, so you control the air under the grate it sits on.

 

Multifuel stoves are a compromise between the two but if it has either grate in and can't be adjusted (some you can take the grate out for wood) and you have the wrong one for what your burn mostly, you have the wrong one and it'll NEVER burn well.

 

Stoves wear out and the rope seal round the stove door can be replaced and should be if it lets smoke through. A small tub of fire cement is always handy too if anywhere leaks.

 

Glass will smoke up unless it's an airwashed mode.

 

Cheap MachineMart Japanese or Chinese copies are rubbish.

 

Morso, villager, Charnwood, Dunsley, oh, there's a good list of more of them, that are good.

 

Some that are not.

 

This thread would be useful to reflect users experiences of the ease of use and efficiency of different models,

 

 

Oh and if you burn wood and coal together it makes sulphuric acid that can eat your flu or the joints. ESPECIALLY if the wood is wet.

 

HTH

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Paul C]

Not all narrowboaters who burn wood in the winter, don't have a place other than the boat to season wood. We've burned 'free' wood quite effectively.

[blackrose]

I think people get confused when they talk about "wet" wood. It's perfectly possible to season wood on the roof of a boat and lots of people do it. Seasoning means allowing moisture inside the wood that the plant has drawn up from the ground during its life to escape, so a piece of wood might be soaking wet on the outside after rain but well-seasoned on the inside. Once seasoned it doesn't soak a bit of rain water back up like a sponge. Then all you need is a couple of dry days and the outside of the wood will be dry too and fine to burn.

Edited August 4, 2013 by blackrose

[Arthur Brown]

Foraging for wood needs to be done responsibly.

Burning foraged wood depends on you having a place to dry it! On some reaches the "men with chainsaws" get to a fallen tree blocking the navigation before the CRT team!

[peterboat]

Hi yes I have found that foraged wood does not burn well even if has been well dried out. I to burn compressed sawdust with well seasoned wood and to be honest whilst it looks pretty my bubble in the bedroom is better with its constant heat, easily adjustable controls, that make it a pleasure to use. To get good heat out of my stove requires solid fuel then it does its stuff but does cost a lot to run.

 

Peter

[MtB]

Stuff all that, burn coal.

 

Sorted!

 

 

MtB

[canals are us?]

I really like my woodwarm fireview stove for heating my boat and hot water.

 

It's the best made stove I have ever had for controllability, efficiency and clean glass being double glazed and airwashed. Secondary burn and grate being adjustable flat for wood and open for coal by a simple lever.

 

A good review site by owners. http://www.whatstove.co.uk/ Although you need to take reviews with a pinch of salt if they have only ever used one brand or first stove.

 

 

James

Edited August 4, 2013 by canals are us?

[Biggles]

Hi all.

 

As a long term stove and open fire owner it's occurred to me that lots of people seem to not be very happy with their stoves.

 

Then it occurred to me that you're all out there collecting wood to burn.

 

Well and fine but ALL wood burnt in a stove must be seasoned down to 20% moisture content. You need a water meter to test it, and cut it to test it, not on the outside.

 

Thing is, there's no where to season wood on an NB.

 

If you burn wet wood, firstly your stove has to clear the water before it gets to burning the wood. The fire will be cool, reluctant to get on with the business of burning and the moisture will go up your chimney.

 

Water makes things heavier.

 

Soot gets wet, gravity takes effect ...

 

And unseasoned wood has other stuff in too. Tar. Sticky stuff.

 

Keep your flues clear!

 

Leylandii, pine - the stuff that smells nice and burns REALLY WELL: don't. It needs 2 years of seasoning to shift the turpenes and oils and will clog up your flue and your glass very quickly.

 

Sadly, I can't think of a way round it bar buying in seasoned wood. But you still need a moisture meter, when it arrives you test it and if it's above 20% you should challenge the supplier - it's not seasoned, you say, and negotiate a discount.

 

Kiln dried should be at about 50% but that's a bit more expensive.

 

Compressed sawdust - very eco and they burn in a stove very very well - is more expensive still but bone dry and easy to store as it comes in waterproof bags. My choice though

 

 

Now, down to the stoves.

 

Wood burns by taking air from above, so you burn it on a flat bottom and supply top air.

 

Coal burns by taking air from below, so you control the air under the grate it sits on.

 

Multifuel stoves are a compromise between the two but if it has either grate in and can't be adjusted (some you can take the grate out for wood) and you have the wrong one for what your burn mostly, you have the wrong one and it'll NEVER burn well.

 

Stoves wear out and the rope seal round the stove door can be replaced and should be if it lets smoke through. A small tub of fire cement is always handy too if anywhere leaks.

 

Glass will smoke up unless it's an airwashed mode.

 

Cheap MachineMart Japanese or Chinese copies are rubbish.

 

Morso, villager, Charnwood, Dunsley, oh, there's a good list of more of them, that are good.

 

Some that are not.

 

This thread would be useful to reflect users experiences of the ease of use and efficiency of different models,

 

 

Oh and if you burn wood and coal together it makes sulphuric acid that can eat your flu or the joints. ESPECIALLY if the wood is wet.

 

HTH

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Makes me very glad I chose a gas Villager on hearing all this complex stuff. I just go to a gas station, fill my bottle to 80%, know I will get exactly what I need to burn in my stove, no ash to clear up, no wood to forage, easily available all year round and ready to use. Its easy to light and up to heat in 10 minutes, easy to control and easy to turn off and it still looks like a proper fire with nice dancing flames.

 

See

 

Edited August 4, 2013 by Biggles

[Ange]

We managed to forage enough wood last year and in preceding years to have free fuel for the entire winter. Luckily we've got parents who are happy to provide storage when we run out of space on the roof.

 

Unfortunately the very cold spring meant we had to buy a bag of coal at the last knockings.

 

Still - very few pennies spent made two happy boaters

 

Depends on your priorities.

[Ships Cat]

Indeed it does. And sustainability is at the forefront of mine, I guess. Coal is dirty, smelly, and unsustainable and I try not to burn it at home (sometimes, common sense must apply, though)

 

Storing wood on the roof etc if you have the space is a good idea. Typically you can cover it in something to protect it but let the air out - I know people who use that netting builders use. Keeps some rain off and still allows seasoning.

 

Woodwarm are well-regarded stoves! The point I made about good quality stoves is particularly relevant if owning a stove isn't to be a chore.

[luctor et emergo]

My boatman stove is not a chore.

 

What's with the sulpheric acid claim, any sience behind that?

[carlt]

Fallen branches form an important habitat for all sorts of wildlife.

 

Protecting the environment isn't just about reducing the carbon footprint.

 

Indeed it does. And sustainability is at the forefront of mine, I guess. Coal is dirty, smelly, and unsustainable and I try not to burn it at home (sometimes, common sense must apply, though)

Smokeless is not dirty and smelly and is processed under strict controls. "Sustainable" is a moot point if you are damaging habitat by taking fallen branches and logs.

 

It is also worth mentioning that there are estimated to be 300 years worth of coal reserves under British soil...Should we just ignore this or make use of it?

[luctor et emergo]

As for fire wood being sustainable, let's see how long we can heat this nation with the existing stock of wood, and if we can grow it quick enough to keep us all warm...

[Ships Cat]

My boatman stove is not a chore.

 

What's with the sulpheric acid claim, any sience behind that?

Indeed there is. Ask any stove installer.

[luctor et emergo]

I don't have a stove installer to hand. Can you elaborate?

[paul68]

Stuff all that, burn coal.

 

Sorted!

 

 

MtB

Yes Mike but wood is free, coal isn't.

[Ships Cat]

Sulphuric acid is in the coal. You'll have heard of acid rain ...

 

Water is in the wood. The sulphuric rises up in the steam and sticks to and eats whatever it meets. Chimneys have fallen down because the mortar holding them together has been dissolved. I know a chimney sweep who sees the results of this all the time, increasingly now the price of coal is rising and people more and more are foraging for wood.

 

Not to mention that the conditions for burning coal and wood are different so one will be very inefficient which lets all sorts of crap up the flue instead of being burnt. We all have to breathe it.

[carlt]

and people more and more are foraging for wood.

.

Which is very worrying.

 

If someone is foraging all the wood they need then they are taking far too much.

 

It is ironic that people who profess to care about the environment seem to care so little about the creatures that we share it with.

 

Sustainable wood is commercially grown and replanted, it is not taken from the forest floor.

[Mac of Cygnet]

I'm afraid the OP is talking the mantra of perfection, with too many 'musts'.

 

For his info:

 

I burn only foraged wood.

 

I collect only dead wood, as dry as possible.

 

I don't care what kind it is, although I know the difference.

 

I burn it in a very small stove with a grate (difficult to convert)

 

I have no idea where it was made.

 

It stays in all night.

 

I don't care if my glass tars up - I need the heat, not to see the flames.

 

I can put up with tar elsewhere.

 

Fire cement is rubbish on boat stoves as the flexing causes it to crack and flake off.

 

HTH those put off by the OP's dogmatic statements.

 

Edited to remove an 'i' (not an eye).

Edited August 5, 2013 by Mac of Cygnet

[luctor et emergo]

Which is very worrying.

 

If someone is foraging all the wood they need then they are taking far too much.

 

It is ironic that people who profess to care about the environment seem to care so little about the creatures that we share it with.

 

Sustainable wood is commercially grown and replanted, it is not taken from the forest floor.

I agree, but try to tell that to a person with no money, who tries to keep a boat with their kids warm..

 

Keeping your family warm, when you are on the breadline, is not about sustainability.

[carlt]

 

 

I collect only dead wood, as dry as possible.

 

 

Unfortunately the drier the wood the longer it has been on the ground (until it starts rotting) so the more likely you are to be removing habitat.

 

This is absolutely no problem if this doesn't concern you (and you have every right to be unconcerned) but the OP appears to be claiming to be interested in the environment.

I agree, but try to tell that to a person with no money, who tries to keep a boat with their kids warm..

 

Keeping your family warm, when you are on the breadline, is not about sustainability.

I agree entirely and if the reason for burning windfall wood is economic then that is fine and I have done it myself.

[dor]

 

people more and more are foraging for wood.

 

 

 

Unfortunately on the Shroppie that includes picnic benches and stop planks.

Edited August 5, 2013 by dor

[cloggy]

 

people more and more are foraging for wood.

 

Unfortunately on the Shroppie that includes picnic benches and stop planks.

 

I had quite a chat with someone last winter who thought it was ok to use the bench for cutting wood. He couldn't see the problem it wasn't doing much damage. I did point out that any damage was too much

[Mac of Cygnet]

Unfortunately the drier the wood the longer it has been on the ground

 

In fact the opposite is the case. I avoid wood that is on the ground as I know that it won't be very dry. Wood dries best before it reaches the ground. Dead branches are good, or complete dead trees.

 

As for the environment, foraging for wood has been going on since fire was discovered, and I'm willing to bet that the number of people doing it in the UK is rather less than in (say) medieval times. Of course it has become a severe problem in areas such as the Himalayas, where the rural poor have no other source of fuel, but not here.

[carlt]

 

In fact the opposite is the case. I avoid wood that is on the ground as I know that it won't be very dry. Wood dries best before it reaches the ground. Dead branches are good, or complete dead trees.

 

Obviously dead wood in the tree will be drier (and not providing habitat either) but I would hazard a guess that most people take the wood from the ground where I correctly stated that it is drier the longer it has sat there seasoning until it starts rotting.

 

I believe that the proportion of forest today, compared to mediaeval times, is significantly lower than the proportion of modern day wood foragers, compared to back then.

 

Edited to add: My second point about forest cover today compared to Mediaeval times is actually incorrect. On looking up the figures I was surprised to learn that the proportion of woodland coverage, in latter years, has recovered to nearly what it was back then.

Edited August 5, 2013 by carlt