It is important to use dry firewood when lighting a fire in order to get the most out of your firewood and your wood burning stove. With dry firewood, you'll get the best combustion.
Keep the environment in mind when lighting a fire in your wood burning stove – you must use dry firewood in order to avoid particle emissions.
When you buy dry firewood from a dealer, the moisture content must not exceed of 20 %.
Why should you light a fire with dry firewood?
You should use dry firewood because it ensures you the best combustion and that you'll get the most heat out your logs. The efficiency is much higher when you light a fire using dry firewood as opposed to using moist firewood.
If you use moist firewood, it is both damaging for the environment and often it will be uncomfortable for your neighbours because of the smoke generation that it will cause.
There are different methods for checking whether your firewood is dry enough to light a fire with.
Your firewood is dry if bubbles appear. This happens because there are some channels inside the log which transport water. When the wood has been cut and dried, the water disappears and air can pass through when you blow.
You can also test the driness of your firewood by banging together two pieces of wood. Your firewood is dry when the sound is hard and ringing. Moist firewood has a dull sound.
Be aware of pitfalls when it comes to the sound test. In frosty weather and when the temperature is below 0° Celsius, fresh wood can give off a high and ringing sound even if the wood is not yet dry .
Remember that the sound test only provides you with a superficial impression of the condition of the wood. It won't always disclose whether the wood is dry at the core.
light in colour. Sun exposure makes the wood yellow and old wood turns greyish. Often the bark will seperate from the wood.
If your firewood matches the criteria, it's a sign that your firewood is dry enough for firing with in your wood burning stove. (Source: Lars Mytting's book Norwegian Wood).
You can also use wood moisture meter for measuring the moisture content of your firewood. With a wood moisture meter, you'll get the most precise information on the moisture content in your firewood.