Harvesting firewood: which wood is better to choose and how to dry logs for the heating season?

06.03.2018 14:41

The choice of the optimal time of year to buy firewood largely depends on the conditions for drying it and the material costs that the buyer is ready for. In addition, the decision is made based on the product purchased - simply sawn or already chopped.

Thus, people with experience advise purchasing unsplitted material in the fall, since in the cold winter it is easier to split firewood. This statement is true for fibrous and gnarled species, such as aspen and oak. If you buy chopped firewood (their price, however, is higher), you will avoid a labor-intensive process and get more freedom in choosing the appropriate season.

Spring

Firewood is cheap at this time of year, but as it is filled with vital moisture, it takes on much more weight, which can complicate the delivery process. However, if you use delivery services, you will not have such problems. You can purchase chopped firewood from us with delivery to St. Petersburg to all regions at any time of the year. Provided that communications are properly laid, we will deliver your goods as quickly as possible.

In the Leningrad region, problems with drying may arise due to increased dampness. It is worth drying firewood when there is suitable space and conditions for this. The following requirements must be met:

• First, the flooring is laid, or even better, pallets, so that there is no contact with damp ground.
• Firewood is placed in rows or stacks.
• A canopy is installed over them to prevent precipitation.

Thus, the wood is exposed to natural heat and ventilation. By autumn, firewood can already be used, mixing it with those that were stored from the previous season.

Firewood prices by season

Everyone knows the proverb about preparing a sleigh in the summer. This can fully be attributed to firewood. Remember, as the heating season approaches, firewood prices inevitably increase. That is why the likelihood of buying birch firewood inexpensively at the end of spring is much higher than in the autumn months.

In addition, many suppliers sell firewood from last year in spring and summer. This does not affect the quality of the wood, but the price tag will be significantly lower. For the same volumes and species ordered in the fall, you will have to pay more.

There is another advantage to storing firewood early. No matter how much you talk about it, most people live according to the principle - when thunder strikes, then we will cross ourselves. In the fall, there is a real rush for firewood, so you won’t be able to find all types of wood right away. We'll have to wait, which isn't very exciting due to the rain.

Winter

The winter season is considered the best for purchasing firewood, since the wood during this period is the driest. But, however, this is not true in all cases. The autumn moisture could simply freeze inside. From a financial point of view, buying wood in winter is not very profitable, since it will cost much more than at other times of the year.

Regardless of whether you decide to dry it yourself or purchase already dry firewood, choose a reliable supplier. offers a full range of services - from assistance with choosing a product that meets your wishes in terms of quality and price, to stacking firewood in the woodpile. We have our own production workshops, we prepare firewood ourselves and interact directly with the buyer without intermediaries, so the cost of our products will not be high for you.

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Recommendations for purchasing firewood

The answer turns out to be much simpler - you need to buy firewood for the coming season. Therefore, the best time is of course spring. There are several advantages of this solution:

• Buying firewood in the spring allows you to save a lot. Since the trees are saturated with sap at this time, their humidity increases significantly. As a result, the cost of wood drops significantly;
• You will have the opportunity to dry the chopped firewood yourself. All you have to do is make a woodpile out of them and cover it with waterproof material. Be sure to lay a flooring under the bottom layer of firewood. In this way, you can safely preserve wood, both in summer and autumn;

If you want to prepare for the heating season, we recommend making a purchase in the summer.

1. The wood will have time to dry in more than two months and will be completely ready for the heating season;
2. It will be possible to get firewood in the summer without any problems. You can dispose of them as you wish.

And for those who do not like to take risks, we can recommend buying firewood in winter. They will be pre-dried and ready for use. The only negative is that delivery may take some time if your private home is located quite far away.

To summarize, we can highlight the following principles for purchasing firewood:

• When buying wood for the next heating season, purchase it in the spring;
• For this year – buy in the summer;
• If you want to avoid any risks and difficulties, buy chopped firewood in winter.

Aspen firewood

Advantages . This wood does not smoke, burns with a high flame, but only produces heat in a hot oven. Aspen is valued for its ability to clean the chimney of soot and soot. Poplar firewood has a similar quality, but to a lesser extent. They can not only heat the stove, but also put it in the stove at the end of the firebox.

Firewood from aspen and silver poplar, left after formative pruning of old trees

Difficulties . Aspen firewood burns slowly and produces little heat in a cool firebox. Aspen causes weakness in some people, so it is not the best wood for a bathhouse.

Drying firewood

Firewood can be purchased already dry, dried industrially in a special chamber or in an electric field. But it's expensive. It is better to know how to dry firewood naturally. At your dacha or personal plot, you can always find a place for a woodpile or woodshed, where the firewood will dry in any weather.

Such a woodcutter will not take up much space

If the firewood is stored in winter or autumn, it will dry quickly enough under the roof if the sides of the woodpile are left open. If there is no woodshed, the woodpile is covered with film or roofing felt only on top.

In winter, firewood does not so much dry as it freezes out, while the main drying process occurs in the warm season. If you learn how to stack firewood and do it correctly, even when the humidity is high, your firewood will continue to dry out.

Types of wood

Let's try to figure out which firewood is best to use for heating a bathhouse, and which firewood is better for heating. To do this, let’s take a closer look at the properties of different types of wood.

Pine, spruce

Coniferous wood burns very well, but it cannot be used in all cases. So, if the question of which firewood is best for a bath is being decided, then firewood from spruce or pine will be among the top most suitable options. The fact is that coniferous trees contain a lot of essential oils, so when wood burns, a pleasant aroma is formed. Moreover, beneficial phytoncides enter the air, which increase immunity and destroy pathogens.

So visiting a bathhouse heated with pine or spruce firewood is a therapeutic and health procedure.

But if you are looking for an answer to the question of which firewood is best for heating, then coniferous wood will be an outsider. The fact is that wood of this type contains a lot of resin, which contributes to the formation of a large amount of soot and smoke. Therefore, it is better to choose a different type of wood for a wood-burning stove or fireplace.

Alder

When asked which firewood is better, many will say alder. The fact is that this wood (provided that the alder did not grow near a pond) dries much faster than firewood from other tree species.

When burned, alder produces very little smoke, making it an ideal choice for stoves and fireplaces. Moreover, alder is the best type of firewood for heating a black sauna.

Oak

Experts, when asked which firewood is best, will most likely answer that oak. This wood produces the strongest heat, so it is used quite sparingly. Oak firewood is not easy to light, but it burns for quite a long time. But it is important that the logs are not taken from old trees, as they produce much less heat. The ideal choice is medium-sized logs.

But why is oak firewood so rarely used? The answer is simple - it’s all about the price, oak is expensive wood and it is absolutely impractical to convert it to firewood. However, if you have the opportunity to purchase such firewood, you can add a couple of oak logs to other firewood so that the firewood burns longer.

Birch

Of course, birch firewood is one of the most common types. It is birch that many people choose when deciding which firewood is best for a bathhouse. Firstly, birch gives off excellent heat, and secondly, when burned, it produces a pleasant aroma.

As you know, birch contains tar, which has long been used in folk medicine. However, you need to remember that birch does not tolerate storage well. Already in the second year, the logs become rotten and begin to emit an unpleasant odor when burned.

Linden

Linden wood does not burn well, but it produces good heat, so the stove warms up quickly. Linden firewood can be used for fireplaces and bathhouses. However, like birch, linden does not tolerate long-term storage, so linden firewood should not be stored for more than two years.

Aspen

The properties of aspen firewood resemble those of alder wood. They burn with the formation of a minimal amount of smoke. Moreover, aspen firewood has long been used to soften soot deposits in the chimney. After firing the stove with aspen wood, cleaning the chimney was much easier.

However, the heat transfer of aspen is low, so using such firewood for heating is unprofitable. It is advisable to use them either for periodic cleaning of the chimney, or to simplify the ignition of hardwood.

Willow and poplar

This is not the best option for firewood; poplar and willow firewood is used only if for some reason it was not possible to purchase another type of fuel. Such firewood burns quickly and produces little heat. So it is not advisable to buy this cheap firewood in order to save money, since the consumption will be very high.

Fruit trees

Apple or pear wood is very good for heating a fireplace or sauna. However, you can rarely buy such firewood, only in case of planned cutting down of gardens. When burned, apple, pear and cherry firewood gives a very pleasant aroma, therefore, if you can purchase it, it is better to use it for a bath or use it for smoking food in a home smokehouse.

Dry wood

A freshly cut tree can have a moisture content of up to fifty percent. Firewood from it will burn poorly, so it needs to be dried so that no more moisture remains. 15-20%.

Determining the dryness of firewood is not difficult at all. Knock two logs together. If the sound is clear, it means the wood is suitable for burning . In addition, fresh firewood is almost twice as heavy as well-dried firewood.

Rules for working with the Kolundrov wood splitter:

1. Place the log splitter on a hard, level surface. For best results, secure it with wood screws through the holes in the sole. 2. Place the wooden log on the edge of the knife, inside the upper ring of the wood splitter, resting it on the ring. If the log is significantly smaller in diameter than the splitter ring, move the log toward one of the posts. 3. Using a sledgehammer, hit the log until it completely splits into two parts. For safety reasons, it is recommended to stand on the side of one of the support posts of the wood splitter. 4. After splitting, remove the log pieces from the log splitter. To split into smaller fragments, repeat the procedure until the desired result is achieved. 5. Be careful when splitting firewood or boards that have been used previously on the farm; they contain nails that can damage the splitting knife. 6. Also, to avoid damage and jamming of the knife edge, it is not recommended to place the log directly with the knot on the edge of the wood splitter knife. Place the log so that the knot does not touch the edge of the knife or the side of the log that does not have obvious large knots. 7. For the best result, the weight of the sledgehammer should be selected individually for the type of wood, knotiness and size of the logs. The average option is a sledgehammer weighing 1.5 kg; for large and very knotty logs you should use a sledgehammer weighing 3-4 kg.

8. If a “spring effect” is noticed when chopping firewood, this means that the wood splitter is installed on an unsuitable (not hard enough) or uneven surface. 9. Keep the tool clean, periodically clean it from dust and dirt. Store the log splitter in a dry place. To avoid the formation of corrosion, before long-term storage, it is recommended to lubricate the edge of the wood splitter knife with a thin layer of oil or grease.

Owners of fireplaces, stoves, barbecues, grills or barbecues will appreciate the work of simple and reliable Kolundrov wood splitters as a quick and safe way to chop firewood, splinters or wood chips for ignition in a couple of minutes. It really works, see for yourself!

Legal issues

A good owner knows how many stoves he has to fire during the cold season. He will not forget about the bathhouse, which is heated once or twice a week. It is necessary to prepare firewood in reserve, because there is no winter after winter, no one can say what temperatures to expect next year.

1. After the cubic meters have been sorted out, it is necessary to resolve the issue with the forestry department, because unauthorized cutting of firewood is prohibited by law. It’s better to do everything according to the rules than to pay fines later. You can find out how to calculate how many cubes you need for the winter in our article.
2. The forestry department draws up an agreement on the procurement of firewood for its own needs, and the amount of wood will correspond to the standards established in each region. Having received the contract (it must be paid for), you go with the forester to allocate the plot.

3. Procuring firewood for your own needs involves selective cutting. These are dead trees or trees blown down by the wind, as well as those damaged by pests. In the latter case, clear felling is sometimes carried out in order to then replace the forest with new plantings in the spring. Unauthorized harvesting and removal of windfall without permits is prohibited.
4. A forestry representative at the plot will mark the trees intended for cutting with paint or make cuts with an ax. Private owners are given a certain time to procure fuel, during which they need to cut, split and remove the firewood from the forest.

Free for your own needs (but you must have a cutting permit in hand), you can harvest thin wood or brushwood, as well as collect residues from cutting trees in plots, because they litter the forest, cause diseases, and are also an excellent “help” for forest fires.

Unfortunately, in some regions, residents cannot decide for themselves when it is best to procure fuel for their own needs, since forest districts begin to issue logging tickets only after receiving an order from Moscow.