If you have been wanting to heat with wood, you have come to the right place.
We have been heating with wood for decades and have had a variety of wood stoves, fireplaces, fireplace inserts, wood cook-stoves, camp-stoves, quartz electric stoves as well as DIY homemade wood-burning stoves…..
Heating with Wood
To begin with, let’s go over some of the basics: Wood Heat does require planning and effort as you are the main person in gathering, cutting, splitting, stacking, and hauling as well as loading the wood stove or fireplace and then cleaning out the ashes.
But……the benefits of heating with wood are so worthwhile:
Radiant warmth is hard to beat: there is nothing like sitting in front of your wood-stove after work on a cold evening
Firewood provides a self-sufficient means of keeping your family warm
Wood stoves, Fireplaces, and Inserts offer an alternative to the grid
Firewood is consider to be Carbon Neutral so it is a very “green” heat source
Plus, your Saturdays will already be planned as you will be dealing with your firewood pile!!
Necessary Equipment to have when cutting and splitting your own Firewood:
Chainsaws – We have always run Husqvarna Chainsaws for our log home company; we also use these saws for firewood
Back Brace – it is super wise to protect your back when splitting wood.
Electric Power Splitter – these are super helpful but are more expensive. (this could be a part-time income source-hiring out to split other people’s woodpile)
Gas Powered Splitter– gas-powered splitters are more mobile as they do not require an electric outlet (this could be a part-time income source-hiring out to split other people’s woodpile)
Or, simply Buy your Firewood from a local Firewood Dealer (firewood is usually available from private sellers in most areas)
Here is information from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources that will be helpful when heating with wood in your wood stove:
Species Density Heat Value of various tree species
“The Best Kinds of Firewood species of wood produce more heat than others. The heat a log produces depends on the density, moisture content, resin and ash in the wood. The chart to the right shows the densities and heat values of various tree species common in Indiana. The heat value of hickory is set at 100. The chart lists those woods that burn longest at the top of the list, while those toward the bottom will ignite and burn more quickly. When low-density woods are mixed with high-density woods, the fire will start quickly and burn a long time. Fruit tree woods added to the fire will give off various sweet-smelling aromas. There are some species of wood, such as elm, that tend to yield less desirable aromas when burned.” This complete document can be found at http://www.in.gov/dnr/forestry/files/heatingwithfirewood.pdf
⇒The first number is the Species Density
⇒The second is the Heat Value
Apple .58-.62 83-84 Ash .57-.61 81-82 Aspen .37-.39 53
Basswood .37-.39 53 Birch .55-.64 79-86 Black Locust .69-.70 95-98 Blue Beech .65-.61 89-91
Cherry .50-.52 70-71 Cottonwood .37-.41 54-55
Dogwood .70-.79 100-107
Elm .50-.59 71-80
Gum .48-.52 69-70
Hard Maple .58-.65 83-88 Hickory .70-.74 100 Hophornbeam .70-.75 100-101
Mulberry .59-.63 84-85
Oak .60-.73 86-99 Osage Orange .78-.83 112
Sassafras .44-.46 62-63 Soft Maple .47-.54 67-73 Sycamore .49-.52 70
Tulip Tree .40-.42 57
Walnut .52-.55 74 White Pine .35-.37 50
This chart published by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Not all tree species are listed here but a good majority of them are on the list. This should be very helpful across the country. A printable copy is found at http://www.in.gov/dnr/forestry/files/heatingwithfirewood.pdf
⇒Helpful Tip: a cord of firewood is 4 foot wide by 4 foot high by 8 foot long
4′ x 4′ x 8’=128 cubic feet
When needing a freestanding firewood pile, rick-rack the ends of each row to create stable corners. This is easily done just about anywhere.
Chopping Wood
Rick racked corners make very convenient freestanding firewood rows.
Here is the style ofNon-Electric Fanthat we use on our wood-stove.
We keep two of these non-electric fans on our stove at all times. They help to gently circulate the warm air and are totally quiet.
These are especially nice if the electricity goes out. It is important to ensure some type of air circulation for a couple of reasons.
First, it moves the warm air around the room. And, secondly, to keep the stove from overheating.
Remember to keep your stove or fireplace clean by removing the ashes. The Koal Keeper Ember Recovery Tool works great! This is a real-time saver and simplifies fire maintenance. Sift out the embers in your .
Thank you for your tip to rick-rack the ends of each row of firewood to make stable corners. I’ve been thinking of building an outdoor wood furnace for my winter cabin. I will keep this tip in mind for stacking my firewood for the furnace.
Hi, stacking our firewood corners like this has worked well for us. They are actually quite stable. Hope all goes well with your outdoor wood furnace. Thanks for writing!
2 Comments
Skylar Williams
September 6, 2019 at 5:57 pmThank you for your tip to rick-rack the ends of each row of firewood to make stable corners. I’ve been thinking of building an outdoor wood furnace for my winter cabin. I will keep this tip in mind for stacking my firewood for the furnace.
Original Homesteading
September 8, 2019 at 10:36 amHi, stacking our firewood corners like this has worked well for us. They are actually quite stable. Hope all goes well with your outdoor wood furnace. Thanks for writing!