Economics, ergonomics are better

FAIRBANKS — The up to date article on the Department of Environmental Conservation’s new-fangled draw up regulations be evidence for so as to our winter air will not cleaned up until 2019 or soon. We can’t put off until afterward to breathe.

There are many ways to burn firewood cleaner to help us restriction in the particulate material difficult. Following are amongst the more compelling reasons to act so, especially to this old geezer still harsh his own firewood.

If this doesn’t turn into you think twice almost burning wet wood, I deduction nothing will.

The following wood principles are from the report “Forest Products and forest Science” and from engineertoolbox.Com.

Forest burns superlative whilst it has a humidity content of with a reduction of than 20 percent. Our fresh nick trees, despite of species, contain approximately 60 percent fill with tears. Modish Interior Alaska, nick wood will dry to with a reduction of than 20 percent MC if the wood is nick to distance end to end and plus split. Cut trees, especially birch and aspen, will truly escalation in MC if not processed.

The definition of a cord of wood is: 128 cubic feet of wood, bark and airspace — a support 8 feet by 8 feet by 4 feet. An run of the mill dry cord (birch, aspen and spruce) produces approximately 20 million British thermal units of recoverable part. An run of the mill wet cord of wood produces simply almost 9 million Btu of recoverable part. The other 11 million Btu are used up boiling inedible all the fill with tears.  

Let’s look by the side of the stress difference linking wet (about 60 percent MC) and dry (under 20 percent MC); Wet aspen weighs 3,870 pounds for each cord; dry, it weighs 2,340 pounds for each cord. Wet birch weighs 4,500 pounds for each cord; dry, 3,420 pounds. Wet spruce weighs 3,060 pounds for each cord; dry, 2,520 pounds.

Let’s say you burn birch:

The run of the mill four-star rated, 3,000-square-foot put up needs 230 million Btu to part the put up annually. Using the Btu principles beyond in support of wet v. Dry wood, you would need 11.5 dry cords of birch, weighing 19.6 tons, or 25.5 wet cords, weighing 57.3 tons.

So, using wet wood, you recompense in support of 14 further cords both time (economics), and, you bear 37.7 further tons of wet wood into the put up (ergonomics) both time.

Modish my experience, one species of firewood in our region will dry in single chubby summer (March through October) if nick to distance end to end, split to with a reduction of than a 4-inch diameter and stacked under cover with stacks of ventilation. Forest nick soon than May or June might need 12 to 16 months to grasp 20 percent MC. Rather than depending on a definite instant time, to superlative determine the MC of your firewood, progress a humidity gauge (about $20).

I burn mostly spruce, since so as to is on the whole abundant draw near to me. My stress savings are simply almost partially so as to of a birch user, but, hey, one ton saved is a fine ton to my back.