Why are my logs burning so quickly?
Check your fuel. Soft wood will burn faster than hard wood. You will still get a good amount of heat from soft wood but it will burn faster. Check that all your vents are closed/shut down once the fire is burning fully.
If you are finding that your fire is burning fast and is therefore extinguishing quickly, you need to restrict the air into the chamber. Simply start closing the vents off once you add your logs (without completely shutting them down) and your fire will burn slower which means it will last longer.
- Stack your larger logs on the bottom of the grate.
- Add the smaller logs on top.
- Place a layer of kindling on top of the smaller logs, typically smaller sticks or twigs.
- Scrunch up some old newspaper or other tinder (make sure it's dry and shredded for maximum effect)
Generally, tests show that heat logs will burn for around 2 - 3 hours. Now, that's not a very specific answer to the question 'How long do fire logs last? ' but there are so many factors that will affect burn time, as well as the composition of the log.
If you cover the flame with too much firewood too quickly, you can snuff it out because it won't get enough oxygen. You also need to stack the logs in such a way that enables them to breathe. If the logs are stacked too tightly together, oxygen won't flow between them and it will slow the burning process significantly.
Excess fire pit smoke is typically the result of the incomplete burning of firewood due to excess moisture in the wood, typically “green” wood or older wood that has not been able to dry adequately.
- Use only well-seasoned wood.
- Burn hardwood.
- Fully load the firebox.
- Set air damper to 'low airflow' setting.
- Sit back, relax, and enjoy hours of warmth!
In order to burn all night, you will need to make sure there is enough oxygen in your wood burning heater. Open the air inlets on your wood burning heater, to the maximum intake, for 10 - 30 minutes. Once your large logs have formed a black ash around the bark, slowly begin to close the air inlet.
Close off the air vents and wait until the flames have died down to embers. Carefully open the door and using your heat resistant glove, spread out the remaining embers and pieces of firewood or coal. Always ensure your chimney damper is fully open before you open the stove door to prevent smoke from billowing out.
While the most common causes of log burners going out are insufficient oxygen, fuel or heat, stoves also rely on a properly functioning chimney. The purpose of this is to draw out exhaust fumes that could suffocate your fire.
How long should logs sit before splitting?
Let the wood dry at least six months and preferably longer
The hardest lesson: firewood takes a very long time to season Most folks who split their wood and stack it in well-spaced rows find that they can dry their wood in about six months.
How long it takes to season wood actually depends on what type of wood it is. Soft wood can be dried within 6 months, if done correctly. Hardwood, meanwhile, such as oak, can take anywhere from 1 – 2 years.
A log that is at least 12 inches in diameter and 15 inches long will burn for 2–3 hours. Fires are easier to start, and the log gives off lots of light and heat and very little smoke. To make a fire log, all you need is a log, a chain saw and proper hearing and eye protection.
For the serious fire lover, you may want to invest in hardwoods like madrone, live oak, ash, hickory, walnut and fruit trees like apple or cherry. Hardwoods are denser woods that burn hotter and longer than softwoods, but you'll need to let them season more than a year.
In general, you'll find that you need between 2 and 5 bundles of firewood per day for your campfire. However, you may need more wood if you plan to have a fire going for more than just a few hours each night. A roaring fire at the end of a long day of hiking is one of the most enjoyable parts of any camping trip.
The most like culprits are likely tied to some kind of problem with your setup. Anything from issues with your pilot light, clogged ports on burners, damage to heating components, and thermocouple/thermopile malfunctions can be to blame.
If the logs don't catch before the kindling starts dying down, try folding over a few pieces of newsprint to make a small fan and waving it—in tiny flicks, very carefully and gently—to get the embers glowing. Once the logs catch, it's just a matter of adding new ones on top when the others start sputtering out.
- Setting thermostat to the maximum value.
- Ensuring flue damper and fireplace are well sealed to prevent warm air from escaping.
- Using a blower to spread warm air evenly throughout the room.
To Cover or Not to Cover
Ideally, firewood should remain uncovered so it can be properly dried, but this is not practical when rain, snow and ice can quickly coat winter firewood. A good cover over the top of your woodpile will protect it, and be sure the cover is slanted to shed moisture away from the pile's base.
Watch out for any wood covered with vines. Burning poison ivy, poison sumac, poison oak, or pretty much anything else with "poison" in the name releases the irritant oil urushiol into the smoke. Breathing it in can cause lung irritation and severe allergic respiratory problems, the Centers for Disease Control state.
Why does my house get smoky when I use my fireplace?
The most likely reason that your house is filling with smoke when you light a fire is that the damper is closed. The damper should be fully opened when the fireplace is in use, and closed when it is not. All indoor fireplaces have a damper that must be opened before you light a fire in your fireplace.
- Use Dry Firewood. ...
- Use Larger Pieces of Firewood. ...
- Place Fire Pit Next to a Windbreak. ...
- Dry Your Fire Pit Before Using It. ...
- Let Your Firewood Breathe. ...
- Beware of Weather. ...
- Add More Firewood.
It can take 3-12 months or longer to season firewood. On average, it usually takes around 6-months to dry out the cut-firewood that you purchased from a store or supplier. Depending on the original timber's moisture content, it can take more or less time to season.
Seasoned hardwoods make the best firewood. Hardwoods like oak, cherry and maple are denser than softwoods like pine or cedar. Due to their density, they burn longer and produce more heat or BTUs.
One traditional fireplace can't produce enough heat to warm your entire house. Fireplaces typically generate enough heat to warm the room they're in, and they can be very effective at heating that space. To heat your entire home, you would need a fireplace in every room that you want to be heated.
You should never leave your fireplace burning and unattended overnight while you sleep. This represents a major safety hazard.
Ghosting Flame: lack of combustion air. Wispy, transparent blue flames that lift off the burner and float through the firebox looking for oxygen. Fireplace will only run for a short time before it shuts itself down. Typically due to poor draft or flue gas recirculation.
Danger comes when people build larger or hotter fires than what the manufacturer of the these smaller fireplaces recommends. This is known as "over-firing."
They give you an easy way to make sure you are not firing your wood stove too hot (which may cause stove or stovepipe damage and could ignite adjacent structures) or too cold (increasing smoke levels and allowing creosote to build up).
Hardwood Logs
Hardwood burns the slowest, produces the most intense fires, and produces hot coals that remain hot long after a fire has gone out.
Why won't my gas logs stay on?
The Fix: Pilot Light to Gas Fireplace Won't Stay Lit
This can be an indication that your fireplace thermocouple is either bad or worn out. However, if your pilot is lit but the gas fireplace isn't, then there's probably a problem with your thermopile.
The sprinkling of logs (with the equivalent of about 2 inches of rain daily) for several weeks prior to sawing into lumber can prevent fungal damage by preventing the wood from drying out. If there is no oxygen, the fungi cannot become active.
Wet wood is much harder to light, emits more smoke, and doesn't burn anywhere near as brightly as dry wood. It's also much worse for the environment, so it's really important to keep your wood dry throughout the year. Alternatively, you can buy ultra-dry firewood as and when you need it, as we explain below.
Dry Wood Is Typically Easier to Split
Normally, though, you'll find that dry, seasoned wood is easier to split than wet wood. Regardless of the tree species from which it was harvested, dry wood contains less moisture, so there's less resistance when cutting and splitting it.
Splitting wood speeds up the drying process. If you need wood to burn in the near future, you better your odds by purchasing wood that's been split. Split wood will also dry out faster than logs in a stack.
Yes, although it is not a common problem. Properly seasoned firewood still has a fair amount of water in it, say 15 to 20 percent of its weight. That water regulates the combustion process along with a few other factors like piece size, load configuration and combustion air supply.
Seasoned firewood will also be lighter weight than green wood, although judging this can be subjective. You can also try banging two pieces of wood together, paying attention to resonance. Dry wood will “ring” on impact, while wet wood will only thud.
To identify well-seasoned wood, check the ends of the logs. If they are dark in colour and cracked, they are dry. Dry seasoned wood is lighter in weight than wet wood and makes a hollow sound when hitting two pieces together. If there is any green colour visible or bark is hard to peel, the log is not yet dry.
Does Rain Help Season Firewood? No, rain does not help to season firewood. The seasoning process helps to reduce the moisture content of wood so that it can burn effectively when used as firewood. In order for firewood to dry out quickly and efficiently, the wood must be kept dry and away from any moisture.
A single bulk bag weighs 215kg and contains approximately 300 logs. If you use five logs a night in your wood burner, this would provide you with enough logs to last for around two months. That's plenty of fires to keep you warm and toasty!
Why is my firewood smoldering?
In the right setting, it generally takes between six months and a year for wood to sufficiently dry out to be suitable for use as firewood. When the wood has too much internal or external moisture, smoking occurs. Solutions: Use seasoned firewood, if you have access to some.
- Rake the charcoal towards the front of the wood stove.
- Place five to seven large logs in a tight formation behind the coals.
- Shut the door and enjoy.
Coal lasts longer and produces more heat than logs, but logs have a more pleasant aroma and look far better in your wood burner. By using the two fuels together, you ensure that your fire burns for a long time at a hot temperature (thanks to the coal), but produces the same pleasantly woody aroma of a log fire.
So to answer the question directly: Are Log Homes Hard To Maintain? – Not particularly. There will be some different things to look for, and different people to call for some fixes, but by and large, no, a log cabin construction shouldn't be a deal breaker on any good home.
To test your firewood, split a log and stick the meter's prongs into the wood on the freshly split side. For accuracy, test several pieces of firewood from different places in the woodpile. If the moisture content is below 20% it will burn cleanly and efficiently.
As wood burns, the mix of expanding gases and cellulose breaking down makes the pockets of trapped steam burst open from the wood, one by one. This is why you hear the crackling and popping noises. So the more water and sap there is inside the wood, the noisier the fire will be.
Non-catalytic wood stoves will use 1 cord every 30 to 60 days and catalytic wood stoves will use 1 cord per season for very high efficiency models.
Keep It Hot
One of the keys to high-efficiency combustion is keeping the combustion zone hot, at least 600°C (1,100°F). If it is colder than that, the wood will tend to "smolder" (hot enough for combustible gases to escape from the wood, but not hot enough for those gases to burn).