How to make firewood splitting more efficient and fun! When you’re done splitting it, stack it in a log rack to allow it to season, and to keep it organized and dry.
Well I know that I don’t want to burn regular wood, I hate the smell, and I don’t want to smoke up my house, walls, etc.
I think I need to buy a gas log, but I’ve never used my fireplace in five years of owning my home. There’s a gas gauge, with a piece sticking out that looks like you screw something on to it, and I have a key beside the fireplace to turn on the gas. But that’s all I know. Oh yeah, there’s a rack to place wood? And a long silver piece with holes in it. I tried screwing it on to the area that needs to be screwed but it didn’t fit.
Any help/advice would be appreciated.
| Wood Variety | Rating | Heat Yield | Burn Difficulty | Split Difficulty | BTUs per cord (Millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ash | Excellent | High | Easy | Hard | 25.9 |
| Red Oak | Excellent | High | Easy | Hard | 21.7 |
| White Oak | Excellent | High | Easy | Hard | 26.5 |
| Beech | Excellent | High | Easy | Hard | 21.8 |
| Birch | Excellent | High | Easy | Hard | 21.3 |
| Hickory | Excellent | High | Easy | Hard | 30.0 |
| Hard Maple | Excellent | High | Easy | Hard | 29.7 |
| Pecan | Excellent | High | Easy | Hard | |
| Dogwood | Excellent | High | Easy | Hard | 24.3 |
| Soft Maple | Good | Medium | Easy | Hard | 19.1 |
| Cherry | Good | Medium | Easy | Hard | 18.5 |
| Walnut | Good | Medium | Easy | Hard | 20.3 |
| Elm | Fair | Medium | Medium | Easy | 23.8 |
| Sycamore | Fair | Medium | Medium | Easy | 18.5 |
| Gum | Fair | Medium | Medium | Easy | 18.1 |
| Mesquite | Good | High | Medium | Easy | |
| Aspen | Fair | Low | Easy | Hard | 14.5 |
| Basswood | Fair | Low | Easy | Hard | 12.6 |
| Cottonwood | Fair | Low | Easy | Hard | 12.2 |
| Chestnut | Poor | Low | Easy | Hard | |
| Yellow Poplar | Poor | Low | Easy | Hard | 16.0 |
| Southern Yellow Pine | Good | High | Easy | Hard | |
| Douglas Fir | Good | High | Easy | Hard | 21.4 |
| Cypress | Fair | Medium | Medium | Hard | |
| Redwood | Fair | Medium | Medium | Hard | |
| White Cedar | Good | Medium | Easy | Hard | 17.5 |
| Western Red Cedar | Good | Medium | Easy | Hard | 17.5 |
| Eastern Red Cedar | Good | Medium | Easy | Hard | 17.5 |
| Juniper | Good | Medium | Easy | Hard | |
| Pinon | Good | Medium | Easy | Hard | |
| Eastern White Pine | Fair | Low | Medium | Hard | 15.8 |
| Western White Pine | Fair | Low | Medium | Hard | 15.8 |
| Sugar Pine | Fair | Low | Medium | Hard | 15.8 |
| Ponderosa Pine | Fair | Low | Medium | Hard | 17.0 |
| True Firs | Fair | Low | Medium | Hard | 19.5 |
| Tamarack | Fair | Medium | Easy | Hard | 20.8 |
| Larch | Fair | Medium | Easy | Hard | 20.8 |
| Spruce | Poor | Low | Easy | Hard | 15.9 |
| Alder | Fair | Medium | Fair | Hard | 17.6 |
| Apple | Fair | Medium | Hard | Easy | 17.6 |
| Ironwood | Excellent | Very High | Hard | Easy | 24.7 |
| Black Locust | Excellent | Very High | Hard | Easy | 26.5 |
| Madrone | Excellent | High | Hard | Easy | 30.0 |
| Willow | Fair | Low | Hard | Hard | 14.5 |
Data is from: U.S. Forest Products Laboratory.
You will get the best results burning wood with the highest BTU (available heat) content.
Firewood Measurements
1 full cord measures 8 feet long x 4 feet high and 4 feet wide or 128 cubic feet.
A face cord measures 8 feet long x 4 feet high, with the average log length being 16″-18″, making it approximately 48 cubic feet.
Looking for a log rack to properly dry and season your firewood? There is an abundance of sizes, styles, and prices of indoor and outdoor firewood racks available.
A Log Rack Is A Wise Investment.
It keeps your firewood neat and organized, and will allow it to dry, or season, properly for maximum efficiency in burning. A proper log rack cover is essential for this process as well.
People who burn a large amount of firewood often will use a smaller log rack closer to the house to have a handy supply of firewood close by, leaving the rest of the wood stacked and stored in a larger firewood rack at a distance from the house. A small size is perfect as well for people who have fires for “special” occasions. And an indoor log rack is a perfect way to store your firewood attractively near your wood stove or fireplace.
 Small, Medium, or Large Decorative Wood Rack The decorative details make these log racks look great outside by your house or inside next to your fireplace or wood stove. Made of heavy duty powder-coated tubular steel with galvanized hardware and rubber feet. Three sizes to choose from: Small 23″ x 12″ x 23″H; Medium 47″ x 14″ x 44″H; Large 84″ x 14″ x 44″H |
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 Landmann USA 82436 8-Foot Ornamental Scroll Log Rack  This 8′ rack provides a safe, dry place to store up to 1/4 cord of wood. Made of strong tubular steel. Easy assembly. Measures 53.2 x 13.9 x 2.6 inches and weighs 31 pounds. |
 Store lots of firewood neatly and off the ground with our oversized Wood Rack. Powder coated tubular steel. USA. 96″L x 12″D x 72″H. |
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 Store lots of firewood neatly and off the ground with our oversized Wood Rack with Cover. An organized, elevated wood pile seasons better and is less attractive to rodents and insects. Powder coated tubular steel. Heavy duty vinyl Cover has metal grommets and Velcro side flaps. USA. 96″L x 12″D x 72″H. |
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The included firewood cover keeps the top row of wood completely dry and ready to burn, plus allows for air to flow through the firewood to reduce mold and mildew, and promote curing. The cover fits around the 4 uprights of the firewood storage rack and moves down as the firewood stack gets smaller. Constructed with top quality coated canvas, the firewood cover has Velcro front sides for quick access to firewood. |
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Having a log rack, or two, allows you to cut or buy firewood in large quantities and save a lot of money in the meantime. Log racks are an attractive and practical way to keep your firewood handy. At Plow & Hearth, you’ll find folding firewood racks
that are the sensible way to tote and store firewood. You’ll also discover log rack covers
to keep dampness out of your wood for cleaner handling and faster starting.
Have you ever heard of a log rack
?
What is it? Why should you know? If you burn firewood for heat or just for the enjoyment of a fire in your wood stove or fireplace, you definitely want to store your wood properly for maximum benefit.
Splitting firewood can be hard work. But it’s oh so important! This task can be accomplished the “old-fashioned” way, using an axe, or you can rent or buy a hydraulic log splitter, which takes most of the physical labor out of the job. You won’t get as much of a workout with a splitter, but you’ll get a lot more wood split in a shorter amount of time.
The reason we split our firewood is because split wood dries much faster than whole logs. Wood that is freshly cut has a very high moisture content. As much as 60% (or more) of the weight of a tree is water. The idea is to get as much of that water as possible out of the wood, so it will burn cleaner and hotter. Otherwise, a good percentage of the heat must be used to evaporate all that moisture before the wood fibers can burn. Burning green wood will smolder and give off a lot of smoke. It tends to produce a lot of creosote and pollution, but will not produce much heat.
When you are splitting logs for firewood storage, always split them vertically in half or in quarters, depending on the size of the log. The best time to split a log is when it is still green, before it has had time to season. If the wood has had time to dry out after being cut, it’s much harder to split.
The best wood to burn for a good hot, crackling and efficient fire is wood that has been seasoned, or dried, to get the moisture out of the wood. The key to good firewood is how well seasoned it is. If you purchase firewood, the supplier may have told you that it has been seasoned. However, if the wood has not been stored properly, it could still retain a large amount of moisture. Perhaps it was just thrown on the ground in a pile instead of being stacked in a firewood rack. This will lead to moisture retention.
The very best way to dry your firewood is to stack it on a log rack, also called a firewood rack.
How long does it take wood to season if stacked properly? There are people who insist that wood should be dried (seasoned) for at least one or two years. Experimental evidence has proven that that is almost always unnecessary, as long as the pieces of wood are cut to length and stacked. If one-foot long logs are stacked in a firewood rack, they generally dry to acceptable levels in just two or three months. Two-foot long cut pieces take approximately six or seven months for similar acceptability. Four-foot long cut pieces DO require at least a year.
You can measure the moisture content of wood with a wood moisture meter. Ideally, you should aim for a moisture content of around fifteen to twenty percent.
Different types of wood can take longer to dry than other types, and if you live in a wet climate, your wood may require a longer drying time. Just make sure the wood is cut and split well, and that it is given the right amount of time to season. Once the wood is seasoned, it will burn clean and hot to safely heat your home.
For firewood storage, be sure you are storing the logs in a dry, covered condition. If at all possible, store your wood outside. A log rack is the best way to go, because it will hold your wood off the ground and allow the air to circulate, as already mentioned. Natural air flowing through the stack, and particularly through the cut cells of the logs themselves, dries them much more quickly than if it is not stacked properly.
It’s also wise to keep your wood covered to protect it from the weather. Most log racks come with a canvas cover
Another tip: If possible, bring the wood into the house a few days before you plan to burn it, in order to help remove any remaining moisture.
There is a log rack for every need!