How To Get Your Outdoor Fire Pit Burning Properly
Is it important to consider what to burn in outdoor fire pits? Those sitting near one would tend to say that it does. Most people simply consider cost and practicality when they choose the material to burn.
Many people unknowingly choose the wrong wood for their outdoor fire pits. They choose green wood, or rather, wood that isn't ready for burning. You will find that it takes you longer to get the fire going if you choose unseasoned, or green, wood. Wood that is dry, without much moisture, burns best. True, burning causes moisture in the wood to evaporate, but that in turn extinguishes the fire. That produces copious amounts of smoke that your guests, and even your neighbors, have to endure.
Opting for seasoned, or cured, wood is better, because the fire is easier to get going, and although it produces even more heat, there is far less smoke to contend with. When wood is freshly cut as much as 70% of its weight is made up of moisture. Conversely, seasoned (cured) wood, has about 25% moisture. But if you really want ideal wood, you would need wood that has even less than 20%.
It is to reduce the moisture and promote burning that firewood is cut into lengths of about 16". The pieces are stacked off the ground, because this promotes air circulation, helping the wood to dry. It is then left to cure (or season) for around nine months.
Obviously the cost is something one has to consider. You will get far more heat for your money if you purchase the wood you need in your home fireplace or outdoor pit early in summer. It can be stacked and left to dry throughout the warmer months until it is needed.
Dense wood has more energy and so produces higher temperatures. Choose hard woods if you want the fire to burn for longer, and for the resultant coal bed to do so as well. Soft woods burn more quickly, but they don't produce a long lasting coal bed. Soft wood is really ideal just to get the fire burning quickly.
Woods that are hard and don't result in much smoke include ash, red oak, maple, and apple. Examples of soft woods are fir and spruce. Apple wood is great because it not only burns well; it also gives off a nice aroma. Pinon is another wood that smells great when it burns, plus it acts as an effective mosquito repellent also.
Many people unknowingly choose the wrong wood for their outdoor fire pits. They choose green wood, or rather, wood that isn't ready for burning. You will find that it takes you longer to get the fire going if you choose unseasoned, or green, wood. Wood that is dry, without much moisture, burns best. True, burning causes moisture in the wood to evaporate, but that in turn extinguishes the fire. That produces copious amounts of smoke that your guests, and even your neighbors, have to endure.
Opting for seasoned, or cured, wood is better, because the fire is easier to get going, and although it produces even more heat, there is far less smoke to contend with. When wood is freshly cut as much as 70% of its weight is made up of moisture. Conversely, seasoned (cured) wood, has about 25% moisture. But if you really want ideal wood, you would need wood that has even less than 20%.
It is to reduce the moisture and promote burning that firewood is cut into lengths of about 16". The pieces are stacked off the ground, because this promotes air circulation, helping the wood to dry. It is then left to cure (or season) for around nine months.
Obviously the cost is something one has to consider. You will get far more heat for your money if you purchase the wood you need in your home fireplace or outdoor pit early in summer. It can be stacked and left to dry throughout the warmer months until it is needed.
Dense wood has more energy and so produces higher temperatures. Choose hard woods if you want the fire to burn for longer, and for the resultant coal bed to do so as well. Soft woods burn more quickly, but they don't produce a long lasting coal bed. Soft wood is really ideal just to get the fire burning quickly.
Woods that are hard and don't result in much smoke include ash, red oak, maple, and apple. Examples of soft woods are fir and spruce. Apple wood is great because it not only burns well; it also gives off a nice aroma. Pinon is another wood that smells great when it burns, plus it acts as an effective mosquito repellent also.
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