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990-WNWD-I03-020317
WHAT TYPE OF WOOD IS BEST
The difference between 'hard' and 'soft' woods is the density of
their cells or fibres.
As a general rule, the deciduous trees (those that lose their leaves
in the autumn) are usually thought of as hardwoods and the
evergreen trees (such as pines, firs and larches) as the softwoods.
But generalisations are of course always subject to many
exceptions. Some evergreens may well be harder than some
deciduous trees. Birch, for example, is not very hard at all. So we
should understand that there is a whole range of densities
amongst our tree species, including medium dense woods, which
cannot be satisfactorily classed as hard or soft.
Firewood tends to be sold by volume rather than weight. Assuming
that the wood is reasonably dry, the weight of a square foot of
good hardwood may be double of that of a square foot of
softwood. This means that the same volume of hardwood will
provide you with more fuel to burn than an equal amount of
softwood, simply because it contains more substance.
(N.B.
The price of hardwood will normally not be double that of
softwood, because it took the same
amount of labour to prepare.
So, if a trailer full of hardwood costs more than the same size
trailer full of softwood, the more expensive option may well be the
most economical.)
The other advantage of good hardwoods are that the cooker does
not need to be fed as often and the charcoal-beds made by the
glowing wood may burn more easily overnight.
However, the ideal situation would be to have a store of both
hard and soft woods, because the softer woods also have distinct
advantages. They light more easily than the slower burning
hardwoods and if the softwoods are dry, they create a hotter,
more intense fire. The draught created by the hotter fire moves
the air up the chimney faster.