What is the best firewood to burn on your log burner, open fire or campfire? How do you light a fire? How do you season wood and when do you know if it\u2019s ready to burn? How do you stack firewood? What is the history of the wood fire?<\/p>\n
When it comes to fire, there is a lot to learn and, as the nights grow cold, winter is the perfect time to delve into the warming world of fire.<\/p>\n
Our expert guide explores the history of the wood fire, plus tips on how to light a fire, best wood to burn and how to store and season your wood.<\/p>\n
![\""Couple\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2020\/11\/Wood-fire-at-Christmas-1a60128.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"Couple\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What is the history of the wood fire?<\/h2>\n
Evidence is growing that we had fire long before we were actually human.\u00a0Many anthropologists now believe that it was almost two million years ago that our early hominid ancestors first learned to tame wild fire, to domesticate it and reap the rewards of light, warmth, protection and cooked food. Curiously, it is the last of these benefits that provides the best evidence.<\/p>\n
While early hearth sites have been studied by archaeologists, centuries of wind and rain have caused most to melt back into the environment and become indistinguishable from the burnt remains of natural fires. The further we go back, the harder it is to say whether a slight hollow with scorched earth and charcoal fragments is a hearth or simply the remains of a burnt-out tree stump.<\/p>\n
The physical evidence for very early, deliberate fire sites is sparse and often tenuous and many scientists now believe that the best evidence for the earliest use of fire is in fact not the hearth sites at all \u2013 rather, it\u2019s us, the human mind and body.<\/p>\n You may also like:<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> We have small mouths and teeth and a short digestive tract when compared to the other primates. It seems that our bodies may have physically adapted to consume cooked food. Cooking meat and plants breaks down starch and proteins, making it\u00a0easier to absorb the food energy. This pre-digestion of our raw food through cooking allows the day\u2019s energy requirement to be absorbed much more quickly. It\u2019s been calculated that a human would need to eat for 9.3 hours a day if all of the day\u2019s food was eaten raw and unprocessed. Researchers have observed that non-human primates spend an average of 48% of their day eating, compared to only 4.7% for humans.<\/p>\n These differences in our body\u2019s digestive system are strong evidence of an unimaginably long relationship with cooked food and the curious phenomenon of fire.<\/p>\n But it is not just a physical adaptation: we are mentally different, too. Even today, people tend to sit around a campfire in a circle \u2013 which is fun, but not important. But just imagine the effect on our nascent social development to sit and face each other for hours each evening. The mastery of fire had lengthened our day; sunset no longer heralded a time of predators and fear, darkness no longer held dominion \u2013 and our species blossomed.<\/p>\n Fire was staggeringly important to the development of modern humans and even today has an essential role in our lives\u00a0\u2013 we still delight in the joy, warmth and self-sufficiency that a full woodshed promises as the nights draw in and winter arrives.<\/p>\n Government data published in February 2021 revealed that domestic wood burning is the biggest source of small particulate air pollution in the UK \u2013 despite just 8% of us burning wood at home, according to a second report.<\/p>\n In 2019, as part of its Clean Air Strategy<\/a>, the Government announced plans to outlaw all but the cleanest stoves by 2022.<\/p>\n Under the new law, the sale of stoves that fail to meet strict environmental standards will be banned in a bid to encourage the sale of cleaner wood which has less impact on air quality.<\/p>\n There are two ways of processing fresh timber \u2013 or \u2018wet wood\u2019 \u2013 into firewood that is dry enough to burn with minimal air pollution. You can season it in a well-ventilated stack for two years (or till the moisture content drops to 20%). Or you can speed up the process by kiln- You may also like:<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> \u2022 First consider whether burning wood is appropriate for your home. The Centre for Alternative Technology offers information at cat.org.uk\/wood-fired-heating<\/p>\n \u2022 Make sure your home is as energy efficient as possible. This will allow you to choose a smaller burner, using less fuel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Choose accredited woodstoves or pellet boilers \u2013 look for the new HETAS Ecodesign Compliant label.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Batch boilers (which burn a batch of wood and release heat slowly) and pellet boilers are most efficient. Pellet boilers convert about 90% of energy into useful heat. Wood stoves absorb heat, then radiate it into your room. By contrast, most heat from open fires disappears up the chimney, and almost all stoves with back boilers don\u2019t meet smoke-control standards.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Burn hot: use the vents on your stove to keep air flowing in, and the fire hot. Don\u2019t close them to smoulder wood at a low temperature (also known as \u2018slumbering\u2019 \u2013 keeping a stove smouldering overnight), which produces extra smoke and particulate pollutants.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Use a stovepipe thermometer to check you are burning your wood at the correct temperature.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Keep your stovepipe clean.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Buy sustainably sourced firewood from woodlands where new trees constantly replace harvested ones. Look for FSC certification or CONFOR\u2019s \u2018Grown in Britain\u2019 labels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Burn hardwood or softwood but make sure it\u2019s dry, or \u2018seasoned\u2019: properly seasoned wood burns hotter and cleaner because it contains less moisture \u2013 which generates smoke. Firewood should be a maximum of 20% moisture. If buying in, look for Woodsure\u2019s Ready to Burn logo (woodsure.co.uk). If seasoning your own wood, use a moisture meter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Burn small logs \u2013 large logs can end up smouldering at lower temperatures, releasing more particulate pollution. Start your fire with kindling, then add pieces of wood around 5\u20138cm wide. When these are burning well, add medium-sized logs (roughly 8\u201312cm) and keep the fire really hot for 10 to 15 minutes until they have caught properly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Defra\u2019s advice on responsible burning can be found on burnright.co.uk.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There is nothing to beat the cheerful blaze of a log fire, the home feels cosy and ready for all that winter can throw at us.\u00a0With a little know-how you\u00a0can have a perfect fire ready in minutes and a steady \u2018low\u2019 fire for the rest of the day. Here is\u00a0how to create the perfect log fire in five simple steps.<\/span><\/p>\n 1. You\u2019ll need an ample supply of fully-seasoned firewood logs<\/strong><\/p>\n These logs should have a moisture content of around 20% and it\u2019s best to have a range of sizes. Fill the wood basket in daylight to save going out to the woodshed after dark and remember that an open fire will burn around five times more than a wood-burning stove.<\/p>\n 2. Good kindling is essential<\/strong><\/p>\n Keep a small basket of dry sticks split to 1-2 cm diameter. These can be supplemented by fallen sticks and branch wood gathered during country walks \u2013 beech sticks are best. Pine cones and dried orange peel are also really good kindling. See\u00a0video below for tips from Vincent on how to make kindling.<\/p>\n 3. Many people like to clean out the grate and remove the white fire ash \u2013 this is wrong<\/strong><\/p>\n Leave a blanket of ash 3\u20135 cm deep and make a slight saucer sized depression in the middle where the kindling will go. The ash is brilliant at holding the very first embers and will help the fire to get going more quickly \u2013 it will also protect the inside of the woodstove prolonging its life.<\/p>\n 4. Place a large log to the back of the fire and a smaller log to the left and right of the fire<\/strong><\/p>\n You now have a log lined enclosure to light the fire, with an ash base. Place the material you will first light, rolled up paper, shreds of cardboard or a tiny piece of firelighter, in this space and arrange several sticks of kindling on top. Have a couple of small split logs, say 5-10cm diameter, ready to place on top of the kindling once you are sure it has lit. With a wood stove have of all the air vents open at this stage and maybe the door just slightly pen.<\/p>\n 5. The trick is to get the fire burning really well for 30 \u2013 45 minutes to warm the chimney<\/strong><\/p>\n Get the stove up to working temperature \u2013 about 200 C if you have a stove thermometer. Then partly close the stove air vents, so that you have beautiful rolling flames above the fire. Feed your fire one or two fresh logs when the burning logs are half embers. Keeping the fire \u2018low\u2019, that is burning just enough wood to keep the stove running efficiently, is an art, but worth learning as it is the secret to an easy life of perfect fires.<\/p>\n Kilo for kilo, all firewood types have a similar heat value, but when it comes to scent, crackle and flame, there is a lot to learn \u2013 these are my \u2018hot favourites\u2019. I\u2019m learning to light smokeless fires but can\u2019t resist the wood-smoke scent.<\/p>\n 1. Beech<\/strong><\/p>\n A dense wood, one year to season. Bright yellow flames, good embers, long hot burn, rarely throws sparks. Smoke gentle with scent of fresh-cut hay. My first choice.<\/p>\n 2. Oak<\/strong><\/p>\n Dense logs, can take two years to season. Very good embers, reasonable flames, crackles, rarely throws sparks. Best used in mixture. Fierce, eye-watering smoke, but a hint of smoke suggests mulled wine or cloves to me.<\/p>\n 3. Elm<\/strong><\/p>\n Ridiculed in firewood poems but an excellent firewood. Long seasoning. Dense, hard to split, poor flames, but first-rate embers. Smoke is sharp but fruity.<\/p>\n 4. Hawthorn<\/strong><\/p>\n Beautiful logs, but it is hard to get hold of. Seasons in a year, good flame, excellent embers, rarely throws sparks and has a thin sweet-scented smoke.<\/p>\n 5. Fruitwoods (apple, cherry, plum)<\/strong><\/p>\n Dense, delightful firewood. Bright flames, good embers, seasons within the year. The smoke is floral and sweet-scented.<\/p>\n 6. Ash<\/strong><\/p>\n Medium density, easy to split, naturally low moisture content, seasons rapidly. Pale ethereal flames, moderate embers. Produces soft, vanilla-scented smoke.<\/p>\n 7. Birch<\/strong><\/p>\n Medium density, easy to split, seasons rapidly. Good flames, moderate embers, rarely throws sparks. Bark makes great natural firelighters. Smoke is aromatic.<\/p>\n![\""Kettle\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2020\/11\/Cooking-on-a-campfire-44b9a64.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"Kettle\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What is the impact of wood-burning on the environment?<\/h2>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>How is firewood processed?<\/h2>\n
How to burn wood safely and sustainably<\/h2>\n
The Stove<\/h3>\n
The fuel<\/h3>\n
What is the best way to light a fire?<\/h2>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Which\u00a0is the best wood to burn?<\/h2>\n
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