How To Use Firewood Efficiently In A Wood Stove

Getting the most out of your firewood in a wood stove means more than simply stoking the fire. You need to know what kind of wood you should be using, where to get it and how to properly stoke it. Yes, stoking is also important.

Read more below, and contact us today to get firewood delivered and stacked at your home or business!

Make Sure You Have Seasoned Firewood

Ron’s Tree Service and Firewood ensures you receive perfectly seasoned firewood. This means it’s been cut, split, dried and kept out of the weather for approximately two years to remove most of the moisture from it. The total moisture will be below 20% after our seasoning process, which makes for excellent burning.

Watch Different Woods Heat Values

Usually, having a variety of wood in your woodpile and in your stove will work best. Fill your wood stove with oak or ash for the colder nights and maple for milder nights or the beginning and end of the season. It’s always good to use a mix, but in general oak and ash have more heat value.

Minnesota varieties of wood we supply have the following heat values:

  • 1 cord of Oak or Ash = 200-250 gallons of fuel oil or 250-300 cubic feet of natural gas
  • 1 cord of Maple = 150-200 gallons of fuel oil or 250-300 cubic feet of natural gas

Ensure Your Equipment Is Up To Par

The components of your wood stove are all extremely important to its efficiency. From the stove to the smoke pipe and chimney (and even the operator), all the components have to be in great working order to get the best efficiency from your firewood.

Make sure you have your stove inspected, or know how to inspect it yourself at least annually.