Burning wood in a stove or furnace is not something you should take easy. It is very important that you have firewood with excellent quality. Using inadequate sizes and shapes of wood can be very annoying once you discover that they do not fit the burner. In addition, the can be very inefficient and they can build creosote that can spark dangerous fire risks. Careful, sorting, planning and storage of firewood is important for you to have an efficient wood burning. The first task in choosing firewood is to learn about the quantity, so you have the chance to compare costs. A cord is what is used to measure firewood and its regular size is 4x4x8 feet.
How to Spot Good Firewood
1. You can seek advice from family and friends who regularly burn wood, ask them for their suppliers,
2. You may also look around and choose the best dealer, who is reliable and gets the most recommendations like Smoak Firewood.
3. Do not ever order firewood by phone. It is better to go straight to their location to check out the wood. Do not forget to bring a tape measure to get the length and pile size.
4. Choose wood that is flawless. It is not nice to see some dirt, mud or sand on them.
5. The wood should be in the right size to fit your appliance, so it will save you time to do re-splitting.
6. Choose only the wood in stacked cords; do not get wood that is piled in random.
7. You can have the wood piled before you have it delivered or have the delivery stack them before you pay so you can be sure that the size is correct.
8. It is best that you go and get them during springtime and store it in your yard to control the process of seasoning.
Characteristics of Good Firewood
The Length – You should align the length to fit your own stove, fireplace or furnace. It is best to pick smaller pieces because they are easy to handle and preferably suit your appliance. Just a slight difference in the size can make wood-burning difficult. Smoak firewood are the best, they have the right firewood that you need even if you have either a furnace or a stove. The firewood size must be three inches shorter than the size of your box. Shorter pieces are necessary for easy handling and maintenance. Smoak firewood has good quality and has consistency in size.
The Diameter – Some firewood that is bought commercially are not cut into the correct pieces, therefore they can be very ineffective during fire burning. Big pieces of firewood tend to smolder when burned, compared to smaller chunks that easily ignite. They are the best during mild and cold weather. The ideal size should from three to six inches.
How to Store and Stack Firewood Properly
Most of the time we tend to pile and stack firewood so they would look orderly and neatly, however, in doing this the wood may not season fast enough because of the following reasons:
1. The stacks of firewood are not properly covered
2. The firewood pieces are big and have the same sizes
3. They are piled and stack too close to each other
4. They are stack right on the ground
More on Stacking Firewood Properly
· Make sure to stack firewood in different rows and in an open space where the sun can shine on and the air can freely flow on it.
· Avoid placing the firewood directly on the soil for more than one hour before stacking because molds can easily set in.
· Stack them up like poles; they should not be on the ground for too long.
· You can cover the top of the stack but avoid covering the sides.
Firewood like spruce, aspen, and pine that is split cut and stacked correctly in the spring are ready to use in the fall. Hard types of firewood like maple, oak and big sizes of wood can take a year to dry. It may also take a while if the climate is damp.
How to Know the Firewood is seasoned
In time, you will learn how to separate green wood from seasoned. There is no need to get a firewood moisture meter anymore. You can inspect the dryness of the wood by
50% moisture 
15% moisture
In time, you will learn how to separate green wood from seasoned. There is no need to get a firewood moisture meter anymore. You can inspect the dryness of the wood by
· The wood color darkens as it dries, it may turn to yellow or gray.
· Look for cracks they indicate dryness.
· The heavier the wood the drier it is.
· You may split too, to see if it is damp if you want to make sure.
· You may also try burning some if it easily burns then it is. Damp wood doesn’t ignite easily and it hisses when during a fire.
Once the wood has dried in the air and the sun, transfer them immediately to your storage. Make sure the place is dry and safe from snow and rain. Do not store a big amount of wood inside the house since this is prone to mold growth and there is a risk of air contamination from spores.
Smoak Firewood practices proper forest practices. This is very important because it is environmentally sound.
Firewood Price Factors
It is also important for you to know some factors which affect the firewood price
1. Seasoned – The dryness or seasoned firewood is more expensive than green ones because it has been dried and stored longer.
2. Size – Firewood that is shorter in lengths or cut in smaller pieces are also more expensive because of the extra labor and handling involved.
3. Energy – Spruce and polar woods contain half the energy of hardwood like ironwood and white oak.
4. Location – Firewood that is bought in urban places is usually double in price compared to those in rural places.
5. Delivery – If you choose to have them delivered then it will cost you more, so it is better to transport them yourself if you want to save money.
