Qualities of Good Fireplace Insert Wood

Good fireplace insert wood will, first and foremost, be dry wood.  Burning wet wood in your fireplace insert will cause several problems.  First, there will be more smoke because the heat will not be high enough to burn as much of the smoke and gases as it normally wood if the fireplace insert wood was dry.  This will cause creosote to build up on your chimney faster.

The evaporation that takes place in the process of the wood burning actually reduces the heat of the fire.  More smoke also means more emmissions which will lower the air quality.  Wood that has a moisture content below 15-20% will burn the hottest and therefore the most efficiently and smoke free.  If you are collecting your own wood you will want to season it for at least a year to get the moisture content down.  That means planning ahead to get your wood ahead of time.

The best wood will also be untreated and free from compounds that could be toxic, such as wood stains, paint, or pesticides.  Avoid using scrap wood or landscaping wood that may have been treated with creosote or other substances that can become toxic when airborne.  Clean untreated logs make the best wood for your fireplace insert.

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