Since ancient times, Russian baths have enjoyed well-deserved respect. They have become the best medicine for many diseases and blues. The healing heat of a bath largely depends on the quality of the firewood prepared for it. Today our article is devoted to the choice of logs and their correct use. Content:
- Types of firewood for a bath
-
Choosing logs
- Density
- Humidity
- Procurement and storage
- Drying
- Firewood volume
The correct kindling of a sauna stove is an art that anyone can master. It is necessary to know the properties of certain types of wood and skillfully apply them in the process of the heater. The period of preparation of firewood, their drying and skillful storage are also of no small importance in preparing the bath for the reception of visitors.
Features and types of firewood for a bath
To know how to choose firewood for a sauna, you need to take into account the relevant requirements for them: good heat from burning logs, a long burning period of wood, a pleasant aroma from firewood in the firebox, a minimum layer of soot in the chimney.
Consider the properties of firewood from various types of wood:
- Alder … Firewood from it has long been considered "royal". Alder wood is light and porous. It dries quickly and flares up. Long-term storage of firewood practically does not affect their quality. Alder gives out intense heat and almost no smoke due to the scanty content of resinous substances. The latter property makes it suitable for kindling a sauna "in black". Alder wood has a healing effect on the respiratory system and counteracts colds.
- Oak … Quality firewood is obtained from it from middle-aged trees. Heat transfer from oak is the highest. Its logs are also suitable for a "black" bath - the special spirit of the forest is guaranteed. Oak firewood also occupies a leading position in terms of its medicinal properties. Their energetic abilities are believed to purify the soul. This is an expensive type of tree.
- Birch … It has an ideal ratio for the price and quality of firewood made from it. Birch logs are available, they give excellent heat, which determines the quality of the wellness bath procedures. Thanks to birch bark, birch firewood for a sauna is highly flammable and maintains heat for a long time, which has a disinfecting effect and a subtle healing aroma. Birch firewood cures colds.
- Linden … Firewood from it burns quickly due to the low density of the wood. The calorific value of linden wood is also low. Their advantages include a healing aroma and uniform heat.
- Cherry … Firewood from this tree is easily pricked, but poorly kindled. There is more smoke from them than from other fruit tree varieties.
- Coniferous trees … Spruce, larch and pine firewood sparkles and crackles strongly, and the resin gives a lot of soot. Despite this, many steam room lovers like the coniferous smell, which has a beneficial effect on the human respiratory organs. Firewood keeps heat well and leaves good charcoal. Pine logs are of the best quality.
- Aspen … Firewood from it is kindled for a long time, gives little heat and burns quickly. They can be used to maintain the fire of a stove previously melted with other types of wood. The effect will be decent. Aspen wood is suitable for chimney cleaning.
- Poplar … For a bath, poplar firewood is used if it can be prepared for free or bought for a penny. It is possible to heat the stove with them, but the quality of the heat of these woods is rather low.
Choosing logs for the bath
Choosing logs for kindling the stove should be so that the heat in the steam room is long and stable, and the air is light and pleasant. For the optimal choice of firewood, you must first of all take into account their quality. When burning firewood, the heat transfer of the material is associated with the density of its wood, the degree of its moisture content and the shelf life.
Density of firewood in the bath
The high density of wood determines a large amount of heat when it burns. Wood is hard, medium hard and soft.
Hardwoods include beech, oak, hornbeam and birch. These are the best firewood for a sauna. The highest temperature can be obtained by using oak logs. Their long smoldering maintains a sufficient level of heat. The cost of oak firewood is quite high, so birch fuel is more often used for the sauna stove. This material has one drawback: when it burns, tar is formed, which settles on the walls of the chimney. To clean it, it is enough to put some aspen wood in the stove at the end of the firebox.
Fruit and conifers are of medium hardness. Firewood from them emit less heat than oak or birch logs. The material from the pear and apple tree flares up well and aromatizes the air, and spruce, pine, cedar and larch firewood emit a pleasant aroma and useful essential oils when burned.
Soft woods include alder and aspen. Firewood from them, when burning, emit very little smoke and soot, being an ideal option for a "smoke sauna". Together with birch logs, they provide excellent heat in the steam room.
Important: do not use rotten wood logs. When burned, they give off an unpleasant odor and little heat.
Humidity of wood for a bath
Freshly cut wood can contain up to 50% moisture. Raw firewood burns poorly, therefore, it requires drying to an indicator of 15-20%. Dry logs should make a ringing sound when they hit each other. This determines their suitability for the firebox. In addition, well-dried firewood is half the weight of raw logs.
Proper preparation and storage of firewood for the bath
The timing and methods of harvesting firewood have been known for a very long time. Harvesting began in late autumn and continued throughout the winter. The reason is simple: the movement of juices in the tree stops in the autumn, so the logs from it will be drier. Frozen wood splits more easily. If you prepare firewood chopped for a bath in winter, then in summer they will dry out enough and will be ready for use. Preparing firewood is not easy. The tree must be cut down, sawn into logs, brought home and chopped into chunks. Few people do it on their own nowadays. Usually ready-made firewood is simply bought. It remains only to fold them correctly, dry and save.
To make the wood dry and not rot, there are ways to stack it:
- A stack of woodpiles is arranged near the fence or along the wall of the house free of openings. The ends of the woodpile are limited by four strong stakes driven into the ground. Between them, a flooring of boards or bricks is laid. Logs are placed on it with their ends outward and with a slight slope back.
- Stacking firewood is not stable, although it does not take up much space. Therefore, a covered room with wooden walls and a floor for storing logs is ideal. If it is absent, firewood can be folded in an open space in a circle in the form of a house or a stack. At the same time, a slight slope is created in the structure for the drainage of rainwater along its sides, and not inward. The stability of the woodpile stack depends on the stacking of firewood. You need to find a suitable place for each log.
Drying logs for a bath
Commercially available firewood is dried in an electric field or in a special chamber. This pleasure is expensive. Therefore, you need to know about drying logs naturally.
There is always a place for a woodburner on the garden plot, in which the kindling material can dry in any weather. If the sides of the woodpile are left open, the wood will dry quickly under the roof. In the absence of a special room, the upper part of the woodpile is covered with roofing material or film. Proper stacking of firewood will ensure that it dries out even in high humidity conditions.
Calculation of the volume of firewood for a bath
In order to stock up on a sufficient amount of firewood and at the same time not overpay for their delivery, you need to know how to calculate it. The amount of split firewood is calculated using special units and coefficients.
The volume of a car body and the volume of logs loaded into it are different things. Since the process of accurately calculating the volume of densely packed logs is quite complicated, loggers and sellers use their own unit of measurement - a warehouse meter. For it is taken a densely packed woodpile, the height, width and depth of which corresponds to one meter.
One cubic meter of firewood is counted with K = 0.7. It turns out that 1 storage meter = 0.7 m3 firewood. Usually logs are brought in bulk in a car. In order not to waste time on stacking the woodpile and calculating its cubic capacity, the volume of the body is multiplied by K = 0.82 and the number of storage meters is determined. For example: if the length of the car body is 3.5 m, the width is 2 m and the height of the sides is 1.5 m, its volume will be 10.5 m3.
Applying K = 0, 82, we get 8, 61 stock meters. With an additional coefficient of 0.7, the counting will show the amount of firewood in the amount of about 6 m3… This is almost 2 times less than the volume of the body. Using this calculation method, you will always accurately determine the amount of firewood you need to pay for.
How to chop wood for a bath - watch the video:
We hope that the material of our article has explained to you what kind of wood to heat the bathhouse with, how to prepare, fold and store them until the moment when they will give you heat and enjoy the beauty of living fire.
