Firewood facts for kids
Firewood is simply wood that people collect and use to make a fire. It's usually in the form of logs or branches. People use it as a fuel source for heating homes, cooking food, or even for campfires.
Getting Firewood Ready
When firewood is first cut, it's often prepared just enough to be moved. Then, it's taken closer to where it will be used. This is where it gets ready for burning. Sometimes, people even make charcoal from firewood right where it's cut.
Most firewood needs to be split into smaller pieces. Splitting helps the wood dry faster because it exposes more of its surface to the air. Today, many people use a special machine called a hydraulic splitter to do this. You can also split wood with a splitting maul, which is like a heavy axe.
There are other ways to split wood too. One method uses a tapered screw that drills into the wood and splits it. This can be powered by different engines. Another way is a kinetic log splitter. This machine uses a spinning wheel to store energy, which then quickly pushes a blade to split the wood.
Storing Firewood Safely
There are many ways to store firewood. You can make simple piles or build special structures. The main goal of storing wood is to keep it dry and help it continue drying out.
Making Stacks: The easiest way to stack wood is to place logs next to each other and on top of each other. This forms a long line. The height of the stack depends on how you build the ends. If you don't build special ends, the length of the logs and the pile will help decide how high it can be.
People sometimes wonder if covering wood helps it dry faster. There's a balance between keeping rain off the wood and letting enough wind and sun reach it. A cover can be almost anything that sheds water. This includes a large piece of plywood, metal sheets, or even a simple plastic sheet. Wood won't dry if it's completely covered and has no air flow. It's best to place wood on pallets or scrap wood to lift it off the ground. This helps prevent rot and lets air move around the stack.
There are different ways to build the ends of a wood stack. In some places, people make a "crib end" by crossing pairs of logs. This helps make the stack stable. You can also use stakes or poles pushed into the ground to hold the ends.
Storing Under a Roof: If you store wood under a roof, you don't have to worry about rain or snow. However, if the wood is still wet (green), you need good air flow. This prevents moisture from getting trapped and making the wood damp again. Wood should be stacked lengthwise, whether it's split or in round pieces. This is the most stable way. Remember, if the wood still needs to dry, it needs plenty of air moving through the stack.
Storing Outdoors: When stacking firewood outside, the bark side of the wood should face upwards. This helps water drain off and keeps frost, ice, or snow from sitting directly on the wood.
You can also make round stacks of wood. Some are just piles with a circular wall built around them. Others, like the American Holz Hausen, are more complex.
A Holz Hausen, which means "wood house" in German, is a circular way of stacking wood. People who use this method say it helps wood dry faster in a smaller space. A traditional Holz Hausen is about 10 feet wide and 10 feet tall. It can hold a lot of wood. The outer pieces are placed in a circle, leaning slightly inward to make the stack stable. The wood inside is stacked upright to create a chimney-like space for air to flow through. The top pieces lean slightly outward to shed rain and are placed bark side up.
Images for kids
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Stack of firewood next to a building
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Stack of split firewood and a maul for splitting, Czech Republic
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A Woman of Ōhara Carrying Firewood, a Japanese painting by Nagasawa Rosetsu (1754–1799).
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Birch embers on a sauna stove.
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Firewood on the way to market in Mali.
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Firewood for sale at a local market in Mali.
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A firewood collector in Mozambique.
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Firewood being transported by bicycle in Maroua, Cameroon.
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An Italian-style splitting axe.
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A hydraulic wood splitting machine.
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A steel wedge used for splitting firewood.
See also
In Spanish: Leña para niños
