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The key to human evolution

DON’T GET BURNT BUYING FIREWOOD THIS WINTER

Every winter many consumers get burnt when they buy their firewood; either they don’t get the quantity of wood they pay for, or the wood they get is too green to burn properly and gives off lots of smoke.

HOW TO GET THE BEST VALUE FOR MONEY BUYING FIREWOOD

Firewood can be sold in three different ways, by weight (tonnes or kilograms), by volume (cubic metres), or by ‘the lot’.

BUYING BY THE TONNE

Merchants who sell firewood by weight must use a certified scale or weighbridge to measure the quantity.  Unless you actually see the wood being weighed, you must receive a written statement or receipt stating the measured weight.  Never buy firewood by the tonne from merchants or roadside sellers who can’t provide evidence that the wood has been accurately weighed on a certified scale.  If you do, it is very likely that you won’t get the quantity you are paying for.

Because all dry firewood contains approximately the same amount of energy (19-21 MJ/Kg), buying by weight is a good way of ensuring that you get the same amount of heat from every load, regardless of species or wood density.  The downside is that you are also paying for any water that may be contained in the wood.  Unless you buy properly seasoned wood it is possible that you will be paying for a lot of water that has to be boiled out of the wood before it will burn properly, a process that will cool your fire and cause it to smoke.

Buying by weight is the safest method as you know what you are getting, but you need to make sure it is dry.

BUYING BY THE METRE

If you buy your firewood by the cubic metre (volume), the higher the density of the wood the better value you get.  For example, a cubic metre of Ironbark will weigh approximately twice as much as the same volume of Pine, and therefore will provide twice as much heat.  One advantage of buying by the cubic metre is that you aren’t paying for any excess water that may be contained in the wood.  However, if the wood is not properly seasoned (below 25% moisture content) it won’t burn well and will cause your heater to smoke.

Generally, wood sold by the metre is thrown or tipped into crates or bins.  The volume of wood that is thrown or tipped into a bin or cage will often be considerably less than the volume of the bin or cage itself.  To confirm that the volume of firewood in a crate or bin is correct, it must be neatly re-stacked with as few gaps as practicable.  If you are doubtful about the volume of a load you can stack the wood yourself, or ask the merchant to stack it for you.  You can then calculate the volume by multiplying the stack’s height x width x length.  (The picture above shows 1 metre of stacked firewood).

BUYING BY ‘THE LOT’

Firewood is sometimes sold by ‘the lot’, where a set price is quoted for a ute load, boot load, trailer load, bin, or crate.  Merchants who sell wood in this way must not state a weight or volume for the lot.  If they do they will have to comply with the regulations for weight or volume measurement.  The advantages and disadvantages of buying wood in this way are the same as buying by volume, however, the main difference is that you can’t compare the quantity and value with other sellers.  What you see is what you get!

Buying by ‘the lot’ means you have to decide for yourself whether you are getting a reasonable amount of wood for your money.  But you should be aware that this method of sale can be used by unscrupulous sellers to avoid being prosecuted by government weights and measures inspectors.

PRE-PACKAGED OR BAGGED WOOD

By law, bagged or packaged firewood must be sold by weight.  The weight of each bag or pack must be clearly displayed, along with the name and address of the company that did the packing.  Packaged wood needs to be well seasoned before packing.  If it isn’t, the moisture that is lost from the wood through evaporation could mean that the package will end up being underweight.

PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT

TREATED WOOD

Never burn wood that has been painted or treated by preservatives such as creosote or CCA (copper-chrome-arsenic).  Before buying or burning any recycled wood, always look for signs that it may have been painted or chemically treated.  For example, creosote gives wood a black colour and has a distinctive odour, and CCA treated wood usually has a green tinge.  Burning treated or painted wood gives off toxic fumes that can be dangerous or even fatal to yourself, your family or your neighbours.

Old rail track sleepers may not have been treated with a preservative, although some are, but they are almost certainly contaminated with grease and oil from the trains as well as herbicides sprayed onto the tracks.  They may also contain asbestos fibres from the brake blocks that were used on trains until the mid 1980’s.  When put into a fire these contaminants will vaporise before they are destroyed in the fire.  It is these fumes that can be smelt when old sleepers are burnt, and they can be harmful.  Asbestos fibres in the wood will accumulate in the ash bed, creating a risk of exposure to this deadly substance when the fire is cleaned out.

FIREWOOD IS RENEWABLE ENERGY

Every kilogram of sustainable firewood contains up to 20 Megajoules of 100% renewable energy, the same amount of energy that a 1000 watt electric radiator consumes in 5 ½ hours.  This means that the easiest way for you to ‘go green’ is to make the switch from non-renewable energy sources such as gas or electricity to environmentally friendly firewood.  Heat your home with sustainable firewood; your planet will love you for it!