Cutting your firewood is a great way to save money and ensure you’re heating your home in the most cost-effective way possible, and Turner Groundscare is here to help you with all the tools and tips you will need.
It’s a brand new year and if you are anything like me you have spent way too much money over the festive period and spent a lot of time sitting around eating and drinking. Now is the perfect time to get some exercise and save a bit of money by getting out there and Sourcing, chopping, sawing, and storing Firewood.
Protective clothing from head to toe
First things first – When sawing or chopping firewood you need to ensure you start with the right equipment. Personal Protective Equipment should be top of that list. Whenever you are working with a chainsaw you should wear face protection and safety glasses to protect your face and eyes from flying wood chips.
You should also protect your hands, legs, and feet properly by wearing appropriate cut protective work gloves, chainsaw trousers, and boots.
Sawing logs using a Cordless Chainsaw
Stihl cordless chainsaws are some of the lightest in our range. Turner Groundscare recommends the MSA 60 C-B, part of Stihls AK System of cordless tools and perfect for cutting branches or sawing firewood. You will get approximately 100 cuts of 10cm x 10cm from one battery charge with this saw depending on the softness of the timber. The battery is interchangeable with the other tools in the AK System so you can pop the battery straight into a blower, grass trimmer, mower, or hedge trimmer when you’re done.
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If you are cutting larger branches or trees then please click the link to our previous Blog ‘HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT CHAINSAW’
Benefits of using the MSA C-B Cordless Chainsaw
The MSA 60 C-B benefits from low vibrations and no emissions. It is easy to use for those people not confident at starting and running a petrol machine with no need to pre-mix fuel and no risk of fuel going stale in your machine if you only use it occasionally. You will need to top up the chain oil but STIHL’s Ematic chain lubrication system provides maximum lubrication, longer wear, and less oil consumption than conventional methods of chain lubrication. The transparent oil tank also means that you can easily see when you need to top up. We generally recommend topping up the oil when you swap or recharge the battery.
Which firewood?
If you don’t use your fireplace often, most wood will be suitable. Soft woods, such as spruce, will heat up faster, due to their higher resin content. This also means that they burn more quickly so you will need to add logs to the fire more often.
Hard woods, such as beech or oak, take longer to heat up but burn for much longer. This makes them well suited if you use your stove or fireplace for longer periods of time.
Make sure the wood is seasoned (dried out) before burning it. For the best burn and heat output, firewood should be seasoned until its moisture content is around 20 percent. Firewood with a higher moisture content is hard to light and keep burning, plus the heat that is produced is wasted in drying the excess moisture. More importantly, the tars and creosote in the smoke produced by the excess moisture can line flue pipes and your chimney and eventually cause a fire. Plus lots of smoke is never a good thing for you or your poor neighbours.
Where to store your logs
Before considering what type of log storage you’re going for it’s important to decide where you’re keeping it. The most sensible spot is as close to your door as possible – long treks across the garden at night can be treacherous, especially if you’re loaded up with an armful of timber while navigating an icy path.
If door side space is tight, consider a smaller storage option that will hold enough wood and kindling for a week, with the main pile in a more convenient location – and remember to keep it topped up regularly.
Stacking and storing without a shed
If you don’t fancy buying or building a storage shed for your logs then the best way to protect them is with a waterproof sheet pinned over your pile. But before you hastily encase them in their protective layer it’s important that they’re properly stacked. To start with, try and get them off the ground – particularly if they’re on bare earth – so air can circulate underneath. A wooden palette makes a suitable base.
Just as you want air to circulate underneath the logs, you also need it to move through the whole pile. So stack your logs in an orderly and tidy manner (to avoid jenga-like collapses when you remove one) but allow gaps to naturally develop as you build. When it comes to covering the pile with your waterproof sheet, make sure the air can get into the pile by leaving gaps on all sides – cover just the top of the pile and keep it secure by pinning it with ropes, as with guide ropes on a tent.
Ready to burn
With your store in place and logs neatly stacked you’re ready to cast logs into your fire but, before you do, we have one final tip: bring the logs you’re planning on burning into the house 24 hours before you use them. This will give them a final drying-off spell away from the cool outside air and ensure your fire roars to maximum effect.
Now you can sit back and relax and maybe polish off the last of the festive chocs and Christmas cake-You’ve earned it!