When fireplace season starts, it's often the consumers who get burned*
by Meg McConahey

There's nothing like a fire to cozy things up for Christmas. But when it comes to stocking up on wood to warm the hearth, confused consumers run the risk of getting burned.

Of course, there's always the infallible Pres-to-Log, pre-packaged with fool-proof instructions as a fallback.

But for those homeowners who really want to invest in a long winter of crackling fires, there are a few basic points to keep in mind. First, not all wood is created equal. Some types burn cleaner or more efficiently than other types. Second, "seasoned" wood doesn't mean it has been spiced up like mulled cider. It means it has been dried sufficiently to burn well.

And third, just what the heck is a "cord of wood" anyway?

A little education can go a long way toward easing the aggravation of heating with wood, experts say.

Choosing the right wood for your needs is a good place to start.

"Some people like something that is easy to start and doesn't last that long. Some want something that will last all night long," said Steve Hughes of California Combustibles in Butte County.

As a rule, hardwood burns much longer than softwood. And while it can be more expensive, it burns more efficiently. You'll get a lot more hours of fire from a stack of oak than a stack of fir or pine.

But there are some advantages to softwood depending on what you're looking for in a fire.

"Oak is the hardest to start of all woods. Some people want wood that starts easy and some want one with more flames and some want a shorter fire," said Dan Bostrom, owner of D&N Firewood in Petaluma. Thus a softwood like fir may be a better choice for those people who just want an occasional hot fire for a couple of hours of romantic ambiance.

But due to a higher pitch content, most softwoods tend to pop and crack, said Hughes. And because they burn at a lower temperature than hardwoods, they send more unburned materials up the chimney, leading to creosote build-up. As a consequence, he said, you may have to clean your chimney more often.

For those who have wood stoves and look to fire for heat as well as atmosphere, or who want to keep a fire going steadily all day or all night, hardwood is probably a sounder investment.

Oak, said Hughes, is the "industry standard, and packs a higher energy content per cord." As with heaters, firewood can be measured to some extent in BTUs or British thermal units.

A BTU is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. (A million BTUs of fuel equals 293 kilowatt hours of electricity.) Oak generates 26 to 38 million BTUs per cord, according to information provided by the Sonoma County Office of Weights and Measures, which regulates the sale of commodities sold by weight, amount or dimension.

By comparison, various pines range from 16.2 million BTUs for sugar pine to 22 for Monterey pine, while fir falls in the 15 to 16 million BTU range.

There are other good choices for the wood box a well. Almond (32.9 million BTUs) when available, is one of the best for home heating. Hughes said it is dense and resistant to rot and insects and keeps its burning qualities even over years of storage. Madrone (24.8) also is good, as is walnut (22.5-23.5).

Some dealers, like Bostrom, also offer eucalyptus, which burns hot and packs a good amount of heat energy -- 24 million to 30 million BTUs per cord, depending on variety.

Figuring out a cord

In addition to knowing what to pick, consumers need to know how much wood they're getting. Wood is sold by the cubic foot, cord or fraction of a cord. A cord amounts to 128 cubic feet or, in practical terms, a stack 4 feet high, 4 feet wide and 8 feet long. Wood can also be bought by the fraction of a cord.

"A cord is a legal measurement for firewood. It's called 'well-stowed and stacked,' which means the wood is in a rank file, all parallel with each other and tightly spaced to minimize air gaps," explained Mark Hanson, chief deputy sealer for the county Office of Weights and Measures. "If someone cross-stacks in Lincoln Log style it creates air gaps and inflates the volume. We've re-stacked wood we've seen that way and it comes down almost 25 percent."

Hanson said consumers are better off buying from a legitimate, regulated firewood business. The county is littered with "Firewood For Sale" signs. But if you're dealing with an established business with a reputation to maintain, Weights and Measures can more effectively investigate and regulate complaints.

If you think you might have been short-changed, try calling the seller first to see if he will voluntarily correct the error, Hanson said.

"If you don't get satisfaction, we will go out and measure and verify if it's stacked correctly," he said.

If the seller has a wood yard, you can also check how tightly their wood is stacked before making a purchase.

If a seller says a cord is a certain type of wood, 95 percent must be that wood by law. If you suspect it is not, you may also ask Weights and Measures to investigate.

"First get a receipt from the seller and make sure it's got the correct amount on it. And then if it's different we'll come out and measure it," Hanson said.

For most people who don't rely on wood as their primary heating source, a half cord is plenty. Bostrom charges $295 to deliver a cord of oak, eucalyptus or Douglas fir to Santa Rosa or $200 for a half cord, with prices varying slightly depending on location.

Small quantities

Because of the public's dwindling need for large amounts of firewood, Geoff Friedman created Lost Coast Forest Products, a Santa Rosa-based company that sells small shrink-wrapped bundles of firewood wholesale to supermarkets. A typical 0.75-cubic-foot bundle is only about 1/128th of a cord. But the beauty of the system, he said, is that consumers can easily buy in small quantities -- $3.99 to $6.99 a package -- as they need it. A 0.8-cubic-foot box will provide about two hours of burn in an open fireplace, much longer with an air-tight fireplace insert, Friedman said.

"A lot of people have townhouses, condos and small houses," he said. "They don't have room to take a whole cord of wood and they don't have the time or physical ability to stack a cord of wood. A cord weighs approximately 5,000 to 6,000 pounds dry. It's usually dumped in a pile and you've got to stack it yourself one piece at a time."

A good fire is also dependent on starting with seasoned, or cured wood, which means it has dried sufficiently to burn efficiently. Much of the heat contained in the wood is lost if the moisture content is too high, said Hughes of California Combustibles.

Friedman said wood should be less than 20 percent moisture in order to burn properly. That means that in this part of the state, it should sit in a dry, covered place for at least a year before use.

"It there's too much moisture it will sizzle and be hard to start."

If you do use stacked wood, experts say, make sure not only that the wood is properly seasoned when you buy it, but that you store it in a level place off the ground or on a tarp as a moisture barrier, and then completely covered with another tarp so any rainwater will drain off.

A Cord
The official unit of measurement for firewood, equaling 128 cubic feet.
That would translate into a stack of wood measuring 4-by-4-by-8 feet or 2-by-2-by-16 feet.
Generally, a full-size pickup can carry about half a cord,
a small pickup can carry a quarter of a cord.

Seasoned Wood
Wood that has completed the drying process and is ready to burn.
Wood not properly seasoned will give out low heat and too much smoke.
Generally, wood should be seasoned at least six months and preferably a year.

Green Wood
Freshly cut wood with high moisture content; difficult to ignite.

Hardwoods
Harder to ignite but burn longer than soft woods.
Because of their density,
you will get more heat value per cord of most hardwoods than with soft woods.
Best choice for heavy wood users and long fires with consistent heat.

Softwoods
Quicker and easier to ignite.
They also burn faster.
Are a good choice for those who enjoy just an occasional fire for a few hours at a time.

INFORMATION
Sonoma County Weights and Measures:  (707) 565-2371
www.calcombustibles.com

The Wood Heat Organization
www.woodheat.org

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