calorific value of wood??

[firewoodman]

does anyone know how to work out the calorific value of firewood.

 

being fedup of all this rubbish about what burns best at what moisure content and whatever species, i would like to try and work out the calorific value of species of wood for firewood

 

please can we keep this sensible and not argue over what is the best wood:001_rolleyes:

[mikecotterill]

quick google found this, obviously dont know how correct they are.

Beacon Stoves - using wood as fuel

[Charlieh]

the back section of a book called the backyard lumberjack, has two pages of info on timber btu values per cord of wood, could be a starting point for you, although its mainly US species

[armchairarborist]

dont forget the calorific values go up at branch unions/knots etc, so we should be charging a premium for splitting tough wood.

[firewoodman]

thanks guys for that, but i want to do the tests myself if poss, and encourage others to do the same..... there is too much hearsay and guessing in firewood values

[Dave Martin]

I know its not the DIY your after but it may be useful Firewood Information

[Marko]

As far as the layman is concerned, the calorific value of wood is all but the same. The difference is around 5%. Easy - all the same. Tell the world!

 

The problem is that this is true by weight (and at the same moisture content)... so 1kg of oak measuring 20% has the same calorific value as 1kg of Poplar at 20% moisture.

 

As we sell by volume rather than weight it still leaves us with the age old problems: hardwood, softwood, ton bag etc etc.

 

If there was an easy answer it would have been cleared up a long time ago.

[baz]

There is a neat table that details BTU (good old British Thermal Unit) generated by different wood species and also details the relative densities of the mainly North American wood species. If you really wanted to you could factor in water content impact on the BTU available as it takes 1 BTU to raise 1lb of water by 1F. All good stuff for spreadsheet admirers.

 

The info can be found at WoodHVRS.

[santacruz]

The calorific value of wood doesnt vary by species as it is all made of the same stuff lignin cellulose and hemicellulose in roughly the same quantities.

[rovers90]

Have sent you a PM for contact details as have info which may be of use