When burning wood it is essential to have the wood as dry as possible in order to produce more heat per
pound of fuel, thereby obtaining a higher heat value and also reducing trouble with creosote.
Air-dried wood contains approximately 20% moisture and will yield about 5,800 BTU's per pound. Green
wood containing about 60% moisture will yield only 4,100 BTU's per pound. The heavier the weight of dry
wood, the more BTU's per cord.
Burning wood is environmentally sound. The process does not contribute to greenhouse gases. A growing
tree absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and into its molecular structure. When the tree dies and decays, it
releases the carbon back into the air. The same thing happens when the wood from a tree is burned. The
same amount of carbon is released back into the atmosphere. Thus, burning wood is just a faster reversal of
the natural cycle. This is unlike burning fossil fuels such as oil or gas. These fuels will release carbon dioxide,
which has been buried in the earth for thousands of years, into to the atmosphere. Wood is one of nature's
most renewable resources.
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