What if you burn unseasoned wood?

Answer 1

If you have some seasoned wood use it to get the fire started then add a little unseasoned wood with it. It is not advisable to burn a great deal of unseasoned wood since the sap will not allow it to burn without a great deal of smoke which will line the flue with creosote and a chimney fire may result. There are some additives that can be purchased at hardware and department stores that help alleviate the creosote problem. Check and clean your chimney regularly if unseasoned would is all you have to burn.

Answer 2

Burning unseasoned wood (wood that has not been dried to 20-25% moisture content) is both inefficient and unsafe. Green wood (freshly cut, unseasoned wood) can have a moisture content as high as 80%. Before unseasoned wood can burn, most of this excess moisture has to vaporize and exit the wood. As water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, unseasoned wood cannot reach the temperature required for combustion (upwards to 500 degrees) until the excess moisture has been removed from the wood (which can take a long time). So burning unseasoned wood significantly reduces the net heat produced in the primary fire becuase much of the heat is consumed in drying the wood. Additionally the rising steam can drastically extinguish the secondary fire above.

Also, water vapor (steam) mixed with the rising smoke and uncombusted fuel condenses on the inside of the flue and is the primary cause of creosote buildup. Creosote can build up to the point where it flashes and causes a flue fire. If that does not happen, it can glaze to a point that it cannot be removed except by a professional cleaning company.

Don't burn unseasoned wood !

Answer 3

Same as seasoned wood except you may need to clean out the chimney residue more oftenb.