Square Firewood Burns Better, Longer

Square Firewood Burns Better, Longer WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 19-6-38 You can get up to three times as much heating time out of firewood if you split it into square chunks instead of the traditional triangular-shaped pieces. "We've been experimenting with square-split firewood for two heating seasons and we've found it saves an incredible amount of time, money, energy and trees," says Robert L. Williams III of Lawndale, N.C. Williams square-splits firewood by simply cutting off four side slabs with a chainsaw, ax or maul, leaving one square center chunk. The square-split chunks have 1/3 less surface area than conventionally-split wood, the 18-year-old Williams ex-plains. "The less surface exposed, the slower the wood burns," he notes. To test the idea, Williams compared square-split wood to traditional-split wood of various types. All woods were cut into chunks of the same length from trees in the same physical condition. Burn was timed with a stop watch. A stove-size, 6-in. sq. chunk of square-split pine burned 4 1/2 hours in a woodstove, compared with 2 1/2 hours for an equivalent amount of traditionally split wood. Square-split wild cherry lasted 6 hours, compared with 3 hours for traditionally split cherry. Square-split poplar lasted 3 hours, compared with 2 hours for traditionally cut pieces. Square-split oak and hickory last 7 hours, compared with 3 1/2 hours for traditionally cut wood. Williams says it's easy to square-split poplar, most pines, beech, birch, wild cherry, knot-free oaks and hickories with an ax or maul. For knotty oaks and hickories as well as some pines, you may have to use a chainsaw because they're difficult to cut square, Williams says. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Robert L. Williams III, 145 Queen Road, Lawndale, N.C. 28090 (ph 704538-7900).

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