Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1918-01-03
SOME WOODS HAVE
HIGH FUEL VALUES
Two Pounds, as a Rule, Are Re-
CURED to Equal One
Pound of Coal.
HEAT DEPENDS ON Weight.
Figured on This Basis There Is Little
Difference Between Various spe-
cies, Say Uncle Sans
Experts.

Persons who plan to relieve the coal
shortage by burning wood can figure,
roughly speaking, that two pounds OF.
seasoned wood have fuel value equal
to one pound of coal, according to eX--
perts of Uncle Sans forest service.
While different kinds of wood have
different fuel values, the foresters say
that in general the greater the dry
weight of Il non-resinous wood, the
more heat it will give out when burned.
For such species as hickory, oak,
beech, birch, hard maple, ash, locust,
longleaf pine or cherry, which have
comparatively high fuel values, one
cord, weighing about 1000 pounds, is
required to equal one ton of coal.
1t takes Il cord and half of Short
leaf pine, hemlock, red gum, Douglas
Fir, sycamore, or soft maple, which
weighs about 5000 pounds q cord, to
equal a ton of coal, while for cedar,
redwood, poplar, catalpa, Norway pine,
cypress, Eastwood, spruce, and white
pine. two cords, weighing about 1000
pounds each, are required.
Weight for weight, however, there
Is very little difference between vari-
Gus species. Resin affords about twice
as much heat as wood, so that resin
GUS woods have greater heat value
per pound than non-resinous woods,
and this increased value varies, of
course, with the resin content.
Value Depends on Moisture.
The available heat value of cord
Of wood depends also on the amount
of moisture present. When the wood
is green part of the heat which it is
capable of yielding is taken up in evap-
Grating the water. The greater amount
of water in the wood the more heat is
lost.
Furthermore. cords vary as to the
amount of solid Wood they contain,
even when they are of the standard
dimension and occupy 12S cubic feet
OF space. A certain proportion of this
space is made up of air spaces be-
tween the sticks and this air space
may be considerable in Il cord of twist
ed, crooked and knotty sticks. Out of
the l2S cubic feet, a fair average of
solid wood is about so cubic feet.
This, however, applies to the stand
ard cord, in Which the sticks are cut
to 4-foot lengths and piled feet high
and feet long. Instead of buying the
4-foot lengths, however, most people
nowadays have the sticks cut into p
foot lengths by a gasoline saw This
results in Il saving of both time and
labor. The purchaser should, however,
take care to see that he gets full meas
urement when wood is bought in this
way. In parts of New England a
stock of 16-inch wood 4 feet high and
s feet long is commonly sold as a
run" but contains only one-third of
q cord.
Where wood is to be burned in a
stove or furnace intended for coal, it
will be found desirable, the foresters
say, to cover the CRATE partly With
sheet iron or fire brick, in order to
reduce the draught. II this is not
done the wood is wasted by being con
suned too last, and makes very hot
tire which in furnace may damage
the tirebox.
Other Factors to Be Considered.
1t is pointed out, however, that heat
value is not the only test of useful
ness in fuel wood and since 50 per
cent of all wood used for fuel is con-
sumed for domestic purposes, largely
In farm houses, such as rapidity OF
burning and ease of lighting are i'm
portant.
Each section of the country has it's
favored woods and these are said to
be, in general. the right ones to use.
Hickory, of the non-resnous woods,
las the highest fuel value per unit vol
ume of wood, and has other advan-
tases. 1t burns evenly, and, as house
wives say, holds the heat. The oaks
come next, followed by beech, birch
and maple. The white pines have a,
relatively low heat value per unit vol
ulne, but have other advantages. They
ignite readily and give out Il quick hot
flame, but one that soon dies down.
This makes them favortes with rural
housekeepers as a summer wood, be-
cause they are particularly adapted
for hot days in the kitchen. The same
4 Is true of gray birch, or white BIRCH"
MS it is often called, in the regions in
which it abounds. With the resinous
pines drawback is their oily black
smoke.