Why Does My Firewood Burn So Fast? (2024)

FAQs

Why does firewood burn so fast? ›

Too Much Air Can Make Logs Burn Fast in a Bonfire

To help keep this from happening, you will want to place the fire pit in an area free from wind. If your firepit is above-ground, you will want some protection from the wind with a fire ring.

Check that all your vents are closed/shut down once the fire is burning fully. This will slow the burning process. Check that the baffle or throat plate are located in the correct place and have not fallen loose or deformed.

To do so, start closing the vents off once you add your logs (without completely shutting them down) and, as a result, your fire will burn slower and last longer. Don't be stingy - using fewer logs does not mean they'll last longer. You'll soon realise that by only adding one log, your fire will go out much faster.

You might be sweating buckets while you are outside trying to chop down trees or find and collect kindling. However, the heat of the summer exponentially speeds up the entire process of seasoning. Unless you live in an area of high humidity, the dry air also helps to suck out moisture faster.

Add a small amount of kindling if most of the coals are no longer hot. If you've let your fire burn for a long time, you might need to reignite it. Place 4-5 pieces of crumpled newspaper on top of the coals to light after you position the logs, which will restart the fire by heating the coals.

A wide-open damper will increase the amount of air reaching the fire and improve combustion. As a result, the fire will burn hotter. When you're not using your fireplace, be sure to close the damper to prevent indoor heat from escaping.

Don't shut off the air vents completely but close them right down as this will limit the amount of air that gets into the chamber so the fire will slowly die out. Once the embers in the fire start to go orange then you then it will start to die and you can sleep without worrying.

The problem: If your fire is smoldering soon after starting there's a chance the wood isn't lighting properly – and could be emitting a lot of smoke. The most likely reason is the appliance isn't warm enough to light a fire and optimum wood burning temperatures haven't yet been fulfilled.

Building a fire from wet wood, also called green wood, is less efficient and less safe than using properly dried or “seasoned” firewood. Firewood should have 20 percent moisture or less. Burning wet wood is less efficient than burning dry wood because so much energy is lost in warming water to steam.

Why is my wood burning so fast? ›

A common reason for burning too fast is the use of wood that has not been seasoned. If your wood lacks seasoning, there is moisture trapped in the wood, and up to 40 percent of your woodpile is burned to remove the moisture.

If you have noticed a heat drop, this would be a good time to add some more logs to your fire. If the heat has been dropping for a while, you may need to build your fire up gradually again with smaller logs placed on the fire first. Increased smoke often means that your fire is lacking fuel.

Open The Damper and External Vents

So, always ensure to open the damper fully before lighting the fire. Otherwise, a backdraft may cover you and your clothes in irritating soot. Also, open any external vents to allow the fireplace to draw in the fresh oxygen it needs to keep your fireplace burning longer.

Factors like how the logs are stacked, the type of wood, and the number of times you stoke the fire all come into play. On average, one of our kiln-dried firewood logs will burn for more than an hour, but if you have 2-3 logs burning together accompanied by a slight breeze it will burn at a faster rate.

Softwood that is split and stacked in a dry place takes 4-6 summer months to dry to an acceptable moisture level. Hardwoods take at least 12 months to dry after being split and stacked. Stack the wood on lumber rails or pallets to get it up off the moist ground.

Smoke will start at lower temperatures than flame, so if your wood is smoldering it will create a lot of smoke. When a fire is hotter, it creates more flame and less smoke. Wet wood makes this difficult. In order to prevent this, make sure you burn only firewood for sale that is dry and dense.