If you live in the UK, you know that warmth is a commodity. Therefore, how you use heat is important during the winter. You also know that nothing surpasses coming home to the warmth of a fire–a fire that is often generated from a woodburning stove.
Setting Fire to Wood
To understand the advantages of using a woodburning stove, you have to know a bit about how wood burns. Therefore, you need to acquaint yourself with some combustion basics. Combustion requires three main elements. These elements include:
- A fuel (wood)
- An oxidiser (the air)
- A source of heat (a match)
Wood is a fuel source that is structurally similar to fibreglass. The part that is similar is known as cellulose. The cellulose is encased in lignin, which acts similarly to the resin that is inside fibreglass. Photosynthetic energy, which is supplied by the sun to the plant, is emitted when wood is combusted. Therefore, the warmth you feel from Lymington woodburning stoves actually comes from the sun.
The oxidiser that is used for combustion is the air. Air is made up of oxygen and nitrogen. However, during combustion, only oxygen is active. While nitrogen is an inert gas, it does cool down the flames. When heat is produced, the burning of one section of wood ignites other areas. Therefore, you need to ignite small wood pieces to maintain burning.
It helps to have a basic understanding of combustion, as it does the following:
- Helps you burn wood more efficiently.
- Assists you in knowing how to properly operate your stove.
Go online to review the array of wood stoves that are currently available.
