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A few species of wood can produce dangerous emissions and most of them have dangerous sounding names, like poison sumac (swamp sumac), poison dogwood, poison elderberry, poison elder, poison oak. The smoke can contain the same compounds that cause allergic reactions on skin, but when airborne can cause respiratory distress if inhaled.
Originally posted by NotThat
What are the right size lengths of wood?
How thick can a log be for me to throw it in my fireplace?
Can I burn a moldy log?
Can I burn odd size pieces of wood?
Should I buy a reflector for my fireplace?
Does it matter what kind of wood I burn?
I really don't know anything about fires.
Originally posted by Asktheanimals
I might add that a woodstove is superior to burning in a fireplace for heating purposes.
It sounds like you might be getting involved in cutting some wood and there is an art to that. whether using hand tools or a chain saw there are certain safety aspects that you must follow or you can serious wound yourself.
Some other woods you shouldn't burn include osage orange (burns too hot) , tulip poplar (likes to pop and send embers flying)
Originally posted by star in a jar
Something I copied and pasted off the internet:
A few species of wood can produce dangerous emissions and most of them have dangerous sounding names, like poison sumac (swamp sumac), poison dogwood, poison elderberry, poison elder, poison oak. The smoke can contain the same compounds that cause allergic reactions on skin, but when airborne can cause respiratory distress if inhaled.
Originally posted by havok
I burn halves too, but only after I established a good fire.
Originally posted by JBA2848
Avoid any pressure treated wood for fire places due to arsenic being in the ashes of burned pressure treated wood.
Originally posted by Terapin
reply to post by NotThat
Racking wood is a good idea. The most important thing is to keep the wood a bit off the ground so that it gets air. You can do this by simply laying two boards or smaller logs on the ground and stacking on top of them like train tracks. Avoid keeping logs up agains the house as it traps moisture that is not good for your house. Do not worry about any small critters that may or may not decide that your wood pile makes a good home. Snakes wont live there and other animals will only use it as a temporary shelter but not a permanent home. More like a hidey hole.
It isn't that complicated, just be safe, have a fire extinguisher nearby, put a screen up before you leave the room as small sparks can spit out and you don't want that. Enjoy.
Originally posted by ThomasPen
A fireplace is a VERY inefficient way to sub your heat unless it is an old style tall and shallow box. A wood stove is the best imo.
Dont forget to rap up your potatoes in a few layers of tinfoil and bury them in the coals for a couple hours, nice thick skin