Firewood Racks Help Add Warmth on Cold Winter Days

Monday, 10 January 2011


With winter approaching, many people turn to concerns about utilities and heat. With the economy in recession, more and more people are turning to wood burning stoves and fireplace inserts to help with heating their homes. Firewood racks help store the wood needed to get through long winter days.


If you are thinking about buying a firewood rack, you may want to consider the following tips:


- Quality of material. What is the rack made of? Is it made of a solid metal or steel? If you are storing your wood outside, you will want a firewood rack that will hold a large quantity of wood and be able to withstand harsh winter weather. Some firewood racks are only weather-resistant, or are built with an inexpensive metal and sprayed with a coating. These racks may not last the entire winter season without deteriorating. If you are unsure about a specific firewood rack that you are considering, or are having doubts about, move on to another store or item. Investing in quality firewood racks is a smart idea that will pay off over time.


- Size of firewood racks. How much wood will you be storing? Most wood is purchased by the cord. A cord of wood is a tightly stacked grouping of wood that is 4 x 4 x 8 in size (or 128 cubic feet of wood). If you will be storing a full cord or more than one cord of wood, you will either need a large firewood rack or several firewood racks. When making your purchase decision, know what size will suit your needs for storage.


- Manufacturer of the firewood rack. You will want a manufacturer with a good reputation. Check consumer reviews on the internet. If you are hearing positive comments and reviews from other buyers of firewood racks, that is a good sign. If you cannot find reviews or the comments are negative, you may want to keep looking.


- Is it an interior or exterior firewood rack? Some racks are designed and built for interior use only. These tend to be more decorative in design and manufacture. However, interior firewood racks are a great convenience. You do not have to travel outside in the harsh winter weather to grab firewood from an outside rack. If you are unsure about a firewood rack that you are considering, talk to the sales representative at the store. He or she should be very knowledgeable about the items that are being sold and should be able to answer all of your questions.


- Cost of the rack. Expensive doesn't always mean better. Shop around for firewood racks that suit your budget needs. You may be able to find the firewood rack that you love at different stores or on internet shops. If so, try to find the best deal. You can always call the store and tell them that you found a better price elsewhere and see if they will match it. Also, ask the sales representative about the warranty provided by the store or the manufacturer. Make sure that the seller has a thirty-day return or exchange policy. You want to be comfortable with your purchase decision

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Piling Up Your Firewood With an Outdoor Firewood Rack

Wednesday, 22 December 2010

There is nothing like a perfect, warm, and cozy fire burning in the fireplace when the weather outside seems to be freezing cold. And with cups of coffee and cocoa and stories to tell, everyone is sure to enjoy each other's company. Keeping the fire going is not that difficult, as long as you have enough firewood to fuel it. Firewood should be kept dry so as to burn well. To keep your firewood lasts longer, having an outdoor firewood rack is a necessity.


Simply put, an outdoor firewood rack is a storage device where you can store your wood, whether you are using the wood for the fireplace, or for an old, traditional wood-burning stove. Some people who do not have firewood put their firewood on the ground and pile them up there. But what happens is that the wood absorbs the moisture from the soil and the end up being moist and moldy. When wood is moist, it develops molds and fungus that can be harmful to bring inside the house. Damp and rotten firewood cannot be used in the fireplaces because they create more smoke than fire, and all you can do is throw them away, and you end up wasting money from doing so. Keeping firewood dry is very important because not only will it burn better, it will also be preserved longer when you do not need to use them until the next year or so.


Having an outdoor firewood rack is also one of the easiest ways to organize and line up your firewood, so you do not have to walk around the backyard and bend over to pick up the wood from the ground. All you have to do is pile the wood neatly on the rack and you will save energy and time the next time you have to get some for a chilly night. An outdoor rack will also prevent rodents and other critter to infest your wood. As we all know, rodents like rats and raccoons like to gnaw on something and your firewood might just be the perfect teething thing for them. Even insects, especially termites can infest your wood and make it their own home. Having firewood rack in your backyard can prevent all these pests and insects from running around your backyard.


There are so many varying designs you can choose from - from the simplest to the most elaborate - when it comes to having an outdoor firewood rack in your backyard. You can even build one yourself. More than the design, a more important aspect of the firewood rack is the material it is made from. Some racks are made out of wood. For places and areas that are usually dry, wood racks are perfectly fine. But for a firewood rack that is more durable, another material recommended for use is stainless steel that resists rust and can outlast the harshness of the weather.


Firewood is usually used and burned only during wintertime, so it is best that they are kept preserved so they can be used for another season of winter. Keep your wood dry with an outdoor firewood rack.

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How a Firewood Rack Can Save You Lots of Money in the Long Run

Friday, 15 October 2010


I have a Firewood rack, My neighbor hasn't; he threw away $90 worth of firewood last year! At the end of last winter I spotted my neighbor throwing damp moldy firewood onto his compost heap in the corner of his plot. The concerning thing was he did it as if it was normal. I found out later that he had been doing this for the last 5 years. He has a similar house to mine but instead of using a firewood rack he stores his wood on the ground.

I was shocked at how much rotten and moldy wood my neighbor had, especially as we had both bought the same amount of wood the previous winter from the same dealer. Where my neighbor was throwing nearly a quarter of a cord away I had all but burnt mine. With plans to chop the rest into Kindling for the summer of following winter.

I calculated that at the price we paid he was throwing away upwards of $90 worth of firewood. Considering what he had said it sounds like over the last 5 years he had destroyed nearly $500 worth of wood. All because he didn't want to spend money on a good rack.

The main issue I could see was that he didn't have a good firewood rack or cover for his log pile. Similar to many of my neighbors they relied on the old methods of letting the firewood sit on slabs or concrete. Hoping that a simple tarp would protect them from the ingress of water.

Unfortunately for best firewood management It needs to be stored 3-4 inches off the ground at this height gravity helps prevent water from getting into your firewood. Especially in areas with significant snow melt. The height prevents any snow melt or heavy rain from soaking the wood.

A decent firewood rack might set you back $100-200 dollars but if you are getting damp wood it should save you that within 2-3 seasons. If you get a good steel firewood rack it will last you a lifetime and more.

After discussing this with my neighbor, he was shocked at the money he was losing. I popped over for a beer the other day to see 2 brand new "Landmann" firewood racks. With their solid design and excellent cover design he won't be throwing any wood away next year.








My name is Dan Jensen,
I have been using and cutting Firewood for the past 20 years. After persuasion from neighbor who i helped with his firewood management, I have created a few sites to help other people with the firewood questions. For more information check out my site at Firewood rack.


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Firewood Racks - What to Look For to Make Sure You Find a Good One

Friday, 8 October 2010

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What a Firewood Rack Cover Can Do For You

Having a fireplace is a tradition all over the northern hemisphere for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years, possibly dating back to the time humanity first discovered fire itself. Fire, after all, is such a blessing, especially during the cold winter months, when it seems that not even an electric blanket could warm you up. These days, however, it is not as simple as before to get a supply of fuel for the fire, so to speak: most people do not live out the fantasy of living in a log cabin with acres of wild forest as backyard, where they can freely cut down an old tree or two if and when they needed firewood. Thus, it is becoming more and more of a need for people to have a place where they can safely store their firewood; hence the firewood rack and the firewood rack cover of today.


Nowadays, it is important to be able to store firewood in a place that keeps it dry and ready for burning at any time. A firewood rack cover does this effectively. It usually comes in the form of a sheet of waterproof material such as plastic, which you drape over your firewood rack in order to keep your logs dry. In addition to keeping your logs dry and ready for burning at any time, keeping a cover over your logs also keeps any moisture in them from attracting wood-boring insects and the like from, well, boring through and ruining your fireplace fuel.


There are several considerations concerning a firewood rack cover, though, as you simply cannot put any plastic sheet you find on your rack and call it one. A firewood rack cover has to be measured to fit the rack it is meant for, in order to cover all the wood the rack holds. Also, contrary to popular belief, a rack cover is not meant to cover all of the wood, like the wrapping a Christmas present, because doing so traps any moisture that may get into the logs inside them. A good recommendation is to cover only the top and around a fourth to a half of the sides of the pile. This will do double duty of keeping out moisture and letting air circulate through the logs, carrying any moisture that may have gotten into them with it. And do not forget to weigh the sides of your rack cover down with small weights or similar objects: it is no less than frustrating to find out that the wood you worked so hard to obtain and cover simply gets ruined by a timely gust blowing your cover off and exposing your precious logs to moisture and to the elements.


These are the basic steps to keeping and using a firewood rack cover. Follow these, and you will be able to enjoy having good, dry firewood available practically any time you need it.


 

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How a Firewood Rack Reduced the Amount of Logs I Was Burning

High moisture logs burn slower and generate less heat. This results in you burning more wood for the same heating effect. Making sure your wood is the correct moisture level will give you the best Fire and warmth you need.


A firewood rack might reduce the logs you burn in a winter. If like me you cut your own logs for burning on your fire. You will likely need a good firewood rack, the biggest cause of a poor fire is the moisture content of the log. If you are considering buying a firewood rack please check my website at the bottom of this article.


If the log has a moisture content above 20% it doesn't burn well and doesn't generate a good bed of coals. Both of which results in most of the heat going up the chimney and not radiating into the room. If your fires smolder rather than glows you may be having this issue. This can result in you burning 1-2 logs more per fire, this could result in using a face cord more per season. A firewood rack could be saving you a lot of money per season.


It typically comes from the curing stage of the firewood. When the wood is first split and put onto a rack for the summer to dry. If the split logs are left on the floor and put under a tarp. Air flow is prevented and as such stops moisture from leaving the wood. This can have the effect where the outside of the wood is dry but the inside is still moist. If the wood was sat on the floor allowing moisture to soak up into the stack replacing any moisture lost.


A good solid firewood rack can prevent this as it lifts the wood off the floor allowing air to flow under the wood. This helps draw moisture out of your stack. A good firewood rack also allows you to stack your wood with more gaps which allows air to flow through the stack again helping to dry it out.


Considering the weight in a wood stack I would strongly suggest the use of a metal rack. The strength of the metal firewood rack maintains the height off the floor and prevents sagging which can happen with wooden racks. If you are considering buying a firewood rack please check my website at the bottom of this article.


My name is Dan Jensen, I have been using and cutting Firewood for the past 20 years. After persuasion from neighbor who i helped with his firewood management, I have created a few sites to help other people with the firewood questions.

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The Importance of Firewood Rack

Are you still having a hard time lighting your fireplace because your firewood are wet and dirty? What's the reason for this then? Probably, because you just left your firewood outside with nothing to cover or protect them. Oh sure, this will really give you a hard time using the firewood.


It is really the best thing to stack firewood ahead of the winter season to have the firewood to dry up so that it is easy for it to get fire. Moreover, it is necessary to stack the firewood as early as possible so anytime you are going to need them; you just have to pull it from where you stack them.


But, there are inconvenience and disadvantage that might occur when stacking the firewood. After the long time you have stacked the firewood, chances are insects and rats will penetrate in the firewood. Also, it might get wet due to unexpected rain fall. And think about how to use this kind of firewood: wet, full of insects and mud. You will sure to get fire yourself instead of the woods because of the irritation cause by this inconvenience.


On the other hand, stacking firewood ahead of time is sure a convenience especially if you have the firewood rack to assists you in keeping the woods organize. Firewood racks is built to really help homeowners organize their firewood.


In so many ways that other home necessities offer convenience in their respective function, firewood rack is doing the same way. If you have this thing outside your house, your firewood will be dry, and clean all the time they are stacked. Firewood racks are built with a surface few inches from the ground which is beneficial in keeping the woods dry.


Still, though you have the firewood rack it is important to fully organize the firewood. Stack them properly so that when you are going to get them, you will not going to pass another hassle such as the falling piece of firewood on your feet. It is also important to constantly check the firewood to make sure that is still covered and organized in their place.


 

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