Burning frozen wood...bad idea!

[Swedishchef]

Hey guys

Well it is cold as ...... -35C with the wind this evening. I noticed the wood that is in my basement (about 1 week's worth) was low on hardwood. So I went outside to my greenhouse (stash of wood) and brought in some maple.

Long story short is that I ended up putting the frozen stuff in the stove and not the thawed maple.

So for the first 15 minutes all I heard was HHHHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSS.

Note to self: burning frozen wood is a PITA.

Andrew

 

[mattjm1017]

Holy frozen smoke -34c and im fussing about +34f!! I cant imagine how cold that is!!

 

[bobabuoy]

Back in the days before I knew better, I would put wood that had snow on it into my stove! Doh!

 

[ArsenalDon]

Burning previously snow covered wood I brought in tonight...but it is only 20 out...coldest it has been so far is -2...cannot imagine your cold....that is real cold.

 

[Swedishchef]

lol. Lots of places in the US get the same cold as we are having where I currently live. It's a cold snap. It is not normal, on Sunday they are calling for +1C lol

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Well that is the wind chill factor but what was the actual temperature.

We do not bring wood in the house to warm up before putting it into the stove no matter what the temperature outside is. The coldest we've had was -34 F and we had no problem. If the wood is dry there should be no problems.

 

[Swedishchef]

Hey Dennis,

It was -25C without the wind. Still darn cold.

Unfortunately I don't understand something.... No matter how dry your wood is there will be some moisture right? From my understanding of thermodynamics, the temperature of the fire/wood will remain the same as water is changing phases. In this case there are 2 phase changes that must occur and not just one: from solid to liquid and then liquid to gas. However, this transition goes quickly. That is why I think I heard hissing. My wood is 3.5 years old. There is no way there was moisture in it. Some pieces that I had put near the stove to warm up did not hiss 4 hours later whatsoever. And some of these splits were the "other half" of some splits that hissed...

 

[Corey]

You are correct on the phase changes...you put energy in to warm ice to 0C, then you have to put energy into ice at 0C to get water at 0C, then you heat the water, then you put energy into the water at 100C to get steam at 100C. 'Latent heat of fusion' for the ice/water transition and latent heat of vaporization for the water>steam transition. Though the end result is the same either way...if you have 16% MC, it is the same amount of steam if you start at -100C or 0C.

I wonder if the hissing you heard might have been due to the air in the log expanding? Going from -30ish to firebox temps is going to be quite a bit of expansion in just the air alone!

 

[Swedishchef]

I think it may have been just that: gas expansion pushing out faster. It was weird!

 

[colin.p]

Holy frozen smoke -34c and im fussing about +34f!! I cant imagine how cold that is!!

Just think of a brass monkey, running down the street with a welding torch in his hand.
Yup going to be cold this week:

Tonight
A few clouds. Wind northwest 40 km/h gusting to 60 becoming light early this evening. Low minus 19.

Monday
Increasing cloudiness. High minus 14.

Monday night
Mainly cloudy. 40 percent chance of flurries overnight. Low minus 21.

Tuesday
A mix of sun and cloud. High minus 17.

Wednesday
Sunny. Low minus 25. High minus 17.

Thursday
Sunny. Low minus 22. High minus 15.

Friday
Periods of snow. Low minus 17. High minus 9.

Saturday
A mix of sun and cloud. Low minus 15. High minus 11.

 

[mattjm1017]

Colinp thats to cold for me! I don't know how ya'll deal with that. Im looking at a low of +17 this week and worried about that and my pipes I cant imagine negative temps for a high.

 

[jrendfrey]

It's negative Celsius correct? Probably above zero in Fahrenheit. So far oldest we've had was -22 and this next weeks supposed to be negative lows every night well be putting the wood right to her. Can you convert you lows in Canada to Fahrenheit?

 

[Swedishchef]

It's about 0 to -5 F without the wind.....

 

[mattjm1017]

Yeah I didn't think about Canada being on Celsius. Thats still way to cold for me.

 

[colin.p]

Yeah I didn't think about Canada being on Celsius. Thats still way to cold for me.

Ya, it's too bloody cold for me too, but I'm stuck here.

 

[jdp1152]

Holy frozen smoke -34c and im fussing about +34f!! I cant imagine how cold that is!!

but it's a dry cold!

 

[Swedishchef]

It depends where you live...I am on the coast of the Gulf of St Lawrence and it is not frozen. Therefore the humidity hovers between 50-80%. Damp cold = not fun. THe Prairies in Western Canada is a dry cold.

 

[rideau]

Not in Ottawa, not a dry cold. Prairies a dry cold, yes. Ottawa, no. A cold cold. - 25 C = 9/5 x 25= 225/5=45. So subtract 45 from 32 (freezing in F) = -13 F. Pretty cold. Gets worse...to about -30F. The days with the 30 MPH winds on top of that are the killers.

 

[jdp1152]

I was only kidding. It gets insanely hot in Arizona, but everyone always says it's not so bad because it's a dry heat.

 

[TheBaron]

Here is Ottawa in Deg F for our American friends

 

[jdp1152]

Makes the 29 degrees I'm sitting in seem balmy.

 

[mattjm1017]

I know one place ill not be visiting in the winter.

 

[Swedishchef]

I know one place ill not be visiting in the winter.

lol. It is rarely that cold (I know, it's hard to believe!!) But you could always go to Quebec City and see the Ice Hotel (broken link removed)

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hey Dennis,

It was -25C without the wind. Still darn cold.

Unfortunately I don't understand something.... No matter how dry your wood is there will be some moisture right? From my understanding of thermodynamics, the temperature of the fire/wood will remain the same as water is changing phases. In this case there are 2 phase changes that must occur and not just one: from solid to liquid and then liquid to gas. However, this transition goes quickly. That is why I think I heard hissing. My wood is 3.5 years old. There is no way there was moisture in it. Some pieces that I had put near the stove to warm up did not hiss 4 hours later whatsoever. And some of these splits were the "other half" of some splits that hissed...

Swede, do you think it might also have something to do with the humidity levels you have there? No doubt you probably will even get frost on the wood and for sure that can cause some hissing. Here, we've just never noticed it. Should be around zero tonight when I load up and I'll check it a few minutes after it gets going but doubt there will be any hissing.

 

[mattjm1017]

Swedish chef that place looks pretty cool I would like to visit my northern neighbors one of these days but I think ill have to make my first visit in th late spring or summer and work my way up to the cold.