[Will Hunt]

Just felled quite a lot of hazel in the garden. Rather than sling it all  in the green bin I'd rather burn it in the chimenea as that needs curing anyway.

Various websites have suggested drying for between one and two years and I definitely haven't the patience for that. If I burn it fresh from the cut is it going to deposit a load of nasty tar in the chimenea? I'm not particularly fussed on how hot it burns as, of course, we're doing it outside.

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[Bubba]

If it's freshly cut then you might have problems getting it to produce much heat, or even getting it to burn at all.  Are you talking logs or just small stuff?

Ideally you want to use seasoned wood in your chimenea but that's really so that it burns nice and hot without loads of smoke.  If you're just wanting to cure it then I can't see that being an issue. It might leave some residue but again that's not really a problem with a chimenea.

[Will Hunt]

Ta. I'll give it a go. I've basically chopped a tree down so have a mix of small, medium and logs. Looking at some of it, it may be optimistic to hope it will burn straight away!

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[andyd]

Burning green wood is a marvellous way of alienating your neighbours. Get it to the tip. I imagine it'll only take 6 to 8 trips in the Citroen 

Let me know if you need a hand

[Bubba]

If you've got some logs from it then just stack them in a pile, leave for a year and you'll have some nice seasoned wood.  Agree with andyd, the tip might be the best place for the rest.

When I've cured a chimenea in the past I've started with newspaper, then to kindling, then small logs, etc.  Just turn the heat up a notch each time and let it cool in between fires.

[tomtom]

What da man Bubba said..

Bin the twigs & branches smaller than your wrist (I have small wrists!) - chop up the rest and stack em up for a year.. Even leaving them uncovered they will season fine over a year... Otherwise its just burning stuff to make smoke - as Andy said your neigbours will love you!

[Will Hunt]

Good knowledge folks. After the optimism had subsided I realised the moisture content in the wood was quite obviously high so I've stacked it to season in the garage.

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[Bubba]

That's not a good idea - you're much better off leaving wood outside to season (there's a clue in the name ).  You want air-flow, wind/sun/etc. I split them then stack them in a pile with the topmost logs bark side up to act as a natural barrier against the worst of the rain and snow; some people cover the top of the pile with something waterproof instead.

Without air-flow, stacked in a garage at worst they will go mouldy and at best will take forever to season.  By all means once they've been outside for a while and lost most of their moisture then bring them in to store in the dry but when they're freshly cut you're better off using our good old weather to turn them into decent firewood.

[runt]

And now you're in the logging gang you can buy yourself one of these
http://www.stihl.co.uk/STIHL-Products/STIHL-Merchandise-and-Timbersports-collection/STIHL-Merchandise/22063-1597/Wood-moisture-gauge.aspx

[tomtom]

Whaaaat? you can tell how well seasoned it is with a good sniff... Pah.

[Muenchener]

Sometimes things make me realise I've been away from the uk for a while. I assumed "chiminea" was some kind of in-joke mis-spelling of "chimney" that everybody except me was in on, until I googled it. Nobody outside Mexico had ever heard of a chiminea last century when I lived in the uk.

[Will Hunt]

Ta for the education. I will lug it all outside again.

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