Smoke from a wood fire

[Mike313]

Hi Folks,
In most (all) the places I go walking I am not allowed to light a wood fire so I tend to bring a Coleman's F1 gas burner with me, or even a thermos if the gas is frowned upon. However, at the bottom of my garden I have a spot that would be ideal for messing about practicing fire-lighting and maybe doing a bit of cooking. The only potential snag is that when I lit a fire before, I had one neighbour complain about the smoke. Admittedly, it was in the afternoon and there was a bit of pine in there which seemed to smoke a lot. (I think that legally you can't light a garden fire before 6pm?). I've read somewhere that oak and ash give off only a little smoke and I was wondering what you guys thought, is that true? I also assume that the drier the wood the less it will smoke? Any tips or hints on how to get a 'smokeless' wood fire
Mike.

 

[bopdude]

You get very little smoke when using a wood gasification stove but it does depends on the condition of the wood of course.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

[Ogri the trog]

There will be smoke when starting any fire, Mike.

When we used to live in suburbia, I would have regular fires - though I would avoid days when neighbors were pottering in their gardens or had washing on the line or windows open, it just struck me as good manners. You would do well to check you local restrictions, but there's not much to stop you doing what you want in your own garden.

I would consider garden fire lighting to be a great way to learn the basics, especially how to make any fire as smoke free as possible. You are right in surmising that Ash & Oak (as well as Haw & Blackthorn) will produce less smoke but it will depend upon how dry it is and how well prepared. Most conifer species will smoke a lot and give off an acrid smell because of the resins within.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Stevie777]

Get a tyre on it, give then something to complain about. are you allowed a Barbecue or do you need to submit a permission slip. ?

 

[nuggets]

we need a like button , well said steve777

 

[Adze]

The dryer the wood the less energy from the fire goes into turning moisture to steam and the more complete the combustion of the fuel - ergo less smoke.

Use well seasoned and dried hardwoods and you'll get a lot less smoke than if you use damp or unseasoned wood or resinous softwood.

 

[dwardo]

Quick peek over the fence to see of neighbours have washing out is good form. After that very thin split and dry wood until you get plenty of heat to burn the thicker stuff. Takes a while to build a fire that has enough residual heat to burn heavy stuff. Especially if the weather and material is damp.

 

[nuggets]

so why do these `disposable` BBQ`s give out a lot of smoke when they are first lit , dry charcoal in a foil tray ?? not having a dig - just curious ,is it the waxed paper you have to light to ignite the charcoal ???

 

[Lost in civilisation]

so why do these `disposable` BBQ`s give out a lot of smoke when they are first lit , dry charcoal in a foil tray ?? not having a dig - just curious ,is it the waxed paper you have to light to ignite the charcoal ???

Briquettes have a filler in them to form the pellets, the starter paper/bag is impregnated with hydrocarbons to make it easy to light and there will be some water in there as it will be impossible to keep them perfectly dry.

 

[bikething]

so why do these `disposable` BBQ`s give out a lot of smoke when they are first lit , dry charcoal in a foil tray ?? not having a dig - just curious ,is it the waxed paper you have to light to ignite the charcoal ???

Efficient combustion requires a certain level of heat. Until that level is reached the combustion will be inefficient and the result is smoke.

 

[Robson Valley]

I run applewood chunks in my smoker BBQ. The whole neighborhood knows I'm doing ribs or chickens!
Every neighborhood must have somebody to complain about anything and everything.
But, they might have severe respiratory challenges, so you could be SOOL.

bikething has the answer = more-or-less complete combustion takes a lot of heat.
I heat my home with a compressed wood pellet stove. Just a soup-dish of fire but
fanned like a forge = no smoke.

 

[Mike313]

Thanks for the replies folks. I think I'll build up a stash of hardwood and cover it so it can air-dry. Once the weather picks up, I spend quite a bit of time in the garden (as you do) working on the veggie plot etc. and I can't think of anything nicer than stopping at midday to do a bit of cooking outdoors on a fire down the end of the garden now and again. I think everything tastes better outdoors. Even when we cook in the kitchen, we eat outdoors whenever we can. Stevie your 'tyre' comment made me laugh and I could just visualise that neighbour I mentioned having a multiple coronary at the sight of the smoke
Thanks all, and enjoy your Sunday!

 

[Mike313]

Just found this POEM (!) about logs:

Logs to burn

Logs to burn, logs to burn,
Logs to save the coal a turn
Here’s a word to make you wise,
When you hear the woodman’s cries.
Never heed his usual tale,
That he has good logs for sale,
But read these lines and really learn
the proper kind of logs to burn.

OAK logs will warm you well,
If they’re old and dry.
LARCH logs of pine wood smell,
But the sparks will fly.
BEECH logs for Christmas time,
YEW logs heat well.
SCOTCH logs it is a crime
For anyone to sell.

BIRCH logs will burn too fast,
CHESTNUT scarce at all.
HAWTHORN logs are good to last,
If you cut them in the fall.
HOLLY logs will burn like wax
You should burn them green
ELM logs like smouldering flax
No flame to be seen

PEAR logs and APPLE logs,
They will scent your room.
CHERRY logs across the dogs,
Smell like flowers in bloom.
But ASH logs, all smooth and grey,
Burn them green or old;
Buy up all that come your way,
They’re worth their weight in gold.

 

[nic a char]

Google rocket stove - lots of designs for efficient, smoke-free, DIY stoves - also check your garden prevailing wind for siting of your wood-burning experiments. My neighbour burned-off in hyis garden ONCE - environmental health round within a week because of neeby complaint! It's all good fun though

 

[Tom Gold]

Mike, had me a wee backyard fire tonight (wife and kids at cinema) using some well seasoned ash and my satellite dish firepit. Dont know what I'd do without SKY!

 

[Mike313]

Tom, I can feel the warmth just looking at that photo!

 

[vestlenning]

Tom, satellite dishes make great firepits! And yes, the real sky is a lot better than the satellite channels...

 

[sxmolloy]

Have a look at the "Home Fire Logs" that are sold in the £ shops and B&M etc. Whilst not a real wood fire they burn quite well and smoke free. I think Wayland did a bit of a write up about them some months ago.

 

[Tom Gold]

Btw Mike, a night time fire (this one was 8 00pm) is unlikely to upset anyone at this time of year so I'd be tempted to go ahead and burn whatever you have.

Oddly I find that very often neighbours who make complaints like this are the ones who illuminate their gardens all night and use those 'work of the devil' outdoor heaters.

Enjoy!

T

 

[Mike313]

That's true about the night time fire, nobody notices the smoke . As it happens, I have a few unwanted ash saplings growing up in my road-side hawthorn hedge so I'll be harvesting those later in the year (we don't have a woodburner so last year when I cut them back I threw them out ). In the meantime, I've found out there's a guy a few miles away who sells kiln-dried hardwood so I'm going to buy a bag of that - if he sells it in bags that is