Heating Properties of Firewood by Tree Species

Firewood performance can differ from species to species. The type of tree you use for burning can vary widely in heat content, burning characteristics, and overall quality. I have created a table that presents several important burning characteristics for many species used in North America. The chart ranks each tree species by its density which is a good indicator of overall heating effectiveness. Wood Characteristics Influencing Quality Heating and Ignition Density of Wood - density is the amount of space a volume or mass of firewood occupies. The denser the wood, the less space its given mass takes up and the greater a particular volume of firewood weighs.  For an example,  hickory is about twice as dense as aspen, so a cubic foot of hickory weighs approximately 50 pounds while a cubic foot of aspen weighs only about 25 pounds.   Green Vs. Dry Wood - Firewood should be dried (seasoned) to 10% to 20% moisture content for best burning performance. Much of the energy generated from burning green firewood actually goes toward evaporating the water held in the wood. Green firewood only gives off about 40% of the energy of dry firewood. To get the most heat production out of your firewood, you should season it by first cutting into short log bolts. Split these bolts and stack in a dry,  well-ventilated  area for at least six months before burning. Available Heat by Wood Species  - Available heat is a measure of the heat given off when wood is burnt and measured in million British Thermal Units. Hardwood trees give  off more energy in BTUs than a comparable volume of softwood because it is denser. It should be noted that  the volatile oils in some softwoods can increase the heat output of some species but only for a short time. Ease of Splitting - Wood with a straight grain is easier to split than wood with a tighter more complex grain. Knots, branches, and other defects can also increase the difficulty of splitting firewood. Remember that dry wood is generally easier to split than green wood. Ease of Igniting Firewood - Ignition ability is an important factor wood factor. Low-density wood is easier to light than denser wood. Woods with higher levels of volatile chemicals in their structure, such as conifers, will ignite  and burn more readily than those with less volatile chemicals. These woods should be used to start fires where dry  high-density woods will provide the heat. Definitions of Chart Terms Density - woods dry weight per unit volume. Denser or heavier wood contains more heat per volume. Note that hickory ranks at the top of the list.Green Weight - the weight in pounds of a cord of freshly cut wood before drying.mmBTUs - million British Thermal Units. The woods actual available heat measured in BTUs.Coaling - wood that forms long-lasting coals are good to use in wood stoves because they allow a fire to be carried over a longer period effectively. Wood Heating Values Chart Common Name Density-lbs/cu.ft. Pounds/cd. (green) Million BTUs/cd. Coaling Hickory 50 4,327 27.7 good Osage-orange 50 5,120 32.9 excellent Black locust 44 4,616 27.9 excellent White oak 44 5,573 29.1 excellent Red oak 41 4,888 24.6 excellent White ash 40 3,952 24.2 good Sugar maple 42 4,685 25.5 excellent Elm 35 4,456 20.0 excellent Beech 41 NA 27.5 excellent Yellow birch 42 4,312 20.8 good Black walnut 35 4,584 22.2 good Sycamore 34 5,096 19.5 good Silver maple 32 3,904 19.0 excellent Hemlock 27 NA 19.3 poor Cherry 33 3,696 20.4 excellent Cottonwood 27 4,640 15.8 good Willow 35 4,320 17.6 poor Aspen 25 NA 18.2 good Basswood 25 4,404 13.8 poor White pine 23 NA 15.9 poor Ponderosa Pine 3,600 16.2 fair Eastern Red Cedar 31 2,950 18.2 poor

Writing Lesson Plans in the Self-Contained Classroom

Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee - 830 Words

Courage in To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is the story of two children coming of age and learning about their hometown and the whole world. The two children in the story are Jem and Scout Finch. Jem and Scout live with their father, Atticus, in Maycomb County. Throughout the story, many problems arise which teach both children about bravery. The three bravest characters in the novel include their neighbor Mrs. Dubose, a convicted black man named Tom Robinson, and their father Atticus. Mrs. Dubose is an old, irritable, and morphine addicted neighbor of the Finch’s that lives down the street. The children get to know her by reading to her everyday after school. Mrs. Dubose is the perfect example of a brave†¦show more content†¦He decides to make his own decision, and courageously climbs over the fence at the prison. He shows emotional bravery by making his own choice, even if the consequences are brutal. â€Å" ‘They shot him,’ said Atticus. ‘He was running. It was during their exercise period. They said he just broke into a blind raving charge at the fence and started climbing over’ † (Lee, 315). It took Tom a great deal of bravery to climb the fence knowing he would be shot. Tom makes this decision because of the slim chance he could get away and run. Tom knew it was inevitable he was going to be sentenced guilty and sent to death. He had two options: continue waiting for weeks for his inescapable death sentence or, bravely make his own decision by jumping the fence. Tom’s actions teach the Finch children and the readers to always take a risk no matter how terrifying it may be. It may not have worked out for Tom, but at least he made his own choice instead of allowing others to decide his fate for him. Lastly, Atticus Finch shows both physical and emotional bravery multiple times throughout the story. He first exhibits his physical bravery by shooting down a rabid dog. â€Å"With movements so swift they seemed simultaneous, Atticus’s hand yanked a ball-tipped lever as he brought the gun to his shoulder. The rifle cracked. Tim Johnson leaped, flopped over and crumpled on the sidewalk in a brown-and-white heap. He didn’t know what hit him† (127). The towns own sheriff

Mentoring Essay Example For Students

Mentoring Essay Becoming a mentor can have a tremendous impact on the life of a youngster. Children need someone to look up to that doesnt necessarily need be a part of their immediate family. Sometimes they have no siblings, or maybe their siblings or parents are busy. Perhaps they have no grandparents to do things with. These children are the ones that spend their afternoons in crowded after school programs where they may not get the attention the crave. This may lead to isolation and oppositely over hyperactive children starved for attention. In other cases, some children who are not so fortunate as to be offered after-school programs are subject to the world outside all on their own. In too many cases, these are the children that become statistics. These are the children who turn to drugs or crime, be it out of fear, or simply to feel accepted. Accepted in the wrong crowds still may comfort a lonely child. One of the most renowned Mentoring Essay agencies is a non-profit organization called big brothers/ big sisters of America. A man who saw a young boy sifting through the trash for food created this establishment over 90 years ago. He took the boy home, fed him, and then met his poverty-stricken family. From that point on, he became a mentor to the little boy, and this inspired him to form the organization for other boys, and in following years, a group of Christian women created a program for little girls. The soon joined forces and became the big brothers and big sisters of America. In todays society, there are a lot of things for a child to face each day. These things can include anything from illegal drugs to simply being harassed by the school bully. No matter how trivial the obstacle, children should not have to live in fear or feel as if they are alone and have no one to talk to. This happens in too many instances, and just a simple friend could have made all the difference. Though juvenile crimes are not on the rise, according to the National Center for Juvenile Justice, 18% of all arrests in the US are youths under the age of 18. Most of these crimes include rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Students ages 1218 were victims of an estimated 2.1 million in-school thefts in 199662% of all crimes in school. Students ages 1218 were victims of an estimated 1.6 million thefts away from school in 199653% of all crimes against students away from school. Even if crime isnt on the rise with school-aged children, problems do exist. These are problems that will not go away by themselves and all the metal detectors and safety measures will not keep kids safe outside of school. It is easy to say that the kids are misunderstood. Just a satisfying excuse to the behaviors of troubled kids. It doesnt have to be that way. Directly quoted from the big brother/big sister web site is the following mission statement: Big Brothers Big Sisters of America have matched millions of children in need with caring adult mentors since 1904. Research shows that children with Big Brothers and Big Sisters are less likely to use drugs and alcohol, skip school, and exhibit violent behavior. Our program provides positive mentoring relationships for young people in hundreds of communities in all 50 states When a child spends time with his or her mentor, at least once a week, showed dramatic results as follows :46 percent less likely to begin using illegal drugs 27 percent less likely to begin using alcohol 5 3 percent less likely to skip school, Kids become more confident of their performance in schoolwork, less likely to hit someone, and get along better with their families Franz Haydn EssaySo as I have just highlighted there are some differences in the aims and the goals organisations have when they implement mentoring schemes. There is no clear cut idea as to what the most effective way of mentoring is, it depends on many surrounding factors primarily what do we want to achieve from this relationship. Mentoring schemes are implemented with different intentions in mind, we have talked candidly about mentoring being .