[Why Does Wood Crackle When In Fire
Kody Coste
Does your fire make a lot of popping and cracking sounds? This is something that often happens when you burn wood. But if it happens a lot, it could mean that your fire isn't burning very well. This can be dangerous because it could cause hot embers to fly out and hurt someone or damage something. Whether you're lighting a fire inside or outside, it's important to be careful and make sure it's burning safely and efficiently.
When burned, firewood undergoes a chemical reaction known as combustion, during which the wood matter is converted into heat. More specifically, the cellulose within the wood reacts to the oxygen to produce heat. When a fire has a poor combustion process, meaning only a minimal amount of matter is converted into heat, it will release more airborne particulate matter. Some of this particulate matter will manifest as thick black smoke, whereas others will manifest as embers that pop and crackle.
In addition to low combustion efficiency, trapped moisture can cause fires to pop and crackle. Even if a piece of firewood looks dry, it probably has moisture inside its pores. After all, trees absorb water to grow and survive. Without water, they wouldn't be able to transfer nutrients, nor would they be able to produce energy via photosynthesis. Heavily saturated firewood, contains a substantial amount of moisture -- so much, in fact, that it restricts the combustion process. And as previously mentioned, inefficient combustion can cause wood to pop and crackle when burned.
Trapped moisture can also cause wood to pop and crackle from the creation of steam. Unlike wood, water doesn't convert into heat when burned. If you place a pot of water on the stove and activate the burner, it will evaporate as steam. This same principle rings true when burning wet or moist firewood. As the trapped moisture heats up, it will turn to steam. Unfortunately, this often results in the creation of steam pockets inside the wood. The steam remains trapped inside these pockets, and as the pressure increases, they may burst to create popping and crackling.
To minimize popping and crackling, use high quality kiln dried firewood to build your fires. As the name suggests, kiln dried firewood gets placed into a heated kiln. Some kilns are powered by electricity, whereas others are powered by steam or even solar energy. Regardless, they all expose wood to heat, which works to release the trapped moisture and create exceptionally dry firewood.
When processed inside a heated kiln, wood becomes drier. Even if the wood initially had a 100% moisture content, kiln drying may lower its moisture content to just 10% to 15%. Of course, that's substantially drier than air-dried firewood, which usually has a moisture content of about 20% to 30%. And if you purchase kiln dried firewood from Cutting Edge Firewood, you can rest assured knowing that it's been processed for 12 times longer than the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) standard for kiln drying. As a result, it burns cleaner to produce more heat with less popping and crackling.
We pride ourselves on having the most stringent drying process in the industry, resulting in firewood that is as dry as possible for your enjoyment. Our commitment to excellence ensures that you will have the best fireside experience possible.
Hardwood varieties of firewood are less likely to pop and crackle than softwood varieties. There are a few reasons for this, one of which is the low moisture content of hardwood. Most hardwood varieties have a lower moisture content than softwood varieties, so they typically don't produce steam pockets when burned.
Furthermore, hardwood varieties of firewood contain less resin and tar than softwood varieties. Resin and tar is particularly problematic because of its ability to seal specific sections inside the wood. As these organic substances heat up, they expand to fill cracks and crevasses. If there's any moisture trapped behind this newly formed seal, the intense pressure may cause it to burst. Hardwood varieties of firewood, however, contain less resin and tar than softwood varieties, so they are less likely to pop and crackle.
Whether you use oak firewood, hickory wood, cherry firewood or any other hardwood variety of firewood, you should store it in a dry area. Just because your firewood is currently dry doesn't necessarily mean that it will stay dry. Storing your firewood outdoors without any form of coverage, for example, will likely result in it getting wet. Even if it doesn't rain, your firewood will still be exposed to humidity. Over time, constant exposure to humidity will saturate your firewood with moisture, which may lead to it popping and crackling when burned.
The size of your fires can affect whether or not they pop and crackle. Generally speaking, bigger fires are less likely to pop and crackle than smaller fires. If you build a fire with only two or three small logs, it probably won't produce much heat. The low temperatures restrict the combustion process, resulting in less heat. At the same time, the firewood will release more particulate matter into the air, some of which may cause popping and crackling.
By building bigger fires, you can avoid these problems. Don't just toss a couple small logs into your fireplace, fire pit or other wood-burning accessory. Instead, use more -- as well as bigger pieces -- of firewood.
When building fires in a traditional wood-burning fireplace, make sure the damper is open all the way. All fireplaces have a damper. It's typically found inside the flue directly above the firebox. The purpose of the damper is to control airflow into and out of the firebox. If the damper is closed, air won't be able to enter through the chimney. And since wood needs fresh oxygen to burn, this will cause the temperature to drop.
If you're planning to a build fire in your fireplace, you need to open the damper all the way. Even if it's just partially closed, it will still restrict the amount of fresh air that enters the firebox. More importantly, a partially or fully closed damper will contribute to creosote buildup. Smoke won't be able to escape the firebox if the damper is closed. As the smoke accumulates inside the chimney, it will form creosote inside the walls. Not only does this lower the performance of your fireplace; it creates a serious safety hazard. Creosote is highly flammable and may ignite from just a single stray ember.
Stock up on premium kiln dried firewood by visiting our online store today, or you can view our most popular options below. We offer a variety of kiln dried firewood, including oak, hickory and more, that will help you build cleaner fires with less popping and crackling.
At Cutting Edge Firewood, we love a great fire. Our passion for wood-burning fires extends to creating memorable moments with friends, fighting off the winter chill, and crafting the perfect pizza. Our unmatched, top-quality firewood and unparalleled service provide you with an experience unlike any other.
Rachael Helene Nolan receives funding from the NSW Bushfire Risk Management Research Hub, funded through the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (formerly OEH) and has previously received funding from the Australian Government's Innovation Connections programme in conjunction with GreenCollar.
To know why this happens, we need to understand what happens when you place a wooden log on a fire. First, the wood starts getting hotter. Inside the wood are pockets of trapped water and tree sap, which is the sticky stuff you sometimes see on trees.
In the same way water in a kettle heats up and turns into steam, so does the water trapped inside the log. So as the fire gets hotter, the water and sap inside start to boil and turn into gas. As the fire gets even hotter, these gases start to take up more space and expand (get bigger).
We know wood comes from trees. And when trees are alive, they stay healthy by carrying water up their trunk through these tiny holes, which are called xylem vessels. When the tree is chopped down to make firewood, there is still water trapped inside these xylem vessels.
Kiln dried logs have a low moisture content because they have been dried out in a kiln over a period of time. This ensures that the moisture in the wood is low and Ready To Burn certified, resulting in a moisture level of less than 20%.
Reducing the moisture in the firewood will also reduce the crackling and popping sounds you hear when burning our wood. The crackling and popping can also be reduced with seasoning your firewood, however this process takes a lot longer (sometimes 1 - 2 years!) but it also helps to reduce moisture in the wood.
There's nothing quite like telling a few ghost stories by the light of a raging campfire. Its heat feels so good at the end of a long day when the temperatures start to drop. The smell of the smoke combined with the roasting of hot dogs makes our tummies tingle.
We also love the unique sound of a campfire. Sound might not be the first thing you think of when you think of a campfire, but burning wood definitely makes a distinct snap, crackle, and pop sound that many people find relaxing.
Before we look within the wood, let's first learn a bit about fire. Fire comes from a chemical reaction between oxygen in the air and a source of fuel, such as wood or gasoline. Luckily, most sources of fuel don't burst into flames spontaneously, since they're surrounded by oxygen all the time. Instead, fuel sources must be heated to their ignition temperature for the combustion reaction to occur.
For wood, the ignition temperature is around 300 F. At this temperature, the heat begins to decompose the wood's cellulose material. As this happens, the decomposing material takes several forms: volatile gases (smoke), char (pure carbon), and ash (unburnable minerals).
The actual burning of the wood occurs when the volatile gases reach temperatures around 500 F, at which point the molecules break apart and recombine with oxygen to form water, carbon dioxide, and other products. This is what we think of as the process of burning.
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