Who let the logs out ?

Once you have had your shiny new wood burning stove all fitted and ready to use, thoughts turn to firewood. Logs have come along way in the last 10 years but it can feel at times like something that should be so simple can be come rather tricky and complicated. I think this is probably because modern stoves that are now highly efficient are also a bit more fussy about their diet.

So what are the three main things to look out for when buying firewood logs? My theory is that they should be 1. Dry 2. Dry and 3 you guessed it Dry. OK this is like the old Location, location, location saying but it's true. By dry I mean around 20% moisture content of the log at the core.

Traditionally most log merchants sell "Seasoned" logs, this should mean the logs have had two seasons meaning two summers under cover but with sufficient wind and air going through them to dry them out to lower the moisture content.

The other way to speed up the seasoning process is to kiln dry the logs in crates and reduce them again down to the magical 20% moisture content at the core. At The Fire Engine we stock and sell kiln dried logs made cut and split by a company called Certainly Wood. We have in store the logs in Bags of approx 10-12 kg, and can arrange delivery of Bulk bags of loose logs. These come in 1.6 and 1.2 cubic meter bags as well as the handy new size of 0.8 as well. Certainly Wood also produce the most excellent kindling made from kiln dried poplar wood, this is the same wood match sticks are made from. The Certainly Wood kindling is packed in very neat boxes and is easy to stack and store, it also saves any mess that normally drops out of a mesh bag.

The kiln dried logs we stock are a HETAS approved biomass fuel, this means it has passed stringent quality tests and sustainability criteria. The firewood they produce are all British logs and are all hardwoods such as Ash, Beech and Oak. The advantage of burning kiln dried logs are that you get more heat energy per kilo of wood than seasoned logs and you will protect your stove and more importantly your chimney and flue liner. This is especially true if you have a elected to use a 316 flue liner.

Do contact us at The Fire Engine for any help and advice you require for choosing the right fuel for your wood burning or multi-fuel stove. Please email any questions to info@thefireengine.co.uk