Category Archives: Information

When you’ve had your log burner installed the biggest and most important decision is which logs to burn. With so many different species and varieties of logs on the market, discerning the value and efficiency of them all isn’t easy, and it’s not a simple case of throwing in any old wood or using the cheapest you can find; that’s the fastest way to start causing damage to your flue lining.

Hardwood vs. Softwood

The simplest way to breakdown the different logs available is to split them in to two categories – softwood and hardwood, the latter being more dense and thus longer burning, releasing their energy over a prolonged period of time, rather than faster burning softwood species were you spend more time opening the door on your stove and feeding logs, rather than sitting back and enjoying your wood burner.

Softwood species also crackle and spit more (often damaging carpet when opening the stove door!) and also generate more smoke than hardwoods.

Both hardwood and softwood generate the same amount of heat, however due to the density you would require twice the volume of softwood logs for the same heat output than hardwood logs – which is one of the reasons buying hardwood logs is much better value.

For these reasons we do not recommend burning softwoods in log burners, and only for when used as kindling, which softwood is perfect for.

Common hardwood species are:

• Oak
• Ash
• Beech
• Birch

Common softwood species are:

• Pine
• Cedar
• Fir
• Larch
• Spruce

Hardwood logs are difficult to season naturally using traditional air-drying methods

Due to hardwood being twice as dense as softwood, it takes a lot longer to season naturally and in the British climate this could take anything up to 3 years before the logs are suitable for wood burning – this is where most local suppliers and traditional seasoned logs suppliers struggle, especially when demand is high and they’re forced to sell stock that’s still seasoning once winter is in full swing. This is why chimney sweeps and stove manufacturers will normally recommend kiln dried hardwood as the best logs to burn.

Trying to burn wet, partially seasoned hardwood is the worst kind of wood to burn and simply will not light or generate any heat at all, making purchasing seasoned hardwood very risky unless you own a moisture meter and take external and internal readings.

Kiln dried hardwood logs are cut down, split and dried below 20% moisture within 10 days

Since the invention of the kiln for drying firewood by using heat and humidity control, the firewood industry has changed dramatically. Now it’s possible to buy extremely dry and ready to burn logs all-year round, and because it’s a faster turnaround from felling trees and drying the logs, it’s much more economical meaning the value of kiln dried logs when compared to naturally seasoned logs is huge – not only in a dramatically lower moisture content but in price, especially when comparing heat output per units.

Often we are contacted by customers asking what the differences are between birch vs ash logs, primarily interested in the facts regarding the heat output and burn characteristics of the two species.

It’s worth mentioning that both birch and ash are both hardwoods, albeit that birch is softer than ash, and when kiln dried to a sufficiently low moisture content both make excellent firewood, however there are a few key differences which are important to consider when buying your firewood:

Birch logs burn faster and provide heat faster

Being slightly less dense than ash, birch logs provide slightly more heat upfront, therefore are great if you only use your stove for a few hours in the evening or at the weekends; your stove gets hotter quicker and the space you’re trying to heat will get up to temperature very quickly.

Ash logs offer a longer sustained burn and are more suitable for medium usage – 5-6 hours per night, for example.

Birch logs produce slightly more smoke

The only other real difference in burning characteristics other than heat output and burn time is that birch produces slightly more smoke than ash – nothing significant, but a fact none the less.

If you are a very casual user of your stove, birch is probably the best option, however if you use your stove more regular than we would recommend either ash or oak for very intensive use.

View our homepage to learn more about our kiln dried logs and view our products.