4 key questions about firewood for your wood burning stove

Wood burners are a wonderful home appliance that bring added warmth and cosiness into the heart of your home. In practical terms, using a log burner will reduce your consumption of fossil fuels which means lower heating bills – something we are all striving for. In terms of simple pleasures, it’s hard to beat the feeling of a real fire, especially on a cold winter’s day.

At Sussex Fireplace Gallery, we know a thing or two about wood burning stoves and fireplaces. Visit our showroom in Polegate where you will find many fully operational displays from many leading suppliers, and speak to our friendly, knowledgeable team who will be happy to share their expertise.

If you are thinking of getting a wood burning stove, or you have one but don’t use it, it may be worthwhile brushing up on a few basics when it comes to burning firewood, starting with these essential questions

Both hardwood and softwood can be burnt in your wood burning stove, but they each have very different properties. Softwood, such as pine, burns quickly and produces more heat rapidly. This type of wood is ideal for use as kindling to get your fire started. Once your fire is established, though, you should add hardwood logs for sustained heat.

Hardwood, such as oak or ash, has a denser structure than softwood, which gives logs a high heat output and longer burn time. Softwoods contain more resin, which causes them to spit and crackle when burning.

Firewood logs can be cut from all kinds of trees, but theydon’t all burn in the same way. Before you order a quantity of logs, it’s agood idea to have a basic understanding of the different types of logs. Here are 6 recommended types of firewood for your wood burning stove:

Ash: widely considered to be the best logs for wood burners

Oak: traditional choice and everyone’s favourite

Beech: similar burning properties to ash

Birch: burns with a lovely aroma

Apple: smaller flame with pleasant smell (other fruit woods like cherry, pear, and plum also work well)

Pine: fast burning softwood, perfect for kindling

Yes, most definitely. Freshly cut wood has a moisture content that is too high for burning efficiently. Green wood typically contains 40-60% moisture content, depending on the species, and must be dried properly before use.

Once chopped into logs, firewood must dry out or ‘season’ until the moisture content has sufficiently reduced. It will take at least 6-12 months (1-2 years is ideal) for hardwood logs to season to below 20% moisture content, which is when they will be ready for use in a wood burner. Oak, being particularly dense, can take up to 2 years to season properly. The longer your logs are seasoned, the drier they are, and the hotter they will burn.

How to tell if your logs are ready for burning? Knock two logs together and if you hear a nice ‘thwack’, they should be dry enough. Conversely, logs that crackle and spit excessively in the fire are not seasoned enough. Well-seasoned logs will also have visible cracks on the ends, a duller grey appearance, and weigh noticeably less than green wood.

The challenge with naturally seasoned hardwood is that, because of environmental variations, you can never be 100% sure that the logs have dried evenly, even after 2 years’ seasoning. Weather conditions, stacking method, and storage location all affect the final moisture content.

Kiln drying takes the guesswork away, by using a drying process in a controlled environment that reliably produces logs with approximately 10-15% moisture content (well below the 20% threshold needed for efficient burning). Kiln dried logs are cleaner, meaning less residue build-up in your flue and less mess in your home. They light more easily, burn with a very high heat output and leave hardly any ash. Kiln dried logs may costa bit more but given the fact that less wood is needed to produce the same heat output in your burner, they offer better value for money.

Wood burning stoves have becoming increasingly popular in recent years, so if you are thinking of joining the growing number of real fire lovers, we’re here to help. Get in touch with Sussex Fireplace Gallery today to arrange for an appointment in our showroom or book a free, no-obligation site visit.