When buying firewood logs, it's always important to ensure that the wood you buy has been properly dried: a lower moisture content means that your firewood will burn consistently well with little smoke and won't blacken the glass of your stove door.
The temptation is to get your hands on wood, any type of wood, the cheaper the better, to throw onto your fire. But anyone with any experience of trying to keep a fire going using unseasoned firewood will quickly realise that the quality of your wood fuel is of paramount importance.
Kiln drying reduces the moisture content from around 50-60% in unseasoned wood, right down to 15-25% in seasoned hardwood logs. This percentage change makes an incredible difference to the fuel efficiency of the wood as combustion releases more energy more effectively.
The benefits of kiln dried firewood
The reduced moisture content in seasoned kiln dried logs means that not only is it much easier and quicker to light a fire, but the fire will also burn much hotter and for longer as the combustion is far more efficient.
In a typical fire, burning 10 kiln dried logs with a water content of 25% or less, the same heat output is generated as burning 33 unseasoned logs with a water content of around 60%. This is a real indication of the difference in efficiency - It takes more than three non-seasoned logs to generate the same amount of heat as every single kiln-dried log.
By using kiln dried firewood, your fire burns much hotter for longer, meaning less fuel is required, reducing fuel bills and the amount of storage space you require in your log store.
During the burning process, not only will kiln dried hardwood logs light much quicker, but also because the fuel burns for longer it requires far less attention to keep the fire stoked with fuel. This is of great advantage in home appliances like stoves and heaters as they require less attention and provide better, cleaner burns.
The benefits of kiln dried logs for heating your home
Households that rely on solid fuel to heat their homes will be well aware of the costs involved in stocking up on coal Smokeless fuel or wood logs.
Getting an efficient stove and lined chimney is just the start - you'll soon realise, via trial and error, that different fuels yield different results in terms of heat output. When winter sets in, you'll be looking to maximise the heat from your fuel and cost will be an important factor.
The lighter weight of kiln dried logs means you can put more in your log basket and make fewer journeys between your wood store and stove. Kiln dried logs are bone dry and much cleaner which means they are better for storing inside and won’t make so much mess. Using fewer kiln dried logs means better control of the stove and fewer loads. The fire burns cleaner and hotter with kiln dried logs and the stove window is less likely to soot up. If you are burning on an open fire, then there is much less spitting and sizzling, which means it's much safer and better for your chimney.
Finally, the bright flame and gorgeous wood fire smell also make kiln dried logs much more aesthetically pleasing and create that real fire ambiance that everyone loves.
So, what about the bottom line - cost? Yes, kiln dried logs are more expensive because they have had to go through a process of kiln drying but when comparing price, remember about heat output and the fact that for every one kiln dried log, you'll need at least three normal wood logs.
In fact, when taking into account all the positives such as the burning efficiency, cleanliness, weight and aesthetics, investing in kiln dried logs makes a sound investment.
How kiln dried logs will save you money
Do you want to save money on your fuel bill without giving up firewood logs? High-efficiency fuels such as anthracite smokeless and wood pellets can help you reduce the amount of cash you have to spend to keep your home warm, but they don’t have the same timeless appeal as genuine firewood logs. If you want to heat your home with a roaring log fire at a reduced cost, you should consider switching to kiln dried logs.
Undeniable aesthetic appeal
Kiln dried logs have the same undeniable aesthetic appeal as logs which have been dried using more traditional methods. They are, however, considerably more efficient. The kiln drying process reduces their moisture content to 25% 20% or less, which means that they burn hotter than ordinary logs, and for a longer period.
Longer burn
Because these logs burn hotter for longer, you don’t need to use as many of them to keep your home heated for a given length of time. Furthermore, because they burn warmer than conventional firewood, it takes fewer of them to heat your house to your preferred temperature. In a nutshell, you need less kiln dried logs to warm your home. Therefore — even given their relative cost — they are far more cost-effective than regular seasoned logs. Though individual kiln dried logs are more expensive than the alternatives, you can purchase significantly fewer of them.
Purer fuel source
The kiln drying process also makes the logs purer. This means that they burn cleaner and leave less waste. While this doesn’t directly impact on your fuel bill, it does mean that you may not have to thoroughly clean out your fire, stove, or your boiler quite as often if you switch to kiln dried logs. This can save you time and money, as the heat from the kiln drying process also kills any fungus and insects, guaranteeing no infestations of creepy-crawlies in your living room.
Lighter
Finally, it is also important to note, because of its low moisture content, kiln dried firewood is much lighter than ordinary firewood. Consequently, if you need to transport it to your home using a vehicle, it won’t weigh down that vehicle as much as ordinary firewood. This can save you a small amount of money on petrol. Every little helps!
The difference between seasoned and kiln dried logs
There are plenty of different options out there, two of which you will no doubt have come across that raise the question: kiln dried logs or seasoned logs? But what's the difference between the two?
Both are means of drying out firewood, reducing its moisture content to make it suitable for all types of stoves and fires. Generally, you'll find that the moisture content of wood that hasn't been treated is around 30% to 45%. For the perfect burn, a moisture content of 15-25% is recommended.
Air-dried wood — seasoned the old-fashioned way
Seasoned wood is wood that has been left to dry naturally. In order for it to be seasoned well, it should be split into smaller logs shortly after cutting. If left as whole logs with the bark on, the bark will trap the moisture, preventing it from drying out. Splitting the wood into smaller pieces increases the surface area and gives it more of a chance to dry out.
During air drying, the logs are split then stored under cover, in a way that as much air as possible is allowed to flow around them to dry them as quickly as possible. The time it takes to season firewood differs depending on the type of wood: softer woods such as ash Alder and pine will dry quickly, while those such as apple and oak that are denser will take longer to dry.
Kiln dried firewood - let's speed the process up and achieve a guaranteed quality
Kiln dried logs, on the other hand, do exactly what they say on the tin. By drying wood in a kiln, the process is sped up, and the moisture is sucked right out of each log. The average moisture content of a kiln dried log is around 15% which is the figure that is recommended by most stove manufacturers for the best possible burn.
