Information you need to know about using Logs for Firewood.

Logs are one of the most versatile fuels available, which are usually burned in a large range of varied appliances and in many different forms. Firewood logs can be used to heat one room with a beautiful open fire, for those long winter nights, or can be used to heat a complete house. Firewood logs can be used in a number of different appliances to provide hot water, central heating and even for cooking. Using firewood logs as a fuel has many benefits besides cheapness and the wonderful natural radiant heat that open fires produce.

Is burning logs bad for the environment?

One of the increasingly important benefits of using firewood logs is their carbon neutral status. Burning logs does produce CO2, but unlike fossil fuels, this has no effect on green house gases. Fossil fuels have locked away CO2 for thousands of years, when burnt this CO2 is released into the atmosphere, thereby producing a net gain in green house gasses.

Firewood logs however have, whilst growing over a comparatively short time, taken large amounts of CO2 out of the atmosphere. When the logs are burnt they simply release this stored up CO2 back into the atmosphere, thereby, over the timescale of a trees growth cycle, they produce no net increase in green house gasses. With the sustainable logging that we source our firewood from, this cycle of removing CO2 from the atmosphere then starts all over again, as the replacement trees are planted and start their new growth cycle.

What other benefits are there in using Firewood Logs?

Using firewood logs also greatly benefits the rural economy by providing much need rural employment, allowing farmers to vary their farming strategies and most importantly, providing large areas of beautiful natural woodland, that provides a much need sanctuary for many varied species of endangered wildlife.

What do I need to know about buying firewood logs?

Generally, it is better to purchase logs by volume rather than by weight. The main reason for this is that all logs contain a variable proportion of water, which decreases with seasoning and kiln drying. Newly felled logs can contain as much as 60% of their weight in water, whilst freshly cut ash contains only 35% water by weight. When burning logs, water content turns to steam, which greatly reduces the amount of heat produced. Water content can also produce chimney and pollution problems.

What is firewood seasoning?

Logs for Firewood ensure all our wood is seasoned, a process of slow drying to ensure that the water content is at least below 30%. When buying logs for firewood you can easily see if the firewood is sufficiently dry by peeling the bark away from the wood. If the wood is dry, the bark should easily come away and the uncovered log will usually have splits across the grain. As an additional tip, logs with a thickness greater than 10cm should be split to ensure efficient burning.

Should I buy Hardwood or Softwood firewood?

Finally, there are many types of firewood logs, which in general terms fall into two major categories, Hardwood and Softwood.

Hardwood logs such as oak and elm are much denser than softwoods such as pine and spruce. Because of their greater density, hardwoods have a much higher calorific value, which enables them to produce more heat and burn longer. The drawback of hardwoods however, is that they can often be very difficult to burn. Softwoods on the other hand, produce less heat but burn easily and are therefore ideal as kindling.

One solution, for a good and efficient fire, is to use mixed grade firewood, which mixes high calorific hardwoods with easy burning low calorific softwoods. Because of this variance, Logs for Firewood have specialised in the supply of some of the cheapest mixed seasoned firewood logs available, which ensures easy burning coupled with good calorific output.

Logs for Firewood also take care to let our log stocks season for a long time to ensure low water content.


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Facts about firewood logs supplied by Logs for Firewood the National supplier of firewood logs, kindling and logs for firewood delivered to your door.