Kiln drying is the most effective way to prepare firewood. This drying method uses a commercial kiln, providing control over temperature, humidity, and air flow. The kiln drying process removes moisture from the wood, speeding up the seasoning process, supplying you with high quality, low moisture firewood in a fraction of the time.
Kiln Drying Wood
The kiln drying process relies on heat and airflow to remove moisture from the split wood within a shorter period of time, when compared to seasoned wood. The wood is placed in the kiln and circulates warm air until the moisture is evaporated, leaving you with a log that has a consistent moisture level of less than twenty percent.
Kiln drying offers numerous benefits:
- Controlled environment – provides control over the humidity, temperature, and airflow for the best results
- Speeds up the drying process – kiln drying seasons the wood within a few days to weeks, considerably shorter than seasoned wood, which can take years to dry
- Consistent results – when the logs are kiln dried they are dried to the desired temperature throughout the log, unlike seasoned wood that may be dry on the outer edges, but still moist in the centre
- Eliminates pests – the high heat of the kiln eliminates any larvae or insects in the wood
Splitting Logs
Now that you know the benefits of kiln dried logs, you probably want to know if there are specific splitting results that ensure the logs are consistently low in moisture, providing you with a high heat output, long burn duration, and a clean and environmentally friendly burn.
When it comes to kiln drying, we focus on exposing as much surface area of the log as possible, as a result the best techniques for splitting kiln dried logs is to split the firewood into lengths and then pieces. They should be no thicker than 30cm, to ensure that they are consistently dried throughout, enabling you to use them as soon as they arrive on your doorstep.
How Long Does Split Kiln Dried Logs Take to Dry?
Kiln drying times vary considerably based on the type of wood, the density of the wood, and the moisture content. The wood is carefully monitored throughout the drying process and adjustments are made to the heat or air flow, ensuring a low moisture wood you can use in your home with confidence. Under normal conditions, kiln drying times can be:
- Three to five days for softwood
- Five to ten days for medium hardwood
- Ten to fourteen days for dense hardwood
Drying times can vary based on how the kilns are stacked and what temperatures are used to how the logs have been split. Smaller pieces of wood will dry faster than others. Kindling tens to only take one to two days, compared to oak kiln dried logs that can take up to two weeks.
High Quality and Dry Firewood
At Thomson Wood Fuel Ltd we supply kiln dried logs that are dried under strict supervision, ensuring our logs all meet the Woodsure Ready to Burn certification for immediate use in the UK. With the UK working hard to ban wet firewood, reducing the pollution we send out into the atmosphere when burning a fire at home, Woodsure’s Ready to Burn scheme ensures only dry firewood is available. Thomson Wood Fuel Ltd provides you with a choice of ash, birch, or oak kiln dried logs that are all Ready to Burn certified and we guarantee they have a moisture of less than twenty percent. Feel free to contact our team today to find out more.
