How are kiln dried logs produced?

Kiln dried logs are dried to reduce moisture content, providing you with a cleaner and longer burn, with a high heat output. All the kiln dried logs you purchase from the Thomson Wood Fuel Ltd website are Ready to Burn certified for use in the UK.

Key Takeaways – The Kiln Drying Process

Logs are dried in a kiln, a controlled environment where temperature, humidity, and air flow are controlled to ensure the wood dries evenly
The drying time is considerable faster than seasoned firewood. The time is determined by the initial moisture content, log size, and kiln used. It can take days to a few weeks to dry the wood, compared to months or years for seasoned wood
Kiln drying eliminates any pests or mould in the wood, making it cleaner and safer to use in your home

Kiln drying involves a number of steps, ensuring the logs reach a moisture content of less than twenty percent, and that they are evenly dried for the best burning results:

Harvesting

Trees are cut down, the logs are delimbed, and prepared for drying based on species, size, and end-use. These logs are then cut into timber and sorted.

Grouping

This is a very important step of the kiln drying process. The trunks are debarked and grouped based on size and moisture content. It is essential to ensure that all the timber placed in the kiln are the same size with similar moisture levels.

Pre-drying

Yes even your kiln dried logs go through a pre-drying process, where they are allowed to air dry for a short period to reduce the initial moisture content, making them ready for kiln drying.

Kilns are Loaded

The pre-dried logs are then placed I the kiln, where the air flow, temperature, and humidity are carefully controlled to ensure the best end results.

Drying the Logs

The kiln heats the air is to around 77ºC, allowing the moisture to slowly be removed consistently throughout the logs. This can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.

Conditioning

The next step is to allow the kiln to cool, this ensures the logs are conditioned to a low moisture content, that is spread evenly throughout the logs.

Storage

Once the logs have reached the desired moisture level, they are removed from the kiln, sorted based on grade, packaged, and stored.

Useful and Interesting Kiln Dried Log Statistics

Now that you know how the kiln drying process works, we wanted to add some interesting statistics, helping you make an informed decision on whether our Ready to Burn certified kiln dried logs are right for you:

Burning wet wood, releases more than double the emissions released by kiln dried logs
Newly felled wood can contain up to sixty percent moisture, while kiln drying reduces the moisture to between twelve and twenty percent, making it ready to burn in your home immediately
Seasoned wood can have a moisture content of thirty percent, this can take anywhere from three months to two years to achieve, unlike kiln drying that takes days or weeks with a moisture content of less than twenty percent
Kiln dried wood complies with Air Quality Regulations 2020 that apply in England. This states that any wood fuel sold in volumes of under 2m², must be Ready to Burn certified.

Conclusion

The kiln drying process is relatively simple to understand, helping to reduce your wood fuel to a moisture content of less than twenty percent. This means the wood you purchase from Thomson Wood Fuel Ltd offers a high heat output, long burn duration, less smoke, less ash, and less creosote. Contact us today to find out more.