Whether you burn your firewood in a wood burner, outside fire pit, or a fireplace, it’s important to have good quality firewood to improve safety and efficiency. The wrong sized wood and wet wood can be frustrating, burning inefficiently, while allowing with creosote to build up in your chimney, increasing the risk of fire. With good planning, you can secure the right sized firewood to provide you with a consistent burn.
Quantity
Before you make any firewood purchase, you will want to measure the quantity of the wood, so you can compare prices and ensure you are securing the best quality dry wood at the best price. At this point,do not take the size of the firewood into consideration, but rather focus on the volume, enabling you to compare prices with ease.
Remember, when selecting firewood, cheaper is not always better. You want a well-seasoned wood, ideally kiln dried, that will provide you with a consistent burn with excellent heat output.
How to Find the Best Firewood
- Ask for recommendations from family and friends
- Shop around and find reliable suppliers that have the best reviews
- Look for kiln dried logs that are clean
- Never buy random wood that is piled
- Learn about the drying process, are you buying seasoned wood or kiln dried wood?
Best Firewood Species
Not all woods are the same, softwood is not ideal as a firewood, though it’s great for kindling. When you looking at the size of kiln dried logs, you are looking for hardwood species, such as oak, ash, and birch. Dense hardwood have high energy contents, releasing more heat, helping to keep your home warm on a cold night.
Hardwood is also great for providing you with a long lasting fire that you don’t have to tend to as often as with other woods. Soft woods tend to burn quickly without producing much heat.
Kiln Dried Logs Ideal Length
It’s important when choosing a firewood that you know the length of the wood, ensuring it fits well into your wood burner or fireplace. Shorter pieces are easier to handle, while not being too long for your appliance.
Pieces that are slightly too long can make it difficult to manage your fire with ease. Most kiln dried logs are around 57cm in length, making them ideal for all fires, whether in your wood burner or fireplace.
Kiln Dried Logs Ideal Diameter
Most seasoned wood has not been cut to an exact size, often making them too wide for easy fire building and maintenance. Big pieces also tend to smoulder for longer when you add them to a fire, where smaller pieces ignite quickly. You should be looking for kiln dried logs that have a diameter of around 31cm.
Kiln Dried Logs Ideal Depth
Now you have an idea on the ideal length and diameter of kiln dried logs, the depth also plays a role in the building and maintenance of your fire. An ideal depth is around 29cm, making it just the right height to stack your fire and light it with ease.
Conclusion
Kiln dried log sizes play a role in the ease of fire building and maintenance in all appliances, including wood burners and open fireplaces. Kiln dried logs are readily available online with to the door delivery. Any supplier you choose should include the size, so you know if it will fit in your appliance. The ideal kiln dried log size should be 57cm (Length) x 31cm (Diameter) x 29cm (Depth).