Simpler Living

Now that winter is approaching, you might be thinking of gathering wood for your wood burning stove or fire. It’s important to remember that any wood you chop and gather this year must be left to season and dry out – which means any wood gathered this year is not suitable for burning just yet.

Using green or wet wood results in poor quality combustion, increased smoke and the production of tar and creosote. A large percentage of the heat energy created by the fire will also be used to burn off the excess water within the logs. Firewood should be left to dry for a minimum of 12-18 months before being used, and Stovax recommends a moisture content of 20% or less. Additionally, Ecodesign Ready stoves reach their optimum performance when combined with burning dry, quality firewood. This September, you can prepare your logs for drying instead.

Split logs into smaller pieces and store in a suitable wood store to accelerate the drying process. If you want to buy logs to burn this winter, make sure you look out for the Woodsure Ready to Burn logo which will confirm that the wood is of a good quality and low moisture content. You can read more about identifying good firewood on our blog, or watching this video: