Logs

Logs are ideal for domestic and community buildings using stoves or boilers with an output of up to 70-80kWth. Larger boilers require a considerable amount of man hours for stoking. Stoves require frequent manual stoking whereas boilers, particularly large ones, only need to be fuelled once or twice a day. Firewood should be dry and seasoned by the supplier for one or two years.

Log sizes required by boilers and stoves range from 15cm to 50cm. Their width should be between 6cm and8 cm. Use consistent log sizes to achieve uniform burning at an even rate. Logs should be seasoned by the supplier for one or two years prior to sale.

It is advisable to buy logs by volume rather than weight, since moisture content (and therefore weight of water within the logs) can vary.

As hardwood species are generally denser than softwood species, a tonne of hardwood logs will occupy a smaller space than a tonne of softwood logs. Dense woods tend to burn for a longer period of time than softwood meaning fewer ‘top ups’ are required to keep a log stove burning for a given length of time.