Firewood Buyer's Guide
The Northern Firewood Co. Buyer’s Guide
I get so many enquiries from customers related to all the issues around wood burning including pack volumes, wood types, moisture content and so much more I thought I would write this guide to allow customers to digest the information they are interested in. Read from the start or scan down the bold headers for the topics that interest you. As always call me on 01475 600388 in office hours for any clarifications:
Should I burn Kiln Dried Firewood?
For our English customers, you must burn firewood that is under 20% moisture content by law. You must buy from a Ready To Burn approved supplier, they should display their Woodsure number publicly on their website or point of display in shops. This approval indicates that the suppliers systems have been audited to prove their system produces dry timber.
For our Scottish customers, this law is not in force however the recent regulation brought in to stop woodstoves in new houses should act as a warning that we must all act responsibly in this field to ensure no further regulations are introduced. I would recommend that you buy from Ready to Burn approved suppliers due to their improved firewood quality.
Why is burning dry logs important?
There is a dedicated laboratory now studying this subject (Scientists measure air pollution from domestic wood burners - NCAS) and they are proving that the smoke from wood burners is now a major cause of particulate pollution. Here is a study showing that wet wood is more polluting. Note that drier wood burns more efficiently giving out more heat and reducing the requirement for chimney cleaning.
Note that we also supply large volumes of softwood firewood. This must be burnt dry to prevent creosote from forming in your flue. Be assured that our kiln drying stops that risk in it’s tracks, due to the increased flue temperature and negligible water vapour when burnt.
Must I always pay delivery for firewood?
Unlike most of our online competitors, we have negotiated haulage rates so keen that we can supply any mainland UK address for Free. That includes all of mainland Scotland, Devon and Cornwall and even central London.
The published prices are always the total price you will pay.
Do I have to burn Hardwood?
Stove manufacturers will often state this, but it is not necessary. As discussed above, because of the modern kiln drying process, softwood is completely safe to burn.
Softwood is not as dense as hardwood, so contains less energy per log. However, the difference in price between hardwood and softwood is greater than the difference in heat output. So we have been recommending softwood as being the “Best bang for buck” firewood available for a number of years. The only issue is that softwood can spark so should only be used in log burners. If you have an open fire use hardwood.
Pack Sizes?
This is a huge issue for firewood buyers, trying to equate company’s packs to their price. Beware of bulk bags, this is the worst way to get logs delivered. They are very variable in size (I checked with a bag supplier, and they confirmed that supply about 20 different sizes in the “standard builders’ bag” category. Our system, unlike many others, utilizes a “measured steel drum” that we fill with a conveyor. It measures 1.0mx1.2mx1.75m giving a volume of 2.1 cubic meters. However, there is another variable, unlike all other bulk net suppliers, our system uses a vibrating plate to “consolidate” the firewood into the drum giving us a denser pack and therefore more logs.
Trash Levels
With modern processing and mechanical handling, many suppliers supply packs full of splinters and loose bark. This is a hazard of the process and especially once the logs are dried out and the bark loosens on the logs. In an effort to combat this we have installed a 2-stage cleaning process, the logs are put over a cleaning sieve after splitting to remove all sawdust and splinters. After they are dried and ready for packaging, we then run them across a second screener to remove as much of the now loose bark as possible. This is to ensure that our product is as trash free as is possible.
Chunky Logs
For many log processing plants this is a huge issue. It is caused by “fixed knife” processors that can’t react to large diameter input logs. These large logs appear at the base of a tree where the diameter spreads out to the form the “Elephant’s Foot”. We have recently invested in a state-of-the-art processor that uses an "X-knife” system to produce a uniform log size regardless of the diameter of the input log, see this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7UGDyeCEjo
Imported v Local Wood
The UK does not produce enough hardwood for the growing demand created by the 300,000 new log burners installed every year. This means we are sucking in vast quantities of imported logs. Imported logs are generally easily identifiable by the large, stacked crates they use to get enough into haulage containers. Much of this material has an opaque source in eastern Europe.
We have a ready supply of local hardwood and especially encourage you to try burning softwood, as we have an unlimited supply of local softwood. It is more environmentally friendly to grow too, growing in marginal areas and more quickly.
Log Storage of Kiln Dried Firewood
Once logs are kiln dried, they do not need any further drying and can be stored either in properly vented log stores or sheds. Note that if you wish to store them in a garage, garage floors are famously not damp-proofed so keep the logs up off floor, possibly on a pallet or similar. It is good practice to keep a slight gap to the wall too in case there is moisture ingress that way. Note that larch does not re-wet after drying (why it is used for cladding and fence posts) so is very tolerant of marginal storage sites, for instance up sides of houses or in gardens with a rudimentary rain cover
Delivery if you are not at home
Two important points:
- Our courier will deliver without signature. Ensure you leave instructions at your property as to where you would like it placed. Remember the delivery spot must satisfy the delivery conditions: https://northern-firewood.co.uk/pages/delivery
- We give your pallet a light pallet wrap and lid before dispatch so it can be sat outside for a period waiting to be stacked away.
Delivery to Highlands and Islands
We deliver without extra charge to the Highlands and Skye. However, we don’t get the same live tracking as for the rest of the country. This is because we must make use of local subcontractors to complete these orders. We don’t manage to deliver on the named day as often either. Make sure you have a delivery spot we can access easily ourselves. For Outer Hebrides and Shetland, we can deliver to your chosen carrier in Inverness or Aberdeen for you to arrange onward carriage.
What does the READY TO BURN mark indicate?
The Northern Firewood Co is an online trading name for Fairlie Woodfuels Ltd. This is our parent company and is fully approved under this scheme. It is a broad ranging assurance covering the following:
- Input wood is fully traceable and from legal felling
- Timber is of good quality, free of pests and diseases
- Processing is accurate and kept within declared specification
- Drying is consistent and logs are repeatably of correct moisture content when dried
- We have a complaints procedure showing company learning
- Our staff are legal and fully and appropriately trained