How Should I Buy My Firewood?
Have you just installed a new wood burner or open fireplace? Are you confused about what type of wood you should be buying and where is the best place to purchase it from?
In this blog I thought I would help demystify some of the terms used and help you to make an informed purchase.
Softwood v Hardwood – To get straight to the point, if you have a wood burning stove you can use either hardwood logs or softwood logs or even a mix of the two. You can find out more about the difference in hardwood and softwood logs Click Here
Seasoned v Unseasoned – If you are looking to burn your logs straightaway you should look to purchase seasoned logs. If you are able to purchase logs in advance and store them for use at a later stage, you can save some money by purchasing unseasoned or green logs.
Net bags, bulk bags or trailer loads – Purchasing small bags of net logs from the local garage or DIY store is the least economical way to purchase your firewood. The chances are that you will also be buying softwood that will burn quickly when hardwood would be a better option.
If you are burning logs regularly, it is far better to purchase them in bulk before the winter months and to avoid the rush and disappointment. Even if you are only lighting your wood burner on the odd midweek evening, at weekends and a fair bit over the winter months.
Historically firewood merchants would deliver a trailer or bakkie load of logs and just tip them up into your driveway. The only problem with this is how to know the exact quantity of logs that you are buying. Be very careful when merchants sell wood by weight, unseasoned wood weighs a LOT more than ready to burn wood, it is advisable to by wood by the bag, this way, you can quantify the amount of money spent, your consumption or burn rate and will be able to compare prices with other firewood companies.
How dry are the logs? – This is really the most important piece of information you need. It is often referred to as the moisture content. Any water in the timber has to boil away before the wood will burn, and this will reduce the net energy released as useful heat. You should look for firewood with a moisture content of 20% of less.
Where are the logs coming from? Is the woodland sustainably managed, and reasonably local? So much wood sold online these days is harvested illegally ( by hook or by crook).
It is better to purchase wood from suppliers that select their firewood from sustainably managed, In other words, the trees used are removed to ensure the ongoing health of the forest or woodland.
If you purchase firewood from Firelogs.co.za you can be sure of the following:
• Your firewood will have come from a sustainable source
• Your firewood wood will be below 20% moisture content , be dry and ready to burn
• If you buy hardwood logs, you will get hardwood logs and if you buy softwood that’s what we will deliver
• Your firewood wood will be seasoned
• Your firewood will never be short delivered on the volume of wood that you purchase