Kiln Dried Wood Is Far Better Than Seasoned Wood

By Author: Paul Hayward
Total Articles: 2
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If you are stocking firewood for the winter, you have the choice of buying seasoned wood or kiln dried firewood. Each type has its proponents. Which one is better? Find out.

Requirements of good firewood
The purpose of firewood is to provide a good crackling blaze. It should be easy to kindle; and once alight, it should burn without generating soot. Whether used in fireplaces, chimneys or firepots, the wood should burn cleanly and give off heat. The ideal firewood is one that has moisture content of 20% or less and also less of resinous material since resins tend to generate soot and tar. Timber is usually cut and the logs are allowed to stay out in the open in a process called seasoning. Kiln drying hastens the process. Which type of firewood is better?

Seasoned firewood
Logs are cut and stacked one atop the other in a pattern to allow free circulation of air in the seasoning process. Logs may lie out in the open with a suitable covering for six months or even more. This allows moisture to evaporate and seasoned wood is supposed to contain about 25% moisture. Ash needs to be seasoned for about 18 ...
... months and oak may need to be seasoned for 3 to 4 years to achieve this moisture level. In practice, seasoning is not even. The bottom logs may not receive proper exposure and may contain more moisture. Logs are thick and this thickness will not allow moisture to evaporate with ease. Logs need to be split to thinner sizes to allow proper evaporation, which may not be done. Suppliers cannot hold on to stocks for a long time and usually sell much before the wood is properly seasoned.

The result is that when one buys seasoned firewood thinking that it will burn with ease, the hopes are belied. Higher than permissible amount of moisture makes it difficult to light a fire; and, once it is lit there is quite a bit of soot. It can clog chimneys and also spread into the room.

Kiln dried wood
Nature’s natural process of drying is hastened using large sized chambers. Logs are usually split into convenient smaller sizes and are stacked in a way to allow easy flow of hot air. Wood usually remains in the chamber for about a week. The constant flow of hot air in the drying chamber helps in faster drying and the process is controllable to permit only 20% moisture content to remain in the dried wood. Each piece of wood dries perfectly. Manufacturers of kiln dried wood also use moisture meters to check the moisture content. In short, kiln drying assures consistency and uniformity.

Advantages of kiln dried firewood
Manufacturers supply firewood that is kiln dried in convenient pallet form covered with netting to allow for easy storage. Dry wood with the right moisture content is perfect for fireplaces and open fires because it catches fire quickly and burns without a fuss. You will notice that hardwoods emit highest amount of heat, burn slowly and still do not generate heat. If wood has higher moisture content, part of the heat is used to evaporate water but perfectly dry wood does not cause heat to be wasted. Further, by using kiln dried firewood, you are also helping to preserve the environment because of reduced soot emission.

Reduced emission also means your flues and chimneys do not get blocked and require less maintenance. Kiln drying reduces moisture content from 50 to 60% as may be found in imperfectly seasoned woods down to 15% to 25%, and this improves combustion efficiency. This means you can burn lower quantity and get higher heat for a longer duration. You save money, time and effort when you use kiln treated firewood. Figures speak. Wood with 15% or 25% moisture generates 4.5KWH per kg whereas wood with 60% moisture generates 3 KWH per kg and freshly cut wood generates only 1 KWH per Kg.

If wood is properly seasoned the differences are negligible. However, it is not easy to source perfectly seasoned logs and they may be more expensive too.

As one can see, modern homes with modern fireplaces need firewood to be of exceptionally good quality. Kiln processed firewood is the best solution when one needs better efficiencies.

Firewood2Go is UK's premier supplier of kiln dried wood at the most affordable prices. They ship free to any destination in the UK mainland and assure full customer satisfaction.