Firewood for a Chiminea
The best firewood is more than just tree type
Choosing the best wood for burning is not just about which tree the wood comes from. Is the wood seasoned or unseasoned? Is it hardwood or softwood? Which is best in which situation?
Seasoned firewood is always the best choice. It is drier, will burn at a higher temperature for a longer time and gives real value for money. Wet, green wood burns slowly and weakly and ends up costing you more money. This is especially true with most green hardwoods.
Hardwood is dense. It burns down into glowing coals giving out lots of radiant heat that lasts a lot longer than softwood. It is usually the best wood to use for heating but there are exceptions.
Softwood is less dense and has more resin. It tends to burn fiercely and finishes quickly. Two loads of softwood will give out the same heat as one load of hardwood, so it does not give the same value for money. But seasoned softwood makes very good kindling and if you want a blazing fire it will give you one quickly.
Seasoned hardwood is the best firewood. Sometimes, especially towards the end of winter, seasoned hardwood is unavailable. Experiment with mixing softwood (seasoned or semi-seasoned) and hardwood. The softwood will burn at a high temperature and will help the hardwood to burn hotter. Use caution though when burning semi-seasoned softwood as the high resin content will deposit more tar and soot inside your chimney, which in extreme cases can lead to chimney fires. The same is true even more for unseasoned softwood, and this should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.
All our firewood and logs are well seasoned for at least a year before they are delivered to you. This ensures you get optimum performance from your logs – linger burn time and less spitting plus a cleaner chimney.
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