Hardwood v Softwood

This is my second winter with a wood burning stove and it’s time to restock

Hardwood is proving difficult to source. The supply I got last year was air dried and pretty uneven to say the least

I have a source of kiln dried softwood at what seems a decent price for my area. While accepting that hardwood will burn longer, if you consider the price difference between hard and soft is hardwood still the best option. It’s a wood burner proper that I have

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  • System
    System Posts: 178,077
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    My experience is that you will need a garage full of softwood as the rate of burning means that you will be forever on your feet replenishing the stove. I pay a slight premium for kiln dried logs which I find burn consistently with little evidence of soot. They can be hard to source.

    https://www.hetas.co.uk/find-fuels/

    I get my logs from Certainly Woods. Good to deal with and no rubbish in the bags - or logs that are too big for the stove.

    http://solidfuel.co.uk/pdfs/guide_to_wood_and_multifuel.pdf

    See Page 3.
  • Actually the time to restock was probably at the start of the summer! I don't actually buy in wood, I scrounge it and process it myself, so I have to be even further ahead. The poplar I got for free in latge rounds (or 'cheeses') last week is now stacked, I'll process it next spring and _may_ use it at the end of next winter but probably the one after that. It does take a bit of space at the end of my terrace house garden but not inordinately so.

    For the worst of winter I keep some packs of Verdo bricquettes stacked neatly and dryly in the house. They're available at Home Bargains and I mix them with different woods to achieve a decent fire.

    Getting such wood can be competitive. The tree surgeons put up a sign 'free wood' (as poplar isn't very saleable) and by the time I got my boot load (back seats down.) a guy with a trailer had already taken a load. If you're buying try a few different suppliers, but don't forget to use your moisture meter to ensure you're getting what they promise.
  • FreeBear
    FreeBear Posts: 14,421
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    Actually the time to restock was probably at the start of the summer!

    The poplar I got for free in latge rounds (or 'cheeses') last week is now stacked, I'll process it next spring and _may_ use it at the end of next winter but probably the one after that.

    Getting wood is indeed best done in spring or early summer - It then has a chance to dry out a bit more before the winter sets in.

    I also got some poplar earlier in the year for free. The trees had been felled with the sap rising and it was very wet. Water was literally pouring out as it was split. I need to restack the pile and see if any of it is ready to burn.

    Not all hardwoods are equal - Some will turn their nose up at poplar as it (apparently) burns fast with less heat. Mixed in with other hard/soft woods, I don't expect it to be a problem.
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  • Gloomendoom
    Gloomendoom Posts: 16,550
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    I cut my own firewood but usually leave two to three years before burning. Weight for weight, there is no real difference in heat output whatever flavour of fully seasoned wood you use.
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741
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    Weight for weight, there is no real difference in heat output whatever flavour of fully seasoned wood you use.
    Certainly, even 'poor' wood like willow, seems to burn fine if properly stored for long enough. Doesn't weigh as much as some hard woods of course.
  • A._Badger
    A._Badger Posts: 5,848
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    I'm burning some of my own pollarded willow at the moment. It's been dried for three years but it needs that - willow soaks up water like a sponge. It doesn't give out a lot of heat but it bulks-up a fire and burns well enough.

    Bear in mind that in some countries softwood (think pine trees) is almost all they have and yet they manage just fine. The key, as others have said, is to make sure that whatever you burn is good and dry.
  • Gwendo40
    Gwendo40 Posts: 349 Forumite
    Collect all my own wood, I'm finding softwood a nightmare to get dry, hardwood dries out brilliantly in my log store but softwood left for 2 years or more (in the same store) seems to stay just as wet and heavy as the day I split it, it sometimes even has mould and fungi growing out of it.
  • martinthebandit
    martinthebandit Posts: 4,422
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    edited 30 October 2017 at 8:01PM
    If your buying fire wood then, in my experience, this lot do very good stuff.
    http://www.whitehorseenergy.co.uk/firewood

    It’s not particularly cheap but you get what you pay for. If you have an easy accessible garage then the delivery driver will shove the crates straight in.

    *** referral code removed by Forum Team***
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