Cost of Logs vs. Briquettes

EricMears

mmmmikey wrote: »

Hi jaybeetoo

1. When I open the door (even very slowly) to put the next briquette on I sometimes get a small puff of powdery ash

When adding fresh logs, I try to reduce air input as much as possible but open up the chimney damper. That usually means little or no dust, smoke or fumes getting into room

zeupater

mmmmikey wrote: »

Interesting....


The last load of kiln dried mixed hardwood I bought was in September 2018 at £255 for a 2.7cubic meter load loose logs tipped on the drive. Obviously I paid more for having it kiln dried (15-20% moisture) rathered than seasoned (30-40% moisture). If I'd bought the same logs from the same supplier seasoned it would have cost £210 for 2.7cubic meters, equivalent to £230ish for 3 cubic meters, so a fair bit more than you're paying. This is a fairly competitive price locally - I shopped around and could have saved £20 or so off that but went with my usual supplier because I knew I'd be getting good logs (and I like the guy!). Still quite a big difference. The same logs in September 2017 would have been £180 for 2.7 cubic meters (prices have gone up a lot locally) - is your price still current?


I did try a load of seasoned logs myself but found that I had to have the fire really hot to keep it going, which resulted in using far more and having to open the window to let out the spare heat. I do check the logs from time to time with a moisture meter so I'm confident that they were well seasoned.


I am very confident of achieving the (significant!) savings I outlined because I know how many logs I used last season and how many I've used this season, and even after a week can easily predict how many briquettes I'll use. Estimating is as easy as counting the number of briquettes I use to run the stove for an evening for a given time and over a week or so it's been very consistent.



Having said that, if your logs are much cheaper to start with and you're getting good results with seasoned as opposed to kiln dried logs clearly you're not going to save as much, if at all.


Thanks Mike

Hi

Logs around here are probably cheaper than many other places as it's pretty rural, there's local sources (our logs grew only a few miles away!) & there's a decent amount of competition.

The cost mentioned was current as of last September and is the same as paid for our last load ... prices did spike to ~£190 a couple of years back but they've settled down again.

When looking for seasoned logs you need to be sure what the supplier is describing ... our logs come from trees felled and seasoned for around 2 years before processing into split logs which are then barn dried to further reduce the moisture levels ready for burning ... we hardly ever burn logs that have been delivered within months of further airing in our log-store, additionally, we have around 5-7 days of storage in the fireplace which is used to both reduce the frequency of visits to the log store & drive out any surface moisture (fog/high humidity) from the wood ... the system works well!

Regarding the briquettes ... I take it that the £240 you mention is for a 1tonne pallet load? ... I've seen smaller loads described as 'pallet loads' so it's worth checking - however, even if it is a tonne, on your own supply prices the cost/kWh would be around double that of a tipped load & the difference could build you a decent size log-store to ensure that whatever you buy will have air dried to near kiln dried levels ...

By the way .... many suppliers classify product as kiln dried as an indicator of moisture level as opposed to actual drying process and much of which needs to be processed in a kiln is fresh felled which often results in the core moisture being considerably high than measurable at the surface ... to test this get a splitting maul & a meter - I know someone who had considerable issues with a load of kiln dried logs which were really wet in the centre so burned with the normal hiss of unseasoned wood - it took the threat of legal action based on measured core moisture to sort out!

HTH
Z

Exiled_Tyke

Some interesting stuff on moisture here - thanks Z. Here are some of my observations:

1. At this time of year, all my logs stored outside absorb moisture. Even my kiln dried logs get into the upper 20%'s. Given that humidity is around 80% or more at the moment this isn't surprising.
2. Getting logs into the warmth of the house makes a huge difference. For me a week is usually enough to get them back to well under 20%. Although perhaps not recommended: if I put logs in front of the stove for a couple of nights they can get often get into single figures.
3. I find logs are like sponges - i.e they seem to have a similar moisture content throughout. Whatever reading I get from the end of a log seems to be pretty close to the reading inside when I split it. This seems to be consistent on whatever the external reading is from around 20-60%. The bark is always higher though.
4. I can often get logs to dry adequately in one summer. If they've been cut in winter when the sap is low, and then stored in the sun with plenty of free-flowing air they are usually fine.
5. I find logs do not dry in my log store. It's too sheltered. I only put them in there once they are dried adequately.


For reference I'm currently burning winter felled silver birch, elm (felled this winter but dead for a good while), cherry, willow (only in small amounts mixed in as not a good wood), sorbus and kiln dried ash,

Best investment (approx £15) is a moisture content meter. That way you can be sure of the state of what you are burning.

Hope this may be of use/interest to someone.