Log Storage and Seasoning Fire Wood

No fire will burn wet wood. 

Something that several of my friends and I discovered, when on Christmas Eve we attempted to use a chimenea to have a slightly different sort of Christmas Eve dinner. Unfortunately our handmade gourmet burgers stuffed with scotch bonnet chilies and mozzarella, came out rather more smoked than cooked. It turns out the actual act of setting fire to the wood doesn't dry it out either.

The science

Hinton Log Store

When wood is burned you get two things, carbon dioxide and water. Of these it is the water that is avoidable by having stored your firewood in a log store to season and dry. Burning wet wood results in a decreased efficiency of your fire and incidentally means that burgers take an hour to slowly cook as you all stand out in the cold on a Christmas Eve. The loss of efficiency is because the fire is having to boil the water out of the wood before it can then burn effectively. As it burns away one layer of wet wood, like an onion it meets a new layer of wet wood which must once again be burned away so your fire slowly but surely loses heat.

Which is why it is so important to have somewhere to dry and season your logs ready for a fire. Dorset Log Stores are all built with a 19mm gap in between each board giving superior air flow from all sides. It is this air flow that will dry your logs out and get them ready to give you a towering inferno of warmth. When buying logs to go into your log store you should make sure that the moisture content is less than 20% and ideally 10%.

Sometimes it can take a year for wood to be properly dry and seasoned

Regardless of the quantity and quality of wood that you buy and burn, it must always be properly dried. Drying the wood in your own log store will mean you know that the wood will be burning at its most productive giving you the desired effect of a cosy living room, a roaring log burner or in the case of my friends and myself a properly cooked burger. A Dorset Log Store, designed for grace of beauty and for drying the maximum amount of wood in the smallest space of time is an absolute must for any roaring fire.

For more information on our post and parcel boxes you can leave a comment below or call us on 01300 345916 to speak to a member of our team or join in the conversation on Twitter

Thanks for Reading
James

Dorset Log Stores

About Dorset Log Stores

There is something both captivating and fascinating about the subtle flickering and graceful arcs of prancing flames that is guaranteed to make a cold dark night cosy and delightful, or a long summers eve in the garden magical. Here at Dorset Log Stores we build only the highest quality timber log stores for keeping your kindling and logs dry and neatly stacked away all year around. Based in the middle of the Dorset countryside, we are a small company that believes in combing clever intricate design with elegant beauty and customer service before all else.

We only use the highest quality Scandinavian Redwood, sourced ourselves, that has been treated with Tanilith-E against fungal and insect attacks, which is why we offer a 15 year guarantee against fungal attack or rot on a Dorset Log Store. A 19mm gap (I’m reliably informed that in old money it is ¾”) between each board allows for superior air flow to remove moisture from your logs in the shortest time possible. This attention to detail covers everything to do with a Dorset Log Store, from the double plated construction screws, through fixtures and fittings and in the choice of roofing (both the Canadian Red Cedar shingle roofing and the Slate Effect tiles are of supreme quality).

Okeford Log Store with customisable size and roof options
our most popular log store

Visit our shop in Dorset or find us online

As you’d expect we have nearly all our log stores on display here at DLS HQ, topped up with logs ready to keep us warm and dry through these long cold winters. Just a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of being “volunteered” to go out in the cold to film a short video of our lovely log stores (and collect fresh logs each time for the log burner). Putting on my scarf, coat and turning up the collar, I went out into the Dorset elements. Moving between the units that we have on display, I collected some premium dry logs into my wicker log basket from our most popular Okeford Log Store, before shuffling past a smaller Hinton Log Store (perfect for outside back doors and storing wood for the Chimenea) and finishing at the medium sized Coppice Log Store to obtain some kindling from its handy full width shelf, before scuttling back inside from the cold.

Many of our range of log stores are customisable, from a choice of roof such as the wonderful slate effect tiling that give a log store a real air of dignity, or with the addition of shelves for storing kindling, partitions for sorting dried fire-ready logs from a fresh delivery of wet logs, or a handy cupboard for keeping all your log stores essentials like saws and axes safe in one place.

Having finished my ordeal of wind and cold, having written my first blog entry and having warmed my toes by the roaring inferno that was now the log burner (thanks to my getting more logs) I felt a short nap was well deserved. After all, is there really anything better than a nice nap in front of a blazing fire when it’s cold and rainy outside?

For more information on our log stores, you can leave a comment below or call us on 01300 345916 to speak to a member of the Dorset Log Stores team. Feel free to continue the chat on Twitter 

Thanks for Reading

James