Comparisons & Choices
More stove complaints trace back to fuel than to appliances. A stove that will not get going, glass that blackens within an evening, a flue that tars up in a single season: all three usually mean wet wood.
The physics is simple. Water in a log has to be boiled off before the wood can burn, and that energy comes from your fire rather than your room.
What seasoned actually means
Freshly felled wood can be half water by weight. Properly seasoned firewood is around twenty per cent moisture or below, and getting there takes air, cover and time, typically a year or two for hardwood split and stacked properly.
The word seasoned on a delivery note guarantees nothing. Buy from a supplier who can state the moisture content, or check it yourself with an inexpensive meter on a freshly split face rather than the weathered outside.
What wet wood does to your stove and flue
The steam produced cools the flue gases, and cool gases deposit rather than rise. That is how you get tar and creosote coating a liner, which restricts the flue, feeds chimney fires and shortens the life of the liner you paid for.
In the room, you lose heat you have paid for and you get black glass, a sluggish fire and more smoke.
- Roughly a third of the energy in wet wood is spent evaporating its own water
- Cooler flue gases mean faster tar build-up and shorter sweeping intervals
- Tar is far harder to remove than dry soot and can require specialist treatment
- Blackened glass and a smoky smell are the visible early warnings
Storing logs so they stay dry
Air matters as much as cover. A tarpaulin wrapped over a pile keeps rain off and traps moisture in, which is why so many outdoor stacks never dry.
Stack off the ground, cover the top only, leave the sides open to the wind, and bring the next few days' worth indoors so it warms and dries further before it goes on the fire.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell if my wood is dry without a meter?
Dry logs are lighter than they look, have cracks radiating from the end grain, and knock together with a sharp crack rather than a dull thud. A meter on a freshly split face is more reliable, and they are cheap.
Is kiln dried worth the extra?
It is consistent and ready to burn immediately, which suits people without storage space. If you have room to stack and season your own, buying unseasoned and drying it is far cheaper.
Can I burn softwood?
Yes, if it is dry. Dry softwood burns hotter and faster and is excellent for getting a fire established. The myth that softwood tars flues comes from people burning it wet.
What must I never burn?
Treated or painted timber, chipboard, MDF, driftwood and household rubbish. They release corrosive and toxic compounds that damage the appliance and the flue and are not safe in a domestic room.
Does wet wood mean I need sweeping more often?
Yes, and the deposits it leaves are the difficult kind. If you have burned wet wood for a season, have the flue checked before the next one rather than assuming an annual sweep will cover it.
Worried your flue has tarred up?
A camera check shows exactly what is coating the flue, and we will tell you whether a standard sweep will clear it or whether it needs more.