There are many different types of firewood on the market that offer a wide range of advantages and disadvantages depending on the type of fire you are trying to achieve. With this said, moisture levels play a big role in firewood regardless of the species of tree you have opted for. After all, you cannot create an efficient fire if there is excess water in the logs. Read on as the Pearson Fuels team go over everything you need to know about kiln drying…

What is it?

Kiln drying is a process that is carried out in order to dry firewood and reduce the moisture levels down to a more suitable rate. After all, you can’t burn an efficient fire if there is too much moisture in the logs. It is done using something called a ‘kiln’ which reaches temperatures as high as 50°C in order to quickly remove moisture.

The Process

After trees are felled and taken to a lumber mill, they are debarked and sorted by species, size or use. After all, wood for flooring must be cut into boards before they are dried. After this, the wood destined to become firewood is cut into equal sizes before it is sent off for drying in a kiln. The wood is place inside in a way that optimises the process to ensure that the moisture levels are consistent. Interestingly, the ideal moisture level is 15%, however some kiln driers will try to reduce this down to 8%.

Benefits

Kiln drying operates at some incredibly hot temperatures which means that it will completely sterilise the wood and kill any microbes and insects that could put you at risk. After all, if you store your logs indoors, the last thing you want is an insect infestation! In addition to this, kiln drying is also an effective way to reduce the moisture levels in wood so that it can generate an efficient fire output.

Here at Pearson Fuels, we stock both kiln dried logs and imported firewood in order to appeal to wide variety of customer preferences. After all, we may be known as coal merchants but we know our fair share about firewood and logs too. If you have a budding question about the kiln drying process, get in contact with a member of the Pearson Fuels team today!