Our series of articles looking at the various species of tree that can be used as firewood continues with a British favourite: the mighty oak. The English oak (Quercus robur) is well known and popular, arguably having achieved the status of a national emblem.
You probably think of firewood logs and coal as completely separate fuels. However, it is possible to burn them together. That’s right: you can burn coal and logs in your fireplace simultaneously. But why might you opt to combine these two fuels?
Opinions often vary on the use of Alder as a firewood. We are positive, however, that it’s a quick-burning, fragrant wood. It also makes for great kindling. However, before considering whether to add some Alder logs to your firewood stack, you might want to consider the properties of the tree and what that means for Alder as a solid fuel.
You might burn a fair few logs in your wood burner or stove, but how much do you know about the trees they come from? In this post (which will hopefully turn into a short series), we aim to get you better acquainted with the humble ash tree.
When buying firewood logs, it's always important to ensure that the wood you buy has been properly dried: a lower moisture content means that your firewood will burn consistently well with little smoke and won't blacken the glass of your stove door.
It’s always cheaper to buy your fuel in bulk, whether it’s coal, peat or firewood logs. If you’re running a stove, then there is no doubt you’ll get through a lot of whatever it is you’re burning. The question is, where do you store it?
As we approach Spring, Britain remains in the grip of winter (at least it does here in Lancashire where it snowed heavily just this morning). Nevertheless, the chilly weather won’t last forever. Once March is over, the weather should start to get warmer once again. In other words, you have just over a month to get ready for spring
There is nothing quite as comforting as thinking about a nice, welcoming wood burning stove, or perhaps a coal fire to make you feel at home. However, before you hurry into making any decisions about the type of appliance or fuel you want to use to heat your home, it's important to consider your surroundings.
It’s a fact well-known to the bargain-hunter; buying in bulk is virtually guaranteed to save money. Delivery costs, packaging and administration are all reduced for the seller, and so they in turn pass that saving on to their customers. Less well-known to the buyer of firewood is that by buying your bulk wood unseasoned you can save even more.
Across the world, the fight is on to reduce carbon emissions and switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Wind farms, hydroelectric power plants and solar power have all received plenty of press coverage and there are government initiatives galore to encourage people to install solar panels and windmills onto their roofs. However, people seem to have forgotten that one of the traditional solid fuels is renewable if managed and used correctly; wood.
