Seasoned vs. Kiln-Dried – What’s The Difference?

Many customers ask us whether our firewood and logs are seasoned, or kiln-dried. All the firewood we currently sell is seasoned.

But what’s the difference? And which is better for your wood burner or stove?

To be honest, there isn’t much difference between well seasoned wood and kiln-dried logs.

Since the introduction of the Ready To Burn scheme in 2021, firewood sold in volumes under 2m3 needs to have a moisture content of 20% or less. We have the Ready to Burn stamp of approval for force dried logs, hardwood seasoned logs and kindling. This is to reassure our customers that the logs and kindling they buy have a moisture content of 20% or less, and are immediately ready to burn.

What Are Seasoned Logs?

Seasoned logs are left to ‘season’, which is where the wood will naturally release it’s moisture over 1 – 3 years.

You will know if “well-seasoned” firewood has a higher moisture content as it will struggle to burn and will leave a blackened window on your stove / wood burner.

What is Kiln Drying?

Kiln drying is the process of drying wood in a kiln. It is a highly effective way of quickly drying out logs and firewood. Wood takes between 4 days and a week to be dried with this method. The process of kiln drying sucks the moisture from the wood in rapid time compared to seasoning.

Kiln drying also kills insects & moss during the process and requires little stacking space. Also, with kiln drying, the moisture content of wood can be brought down to a specific level. However, any wood that has been kiln-dried tends to be a little weaker when compared to air-seasoned logs and typically costs more too as the process to create kiln-dried logs and firewood in shorter, more intense and requires equipment.

So Which Should You Buy?

There is no significant winner. It’s all down to personal preference. There are some significant advantages and disadvantages with both seasoned wood and kiln-dried wood. From a commercial perspective, kiln drying can be expensive but very quick, and you can also select the level of moisture. However, it is not that environmentally friendly, the wood usually burns much faster, and it can be a little weaker too.

Seasoned wood is cheaper and much better for the environment than kiln drying. When you are looking at firewood prices, you will tend to find buying ready-seasoned logs is cheaper than kiln-dried wood.

You can check the moisture level of wood using a moisture meter, which you can get on Amazon for as little as £17.

Whichever you choose, there are significant benefits from burning the right type of wood on your stove, or in your burner. Burning the right type of wood has the following benefits:

• Less in smoke
• Less spitting from the wood
• Less tar build up in the flue
• Reduced chances of blackening your wood burner window
• You get a cleaner burn and thus a cleaner environment
• You get a better heat output