Kiln-Dried Firewood



firewood logs small DSC 0188Logs prior to cutting specifically selected cutting to be firewoodWe deliver, in the Boston area, New England-certified kiln-dried firewood for trouble-free wood fires that light easily and burn brightly. Many industries have situations where vendors alter, mix, or dilute the product from what they represent. We do not do that, and we certify that. Doing this does not fit our definition of service and is undoubtedly not customer-centric. No self-respecting "firewood concierge" would do that. A firewood concierge is like any good concierge, one who knows where the good products and services are and guides the customer to them. That's their job. Our goal is to provide customers in the Boston and Metro West area with kiln-dried firewood that burns well, provides the right amount of wood at a fair price, and provides some extras we call the fire starter kit.

The firewood industry has a lot of different gray areas and terms used in it to describe firewood. Some terms within the industry revolve around two issues regarding purchasing firewood. Moisture content and measurement. These two are the big gray areas in the communications between customers and suppliers of firewood. Things like semi-seasoned wood and a truckload of firewood are concepts that are open to a very wide latitude regarding what is being supplied to the customer. We sell a well-defined, consistent product. Kiln-dried firewood with consistent optimum moisture content for burning and a fair measure of firewood delivered and stacked for you.

The History of Kiln dried Firewood

Certainly Wood

The video here is about Certainly Wood. This company, located in England, claims that they pioneered the concept of kiln-dried firewood. The concept of producing and selling kiln-dried firewood is a relatively recent idea. Cutting and stacking firewood well in advance of burning was the only way to get good burning wood all the way back to the caveman days as they learned to use firewood for heating and cooking. 

The definition and history kiln dried firewood

Many people are not familiar with kiln-dried firewood and the benefits of using kiln-dried wood compared to less expensive "Seasoned wood". In the early eighties, the concept started to be developed so that suppliers could adapt to increases in demand, save space, and produce a consistently high-quality product. Uncoupling the 12-18 month time frame to fully season firewood is a big thing to have the right amount of product at the right time

US4597189 drawings page 3 cropped large 860Click To EnlargeWikipedia says, "The process of kiln drying firewood was invented by Anthony Cutara, for which a successful US patent was filed in 1983." The specifics of his patent are available on Google Patents. A YouTube video says that it may have started in England. Certainly Wood, a company based in England, in this video they, are the pioneer in developing kiln-dried wood. We have included the video here because it fully describes kiln-dried wood and its manufacture. Regardless of who came up with the idea, the listing at the patent office has a section that explains the process and the benefits.

Here is what the United States Patent Office describes as the process and its benefits;

"The process for kiln drying firewood provides an efficient manner of manufacturing firewood and avoids the one to two years of the normal time required in seasoning firewood. Now, varying demands in the marketplace may be met since green firewood as cut from a woodlot may be immediately processed and shipped within four or five days for use as firewood. Because the firewood logs do not lie around in the field, they do not become overly dirty since they can be cleaned before the splitting operation, and once bagged, they do not usually come in contact with dirt. Due to the wood being kiln-dried, fungus and insects in the wood are immediately killed. It has also been found that there is a greater heat output from the wood compared to normally seasoned wood and that the wood tends to burn with an even flame across its length, enhancing the fire's appearance within the fireplace. It has also been found that less creosote is present in the wood, thereby reducing the hazard of chimney fires."

Similarities to modern kilns

Air was circulated around bundles of processed firewood. "The green firewood pieces are placed in a kiln drying oven and dried at temperatures in excess of 150° F." The bundles are for better material handling, cutting down on the labor factor. Pallets were used so that machines could load and unload the kiln.

The Typical Current Firewood Kiln Set Up

DSC 1441Baskest for kiln small 400Firewood Baskest From kilnThe claim in the pattent states that "several of said firewood pieces are placed in a bag of predetermined volume after the pieces are split from a green tree log, said bag having a perforated wall to permit air circulation". Heavy-duty screen cages are placed under the conveyor of the firewood processor, and the wood drops into these in a random fashion so there is plenty of air circulation. Pockets for forklift handling are built into the bottom of these. These baskets hold some 100 cubic feet of loose firewood and can be stacked in the kiln but hinder the airflow.

The air circulation is now out of the top, not the bottom, as pictured in the patent drawing. With today's technology, there are automated controls that open as steam accumulates in the kiln, letting out the water that is driven out of the wood. Then, they close and heat the wood to pull out more water. Watching it they are sort of like a smoker exhaling.

 

What a Modern-Day Firewood Kiln Looks Like

firewood kiln small DSC 0174A Firewood Kiln with Wood Waiting to be LoadedKiln-dried firewood is dried in a heated chamber that looks a lot like any old metal building that is just plain looking; in fact, it is a big oven with vents to let the steam out as the logs dry. Here is a picture of a kiln out in the woods surrounded by firewood logs waiting to be processed for firewood. The storage area is usually located right nearby, where the finished dried wood is stored and ready to be shipped. Both high heat and circulating air around the is used to remove water from the firewood so that it is premium wood that lights easily and burns well. These kilns have been adapted from lumber drying kilns to specifically dry firewood quickly. This produces a more consistent product. We do not have to worry about the amount of sun and wind, where the wood has been in the pile, or if it was the wood on the ground.

temperature sensorTemperature Sensor embedded in a logOne of the ways the wood is monitored in the drying process is by a probe put in a sample log. This probe can communicate with the control station to send updated information regarding the temperature in the middle of the piece of wood. Otherwise, the wood drying process would have to rely solely on experience or trial and error. Or the wood would have to be tested after it was done and cooled off. Then, if it is too wet, the process starts all over again, wasting time and a lot of energy. This, combined with 24/7 monitoring of the temperatures and air circulation in the kiln, maximizes the cycle time of each batch and produces a reliable quality firewood product for our customers.

Our kiln-dried firewood is made of hardwood trees from New England, New York, or Pennsylvania. Wood can also be delivered to you, usually sugar maple, red maple, birch, or beech. Our wood is kept clean and split into various thicknesses for convenient burning. The length is held to about 16”, which is a standard size. We store our stock of firewood protected from rain and snow so that it is delivered to you as dry as possible and ready to burn. If you are interested in "Stove" firewood or custom lengths, we also have custom-cut lengths done at our location per order.

Northern New England Hardwood

We drive throughout Northern New England woods looking and researching to find and get the best quality hardwoods for you. The work is to find wood that is consistently a good grade. Then, the wood drying process must be completed and done long enough to get the center of the logs to the right moisture content, not just surface drying. We work daily to provide the best quality wood possible, or our customers will see the difference and complain or stop buying from us. That is not how we operate, and certainly, there is no way to build a business. Please check our exclusive firewood guarantee, which we believe no one else offers. No fighting with mud season, black flies, getting tangled in the underbrush, loud chainsaws, bad back sprains, waiting for the wood to season. Call us, and we do all the work for you. The only thing we have not done so far is light the fire for our customers.

What makes us different?

We Baby our Firewood

kiln dried firewood in bins indoors small DSC 1380Kiln Dried Firewood in Bins Stored Indoors: The indoor storage is shown to the left in the picture.

We are not landscapers with a woodlot stacked with logs on the ground or a tree service that cuts up tree stumps to avoid disposal costs. For other firewood suppliers that do seasoned firewood, inventory and quality are always an issue. Often, they run out of adequately dried wood, and you will often hear them selling partially seasoned firewood or "Semi-seasoned" firewood. A new term has been invented for these suppliers to fill the inventory gap and still sell some firewood. The good thing is they at least tell you the wood is not fully dry. Time and inventory are not easily adjusted since it can take 12 to 18 months to season firewood to our moisture content. When we need more firewood, we go get it by the tractor-trailer load.

We have the equipment to handle wood in bulk. Modern material handling with our large trucking fleet and experienced material handling is how we economically get the kiln-dried wood to our shop in Boston. We have the small equipment and the right attitude to deliver at the customer's location. Our attitude is what sets us apart. The owner and employees are happy to climb stairs, deal with allies, elevators, and long hallways, and stack the wood bundles for you. If stacking is required, there is a fee for the time it takes. We will give you a price for it at the time of order. We have built our business by treating our customers right. 

You Select the quantity you want

Firewood suppliers normally work on selling wood by the cord and dumping it where you want it. Then, the customer carries the wood to where they store it in the stacks. We have switched things around to sell only premium kiln-dried firewood in quantities that fit the typical suburban and urban user around Boston who wants to enjoy the ambiance of a fire in the evening or weekend to relax and unwind from the day. Heating the house is usually not the reason for getting the wood. So smaller quantities and full-service delivery and stacking is the way we work. We deliver firewood to you in the following sizes:

Smaller quantities of wood are available to be picked up at our yard; please call first.

Call us for kiln-dried firewood delivered and stacked for you 1-781-254-2773 or for an immediate free quote, and we have our contact page to get us information to give you a prompt quote.