Hardwood Logs vs Softwood Logs: Which Should I Use?

Here at D Price and Sons, we provide a wide range of fuels for your fire from kiln dried hardwood and softwood logs to premium coal. Because of this, we’re always being asked about which wood is better for people’s log burners. In order to answer this age old question, we’ve written the following guide.

Should I Use Hardwood or Softwood Logs?

In truth, you can use either. It’s all about preference which can be based on the wide variety of benefits that each wood holds. The key thing to think of when you are selecting your wood isn’t necessarily the type of wood, but rather the moisture content. Too much moisture and your fire will emit smoke that can damage your burner or its surroundings. That’s where our kiln dried logs come in handy, boasting 20% less moisture.

Once you’re aware of what to look for in terms of safety, you can start to look at the benefits of hardwood and softwood to build a preference.

What are the Benefits of Softwood Logs?

The first benefit of softwood logs is that they are often much cheaper than hardwood logs. Hardwood logs tend to be cut from Oak, Teak, Sapeale, Iroko and Meranti which all grow at a much slower rate than softwood sources. This, in addition to the fact that it takes longer for them to dry is what makes hardwood more costly. In addition to their cost benefits, softwood burns a lot quicker due to its lower density. This is fantastic if you’re looking for wood to get your fire going as it is quick to react and heat your room accordingly.

Because of softwood being less dense, it is also quicker to dry yourself. Therefore, if you purchase our softwood logs rather than our kiln dried softwood logs and intend to dry them yourself, the process will be much quicker than drying hardwood logs instead.

What are the Benefits of Hardwood Logs?

One of the major advantages that hardwood logs have over softwood is that they take a much longer time to burn because of their higher density. This means that if you’re using hardwood logs, your fire will need feeding much less often than if you were burning softwood. In fact, hardwood logs can burn for up to five hours. This low maintenance quality can be very welcome if you’re getting cosy or watching a film.

Another benefit of burning hardwood logs is that they tend to release less smoke than their softwood counterparts. Not only that, but unlike softwood logs, they leave behind coals that radiate heat themselves, long after the logs have stopped burning. Softwood tends to leave behind ashes with little to no coals.

Can I Use Both?

You can use hardwood and softwood logs together and most people do. It’s all about playing to their strengths. Whilst some people still do prefer to use one or the other, a lot of people will tend to use them in combination. Thanks to their quick burning capacity, softwood logs are perfect to use to get the fire started and strong. Once it’s started to settle down, add one or two hardwood logs to the fire and they should take light within a few minutes.

Hardwood logs are much better used for this purpose as due to their density, trying to light a fire with them can be like lighting a brick. From there, the hardwood logs should burn for up to five hours giving you a cosy, crackling fire to snuggle up in front of.

Hardwood and Softwood Logs in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire

Here at D Price and Sons, we supply high quality hardwood and softwood logs to keep your fire roaring. For those looking for wood ready to burn, you can order our kiln dried logs. We also supply hardwood and softwood suitable for those wishing to dry their own wood. If you’re looking for something to get your fire started quickly, we also provide bags of kindling.

We provide a delivery service for our hardwood and softwood logs across Staffordshire. Details of this can be found on our delivery page. If you have any questions regarding any of our products, please contact us. Our experienced and friendly team will be happy to assist you with any queries. For more guides just like this, you can also check out our latest news section. For example, you may be interested in our guide, What are Hardwood Logs?