Logs and Wood
Wondering what the best wood is for your fire pit, chiminea or pizza oven is?
The best and simplest answer is is DRY! And by that we mean either kiln dried or very well seasoned so that moisture (water) content is less than 20%. Being consistently dry means the wood will:
- Light easily
- Burn clean
- Provide maximum heat output (calorific value) for its type
- Leave less ash
- Leave less tar/soot
So should I use hardwood or softwood?
There is no real answer to this, but both woods have different properties when burnt- see below. Whichever you go for they must be dry.
| Hardwood | Softwood |
| More Expensive | Cheaper! |
| Dense (high calorific value per g or kg) | Less dense |
| More difficult to start a fire with | Easier to light |
| Controlled burn | Burns more quickly...feed the fire |
| Longer burn, fire will stay in plus embers | Heat output is quick, good to start with |
Our preference for cooking (pizza oven or chiminea with grill etc) is hardwood due to it long-lasting burn and the embers which are great for cooking with.
For a high heat output use, like a firepit or brazier, there is no reason not to use the slightly cheaper option of softwood. Remember to get firelighters and kindling to get the fire going.
Our picks below
