Kilns have been used for thousands of years by different civilisations. They're capable of generating high temperatures, which are perfect for various purposes. At Homefire, we make use of a kiln to provide you with firewood that burns longer, brighter, and hotter than standard wood. Intrigued? Read on to find out more!
What is a kiln?
In many respects, a kiln is similar to an oven and is used to heat various objects. A kiln is used because it can produce sufficient temperatures to complete a specific process - whether it's drying, hardening, or enacting some kind of chemical change.
Kilns are fired, and the hot air within the main chamber can be used for various purposes. As a result, the intense heat can produce a range of outcomes. You might be aware that kilns are widely used to turn clay into pottery, and they're also used to make bricks. But did you also know that kilns are used to dry wood?
A wood-drying kiln
When a tree is cut down, the resulting wood has a high moisture content as approximately 50% is water. So although a felled tree will start to dry out, it still retains around 60% of its water when it's no longer alive.
If you were to try and burn it straight away, it would be extremely difficult to ignite your fire. One of the best ways of drying felled wood is to use a kiln. There are multiple ways to do this, but high-air-velocity kilns can dry wood in a matter of days. However, if left to dry in natural conditions, the process of drying wood can take significantly longer.
Once the trees are cut to size, the wood is added to metal cages and burned inside the kiln for the stipulated period of time. This helps to remove much of the moisture, usually leaving the wood with no more than 20% moisture content.
Overall, the kiln-drying process takes anywhere between 3-7 days. Conversely, naturally drying wood from felled trees in the UK could take months or even years to reach similar moisture content levels!
Why is drying wood in a kiln important?
The main reason that kiln drying wood is essential is that it prepares wood for burning. As mentioned, if you try and burn recently felled wood, it will be difficult to ignite. By adding the logs to a kiln, we are able to remove most of the moisture from our logs, resulting in moisture content of no more than 20%, but often lower.
When wood has been kiln-dried, it will burn at high temperatures with a long and natural flame. Your fire will also produce fewer smoke emissions, making kiln-dried wood a better product for the environment.
Introducing Homefire's wood-dried kiln logs
At Homefire, we carefully source all of our firewood from responsibly managed forests in Latvia. Not only is our range sustainable, but our wood is of the highest quality and will ensure your fire burns brighter for longer. Our kiln-dried firewood has a moisture content of 20% or less and is the perfect option for your indoor fire, outdoor chimenea, or wood-burning stove.
Available in multiple pack sizes - including a cost-saving bulk bag - you can order from Homefire in the confidence that our logs will burn efficiently and effectively.
If you want to pair our kiln-dried logs with other handy fire products, check out our bundle offers to make your life that little bit easier when you're preparing your fire at home.