How to Store Logs for Your Wood Burner

Storing logs is an important part of owning a wood burner. As we’ll discuss in this article, how you store logs can have a significant impact on your wood-burning stove running costs, efficiency, and longevity.

Let’s explore the best methods of storing logs for a wood burner, so you can start getting more from your woodburner and its wood supply for longer.

Why is Proper Log Storage Important for Your Wood Burner?

Proper log storage increases the efficiency and lifespan of your woodburner.

Storing logs properly ensures they are dried and well-seasoned before being burned. This means that water within the wood evaporates and moisture levels drop, which has several benefits for you and your wood burner.

Firstly, it makes your wood burner more efficient. When you burn logs that haven’t been stored properly, energy is wasted on evaporating moisture instead of heating your room. Properly stored logs burn more efficiently, more of the energy is used to generate heat, and you get more warmth for the same amount of wood.

Logs that have not been stored properly and still have high moisture levels also create more smoke when burned. This is worse for the environment, is a waste of fuel, and results in tar, soot and creosote that can damage your stove system. Properly stored logs are burn more cleanly, which helps to prevent unnecessary damage to your wood burner.

Since proper log storage generates more heat from the same amount of wood and extends your stove’s lifespan, it also helps you save a substantial amount of money.

How Should You Prepare Logs Before Storing Them?

Before storing your logs, you should first cut them down to a suitable length for your wood burner. You’ll find a maximum log length on the product page of all the wood-burning stoves for sale in our store. The easiest way of cutting logs is with a chainsaw. You can use a handsaw if needed but this will be a laborious process.

Once you’ve cut the logs to the correct size, you need to split them into smaller sections. This will help the drying process, ensure the logs fit into your wood burner better, and make them easier to light. You can split logs with a chainsaw, axe, or sledgehammer and wedges.

You can then stack your split logs as described below to allow them to dry and season ahead of burning.

What Are the Best Ways to Store Logs Outside?

The best way of storing logs outside is to ensure that the logs are off the ground, protected from the rain but exposed to wind.

As we mentioned above in relation to preparing your logs, they should be chopped, split and stacked on a pallet or platform. This stops them from soaking up moisture from the ground, which would completely undermine the drying process.

The logs should be well covered to protect them from rain and snow, which would cause the wood to reabsorb water. But they shouldn’t be completely covered –such as with tarpaulin or a similar material – or the evaporating moisture will have nowhere to go and the logs may start to rot.

Instead, the storage area should be well-ventilated. This ensures the wind can reach the logs to aid the drying process, and also that the moisture can evaporate away from the logs.

Some of the best ways of storing logs outside include open-fronted log stores, lean-tos, and other structures with protective roofs but open fronts or sides.

Can You Store Logs Indoors?

Yes, storing logs indoors is a crucial final stage of proper log storage. This is known as house drying. Logs that are well-seasoned after being stored outdoors for an extended period – sometimes called air drying – can be brought indoors for a few days to evaporate any remaining moisture in the warmth of your home.

Air dry logs may have 25% moisture content. A short spell indoors can reduce this to 20% before burning. 

Many wood burners come with purpose-made stove log stores so you can conveniently store logs indoors in a way that encourages drying and also looks decorative. Wood burners, including the Mazona Warwick 5kW, Arizona A07, and Mazona Rye 7kW, are all available with logs stores.

Unless you’re using a log store that’s incorporated into the stove, you shouldn’t store logs near your wood burner or on the hearth as this creates a fire risk.

Bringing a small number of logs indoors at a time keeps your logs in regular rotation so they don’t become an attractive home for pests. It also increases fire safety by avoiding a large amount of flammable material being in your home at any time.

What Storage Options Are Available for Logs?

There are many storage options available for logs, including:

Log stores or log sheds: Purpose-built sheds designed specifically for log storage. They usually include at least one open side and a raised base to stop logs from being in direct contact with the ground. They are available in a range of sizes and styles, with attractive designs that are similar to other types of sheds.

Pallets: Pallets are an ideal base on which to stack logs. They can also be repurposed to create well-ventilated back and sides for a log store. You then need only to add a roof or cover to the top. This is a very inexpensive way to create a new log store, particularly if you have the DIY skills to create your own.

Lean-tos: Lean-tos, carports, pergolas and other structures that provide shelter next to a building often make ideal spots for log storage. You may be able to make use of an existing structure or utilise your home or garage as an easy starting point to create your new log store.

Log racks and covers: Log racks are usually metal structures on which logs can be stacked. They are often supplied with a waterproof fabric cover that is placed over the entire rack without suffocating it. It can be unzipped or rolled up at the front to allow for ventilation. Log covers and racks are typically cheap to buy.

How Long Can You Store Logs Before They Become Unusable?

How long you can store logs before they rot and become unusable depends on several factors. These include:

• The condition the wood was in when you started storing it
• Whether the logs are kept off the ground
• How well-ventilated the logs are
• How well protected the logs are from rain and snow

If you follow our tips for the best way to store logs outdoors and the wood was freshly felled or in fairly good condition when you got it, you should be able to store logs for a few years before they become unusable.

Aside from those listed above, the factors most likely to make your logs unusable are rot and pests. Rot can be avoided by ensuring the wood is kept dry and well-aired. Pests can be avoided by storing logs off the ground and in a dry, covered structure.

You can prevent your logs from becoming unusable, discourage pests, and maximise burning efficiency by regularly rotating your logs. Whenever adding new logs to your log storage, place them in a new stack or rotate them so that they’re below the older logs. Use your rotation system to ensure the oldest logs – which will also be the logs with the lowest moisture content – are burned first.

Store Your Logs the Right Way for Better Burning Results

Ready to store your logs to provide efficient, cost-effective warmth for months ahead? Take a look at some of the stove log stores currently available, or get in touch to discuss best practices for storing your logs.