Hardwood Vs Softwood

The basics:

Hardwood comes from trees that lose their leaves in the winter.  Oak, Ash, Beech etc. They are slow growing (80 yrs to maturity) and therefore provide a dense timber. In contrast, softwood comes from trees that retain their leaves in the winter (commonly known as evergreen).  These trees grow much faster, maturing in 25 yrs and the timber is therefore not as dense. These trees include Pine, Larch, Spruce and Douglas Fir etc.

As with anything else in life, both have their advantages and disadvantages as below:

No matter what you are burning it needs to be dry.  Below 20% moisture content is recommended by Hetas and the Guild of chimney sweeps. 

Click the button below to watch a short video on how to run your stove efficiently and safely.

Availability

Hardwood takes so long to mature and we are using it quicker than we can grow it.  At present it is available but it is becoming harder to source whereas softwood is readily available.

Burn quality

Hardwood burns hot and slow. It leaves red hot coals in the stove and generally gives a red smouldering effect in the stove.

Softwood burns faster but gives off a good heat with cracking noises and big flames getting your fire up to temperature quickly.

Calorific value

Both hardwood and softwood have the same calorific value weight for weight however hardwood weighs more than softwood.  In real terms you are going to use more softwood and fill the stove more than if you were burning hardwood.

Price

Softwood is cheaper than Hardwood.

Summary

It depends what you want!  Our kiln dried hardwood is our premium product.  It burns slow and hot but is becoming harder to source and as such it costs more.  Our kiln dried softwood is a great product that is readily available and is cheaper than hardwood.  Many people dismiss softwood but that is most likely because they have bought wet logs on a garage forecourt in the past.  If it is dried properly like ours it is a brilliant product that produces an excellent fire.  We burn hardwood and softwood in our house.  Both are great.