Wood Briquettes vs. Traditional Firewood: What's Better At Heating?
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Wood briquettes and traditional firewood — what’s hot and what’s not? Our team has done the tests, and here are the results...
We already know wood briquettes offer numerous advantages over traditional firewood.
They not only comply with Air Quality Regulations and hold a 'Ready to Burn' certification, but they are also environmentally friendly, convenient due to their consistent shape and, as we explored in a previous blog, more cost-effective than traditional logs.
But, do briquettes pack more heat than a traditional wood log?
Yes. We've run some interesting experiments comparing how Lava Log® wood briquettes and firewood burns — it shows that not only do briquettes reach a higher temperature, but they do so for longer.
How did we compare the heat output of briquettes and logs?
Over the course of three days, we carried out three tests on briquettes and traditional wood logs, with each test lasting two and a half hours.
Before each test, the wood burner was cleared of ash, set with a hotbox firestarter and two Lava Logs® (each broken into two pieces) for the briquette test; and four wood logs (of a similar weight) for the log test. See images below.
A wood stove thermometer was fixed to the door of the burner to allow us to take a reading every thirty minutes.
Wood burner settings
Due to the consistent burn of wood briquettes, the vents on the wood burner were left open for the first thirty minutes, closed for one and a half hours and then opened again for the final thirty minutes.
Unfortunately, the same approach couldn't be used with the wood logs and greater care had to be taken to ensure the logs burnt at the optimum level.
Briquettes vs. logs heat comparison: what were the results?
See the temperature readings below (shown in degrees celsius (°C)):
Briquettes | Logs | |||||||
| Time | Test 1 | Test 2 | Test 3 | Average | Test 1 | Test 2 | Test 3 | Average |
| 00:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 00:30 | 50 | 40 | 100 | 63 | 45 | 100 | 45 | 63 |
| 01:00 | 210 | 170 | 220 | 200 | 140 | 170 | 100 | 137 |
| 01:30 | 180 | 210 | 200 | 197 | 90 | 130 | 70 | 97 |
| 02:00 | 125 | 120 | 150 | 132 | 50 | 60 | 50 | 53 |
| 02:30 | 70 | 105 | 100 | 92 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 30 |
Highest recorded temperature
- Briquettes: 220
- Traditional Wood Log: 170
Highest average temperature held over 30 minutes
- Briquettes: 198
- Traditional Wood Log: 117
Highest average temperature held over 60 minutes
- Briquettes: 176
- Traditional Wood Log: 99
Average temperature at 2 hours 30 minutes burn time
- Briquettes: 92
- Traditional Wood Log: 30
The air temperature outside on each of the three test days was as follows:
- Day 1: -2.5
- Day 2: 4.0
- Day 3: 6.0
So, there we have it — not only are briquettes more cost effective than logs, but they burn considerably hotter!
Lava Log® wood briquettes: high-performance, sustainable heating for your home
As the name suggests and the experiment above shows, each Lava Log® kicks out some excellent long-term heat.
Fancy getting your hands on some of your own? They are available to buy through our e-commerce store in three pack sizes to suit your needs, with free UK-wide delivery and collection available.