A warm, toasty home makes those cold, frosty winter days all the more bearable. Thankfully, it’s perfectly safe to leave your wood-burning stove on overnight or when you leave the house.
In fact, it’s probably safer than trying to extinguish the flames before bed – throwing water on a fire can kick up smoke and smothering the flames is a fire risk.
However, when leaving your stove unattended, make sure you choose a high-performance wood fuel, limit your stove’s air flow and take a few simple safety steps.
Choose a high-quality wood fuel
Typically, traditional logs have a density ranging from 0.3 to 0.9g/cm³, ash content ranging from 6 to 10% and a moisture level of 15 to 20%.
On the other hand, wood briquettes typically have a higher density (1g/cm³ minimum), lower ash content (below 1%) and lower moisture content (below 10%).
This means briquettes deliver a hotter, cleaner, longer-lasting burn – making them superior for through-the-night heat output.
We’ve actually run tests comparing the performance of traditional firewood with wood briquettes. After 2 hours and 30 minutes of burning, Lava Logs wood briquettes still burn at 92°C, compared to 30°C for regular logs.
These briquettes are manufactured from 100% recycled and compressed wood byproducts from our milling operations and are compacted by a high-powered ram, with no binding agents used.
Our most recent tests showed that they had 9.3% moisture content, a density of 1.1g/cm³ and only 0.7% ash content. Ash is non-combustible material, so a lower amount means greater energy efficiency and less cleaning required.
Adjust air vents before leaving the fire unattended
Before you leave the fire, adjust the air vents so they’re almost closed (but not totally sealed) to limit the air supply. This ensures the fire won’t go out immediately, but will burn consistently and slowly through the night.
It sounds obvious, but before leaving the fire unattended, make sure the door is closed and there are no flammable objects like paper, firelighters, candles or other firewood in the vicinity. Be sure that pets or children won’t disturb the stove.
Sweep your chimney annually and check your CO alarm
It’s recommended to have your chimney swept every year if you are burning wood fuels. Burning wood releases by-products which can increase the risk of a chimney fire.
Regardless of the age of your wood stove and the quality of your wood fuels, also be sure to have a carbon monoxide detector and check that it’s in working order.
In fact, having a carbon monoxide alarm has been a legal requirement in England when installing any new combustion appliance since October 2022.
Enjoy a cosy, heated home, all year round
Why wake up to a chilly home in winter when it doesn’t have to be that way? For all-night warmth, look for a wood fuel with high density, low ash content and a moisture level of 10% or less.
Lava Logs wood briquettes are precisely this. Ready To Burn certified and made from highly-compacted, 100% recycled premium-quality timber, they deliver a clean, hot, long-lasting burn. Perfect for through-the-night warmth.
What’s more, if you’re considering the change from logs to briquettes, you’ll stand to make savings – because of their high density and far superior calorific value, briquettes are 46% more cost effective than standard firewood.
They’re available in boxes of three packs (18 briquettes), half pallets of 53 packs (318 briquettes) and full pallets of 105 packs (630 briquettes).
