Wood briquettes are a product made of dried, highly-compacted wood waste with a low moisture content.

Whilst this allows them to combust very effectively and give a smoke-free burn, it also makes them particularly sensitive to moisture. When exposed, they swell and crumble, causing them to lose their combustion efficiency. Do not store them like traditional firewood.

How to store wood briquettes

Preserve the integrity and energy potential of your briquettes (and avoid some potentially costly wastage) by ensuring they’re stored neatly in their original packaging in a low-moisture environment.

1. Choose a dry, sheltered location

Briquettes are ideally stored indoors in a dry, covered environment. It’s key to avoid exposure to rain, snow, dripping water or excess humidity.

A conservatory, porch or other indoor storage area works well. If you don’t have enough space, a dry shed, garage or other outbuilding also works. Consider setting up a cheap digital hygrometer to measure humidity levels — anything that consistently reaches high levels may impact the briquettes.

Do not use uncovered areas or areas that get very damp or humid. Don’t use traditional log stores — these are usually vented, as traditional firewood needs air to stay dry. This isn’t the case with briquettes; they’re already completely dried during their manufacture.

2. Keep them in their original plastic packaging

When stored in a dry environment, the shrink-wrapped plastic packaging that wood briquettes come in is sufficient to keep them protected. Our wood briquettes have six units per shrink-wrapped pack, so you never have to open all of them at once.

You might want to consider investing in some large airtight plastic storage boxes. Plastic bags with a secure seal will also prevent air from affecting the briquettes.

3. Keep them elevated and stacked neatly

If you’re storing your briquettes in a shed, garage or other outbuilding, keep them from directly touching the ground – this prevents moisture absorption. Stacking them on a wooden pallet is a cost-effective, lightweight solution.

It goes without saying, really, but also keep them neatly stacked. As well as reducing the amount of space taken up, this will avoid the possibility of the briquettes toppling over during storage, which may cause them to touch the ground or be exposed to any elements.

Consider checking your briquette stores occasionally for any signs of damage or potential water leaks. A telltale sign of moisture is swelling, expansion or distortion. They may become soft and crumbly; this harms their burn efficiency.

How long can wood briquettes be kept in storage for?

Do wood briquettes expire? If they are kept in optimal conditions – a low-moisture environment – there’s no limit on how long they can be stored, really. As long as there’s no signs of moisture damage, then they’ll be good to go.

Since there’s always the risk of moisture getting in and briquettes can take up quite a lot of space, we’d recommend stocking up only for the year ahead.

If your wood briquettes have already succumbed to moisture and have a soft, crumbly texture, then we’d recommend replacing them. Moist wood doesn’t burn as cleanly or efficiently.

How quickly should I use unpacked wood briquettes?

As soon as briquettes are exposed to air, they’ll start to absorb moisture. In winter months, humidity often builds up indoors, which can damage the quality and combustion efficiency of the briquettes.

Immediate use is preferable, but that’s not always practical. Briquettes that have been taken out of their packaging and stored next to your fireplace or stove should ideally be used within a few weeks – but they should still be good to go after a few months.

How to use wood briquettes safely and effectively

1. Ensure the air vents on your appliance are open and the firebox is free of ash and debris.
2. Place some newspaper and firelighters at the bottom to act as tinder.
3. Add some kindling sticks followed by two or three briquettes around and on top of this pile. Light the tinder.
4. Wait for the briquettes to catch fire and generate heat.
5. After around 10–15 minutes, you might want to add more briquettes. Beware of overloading, though — briquettes burn hotter and longer than regular firewood with a lower flame, so you’ll need less to achieve the same heat and duration.
6. Briquettes can burn easily for at least two hours, but this will also depend on air flow. On most modern appliances, speed of burning and heat release can be managed with the air flow vents; some experimentation will yield the best result for you. There’s no need to stir the fire while it is burning.
7. To extinguish the fire, completely close the air vents.

Are you stocked up?

At Duffield Timber, we supply ‘Ready To Burn’ approved wood briquettes — manufactured by us from dried, compacted biomass and packaged on-site.

The ultimate sustainable wood fuel, our Lava Logs offer a cleaner, hotter, longer-lasting burn. Choose from a range of bulk sizes to make sure you’re prepared for the winter. We offer click and collect or nationwide UK delivery.

We also offer 15kg bags of wood pellets. Carrying ENplus A1 certification, they’re ideal for home and industrial biomass boilers and stoves.