If you learn one thing about firewood, make it this: moisture content is everything. Species choice matters, piece size matters — but a wet premium hardwood performs worse than a dry ordinary one, every time. Here’s what the numbers actually mean, and why we built our whole standard around them.
What Moisture Content Means
Moisture content is the water in wood expressed as a percentage of its oven-dry weight. Freshly cut (“green”) hardwood can read 50–60% — literally half water. Seasoned firewood reads below 20%. That’s the internationally recognised threshold for “ready to burn”, and it’s the line every Ember Peak load is tested against before dispatch.
Why Wet Wood Fails
Burning wet wood is like driving with the handbrake on. Before wood can burn, water must boil away — and evaporation steals heat straight up the flue. The practical results:
- Less heat: a meaningful share of your fuel’s energy is spent making steam, not warmth
- More smoke: cooler, wetter fires smoulder and produce particulates — the neighbour complaints and air-quality issues start here
- Creosote: cool, smoky flues condense tar on chimney walls — a fire hazard that builds quietly
- Failed fires: damp wood resists ignition and sulks instead of blazing
How to Test Moisture Yourself
A moisture meter costs less than a bag of kindling and pays for itself instantly. Split a log, push the probes into the freshly split face (not the weathered end grain), and read. Under 20%: burn it happily. 20–25%: stack it for a few more weeks. Over 25%: it needs months. Our seasoning checklist covers the no-meter signs too.
Why Our Guarantee Matters
Plenty of sellers advertise “seasoned” wood that tests at 30%+. We moisture-test every batch before it leaves the yard, and our quality guarantee backs the number: if a correctly taken meter reading on delivery shows above 20%, we replace or refund the load. That’s what “ready to burn” should mean — and now does, when you order seasoned firewood from us. More burning questions? See the firewood FAQs.