Compressed Wood Firelogs

There are two kinds of manufactured firelog, and they aren’t for the same job. A wax firelog, the kind in a paper wrapper you light with a match, is mostly wax mixed with sawdust or other filler. It’s made for an evening in an open fireplace, and the popular ones say right on them not to use them in a wood stove. A compressed wood log is nothing but wood: sawdust and shavings squeezed so dense and dry they hold together on their own. That one is made for heating with a wood stove.

North Idaho Energy Logs are the second kind, and they’re what WBC sells, by the two-pack and by the pallet.

What you get in a North Idaho Energy Log

Each log is made entirely from sawmill wood by-products and runs about 8 pounds, 13 inches long and 4 inches across. North Idaho rates them at 8,600 BTU per pound, about 68,000 BTU a log. For comparison, one firelog maker uses 5,100 BTU per pound as its figure for typical firewood. Most of that difference is dryness: there’s very little water in a pressed log to boil off before it starts making heat. The density is what packs all that heat into less space in the shed.

The maker also reports less ash and little or no residue, and in its own testing, much lower particulate emissions than cordwood in both an older uncertified stove and a newer certified one.

Burning them

They burn hot, so they take a lighter hand than cordwood:

• No more than two at a time. North Idaho’s rule is two logs burning at once, except for the cold-start procedure in its lighting instructions. Don’t pack the firebox full.
• Cold starts take patience. Dense pressed logs can be slow to catch from a cold stove, so follow the lighting instructions and your stove maker’s directions.
• Start small the first time. Burn one log and watch how your stove responds. Even once you know them, the two-log limit stands; these never get loaded like cordwood.

Why heat with them instead of cordwood

North Idaho claims a pallet gives you the heating of 1.5 to 2 cords of firewood. That’s the maker’s figure for its own logs; pressed logs from other makers differ, so it doesn’t carry over to every pallet. What it means in the shed: a pallet that sits on a footprint about the size of the pallet does the work of a woodpile a cord and a half or more. No splitting, no bark and bugs in the house, no green wood hissing in January.

In the Flathead Valley, where winter lows average 16°F, that’s a lot of stove time to plan for. Burn a two-pack or a few in the cold before you decide how many pallets a winter takes.

Two-pack or pallet

Buy	Logs	Fuel weight
Two-pack	2	About 16 lb
Full pallet	240	About 1,920 lb

The two-pack is how you find out how they burn in your stove. The pallet is for heating through the season. WBC also has factory-second pallets of North Idaho logs; check the pallet you’re getting, since seconds can vary.

A full pallet weighs close to a ton before you count the wood pallet and wrap. Check your truck’s payload rating, not just whether it fits in the bed.

Keep them dry

Pressed logs are only as good as they are dry. North Idaho says to store them dry and protected from moisture, and a log that soaks up water swells and loses what made it worth buying. In Montana that means under a roof, off the ground and out of blowing snow, not under a tarp on wet dirt through spring snowmelt.

The Pick

For wood stove heat, buy North Idaho Energy Logs: a two-pack to learn how they burn, then a 240-log pallet for the season, stored dry. Burn no more than two at a time. For an open fireplace evening, a wax firelog is a different product made for that, and it doesn’t belong in a wood stove.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between a wax firelog and a compressed wood log?

A wax firelog is wax mixed with sawdust or other filler, made to light easily in an open fireplace; many say not to use them in wood stoves. A compressed wood log is pressed wood with no wax, made for heating in a wood stove.

How many North Idaho Energy Logs can I burn at once?

No more than two, except during the cold-start procedure in the maker’s lighting instructions. Don’t overfill the stove.

How much firewood does a pallet of North Idaho Energy Logs replace?

North Idaho says a pallet has the heating capacity of 1.5 to 2 cords of firewood. That figure is for these logs; other brands of pressed logs differ.

How should I store compressed firelogs?

Dry and protected from moisture: under cover, off the ground and away from rain, snow and melt.