What Does “Seasoned” Firewood Actually Mean?

"Seasoned" simply means the wood has been dried until its moisture content is low enough to burn well — generally under about 20% moisture. It's the single biggest factor in how a fire performs.

Green wood is mostly water

Freshly cut firewood can be 40–50% water by weight. Burn it, and much of your fire's energy is spent boiling that water off instead of heating the room. The result is a fire that's hard to light, smokes heavily, hisses, blackens the glass and leaves creosote building up in your flue.

What seasoning does

• Lights easily and burns hot from the start
• Produces far less smoke and ash
• Keeps your glass and chimney cleaner and safer
• Gives you the full heat value you paid for

How to tell it's dry

Seasoned wood is lighter than it looks, has cracks (checks) radiating from the ends, and two pieces knocked together give a sharp "clack" rather than a dull thud. The bark is often loose or gone.

We season ours properly

Every load of our red gum is seasoned before it reaches you, so it's ready to burn on delivery — no waiting, no guesswork. Order or ask us anything →

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