Four Seasons Fuel Ltd has been established since 1998, and we produce over 3,500 tonnes over logs per year which come from the local forestry and our excellent relationship with
- British forestry commission
- Local small forestry company
- Sussex and Surrey coppice groups
All our firewood comes from stainable woodland and forestry which is part of a replanting tree scheme.
We supply top quality hardwood, split and ready for burning in wood burning stoves, wood burners and open fires. We guarantee that our wood is all hardwood and well seasoned.
We deliver firewood, logs and wood burning fuel within about a 20 mile radius from Billingshurst, West Sussex. Alternatively, you can collect.
Normal delivery service takes approximately 4 to 5 working days unless otherwise stated. Deliveries are all day weekdays from 8 am to 6 pm and Saturdays before noon by prior arrangement.
Our Firewood Processor
At the time of writing this, we have the biggest circular saw fire wood processor in the UK. This firewood processor will cut trees of up to 28 inches diameter and split 19 ways in 5.5 seconds. It can process a total of 65 tonnes per day.
Wood For Burning
All woods burn better when seasoned and some burn better when split rather than as whole logs. In general, the better woods for burning that you are most likely to come by (including non-native species) are:
Apple and pear - burning slowly and steadily with little flame but good heat. The scent is also pleasing.
Ash - the best burning wood providing plenty of heat (will also burn green).
Beech and hornbeam - good when well seasoned.
Birch - good heat and a bright flame - burns quickly.
Blackthorn and hawthorn - very good - burn slowly but with good heat.
Cherry - also burns slowly with good heat and a pleasant scent.
Cypress - burns well but fast when seasoned, and may spit.
Hazel - good, but hazel has so many other uses hopefully you won't have to burn it!
Holly - good when well seasoned.
Horse Chestnut - good flame and heating power but spits a lot.
Larch - fairly good for heat but crackles and spits.
Maple - good.
Oak - very old dry seasoned oak is excellent, burning slowly with a good heat.
Pine - burns well with a bright flame but crackles and spits.
Poplar - avoid all poplar wood - it burns very slowly with little heat - which is why poplar is used to make matchsticks.
Willow - very good - in fact there is growing interest in biomass production of coppiced willow as a fuel.
Seasoned Wood
Seasoned wood is better for burning than unseasoned firewood. Seasoning (usually by leaving it for a period of time in the right conditions) enables a reduction of water content. Freshly-cut wood can be up to 45% water, while well-seasoned firewood generally has a 20-25% moisture content. Well seasoned firewood is easier to light, produces more heat, and burns cleaner.
Burning Unseasoned Wood - If you try to burn green wood, the heat produced by combustion must dry the wood before it will burn, using up a large percentage of the available energy in the process. This results in less heat delivered to your home, and a great deal of acidic water in the form of creosote deposited in your chimney. This can eat through the chimney lining and cause significant damage. Wet wood burns slowly, with little heat, the chimney flue does not get a chance to warm up. There is little draw (air moving up the chimney) which doesn't help the combustion, and the flue remains a cold surface on which the creosote condenses. Dry wood will burn hot - heating up the flue, creating a fast draw, and shooting the smaller amount of vapours out of the chimney before they get a chance to condense.
Seasoning Wood - Tree branches and trunks contain thousands of microscopic tubes which carry water from the roots to the leaves, and these tubes can stay full of water for years after the tree has been felled (or pruned). Seasoning wood dries the wood.
The first step to drive the water out of the wood is to cut it into lengths - say about 12-18 inches long (or less if your fireplace/ wood burning stove requires this). Cutting the wood to shorter lengths opens these tubes to the atmosphere which increases evaporation.
The second step is splitting any logs that are more than say six inches in diameter. This increases the surface area of the wood exposed to the elements and therefore also enhances drying. So the cutting and splitting of logs should be done as soon as possible after the wood is harvested - not just before you want to burn it. You can get mechanical splitters and attachments for a tractor when you have large quantities to split, but they are not cheap. Logs can be split with an axe and/or metal log splitting wedges.
Questions and answers about our logs
Q- How long will a netted bag of our logs last?
A - That is very difficult to answer due to the many variables such as:
• The size of your fireplace
• The draw from your chimney
• The weather condition at the time
• The firewood you are using
• Whether you are mixing house coal or smokeless brickett fuel
• Whether you want the roaring heat or effect or both
Our guess is about 4 to 5 hrs with a all-round heat and flame effect with Four Seasons Fuel best loved hardwood netted logs.
Q - How many logs are there in a netted bag?
A - We cut all our netted firewood to 8 inches (200mm) long. Our netted bags are length 24 inches(610mm) x depth 18 inches(460mm), and we do try to fill the netted bags as full as possible. We do not measure by weight as this varies so much. Our netted logs are seasoned firewood and hand packed meaning that all cordwood has been felled for 1 year or more.
Q - How do I start my fire?
A - We recommend crunching up newspaper and twist the paper around 3 or 4 times, then place a small amount of kindling wood on top of the paper like a pyramid or place on top leaving just enough paper to light. Then light the paper. Once it catches light place some more kindling on it, making sure that you don't snuff the fire out. Then when it is burning place large logs on top… (You could use fire lighters instead).
Q- How much smoke will it produce and will it spit and spark?
A - There is always smoke when you start your fire until the flames catch hold and the heat starts to rise and forming a base fire. You should then add some more small logs to bring the heat up more. Smoke and sparks depend on what type of wood you have ordered. If you have a good relationship with your local firewood merchant, you shouldn't have a problem with spiting & sparking as he should supply you with hardwood logs only. (Unless you requested otherwise). However, there might be the occasional spit or spark due to small insects under the bark. The only time you may get spit and sparking is if you got softwood in your firewood loads such as PINE or HAZEL.
Q - Will my wood rot & how long can I store them for?
A - Firewood does not have a use by date. Although some hardwoods like SILVER BIRCH, ALDER, MAPLE and POPLAR tend to rot down or go light. As long as you have a dry place to store them, or you cover them or even place them along a building (leaving a gap between the wall and the logs so the air can circulate around them) your wood will not rot and will remain dry and free from fungus.
