The Dear Don’t Move Firewood hotline is jumping this week! Thanks to everyone that writes in- keeps us nice and busy, and keeps all our readers thinking about firewood.
Dear Don’t Move Firewood,
Is it OK to bring my own Presto logs to burn? Or wood pellets? Both of these are distributed all over North America, often far from the place where they were made.
Thanks,
‘Fake Log’ Firewood User
Dear FLFU,
It is OK! Not only is it OK, it is a great alternative to standard firewood. I can’t say yes or no for any particular brand of ‘fake log’ firewood (Presto being just one of many, many acceptable brands out there), but anything that has been finely chipped or pelletized, kiln dried, and then recompressed into logs is very safe to move. If you ever have any doubt about a quarantine or boundary that you need to cross with your processed firewood, don’t unwrap or open the packaging until you arrive at your destination. If the product is still in the original wrapper, it is abundantly obvious these aren’t natural logs, and all marks of heat treatment and processing are easily seen in case of a problem.
Personally, I would tend towards a fake log product that is compressed and made into a log shape without the use of glues and binding agents, just to minimize the potential chemicals that I might inhale once it is burned. There are lots of great products out there to choose from, so do a little shopping around to find one that seems best for you.
For more on compressed and processed wood products and why we cannot endorse any particular brand or product, even though we think the product category as a whole is a great thing, please read our complete blog on that topic: Compressed wood, fake logs, pellets, and more