A good fire makes all the difference. Nothing saps the energy and joy out of a camping trip or backyard barbeque like a fizzling flame and billows of dirty smoke. The wrong firewood will do that. So, before you grab the first pile of bundled firewood you see for your next outing, we urge you to stop and carefully consider what you’re doing.
Ask yourself, “Is this a bag of high-quality wood, or is there something better out there?”
In this post, we will teach you everything you need to know to find the best bundled firewood for your next excursion. Ready to light the match? Then let’s get going!
What is a Bundle of Firewood?
A bundle of firewood is the smallest collection of firewood you can gather or purchase. You’ve probably noticed bundles at gas stations and grocery stores since they’re often wrapped in plastic packaging and displayed prominently outside the building.
A standard bundle contains between 7-12 pieces of firewood, and the usual measurement for a piece of firewood is 12-18 inches long with a 3-4-inch diameter. So, the total amount of wood in a bundle is 0.75-1 cubic feet on average.
What is Bagged Firewood?
Bagged firewood differs slightly from bundled firewood in that, rather than being bound tightly together by string or plastic, the wood is loose inside a mesh bag. At Lumberjacks, we typically sell our bundles as bagged firewood because the bag makes the wood easier to transport.
When Should You Use a Bundle of Firewood?
Getting bundled or bagged firewood is an excellent choice for special occasions, such as going camping or hosting a cookout.
The amount of wood in a bundle will typically burn for about 2-3 hours. So, a single bundle is a solid amount for one evening around the campfire or a single grilling session. However, that number increases as factors change.
For example, if you’re going on a multi-day camping excursion, you’ll need multiple bundles of wood. And if you’re planning on making multiple fires throughout your trip, then you might want to consider getting ¼ face cord of wood or ½ face cord instead. These sizes contain 12 and 24 bundles, respectively.
How Many Firewood Bundles are in a Cord?
A full cord of firewood contains 128 cubic feet of wood, or about 700-800 pieces of firewood. So, a cord usually contains about 144 bundles of firewood. This larger amount of wood is ideal for people who own a fireplace or wood stove and need to stock up for the fall and winter months.
How Do You Bundle Your Own Firewood?
So, you’re feeling adventurous, and you want to bundle some firewood on your own. You’ll need a few things to get started:
- A cutting tool, such as a saw or ax
- Protective gear, including work gloves and safety glasses
- Rope or string
Step 1: Find the Right Wood
Before you begin chopping, it’s important to find the right trees for your wood. Make sure you choose healthy hardwood species, such as oak or hickory trees. These trees have dense wood that produces some of the hottest and longest-lasting flames. They are much more reliable for great fires than softwood species like cedar or pine. Such species produce weak fires with a ton of dirty smoke.
Step 2: Chop and Bundle
Once you have the hardwood trees you want, chop the wood so that each piece is the same length. This will make bundling much easier. Then, take your rope/string and tie the logs together in 9-12 piece groupings. Eureka! You have bundled firewood! If only it were that easy.
Step 3: Leave Time for Seasoning
As if chopping the wood wasn’t cumbersome enough, the drying process leaves little to be desired. Handmade bundles are typically known as seasoned firewood. Seasoned firewood is left outside to dry. There’s another drying method that’s much more effective. We’ll discuss that a little later! For now, let’s explain why handling seasoned firewood is such a pain:
- Seasoned firewood takes multiple months to get dry enough to produce quality burns.
- The firewood is susceptible to infestation from bugs, mold or fungus as it dries.
- It can be difficult to find the perfect spot to dry your firewood. The spot must get plenty of sun and wind but also have coverage from the rain.
For all these reasons, it can be more trouble than it’s worth to make bundled or bagged firewood on your own. Another option is to get your bundles from a trustworthy company. We’ll explore the best ways to do that next.
What is the Best Place to Buy Bundled Firewood?
Not sure where to buy bundled or bagged firewood near you? It’s good to be careful because not all firewood suppliers are worthy of your trust. Unfortunately, some companies will try to rip you off with wood that is too moist and muddy or contains invasive pests and mold.
Many people fall prey to these suppliers because they sell their wood for low prices. But you can avoid this by keeping this rule of thumb in mind: When it comes to firewood, you always get what you pay for. If you buy cheap wood, you will get cheap fires.
Instead, you should look for a firewood company that puts special care into its firewood production process. The best producers don’t leave firewood out to dry so that it will eventually be good enough to burn. Instead, they take control of the drying process by kiln-drying their firewood.
Kiln drying is the alternative wood drying method we were referring to earlier. In this method, the wood is placed in a super-hot oven for multiple hours to reduce it down to the ideal moisture level for burning. As a result of this process, the wood produces all the following benefits:
- Easier ignition
- Longer burns
- Less smoke and creosote
- Complete purification from all bugs, mold and fungus
Because of this, a bundle or bag of kiln-dried firewood will provide more value than the same quantity of traditionally seasoned wood. It will burn longer, hotter and cleaner for a more enjoyable experience.
So, don’t let the higher cost of kiln-dried firewood scare you off. You may pay more upfront, but that investment will pay off quickly as you have a lot more fun at your campfire or cookout!
Get the Best Bundled Firewood Near You Today!
What have we learned? For starters, it’s clear that bundled or bagged firewood is an excellent option for special occasions requiring a small amount of wood. And the best way to get the most value out of your bundle is to purchase kiln-dried firewood.
Looking for bagged bundles of kiln-dried firewood in McHenry County or the greater Chicago region? We’ve got you covered! At Lumberjacks, our bundles contain responsibly harvested kiln-dried hardwood for your burning pleasure. Please visit one of our locations in Woodstock, IL, or Lake in the Hills, IL, to pick up your bundles today!