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Several hardwood logs burning in a wood stove with narrowed air vents will last between one to three hours.
Unseasoned logs will burn faster. The type of wood and the moisture content also determines the burn hours.
This article gives you advice and tips on how to make your logs burn longer in your wood stove.
What Type Of Wood Burns longest In A Stove?
Some types of wood burn faster than others.
In general, you should always look for hardwoods. These are slower-burning types:
- Ash
- Beech
- Birch
- Oak
In contrast, chestnut and lime burn considerably faster.
I would also advise you to avoid cherry wood. It burns rapidly yet doesn’t emit much heat. To be fair, it does smell nice.
Tips To Make Logs Burn Longer In Your Wood Stove
Here are our best tips on making logs last longer.
Use two or three logs
A single log in your wood stove will burn faster than having two or three. This is because of the greater airflow around the log.
When you put more logs into the stove, you reduce the circulation. It’s important not to overpack your stove with too many logs. But burning three at a time will make each log last longer.
Use seasoned logs
Unseasoned logs burn considerably faster than logs that have been seasoned for a year or more.
Buy logs with a lower moisture content
This may seem counterintuitive but logs with a higher moisture percentage tend to burn faster. Of course, if the moisture content is very high, the log may not burn at all!
In general, look for logs with a moisture content of about 20% or below that mark.
Learn to adjust the air vents
The more air circulating around the burner, the faster the wood will burn. It usually takes a bit of practice to get to the optimum way of adjusting the air vents on your stove.
In general, you want to have the air vents open when starting the fire so that the wood catches quickly. There’s nothing worse than a sputtering fire that goes out before it’s properly begun.
Once the logs are burning nicely, you can decrease the oxygen and airflow by gradually closing the vents. However, you don’t want to close them completely! That will smother the fire.
What Should You Do If Your Logs Are Burning Too Quickly
I see complaints on forums that people are getting less than an hour of burning before having to put more logs into the stove.
One man with a Harmony 33 reported that two logs in the stove burn within one hour. But let’s not blame one model. The owner of a Bosca reported an hour of burn time when four logs were stacked inside.
Another reported getting thirty minutes of heat before having to add logs.
This may indicate a problem with the stove itself, particularly the seals. The logs will burn too fast if there is too much air coming into the appliance.
You should take a close look (when the stove has cooled!) at the rope seals around the door. Degraded rope seals are often the cause of air leaks.
Check the vents as well. Make sure they seal properly when fully closed.
What Stove Owners Say About How Long Logs Last
The manufacturing guide for my model of stove says that the burn time is eight hours. This may be for people who are more tolerant of a lower temperature than I am!
When I have three ash logs burning in the stove with the air vents narrowed, I have to add new logs about every three hours.
However, I only use the wood stove for heating the house. I use a different heat source for hot water.
So, I checked with two families who use their wood stoves for all heating, hot water, and cooking. They also work from home, so the fire is lit from 8 AM to 9 PM.
Note that these are extreme cases.
One family reported that they use about one wheelbarrow per day. That’s about 35 logs in 13 hours. Let’s say they burn three logs at a time. That calculates as having to add new logs every one hour and twenty minutes.
Another family told me their log usage was “an overflowing wheelbarrow” per day and they keep the house very warm.
So, I’ll interpret that as 40 logs in 13 hours. At three logs per burning, they will have to add new logs every hour.
Manufacturers Burn Hours
When you are looking at different brands and models, you can check for published figures about the “burn hours”.
Don’t actually take these as how long a single log will last! Instead, use comparisons as relative, especially when comparing different models under the same brand.
Lower burn hours
The table below has burn hours from several popular brands that are on the lower side of burn hours. Where the manufacturer published a range, I’ve taken the midpoint.
I’ve included the weight as you may be looking for a smaller model. Be aware, that this often correlates with lower burn hours (although not always).
| Brand | Model | Burn Hours | Weight |
| Lopi | Answer | 8 | 300 |
| Vermont Castings | Intrepid | 8 | 348 |
| Blaze King | 20 or 20.2 * | 9.5 | 320 |
| Vermont Castings | Aspen | 10 | 215 |
| Lopi | Endeavour | 10 | 448 |
| Lopi | Rockport | 10 | 450 |
| Lopi | Evergreen | 10 | 455 |
(*) Models named Chinook, Ashford, and Sirocco from Blaze King with a 20 or 20.2 suffix.
Higher burn hours
The next table has the popular models that have higher burn hours.
As you can see, the Liberty from Lopi is a bit of a monster in size. But it doesn’t have the highest burn hours.
If you want more info on sizes, check our article on how much wood stoves weigh.
| Brand | Model | Burn Hours | Weight |
| Blaze King | 30 or 30.2 * | 10.5 | 415 |
| Blaze King | Princess Classic | 11 | 370 |
| Vermont Castings | Dauntless | 11 | 390 |
| Blaze King | Boxer 24 | 11 | 440 |
| Vermont Castings | Encore | 12 | 475 |
| Lopi | Liberty | 12 | 570 |
| Vermont Castings | Defiant | 14 | 475 |
| Blaze King | King 40 | 15 | 450 |
(*) Models named Chinook, Ashford, and Sirocco from Blaze King with a 30 or 30.2 suffix.
