The Lekto Guide to Stocking up on Wood Fuel

Storms make trees take deeper roots. Likewise, making mistakes when stocking up on wood fuel will inevitably improve your preparation game.

If you run out of firewood halfway through the heating season, you will make sure to order an ample amount of it next year. If you buy the cheapest option available, you'll learn that low-quality wood fuel that smokes and smoulders isn't a good buy at any price. And if you store your briquettes in a humid environment, you'll quickly learn the importance of proper storage conditions.

What’s a lot better than learning from your own mistakes, however, is learning from the mistakes of others and listening to the advice of industry experts with decades of experience.

In this article, we will tell you what you need to know to make your next stocking up experience a success.

Tip #1: Only Buy From Trusted Suppliers

Before you do anything else, it is important to choose who you'll buy your wood fuel from. We put this tip first because making a mistake here will ruin the entire heating season for you, even if you follow every other tip in this article.

There are countless wood fuel suppliers in the UK and they offer products of varying quality. Even high price aren't a good indicator of quality as there are hundreds of e-commerce companies that use flashy marketing to push low-quality products at high prices.

So remember that you’re buying the seller as much as you’re buying the fuel.
When judging a new company, look for real customer reviews. Taking our business as an example, Lekto has been reviewed over 8,000 times on Trustpilot and maintains an exceptionally high rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars.

Word of mouth is another good indicator. Is there a supplier your friends, family, and colleagues are raving about? Chances are, your experience will be similar to theirs.

Tip #2: Only Purchase Ready to Burn Certified Fuels

Ready to Burn is a wood fuel certification scheme implemented by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The certification scheme is aimed at preventing the sale of low-quality firewood and briquettes to the UK public. The reason Defra wants to phase out low-quality wood fuels is because burning them releases toxins and pollutants, which are harmful to both your health and the environment.

Starting next year, it will be illegal for any business to sell wood fuel that is not certified as Ready to Burn. The only exception to the rule will be suppliers of bulk unseasoned firewood, whose clients take care of the seasoning themselves.

When you buy wood fuel online, take a look at the product page of the fuel you're interested in. The Ready to Burn badge and the fuel’s certificate number should be clearly visible. For example, if you open the product page of our Kiln Dried Birch Logs, you will find that it is certified and has been granted certificate No. WS370/00003.

When ordering firewood or briquettes by phone, don’t be afraid to ask the seller whether their products are certified. You have every right to do so. And it’s the best thing you can do for your health and the health of our planet.

Tip #3: Understand Your Purchasing Options

If you’re buying online from a reputable seller, you will be given a lot of choices when it comes to purchasing your product. This is to ensure that every customer can get the best deal possible, regardless of your purchasing scenario.

Leverage the Power of Bulk Discounts

Every product Lekto sells is offered in a wide variety of sizes. These range from 20kg Mini Packs to 900kg pallets to 1.49m3 crates. Economies of scale are at play here, so the bigger the size of your order, the better a price you will be able to get.

Let’s take a real-life example. If you were to buy a full pallet of Night Briquettes, a single briquette will cost you about half of what it would’ve cost you if you bought them in a single Mini Pack. Can’t buy a full pallet? Buy an 8 pack and you’ll save £20 on your order.

For this reason, we always recommend you to buy in the biggest quantities you can. It’s simply the smartest thing to do. And your wallet will thank you for it.

Understand the Power of Bundles

But what if you want to buy a variety of products but have limited storage space and can’t order each of them in bulk?

That’s where wood fuel bundles come in. Simply choose a mixture of wood fuels that suits your needs and enjoy a bulk discount for your order!

Visit the Value Bundles section of our website to find out what's on offer today!

Tip #4: Understand the Purpose of Small Purchasing Options

Building upon what we just covered, let's talk about ordering in small quantities. If you’re always better off buying in bulk, why does Lekto offer you to buy products in small quantities, to begin with?

The answer is straightforward. It’s an inexpensive way for you to test out a product and see if you like it.

For example, many of our firewood buyers are often curious about our ultra-hot-burning Hardwood Heat Logs. Buying a single pack gives them the opportunity to see whether the product is right for them while spending as little money as possible. If they like it, they can order in bulk next time.

Tip #5: Understand Your Storage Capabilities Ahead of Time

This is a mistake that is usually made by newcomers to the wood-burning game. Sometimes people get so carried away thinking how much they can save per day of heating if they buy in bulk (especially if they come from a gas or electric heat background) that they end up ordering more firewood or briquettes than they can store.

So gauge your storage capabilities ahead of time. That extra 10% off your firewood order may not be worth it if you have to give a fourth of it away to a neighbour.

Tip #6: Make Use of Seasonal Pricing

Unless you’re very new to the wood heat game, you undoubtedly know that fuelwood prices fluctuate wildly depending on the season.

The best time to buy wood fuel is during the summer. This is when wood fuel is actively produced, so supply is very high. On the other side of the equation, demand is low because most people don't stock up on wood fuel until they can feel the cold approaching. The savviest of our buyers purchase all of their wood fuel in the summer.

The second best time to buy wood fuel is between September 1st and November 1st as this is the autumn price season. There’s still a lot of stock left from the summer and demand isn’t as high as it will be in the winter.

While the savings you will get here are not as big as what you’d get when ordering during the summer months, you can still save up to 30% on your wood fuel purchase.

If you're reading this before 23:59 on October 31, 2021, you can still take advantage of autumn pricing. As long as you go through the checkout process in October, you'll be able to save big on your next wood fuel order.