As I’ve posted here before, we’re heating our home this year by burning two fuels: Oregon-grown/harvested hardwood; and Oregon-sourced/refined B99 bio-diesel. Hardwood is fantastic but requires a good deal of splitting unless it’s aged at least one full calendar year, and even then it needs a very hot fire to burn effectively. In our specific use-case, this is definitely the case when burning the stove with the catalyst fully engaged. The catalytic converter in the stove needs to be pre-heated prior to activation, to ensure it is hot enough to function effectively, without ‘gumming-up’ with carbon. 30 minutes at full burn usually does the trick.

Once engaged, the multi-stage burn seriously reduces the airflow in the firebox, enabling much longer and significantly cleaner burns (EPA-approved). But for this to work at optimal levels, you need to make sure the fire is super-hot and/or that your hardwood is sufficiently aged and/or split small enough to maximize surface area. This is actually an enjoyable venture, seeing just how little you can feed the fire yet still get massive quantities of heat from the stove. Regardless, well-seasoned (dry, aged) wood burns best.

In performing my initial stove research, I stumbled upon something called the North Idaho Energy Log (NIEL). As many of you know, you can purchase pre-manufactured fire logs (e.g., Duraflame, Pres-to-Logs, etc.), often even in grocery stores. These logs typically are made of sawmill byproduct (sawdust) compressed with a binding agent (e.g., wax, etc.). I never considered looking for these types of manufactured fuels because they typically are not compatible with catalytic stoves. The logs’ binding agents will clog the catalyst, eliminating the stove’s environmental benefits.

The NIELs are different in the fact that they don’t use a binding agent, instead relying on high amounts of compression and intense heat. The logs are made of dry wood shavings from a timber company’s planer mill, which are then feed into unique machines that have been in use for more than 70 years.

In my research, I found a few references showing that the NIEL consistently outperformed other manufactured logs, as well as hardwood. This definitely piqued my interest as I love the idea of a renewable fuel that is made from a byproduct of wood manufacturing, thereby reducing waste and maximizing a natural resource. The logs have extremely high density and low moisture content, packed into a package barely over a foot long and maybe 4 to 5 inches in diameter. Yet these tidy dimensions still manage to pack a whopping 8,600 BTUs per pound. Subsequently, each eight pound energy log contains 68,000 BTUs.

A pallet of North Idaho Energy Logs (240 logs) will offer 16,320,000 BTUs. Comparatively, a cord of firewood will typically offer anywhere from 12 million BTU (cottonwood) to 28 million BTU (hickory and madrone). For reference, a cord of wood measures 8 feet long, 4 feet high and 4 feet wide (128 cubic feet). A pallet of NIELs measures 4 feet by 4 feet by 4 feet (64 cubic feet). You can purchase NIELs in Portland from Mount Scott Fuel on SE Foster Road. They sell for $1.20/each, or a full pallet (240 logs) for $275. Comparatively, firewood will typically run anywhere from $180 for a cord of softwood to well over $350 for a full cord of seasoned madrone. You usually pay more for well-seasoned wood, and hardwoods always run higher due to their superior heat output.

We’ve burned several of these logs in our wood stove and I’ve been extremely pleased with the results. As stated earlier, you need to get the stove very hot in order for the NIELs to really ignite completely, but once started, they burn beautifully and put out tremendous heat. NIELs are clean, never need splitting, and they’re easy to haul. What’s more, it’s very satisfying knowing how amazingly clean they burn –which you can actually see as the glass in the stove’s door stays crystal clear when NIELs are burned. What’s more, with a catalytic stove and NIELs, you can have confidence that you’re producing the cleanest burn possible with a renewable resource.

Here’s a snapshot of my take on the pros and cons of the North Idaho Energy Logs:

POSITIVES

• They burn longer, hotter and cleaner than firewood because they have significantly lower moisture content and higher density
• According to independent laboratory tests, they produce up to 90% less particulate emissions than hardwood
• They produce 50% less creosote than firewood
• They don’t produce soot or tar, which can clog stoves and reduce efficiency
• They produce virtually zero ash (less than 1/2 of one percent)
• They produce virtually zero smoke
• They are made from a byproduct of wood manufacturing, thereby reducing waste and maximizing a renewable resource
• No seasoning/aging required –you can burn them the same day you buy them
• When compared with other pressed logs, the NIEL features higher compaction (more energy), longer burn times, and a complete lack of a harmful binding agents
• You can burn NIELs in any wood stove, fireplace insert, open fireplace, open campfire or cook stove
• They are entirely safe for catalytic stoves
• They are extremely compact (just over a foot long), requiring less than half the storage space required for firewood
• They don’t ‘pop’ or throw sparks, so if you use them in a fireplace, you won’t need a screen
• Their compact size and clean finish makes them very suitable for storage in your home

NEGATIVES

• To start the logs, you can use firestarters or kindling, or you can split a NIEL into wafers, but you will need a good deal of heat to get maximum burn
• As they don’t use a binding agent, NIELs are more fragile than other manufactured logs, and definitely more fragile than firewood. If you drop one, the ends may break off.
• They need to be stored in a dry place where there is no outside moisture –the lack of a binding agent makes them more susceptible to moisture
• The machines used to build the logs are powered by natural gas, a non-renewable, largely imported fossil fuel that I don’t particularly care to support
• As the name implies, the logs are made in North Idaho, which demands fossil fuels for their transportation to our neck of the woods; this is an unfortunate consequence of a manufactured product which relies on sawmills
• Typically, they will cost slightly more than mixed (hard and soft) firewood
• The manufacturer recommends burning no more than two logs at once, as the heat output can be quite intense