by Geoff Royle July 23, 2021 2 min read

I'll admit it, when I was young and daft there was a time when I would have happily burned driftwood, not only on the beach watching the sun go down, but in my open fire at home as well. Free fuel, what could be better? Well, just about anything else actually. It might look great with its smooth sun-bleached and apparently bone dry, bark-free surfaces but I'm pleased to tell you that I know much better now. I'm definitely done with it, so let me explain why you should avoid it if you haven't already.

Driftwood is just as bad a wood as it can get when you burn it. It's been saturated in sea salt, probably for many years, and when you burn it this can release an excess of chemicals that you won't find in any significant levels in regular seasoned firewood. When you're sitting around a driftwood bonfire you'll be inhaling a toxic chemical known as dioxin. Burning the absorbed salt releases sodium and chlorine ions which form dioxins that are carcinogenic. People with bronchitis or asthma are particularly vulnerable from breathing these in. When you regularly fire driftwood in a stove the toxic fumes also have the potential to quickly corrode your stove and flue components. You should certainly never cook food over a driftwood fire as the food will absorb the dioxins which are known to 'bioaccumulate'. This means that they can build up in your body over time to cause serious health problems. Still like the look of that toasted marshmallow?

It's so much healthier and convenient to bring along a bag of 'Ready to Burn' firewood, that way you don't have to spend ages combing the beach and you can be sure that your fire is going to light quickly and give a brilliantly luminous flame to light up everybody's faces as the sun goes down. When the embers are glowing red they will also be safe to cook over. Since 'Ready to Burn' wood, with its guaranteed less than 20% moisture content, burns so well there will be very little ash left at the end, unlike the half burned bits of saltwater soaked driftwood littering the beaches that you often come across – and of course you won't be poisoning yourself.

To find out more about 'Ready to Burn' firewood please go to www.readytoburn.org

Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.


Also in Stove Yard Blog

DON'T BURN IT JUST BECAUSE IT'S FREE...
DON'T BURN IT JUST BECAUSE IT'S FREE...

by Peter Gough November 17, 2022 4 min read

With the current crippling energy prices many of us are going to have to rely more and more on our stoves and, if we haven't got a stove, our open fires. There's going to be a real temptation therefore to burn whatever we can lay our hands on rather than pay out for kiln dried or seasoned wood and smokeless coal. After all it's free fuel, isn't it? ...more
Thinking of using your open fire during the fuel crisis?
Thinking of using your open fire during the fuel crisis?

by Richard Poulter August 15, 2022 1 min read

Please don’t. Instead, if you can, think seriously about installing one of the new breed of highly efficient, low emissions Ecodesign stoves. One of these will make your fuel go up to four times further than an open fire as well as save you serious money, both on the cost of your fuel, and also on how much you will need to use your gas or oil-fired central heating… read more
MAKE IT A SIZZLING SUMMER WITH THREE OF THE VERY BEST
MAKE IT A SIZZLING SUMMER WITH THREE OF THE VERY BEST

by Richard Poulter May 29, 2022 3 min read

According to The Sun today we're heading for especially sunny weather during this coming extra long Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend and that's when the barbecue season will well and truly kick off. Eating al fresco with friends and family when the sun is shining is one of life's great pleasures and it's all the better when the food is good too. At The Stove Yard we're ready and waiting with some of the very best barbecues and grills for those of you who are planning to upgrade their old grill and who want to take their outdoor cooking to another level... read more

Sign up for our Newsletter