A look at wood burning alternatives

Brrr! It's cold outside. What better time to make use of the wood-burning fireplace or pellet stove in the living room?

All you need is fuel for the fire. Whatever you use, "you should burn as cleanly as possible," says Janelle Schneider, an air district spokeswoman in California's San Joaquin Valley.

There are generally two types of logs used in wood-burning fireplaces: real wood logs and manufactured logs. Real wood logs should be hardwood, such as oak or maple, and can be bought in boxes, pre-split at many hardware and home supply stores.

Wood from fruit trees also can be used, and are sold in various quantities.

With wood logs, be sure they are dry and have time to cure, Schneider says.

"The higher water content (a piece of wood) has, the more smoke it produces," she says. "The worst wood you can burn is raw wood that's not dry and seasoned."

Alternatives to real firewood are manufactured logs, of which there are two main types.

The popular, more commonly found manufactured logs are made of about 50 percent wood or agricultural fibers, such as ground nut shells, and about 50 percent wax, says Chris Caron, vice president of brand development at Duraflame in Stockton, Calif. "The wax may be petroleum, although newer formulations contain natural waxes from plant and vegetable oils," he says.

"The wax component of the logs helps bind the materials together, and makes the logs easy to light. The wood wax logs are normally wrapped in a paper wrapper, making them clean to handle."

Duraflame, Pine Mountain and Java-Log products are some that fall in this category. They're sold by the case or by individual logs. The logs are typically individually wrapped with paper, which you don't have to remove and can light to ignite your fire, says Amber Smith, associate brand manager for Pine Mountain and Java-Log products in Muncie, Ind.

The other kind of manufactured log is made of 100 percent compressed wood chips and includes no wax, Caron says. "The compressed wood logs, often referred to as 'Presto' logs, also burn very cleanly -- particularly when burned in a wood stove -- but are very dense and difficult to light," he says. "And like wood, you have to burn multiple logs to sustain a fire."

If what helps keep you warm at night is a pellet stove, then bags of pellets are readily available.

"There are some quality differences" with pellet fuel manufacturers, says Dianne Cloyd, co-owner of Ponderosa Hearth and Home in Clovis, Calif. "Most of the difference is in the density and the level of moisture" in the pellets. "The more dense and drier, the better the quality. You'll find less sawdust in the bag."

Pellets are sold by 40-pound bags or by the pallet or ton, which consists of fifty 40-pound bags.

If you're using your pellet stove as your main source of heat, buy by the ton, Cloyd says. Keep bags of pellets out of the rain as much as possible.