It’s hot! And most people are out and about enjoying all the things that Summer has to offer with little thought to the winter months. But Carlos Ter Huurne, owner of Ignition Firewood, a Drury-based firewood supplier is always thinking ahead and knows that if you buy your wood now you will benefit from it in a number of ways once Winter descends.
“Summer is the best time to buy firewood. You benefit from lower prices because we sell freshly cut wood, it is perfect to burn after being seasoned in a well aired, open environment, such as under the eave of a house or alongside a fence. Once the wood is seasoned it can then be stored away in a dry location such as a garage or covered with a tarpaulin. The holiday period and extended daylight hours mean no more stacking in a hurry to beat the weather!” says Carlos
Carlos and his team are busy cutting and stacking a small mountain of quality firewood every day, thanks to their brand-new Italian processor. It is capable of cutting and splitting logs up to 8m long and 1.2m in diameter, with the push of a button, it has revolutionized their whole operation. Over 20,000 cubic meters go out the gate every year, making them the leading supplier to the Auckland market. For some suppliers, firewood is a sideline business that keeps them busy in winter. For Ignition Firewood it is 365 days a year, nonstop. Stacking, cutting, splitting, drying and delivering - their yard is a hive of activity.
“We deliver for free on orders over $200 in value within 40km of our Drury depot, and further afar for a small fee. As far south as Huntly, north to Albany, east to Howick, west to Titirangi and of course all over Pukekohe. Our narrow cab trucks can hold 6m cube which is a common amount the average household would burn through in a winter.
With widespread concern about environmental issues and heavy promotion of heat pumps, a lot of people mistakenly think firewood is going out of fashion, says Carlos, but modern clean burning wood burners produce minimal emissions, and Carlos points out that using firewood is actually a form of recycling with Ignition Firewood sharing a symbiotic relationship with developers. He also points out heat pumps aren’t exactly clean and green, with coal power from Huntly keeping them running.
“We use logs largely derived from land clearances. They’re no use to the developers and would otherwise have to be burned or chipped on site. We turn them into useful fuel, often from logs that are really hard to process but fantastic for heat generation to enable people to have warm, dry homes in winter.”
Ignition Firewood has a range of different quality woods available now that stored over Summer will provide people with a great option to heat their homes this winter.
There are softwoods like Pine available from $60 a half cube, hardwoods like gum and Tea tree but the most common wood sold is the Hotmix firewood available for the reduced price of $125 per cubic meter
“Hotmix is a combination of hard, slow burning wood such as gum and soft fast burning wood such as pine. It may also contain oak, macrocarpa, poplar, and black wattle. It is popular as it provides both fast starting and long burning firewood. With every delivery we include a good quantity of each to ensure customers are kept well catered for once the weather turns colder.”
Ignition Firewood has a range of different quality woods available year-round and closer to Winter the option is always there to purchase kiln dried, shed stored firewood ready to burn immediately, but Carlos encourages people to plan ahead and order now.
“You will save money and benefit far more in the long run; the prices always go up closer to winter because the wood has to have been kiln dried first or it won’t burn straight away. Delivery schedules become tighter which means that you could find yourself waiting an extra week or two when you don’t need to. Purchasing wood in preparation for Winter now, means you will have the means to heat your family’s home whenever you need it and after a year like this one, who knows what next year will throw at us!”
There’s nothing like the aroma of freshly split firewood in your shed, whether it’s the resinous tang of pine or cypress or the more spicy scents of some of the less common timbers. Rather like the smell of new mown hay freshly stacked in the barn, it gives a reassuring feeling of being prepared for winter and Ignition Firewood can make that happen for you today! They make deliveries all over Auckland six days a week and ordering is simple - they’re only a phone call away on 0800 WOOD NOW (0800 9663 669) and all trucks have mobile EFTPOS for ease of payment. Or you can bring your trailer in to the yard at 1257 Great South Road, Ramarama, only two minutes from the motorway.
For Ignition Firewood it is 365 days a year, nonstop.
“Summer is the best time to buy firewood. You benefit from lower prices because we sell freshly cut wood, it is perfect to burn after being seasoned in a well aired, open environment, such as under the eave of a house or alongside a fence.