What is the Difference Between Heat Logs, Briquettes and Wood Pellets?

Heat logs, wood briquettes and wood pellets are all manufactured from compressed wood, but they differ mainly in their size, shape and the appliances they are designed to fuel.

Heat logs are compressed wood fuels shaped into log-sized pieces. They are designed to be handled much like ordinary firewood and can be suitable for wood-burning stoves, multi-fuel stoves and open fires, depending on the product and appliance.

Wood briquettes are also made by compressing dry sawdust and other clean wood residues. The terms “heat log” and “wood briquette” are often used interchangeably, so in many cases there is no fundamental difference between the two. Briquettes are available in various shapes, densities and sizes, which can affect how quickly they burn and how much heat they produce.

Wood pellets are much smaller. They are manufactured as short, narrow cylinders and are primarily intended for pellet stoves and biomass boilers, where they can be automatically fed into the combustion chamber. They should not be treated as a direct replacement for logs in an ordinary wood-burning stove unless the appliance is specifically designed or approved for pellet use.

In simple terms, heat logs and briquettes are larger compressed wood fuels that can be added to a fire by hand, while wood pellets are a smaller, specialised fuel designed primarily for pellet-burning appliances.