Good Wood Scheme and suppliers

Special offer – Buy your firewood before Xmas to beat the rush and save! 

Nelson City Council in partnership with Tasman District Council and Good Wood suppliers are offering a limited number of firewood discounts to Nelson residents who buy their wood in November and December, ahead of next year’s winter rush.

Nelson and Tasman residents are eligible for a $25 discount off the price of one load of firewood per household (minimum load size 3m3 to qualify).

Contact one of our Good Wood suppliers listed below to take advantage of the offer! The promotion runs until 23 December 2022, or until fully allocated.

Look for the Good Wood tick

When you choose a GOOD WOOD supplier, you're opting for a trusted source of dry firewood that will burn well, keeping your home warmer and our air cleaner.

Don't forget to clean your chimney too. Not only is this important to help prevent chimney fires, it will also help your wood burner run more efficiently.

Firewood with a moisture content of more than 25% is banned in Nelson. Green wood that has recently been cut or wood that has not been stored properly or for long enough does not meet this requirement.

Council’s GOOD WOOD Scheme participants have agreed to supply Nelson householders with either:

• Seasoned firewood, suitable for immediate use during the winter months, or
• Green (unseasoned) firewood delivered sufficiently far in advance of winter so that, if properly stored by the user, it will be seasoned for use in the winter months. Ideally, this would be before Christmas for the following winter.

When ordering seasoned wood from a GOOD WOOD supplier, request that the wood complies with Council’s maximum moisture requirements. If it doesn’t, don’t accept the delivery. Test by striking two pieces of wood together - dry wood will make a sharp cracking sound. Cracks at the end of the wood are another sign that it is dry.

Alternatively, buy green wood in time for it to be seasoned before winter. Ensure that any green wood purchased is stored so that the air can circulate freely and is sheltered from rain. Wood will take between 4 and 12 months to season.

Be aware of 'Roadside' supply

If you choose to purchase firewood from a 'side of the road' source, you may get caught out with a green load. This will be difficult to burn, it won't produce as much heat as dry wood, and it will be extremely smoky.

Likewise, if you have cut down a tree, stack it and allow it to season for 12 months before burning. Cut it into suitable sized pieces for your wood burner as well. Chunks that are too large will not burn properly, meaning less heat and more smoke.

Don’t Burn Treated Timber

Timber treated with preservatives such as CCA (copper chrome arsenic) must not be burnt. Burning this in your wood burner exposes yourself and your family to dangerous chemicals created when this wood is burnt. Arsenic is also released intio the atmosphere when treated wood is burnt.

Monitoring our air quality has shown significant levels of arsenic in our wintertime air. The only source is treated timber from domestic fires. Please contact the Council if you are unsure if the wood you are burning is treated with CCA.

Get your fire off to a great start

Start with plenty of crumpled paper and dry kindling wood (cut from your Good Wood supply) and keep all the air vents wide open.

It’s important to start with small pieces of wood and gradually add bigger bits as the fire builds up. Some people are tempted to put large logs on too soon, thinking they’ll get warm faster.  It’s actually much worse, - you just produce more smoke and can sometimes put the fire out altogether.

The ideal size for your firewood is a thickness of about 10 – 15 centimetres. That will ensure your fire keeps ticking over and producing good warmth while keeping the smoke down.

Remember you’ll burn better, brighter and hotter all night if you start off right!

Good Wood Suppliers

Bay Firewood

027 769 6348

Buyright Firewood

021 127 8957

Quality Firewood

027 449 0622

Richmond Wood and Coal Limited

544 6473

Wholesale Firewood

546 9595 or 027 922 9611