Duraflame logs are a convenient way to have fire without all the hassle of chopping wood. If you haven’t used them yet, you might wonder if artificial logs can actually give off heat or if they’re only good for ambiance.
How much heat do Duraflame logs give off and how do they compare to firewood?
Duraflame logs do give off heat. The main ingredients in all Duraflame products are sawdust, agricultural fibers but also wax – which allows the logs to produce more than twice the BTU of wood. More than enough to heat most rooms.
Most Duraflame logs are made to be used one at a time, which can keep the fire from getting as warm as you’d like.
If heat is your goal, you should consider using the Outdoor Firelogs. Since they’re designed for burning more than one log at a time, you can continue to add logs to your fire until it reaches the temperature you prefer.
Do Duraflame Logs Give Off Heat?
Duraflame logs do give off heat and provide more than enough heat to heat most rooms for up to 3 hours at a time.
Duraflame logs actually give off twice the amount of heat as a single piece of wood, which makes it more energy efficient to heat your home with them instead of wood.
Although they give off twice as many BTUs as a piece of natural wood, your fire may not feel as warm as a normal fire.
That’s because Duraflame logs are meant to be used one at a time, so you don’t have to fiddle with the fire as it burns. This gives a more consistent temperature output compared to regular fires than can give off a lot of heat at first and then less heat as they die down over time.
A single log is great if you’re looking to create a certain ambiance and heat up an average sized room
But if you want your fire to give off more heat then may need multiple logs at once or you may rather stack them like a traditional fire instead. Duraflame made that possible when they created their Outdoor firelog, explicitly designed to burn more than one log at a time.
These firelogs are designed for the great outdoors and burn brighter and hotter than regular firewood. Specially formulated and tested for roasting campfire foods and marshmallows.
Using these logs, I can get the temperature of my fire just right. As an added bonus, the Outdoor logs are totally safe to cook over, so they’re perfect to use on nights when the kids might want to roast marshmallows as well.
Even though they’re made for campfires, the Outdoor firelog is also safe to use in an open-hearth fireplace, so you can get that extra warmth indoors too.
Can a Single Duraflame Log Produce Enough Heat to Warm a Room?
If you only want to heat one room, you can do that with a 6 LB Duraflame Indoor/Outdoor log.
They can efficiently heat a 1,500-square-foot (140 square meter) space for up to 4 hours.
If you have a small house with an open floor plan, you may even be able to heat your entire home with just one log.
Can You Heat an Entire Home With Duraflame Logs?
Yes, you can heat an entire home with Duraflame logs. One of their logs can heat about 1,500 square feet.
If you want to heat a larger home or one without an open floor plan, it’s time to do some math.
When you make a fire out of regular wood, you’ll typically use 7-12 pieces of wood for a fire that lasts 2-3 hours.
If we apply that same logic to Duraflame logs, you’ll want to use 3-6 logs to get heat for 2-3 hours since they burn twice as hot as natural wood.
Can You Safely Burn More Than One Duraflame Log At a Time?
Duraflame recommends only using one log at a time for most of their products because the wax allows each log to give off twice the BTUs of regular wood. They also lack the same rigidity of regular wood so when stacked their burning can be negatively affected.
There are certain products, however, that are explicitly designed to burn more than one at a time.
Crackleflame Indoor/Outdoor Firelogs
If you use the Crackleflame Indoor/Outdoor logs, you can add a second one to the fire toward the end of the burn.
If you go this route, just be sure to check the instructions on the wrapper before you use them.
Outdoor Firelogs
The other option for burning more than one log at a time is the Outdoor firelog.
Even though these logs are made for campfires, the Outdoor Firelog is also safe to use in an open-hearth fireplace so that you can get that extra warmth indoors too.
While I do enjoy the simplicity of using a single log to heat one room, I also love building the perfect fire with the Outdoor logs.
As a bonus, they’re also totally safe to cook over, so they’re perfect to use on nights when the kids might want to roast marshmallows as well.
How Many BTUs Do Duraflame Logs Produce?
Thanks to the wax component in their proprietary blend, the original 6 LB Duraflame 4 hour log produces an average of 85,000 BTUs of heat.
It takes about 30-60 BTUs per square feet to heat a room, so if you use the 6 LB log in your fireplace, it will warm a 1,500 square foot room quite nicely.
How Long Do Duraflame Logs Produce Heat?
How long Duraflame logs can produce heat for as little as an hour and a half or as long as four hours per log, depending on which kind you choose.
| Type of Firelog | Size | Duration of Heat Production |
|---|---|---|
| Duraflame Indoor/Outdoor Firelogs | 6 LB | Up to 4 hours |
| 4.5 LB | Up to 3 hours | |
| 2.5 LB | Up to 1.5 hours | |
| Duraflame Every Night Firelogs | Up to 2.5 hours | |
| Duraflame Gold Firelogs | 4.5 LB | Up to 3 hours |
| 2.5 LB | Up to 1.5 hours | |
| Duraflame Crackleflame Firelogs | Up to 3 hours | |
| Duraflame Outdoor Firelogs | 6-pack | Up to 6 hours |
| 3-pack | Up to 3 hours |
