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How to store logs indoors

Updated: 2026-10-16

You have brought in a crate of logs because the stove is lit, and the basket is already warm beside the hearth. That is the moment this usually goes wrong. How to store logs indoors is a short, dry supply, kept off the appliance, while the main stack stays outside. A wooden basket does not dry a wet log and it does not make the hearth legal. The [wooden basket comparison](/hub/outdoor-fire-pits/wooden-basket) is only the six amazon.co.uk listings. This page is the method, drawn from HETAS, GOV.UK, Ready to Burn, and fire-service pages on 16 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have brought in a crate of logs because the stove is lit, and the basket is already warm beside the hearth. That is the moment this usually goes wrong.

Our top picks

Wickerfield Wickerfield heart-handle crate

Best overall

Wickerfield Wickerfield heart-handle crate
9.2/10about £6.29
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Yaheetech Yaheetech lidded laundry hamper

Alternative

Yaheetech Yaheetech lidded laundry hamper
9.2/10about £39.99
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Wickerfield Wickerfield small oval crate

Best value

Wickerfield Wickerfield small oval crate
8.8/10about £7.99
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On this page
  1. 1.The indoor supply
  2. 2.The outdoor stack
  3. 3.Fire pits
  4. 4.What a basket does not change

The indoor supply

HETAS tells you to keep the indoor wood to about the next two days, off the hearth and off the appliance. Two days is a time limit, not a kilogram capacity, and none of the crates states how many logs it holds. Bring in what you will burn soon, where radiant heat does not reach it. Dry logs catch more readily, so they belong away from ignition sources. London Fire Brigade warns that radiant heat from a stove or an open fire can ignite logs left close by. Use a fireguard, fit a carbon monoxide alarm, and sweep at least twice a year if you burn logs. The Brigade does not name a basket. An easy-read note of about 1 metre is about where people sit, not a tested distance for these boxes. If the only gap is inside the clearance in your stove manual, stop. A fitter or a HETAS engineer reads that manual against the room. Kindling wants its own holder, still off the hearth, on the kindling basket page.

The outdoor stack

The main store is outside, off the ground, ventilated, and out of the rain. A crate on bare earth, or a lidless box in a downpour, is not that store. The only water line among the six listings is on the Wickerfield heart crate, and it says not water resistant. In England, wood sold for domestic burning under 2 cubic metres must be Ready to Burn, at 20% moisture or less. Larger volumes need the statutory drying notice. That England instrument is not the same statute in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland. Ready to Burn applies to the fuel, not to the basket. Drying wet logs on the stove is the mistake these guides are trying to stop. Season the wood outdoors, then bring in the short supply.
Wickerfield Wickerfield heart-handle crate

Testsieger

Wickerfield Wickerfield heart-handle crate
9.2/10about £6.29
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Fire pits

An outdoor fire pit takes the same fuel discipline and a different place. Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue say to keep the pit off decking, away from sheds and fences, and to burn kiln-dried wood. Painted, coated, and pressure-treated wood stay out, and so do accelerants. Never leave the fire unattended. Scottish Fire and Rescue's advice of about three feet from combustibles is guidance for standing heaters and fire pits, not a clearance measured for these listings. The hamper is painted MDF. Keep it away from a pit, and do not burn the box. The open crates do not state an outdoor rating. In a smoke control area in England, chimney smoke can bring a penalty of up to £300, and wood belongs in a Defra-exempt appliance. That penalty is about the chimney. A freestanding pit is treated differently on GOV.UK unless the smoke goes up the house chimney.

What a basket does not change

None of the six listings is fireproof or a tested log basket. None states a liner, a timber species, or a day's capacity. The buying guide is where you match a crate to a measured gap. Store the fuel as HETAS describes: about two days indoors, off the hearth, and the rest outside, off the ground. Call a chimney sweep when the flue is overdue, and at least twice a year if you burn logs. Call a fitter when you do not know whether the stove is Defra-exempt, or when the basket would sit inside the clearance in the manual. If a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, get everyone out.

Common questions

How much wood should come indoors?
About the next two days, which is the HETAS limit for the indoor supply. It is not a weight. The rest of the wood stays in the outdoor stack, off the ground and out of the rain. Top the basket up from that stack rather than moving the whole pile inside.
Can the basket sit on the hearth?
No. HETAS says combustibles do not belong on the hearth or against the appliance. London Fire Brigade warns that radiant heat can ignite nearby logs. If the crate only fits inside your stove's stated clearance, ask a fitter before you light it.
Will the basket dry wet logs?
No. Dry wood catches more readily, which is why Ready to Burn says to keep it away from ignition sources. Season logs in a ventilated outdoor stack, off the ground. Putting a wet crate on the stove is how a fuel store becomes a fire risk.
What does Ready to Burn apply to?
In England it applies to wood fuel sold for domestic use under 2 cubic metres, at 20% moisture or less. It does not certify the basket. Larger volumes need the statutory drying notice. Do not treat that England rule as if it were the same statute in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.
Where does an outdoor fire-pit stack go?
Off decking, and away from sheds and fences, on Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue's advice. Burn kiln-dried wood, and leave painted, coated, and pressure-treated wood out. A painted MDF hamper is furniture, not pit fuel.
When do I stop and call a sweep or a fitter?
Call a sweep when the chimney is overdue, and at least twice a year if you burn logs. Call a fitter when you do not know if the stove is Defra-exempt or when the only standing place is inside the manual's clearance. If a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, leave the house.

Related pages

Wood crate or wicker

Wooden basket

Best wooden basket: which UK listing fits which job

Wooden basket buying guide: job, size, then material

Wooden basket for kindling sticks, not a day's logs

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, plus the amazon.co.uk listing facts in the display file. Shelf prices and star lines are those stored UK figures. Specialist willow prices are a contrast, not amazon.co.uk prices and not a market average.

  1. GOV.UK: smoke control areas (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. GOV.UK: selling wood for domestic use in England (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. Air Quality (Domestic Solid Fuels Standards) (England) Regulations 2020, Schedule 2 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. HETAS: log storage (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. London Fire Brigade: portable heaters, gas fires and open fires (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK: General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. Firebox Stoves: wicker and willow log baskets (retrieved 16 October 2026)