In recent years, the cost of traditional heating fuels such as heating oil and natural gas has significantly increased while at the same time periodic shortages or unavailability of such fuels has been experienced. As a result, many less conventional methods of space heating have grown in popularity correspondingly. One of the presently most popular alternative fuels is wood in that it is relatively inexpensive, plentiful and an efficient source of heat when burned. To make better use of firewood as a heat source, fireplaces and/or wood-burning stoves have grown greatly in demand as amenities for homes or similar buildings.
To facilitate the use of wood as a heating fuel, various types of log storage racks have been developed and marketed to provide a ready means of storage for a reasonable quantity of firewood. Such storage racks typically comprise little more than an open framework of metal tubing or the like adapted for stacking of firewood thereon. Many people consider firewood to be unsightly and out of place within one's home, even when stacked on a conventional storage rack and, for this reason, such storage racks have not met with widespread acceptance. Instead, many people will store firewood only outdoors necessitating constant trips to and from the outdoor storage area to continuously fuel a wood fire, which as will be understood is quite annoying and detracts from the desirability of wood fires as a heating medium.
In contrast, the present invention provides a log storage and dispensing apparatus of an aesthetically pleasing appearance in the nature of a furniture-type cabinet by which a quantity of firewood logs can be stored in a concealed manner indoors and the logs may be dispensed one-by-one as needed for fueling a fire.