Wood burner advice

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Derby2
Derby2 Posts: 292 Forumite
in LPG, heating oil, solid & other fuels
We're looking to buy a Dovre 500 CBW as we live in a smokefree zone. Does anyone here have any experience of them?

I'm getting a little daunted by how much wood we will need to fuel it and a lot of people are recommending multi fuel instead of wood burners.

Any advice is much appreciated.
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  • Ken68
    Ken68 Posts: 6,825 Forumite
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    Wood is free, or could be. Coal is £15 a sack.
  • Hatster
    Hatster Posts: 97 Forumite
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    But you do need to put the wood somewhere - especially if it's being given to you free by loving family and friends as you have no control over when it's going to appear, and it probably isn't seasoned, so you'll need to store it for a year or so. We were amazed at how much wood you can burn, and how much space it takes up in a small garden. On the other hand, we have only just bought logs for the first time after 3 years of wood burning.
  • dooby
    dooby Posts: 1,337 Forumite
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    I went for a multi fuel stove rather than just wood.

    Firstly there's like someone mentioned the storage of large amounts of wood but mainly because coal/smokeless fuel is just so easy. You can just lob it on. No chopping or drying out or trying to poke about making it fit in, plus it burns for longer. We just figured that we were bound to get days were we would want to take it easy or were we'd be too busy or full of colds to be trapsing about dealing with wood.

    Also, we can put smokeless on and go out for however long and the house will be warm when we get back, the wood would have just burned away. On top of that, wood should really be burned at a roar not a simpering flame in order to keep your flue clean and wood does sometimes get just too hot. Smokeless is more controllable as you can turn the vents up and down and it's almost as though you're adjusting the flame on a gas fire.

    We do use ours for the main source of heating though so we need it to be on everyday, day and night at the moment.
  • A._Badger
    A._Badger Posts: 5,852 Forumite
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    Wood looks nice and smells wonderful (though you lose that when you burn it on a stove) but it isn't exactly hassle-free to use, as other have pointed out.

    The other point I'd make is that though people sometimes say you can get wood for nothing, I couldn't possibly scavenge or scrounge the quantitr I'd need to keep mine going at the rate I use it - and I doubt that what I could get for free would often be the right sort of wood for burning on a stove, either.

    Probably the best bet is to make sure your new stove will take both fuels (not all will), so that you can chop and change to suit you. Unless I owned a wood, I wouldn't personally have a wood-only stove.
  • QTC
    QTC Posts: 56 Forumite
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    Ken68 wrote: »
    Wood is free, or could be..

    Wrong, unless you are stealing it.
  • stoveman
    stoveman Posts: 122 Forumite
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    Dovre are very good stoves, really well made.
  • Ken68
    Ken68 Posts: 6,825 Forumite
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    When you offer to saw down an unwanted tree, then the wood is free. Store it for a year before using.
    Wood from a skip, as long as it's taken with permission is saving it from the dump.
    Unwanted furniture from general auctions is free, tis a case of getting it home.
    Unwanted furniture from Freecycle is free, again you are having to pay transport.
    As an experiment put a sign outside your house. Wood Wanted, then post back in a month.
  • Greatgimp
    Greatgimp Posts: 1,052 Forumite
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    I had a Dovre, and it had fold-back double doors so it really appeared to be an ordinary fireplace. It really did chuck out some heat, but was proportional to the amount of wood it got through! We never let it go out for about 6 months of the year!
  • Greatgimp
    Greatgimp Posts: 1,052 Forumite
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    Suggest you don't burn chipboard, plywood or any painted wood. I never feel ok about burning glue or paint products anywhere, let alone in the fireplace.
  • Snow_Dog
    Snow_Dog Posts: 690 Forumite
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    Greatgimp wrote: »
    Suggest you don't burn chipboard, plywood or any painted wood. I never feel ok about burning glue or paint products anywhere, let alone in the fireplace.

    I agree with the chipboard, ply or painted, however there are other sources of wood.

    I find that pallets ripped through in the right way with a circular saw in a matter of minutes can make for a fantastic amount of kindling with the corner blocks good for the main fire.

    If you know someone in the building trade there is a good source of joist offcuts which can often be 8x2 chunks etc.

    Also its surprising how many people you know who chop down the occasional tree, it just takes a year of sitting there to season and its ideal burning wood.

    Plenty of good sources for good burning timber foc.
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