Wood burner or more practical spending?

hethmar

*screams silently in horror at the thought of soft wood pallets being used on the burner.

For goodness sake use the right wood, weve had 3 calls from flue fires this week alone. Get a NACS sweep to sweep it at least twice a season too.

beetlebum_2

It makes great kindling. I have a load of seasoned hardwood which goes on once the fire has got started. Now, maybe you can pat me on the back and say well done?

beetlebum_2

Oh, and why would softwood lead to a flue fire? As it burns fast and hard? Well, I have a Stovax stovepipe thermometer, so I make sure it doesn't get "too hot".

hethmar

Well done beetle, if you are just using it for kindling

Antispam

I used softwood pallets on ours most of last Winter and its fine. I just now use it for kindling as I dont have a good source for cheap wood now

Antispam

I think the problem lies that chimneys with log burners dont get hot enough when burning so the fumes can cool down before reaching the top, so if anything keep it nice and hot is better than just very low

beetlebum wrote: »

Oh, and why would softwood lead to a flue fire? As it burns fast and hard? Well, I have a Stovax stovepipe thermometer, so I make sure it doesn't get "too hot".

beetlebum_2

Antispam wrote: »

I used softwood pallets on ours most of last Winter and its fine. I just now use it for kindling as I dont have a good source for cheap wood now

Well as the resident expert hasn't chipped in yet, maybe I will spark the burner up purely with the chunky corner pieces today. As long as I keep the temperature under control (which I do), what's the problem?

Lotus-eater

I think softwood leaves a residue on the walls of the pipe, thats what I have always been told.

hethmar

Sorry beetle, been busy (!). The problem we have found with people using things like pallets for burning is that they (forgive me for generalising) tend to turn the fire down to smoulder level. The resins then have time to stick to the sides of the liner and form a thick tar which is what causes the chimney fires when a spark catches it. (BTW you did have the liner insulated didnt you?)

If you burn it hard all the time you will probably be fine.

Lotus-eater

I burned quite a bit of free softwood last year, I to have one of those temp dials that shows when the flue is at an optimum temperature. The sweep this summer said I had no worse deposits than the norm.