Burning Wood

plumpplop

My DH has got access to lots of broken pallets and is starting to stockpile it for next winter(!).

the problem is we don't have anywhere to burn it. His idea is to take out the gas coal effect fire we have in the fireplace and just start buring the wood there instead. Can you do this? He was going to get a gas fitter to take out the fire.

My brother has installed a wood burning stove at his house and when I asked how much it cost he said £1600!!!! including relining the chimney, what ever that is. I think I would prefer a stove but we'd need a lot of free wood to pay £1600!


any of you wonderful Old stylers out there got any advice.

Thank you

squeaky

Hiya,

We have a board which deals with Fuel and other heating which has some threads on wood burners, so I'll move you across there.

The two threads linked here will give you a start:-

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=168384

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=29953

paul_h

It is highly likely that your chimney will have a liner for the gas fire - these are not suitable for any type of wood burner or open fire. A wood burner is dearer to install, but bear in mind that they throw twice as much heat out from the same amount of fuel.

You will have to have this removed, then get the chimney swept and carefully checked - if the liner has been in a brick built chimney for a long time, it can cause the internal surfaces to deteriorate.

A good sweep will be able to smoke test your chimney and check to see if you will need it relining.

HTH

Coaster_2

Old pallet wood is likely to spit a lot, so a stove would be a safer bet for burning it.

plumpplop

tnhhnaks for all the advice on this and other threads. I think the best bet is to get a chimney seep in first to check chimney, see if it needs lining etc. and go on from there. anyone any ideas how much that might cost?

Mikeyorks

Not only will the pallet wood spit a lot - it will burn very rapidly, as it will be softwood.

Many years ago we installed wood burners in a very large property and naively bought 30tons softwood off-cuts from a local timber yard. The pile was so big the sun set over it by mid-afternoon, yet we used it all in 2 months. It gave out little heat - and tarred the chimneys to a dangerous level.

The price of £1600 for a wood burner or multi-fuel, is high. But you will pay £600 - £1000 for a decent one. And you really need hardwood to give decent heat and length of burning time. And they must be seasoned, to give max heat and avoid throwing tar into the chimney. Which creates a real fire hazard.

Bit more in this post?

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=1886549#post1886549

tigger2

Have looked into burning wood. Have heard as long as its bone dry you can burn softwood without much problem. Seem to find that it is the hot air on a cold chimney That causes condensation then tha causes tar? Was your softwood pile wet ot burnt wet?

plumpplop

Hi guys,

Just like to say thanks for all the advice.

I thought I'd just let you have an update on where we are with burning our scrap pallet wood. OH got a grate from e-bay for £30 and has been busy chopping up the wood on his new workmate with his new saw!(don't know how much that cost!)

Anyway have had chimney checked today by local chimney sweep who was very helpful and that only cost £30 and he advises he sweeps it once a year at £30 a go. So that's not too bad. Plumber comes next week to remove gas fire.

Firegaurd and campanion set came free from FIL's cupboard under the stairs.

We've tested buring the wood in the BBQ last weekend and it seemed to burn fine with no spitting or anything so it looks like we'll be up and running just in time for the summer!

PS BTW What is it with men and wood. OH seems to have lots of long discussions with neighbours about wood pile and types on wood and how to cut it etc etc. they just seem to love comparing thier wood piles!

John_3:16

Have found a wood pile at a local farm he ants to get rid off £5 per trip take as much as you want. They are cutting pine trees down I could have as much as I want but just wonder about the chimney?

The wood pile is looking great in the garden. By the way!!!!

Debt_Free_Chick

John_3:16 wrote:

Have found a wood pile at a local farm he ants to get rid off £5 per trip take as much as you want. They are cutting pine trees down I could have as much as I want but just wonder about the chimney?

The wood pile is looking great in the garden. By the way!!!!

You will need to season the wood for 6-12 months before you can use it. It needs to be split into logs and piled in a criss-cross fashion - a layer of logs in one direction with the next layer in the opposite direction. Protect it from the rain, but don't completely enclose it e.g. with a cover or in a damp garage/shed. You want maximum air circulation to enable the wood to dry out. Green (fresh) wood contains about 80% moisture and you want to "season" it to get the moisture content down to 20-30%.

Also, pine has a tendency to spit, so it's best used in a stove. And it results in a lot of soot so have the chimney swept regularly.

Pine is not a great choice - sorry

HugoSP

Sometimes pallets can be worth money at one of these pallete recyclers.

My wood pile comes from ripping out old fittings in our house and old timber from jobs.

I need to be careful about how to handle woodworm and dry rot - something that a lot of people who use recycled wood will have to watch out for. It wouldn't be the first time that woodworm has been introduced into a house via fire wood.

Yes, unfortunately 90% of the wood I'll be burning is pine. But with rising Gas prices I'll just get the chimney swept annually.

I am also about to buy something called an H2 Panel. This actually combines a solid fuel boiler (which we have) with the CH system powered by gas.

H