Question for people with wood burning stoves

savemoney

I have same problems large open plan living room/dining room/and small kitchen

Last year I spent £110 on logs and year before and still had to use wood I collected from pallets and bits from other people gave me, price of wood went up refused to pay £130 for same amount

Nice to have but dont let it kid yourself is the solution is all cracked up to be it isnt

Put it this way 3k for log burner and installation or 3k on CH, no brainer CH every time

deano72 wrote: »

the trouble is people think that a woodburner is the ans to all there heating problems...i got a 10kw one & thought it would heat the whole hose,but was bit dissapointed at first.you live in an old house so i spect it will be bit drafty so make sure you get rid of drafts.most of my down stairs is open plan so has a big area to heat.they eat wood so dont think you can get away with the odd log,try build a nice base then put plenty of logs on it from the begining,i find the logs will last longer if you put a bunch on at a time rather than the odd 1 at a time.im doing £100 pm on logs at the mo,but will be getting out there in the summer & making use of the countryside.if you want max heat,then coal is your ans. ps i bet you will notice the difference if you dont have it running!

savemoney

If wood isnt dry enough what I did was get logs and store assuming you have room at side of log burner to dry out, failing that in a log basket near log burner

Wet wood wont burn very well and will cause a build of tar

choille

Bags of logs bought from a hardware store won't be that great normally - usually soft wood.

Alot of people recess the stove into a fireplace which isn't really effecient.
Try keeping your eye out for free wood - skips, saw mills, joinery workshops etc to save money.
Wood burning stoves do need a draft - an air flow to work properly.

feesh

cliffski wrote: »

right now we are burning through the £3.60 bags of logs from the local hardware store.

If you'd said that in your original post, this thread would be a lot shorter
Hardware store wood is awful stuff. Assuming the stuff you have on order is properly seasoned HARDWOOD (and I have learnt from bitter experience that it might well not be....) then you will see a real difference.

fiddiwebb

If you are looking for a high heat output then as previously mentioned you must use well seasoned wood, it doesn't matter if it is soft or hardwood so long as it is well dried and seasoned.

If burning softwoods you certainly will go through a lot more than hardwoods.

You will find especially if your woodburner is an older model that you will go through a hell of a lot, ours is the main source of heating in our house and on average we use a builders barrow full a day and that is just putting the fire on at about 4pm.

So imagine how much wood that is taking into account we need about 7 months worth (oh the joys of living in the most Northern reaches of Scotland) luckily we live in the countryside and I have access to a plentiful supply but it is certainly hard work cutting, blocking and storing that amount and that's not taking into account your time and effort that goes into doing all that but hey it's free and doesn't cost me anything.

If you live in the countryside get to know your local farmers or landowners and ask for wood especially after any storms in your area, invest in a chainsaw (please be careful if you do, courses are available for chainsaw handling).

• Alder: a softwood with a high water content. It gives out little heat and doesn't
last for long.
• Apple: a hardwood that burns slowly and steadily when dry, with little flame,
giving good heat. The scent is pleasant.
• Ash: a hardwood that is considered the best for burning; it gives out a good flame
and heat, and will burn when green, however it is never a good idea to burn green
wood in a stove.
• Beech: considered a rival to ash, though not a close one. It does tend to spit out
embers far into the room, so beware using in an open fire, but ideal for a stove.
• Birch: a hardwood that produces a good heat but it burns quickly. The smell is
pleasant.
• Cedar: a softwood that burns well when dry. Much better in a stove than in an
open fireplace.
• Cherry: another hardwood that burns slowly, giving out good heat. It also gives
off a nice smell when burnt.
• Chestnut: this must be one of the noisiest firewoods, best in a stove. It has a
small flame and doesn't give out much heat. Avoid if possible, or mix these logs
with a hardwood.
• Douglas Fir: not much good.
• Elder: a softwood that is very smoky. It is a quick burner, without much heat.
• Elm: this is commonly offered for sale due to Dutch Elm disease. To burn well it
needs to be kept for two years. Even then it will smoke. Vary variable fuel.
• Hazel: good.
• Holly: good, best seasoned for a year, like all logs for woodburning stoves.
• Hornbeam: almost as good as beech.
• Laburnum: one to avoid because it is a poisonous tree, giving acrid smoke,
tainting food and best never used. However it can be used by wood turners as it
has a beautiful pattern.
• Larch: a softwood that gives a crackly sound. It gives out a scent, and is quite
good for heat.
• Laurel: gives a good bright flame.
• Lime: not a favourite as it has a poor flame.
• Maple: another hardwood that is good for burning.
• Oak: a hardwood, it gives out few flames and the smoke is acrid. Dry old oak is
excellent for heat, burning slowly and steadily.
• Pear: a hardwood giving good heat scent.
• Pine: is a softwood that burns with a good flame, but it is apt to spit. The resinous
Weymouth pine has a lovely scent and an interesting blue flame.
• Plane: burns fairly well, but is prone to throwing sparks.
• Plum: hardwood that gives heat and scent.
• Poplar: one to avoid.
• Rhododendron: the thick old stems, being very tough, burn well.
• Robinia (Acacia): burns slowly, with good heat, but with acrid smoke, so use in a
woodburner as opposed to an open fire.
• Spruce: a softwood that burns very quickly and gives out a lot of sparks - one to
avoid if possible.
• Sycamore: burns with a good flame, with moderate heat.
• Thorn: one of the best woods. It burns slowly, giving a good heat and not much
smoke.
• Walnut: hardwood that gives out very good heat and a beautiful aroma.
• Willow: Poor as it has a high water content. It must be dry to use, and then it
burns slowly, with little flame and sparks.
• Yew: burns slowly, with fierce heat, and the scent is pleasant

Missed leylandii on that list, good wood to burn as always it should be seasoned.

make_life_easier

I have been collecting wood for ages now and have a store of seasoned wood ready for my new stove (going to be fitted in roughly 3 weeks. still waiting for it to be delivered).

I recently got hold of some freshly cut logs and have pit them in an old wheelie bin I don't use, I have drilled plently of holes around the sides and at the bottom for ventilation, has anyone else seasoned wood in this way,

soba

This is our first winter with our Clearview installed and we're so glad we've got it. I agree that it doesn't heat the whole house, but our biggish kitchen/diner/living room is cosy warm. When it's been really, really cold we've kept the central heating on low in all the other rooms to keep them aired.

I don't think it's cheap any more to have a woodburner as the price of logs has gone up so much, we've been able to scrounge wood from tree-fellers as we've spotted them locally and were lucky enough to get a whole sycamore tree f.o.c. when my neighbour saw it being felled at the local cemetery and had a word with the guy who was doing it:)

But for us it's not just about the heating it's about having something beautiful to look at (I think designers would call it a focal point!) and it's something OHs been hankering after for ages.

Gol

Does anyone have an Oakley or Oakwood multifuel stove?
I am considering buying one of these stoves from Stoveworld Uk Ltd based in Newbury and wonder if anyone has any experience of them. They are made in China and the spec seems fine (thick Australian cast iron & CE BSEN) but the price £289 seems too good to be true.

jojonic

savemoney wrote: »

Put it this way 3k for log burner and installation or 3k on CH, no brainer CH every time

Except if the price of gas is going to rise at the predicted rates over the next few years, people using 'renewable' sources of energy will be laughing all the way to the bank whilst those of us stuck with good old gas central heating will be weeping over our gas bills!

eco

I'm thinking of getting a stove, I currently have GCH but if this packed up in winter I'd be up the creek.