Advice please - lighting up and keeping lit smokeless fuel in stove

PennyForThem_2

Hi

I am OK with wood but using smokeless fuel is a whole new ball game. I need your advice for

1. keeping stove lit overnight in slow mode and
2. how do I make it go in morning and keep in during day when partner not very good at putting coal on
3. any other valuable advice about multifuel stoves and smokeless fuel
4. it seems to be very slow to get up to heat but then good thing is that very slow to die down i.e. stove = cast iron and seems warm even 24 hours after stopped tending fire but conversely seems to take ages to warm up when fir first lit - any comments here welcome

Fuel am using is NewFlame (approved by HETAS)

A._Badger

There's so much to say that you could write a book about using solid fuel!

The first thing is that fuels vary hugely and a HETAS recommendation means (in my experience) next to nothing about how well a fuel works in a given stove. Some stoves like some fuels, others like others. It may be that Newflame just doesn't suit your stove, so you might be advised to try a small bag or two of some of the alternatives - for example, Ancit, Maxibrite or Phurnacite (to name just three).

The basic principles of using solid fuel are quite different to wood. It's less forgiving if you let the fire die down and it is far harder to light. However, it needs refuelling much less often, produces more heat and, given the right stove and the right fuel, slumbers well.

Sadly, there is no magic formula for keeping a stove in. You have to experiment and see which settings and which fuels work best with your stove. However, as a general guide, to keep one in you riddle it, to remove dust and ash, re-fuel, wait till it starts to burn well, then close the bottom vents (the top ones should be shut anyway).

This where it can get tricky. Some stoves need the bottom vents completely closing, some need them left ever so slightly open. Some need a thick fire, some a thin. There are too many variables for there to be a hard and fast rule.

In the morning, the theory is you open the bottom vents until you start to see a decent response, then gently riddle the fire again and once it has got nice and bright, add a small amount of fuel and build up from there.

One of the key things people get wrong is not emptying the ash pan. Failing to do this not only stops air getting to the coals, but also results in clogged firebars and, eventually, a melted grate!

Hope that's a starting point - please ask again if there are any specifics.

suki1964

Dont know if you can use slack where you are but a good layer of some good dampened slack mixed with sawdust will keep the fire damped down over night

Me mum uses anthracite, she gives the fire a real good riddle, loads it, gets it flamin then shuts the air flow. In the morning, riddle, empty the pan and then add a log gets it going nicely

PennyForThem_2

Thanks - that is really helpful -guess experimentation is what i need to do.

NewFlame (the cosl merchant said) is OK to burn with logs. That should help

(thanked both repliers)