Is your heating ON or OFF?

Beki

it's a massive burner. it was already here when we bought the place.. if it was up to me i'd have a little one it's got four air vents on the front and two on the sides. if we have all of them closed it burns out (no oxygen getting to it i suppose?). if we have one open halfway it does tend to burn them a bit slower... i can't really remember as the last time we lit it was a few months ago now, but i'll have a play about tomorrow and let you know if i manage to get it to a more affordable level.. thanks! xx

bluebag

Frugal wrote: »

That is one massive woodburner though.

I've been researching this as I plan to have a woodburner fitted next year - there is lots on the LPG and Heating MSE Board.

It seems that one log an hour is a likely usage for a well running stove... Apparently fiddling with air supply thingies and stuff (LOL) makes a difference to efficiency.

Beki have you tried turning down the air supply? I've never had one myself so you will know better than me

I can't have one even if I begged santa in eighteen languages, haven't got a chimney anywhere as some fool in his wisdom took all the fireplaces out. No outside walls either due to massive ceiling to floor windows.

I know we could have it through the roof, but my rooms are 3metres high and I think the flue would cost more than the house is worth.

dundeedoll_2

That really IS a beast, Beki!

This is mine............http://www.whatstove.co.uk/villager-stoves/villager-wood-c-woodburning-stove.html

I got some free logs last year from some contractors that were cutting down a load of trees on my way to work..........the chap that brought them to my house even insisted on splitting them for me

Other than that I collect free bags of off-cuts from the local timber yard. I do mix it well tho' and have the chimney swept 2x a year and use tar crystals/chimney cleaner regularly and the sweep said my chimney was very clean - not much soot and no tar.

lostinrates

Beki, your stove is beautiful, one of the nicest looking I've seen.

No that ours has been given the all clear we've been using it. I only light it in the afternoon though...for the evening. It noticeably warms up the corridor above it but a heat boost to the room I leave the door open. I/m guessing I use just over a sack a day....so would probably use 2-3 a day if keeping it going full time. BUT had a log delivery,and even buying dry, seasoned wood it works out A LOT cheaper. In the new year I'll get some unseasoned wood to sit here for a while: we are lucky in that wehave plenty of barn space for things like that.

I'd swap this woodburner for Beki's though...I just love the way her's looks!

lostinrates

Oh, and another thing: the condensation is back in my house. Having spent time airing this is particularly annoying. I haven't dried any washing in the house (its out side on an airer and on the line) and the heating has been on low AND the woodburner going on should have helped too, surely?

I can find no pattern to my condensation. I'm airing upstairs and the dining room now,and will have a swap around of open/closed windows in a bit.

southantrim3

Glad the tempreatures have improved slightly also, was nearly at the stage of having to keep the heat on all night when it got down to -10. Hopefully it wont get as bad as that this week.

shegar

Justamum wrote: »

We don't have a log burner, just a normal open fire in the living room. We've run out of the free wood DH got, but I'm not going to buy any or any coal either as it's far too expensive to buy. I could easily spend £60 a week:eek: on having a coal fire. A friend of mine got a wood burning stove put in last year to replace her open fire. She thinks it is better than the fire, but tbh when I've gone round there it's so cold you can see your breath - you can only feel the heat when the door is opened to put another log on.

Ive had all types of heating in the past, I use to love watching the flames from the woodburner....:D but what I didnt like was the price of wood and coal if you couldnt get it free, and I was forever chucking wood on it , the drier the wood the quicker it burned, I use to shut all the dampers down for less draught but 20 mins later on went another log and another log, etc etc.... ..we had a air wash system on ours but it still use to get black and you couldnt see the flames...:mad:...tried numerous times to keep it in overnight but it was always out by the morning, it too was a villager stove..........

We moved here and have GCH, so we bought a villager stove exact like the woodburner but natural gas, its very realistic like the a real burner but without all the mess ash etc, dust etc, plus I dont have to go outside all weathers and swing that axe anymore....... and carry heavy buckets of coal and baskests of logs daily.........:T I love sitting there watching the flames , ......Yes woodburners are fine if you get free wood, and you dont mind spending an hour a day splitting logs......:)

rachbc

the whole idea of log burners is to adjust the vents so the logs burn slower and more efficently than an open fire - I think if they are burning that fast something needs fiddling with - the one in our dining room burns 2-3 logs over the course of a evening and even the whopping 18kw one at my parents house uses much less than previous posters are experiencing.

I by logs by the load (£60) and coal in bulk bags which is so much cheaper

v8monkeyboy

Just to add to rachbc's comments on the efficacy of the log burners; we have a Morso stove which is fitted into the wall, and on average we use very few logs of an evening.

The skill in using a log burner is to turn the air vents down as low as possible in order to maximise the time the logs burn and keep a constant heat. Last year we managed to keep the burner going for 2 months without it going out, and we only used an average of 3-4 good sized logs per day. Last night, I stoked it up, turned the vents down as far they could go, and never put any more logs in today as it wasn't cold enough. I've just touched the outside of the burner, and it's boiling hot, and giving out heat.

Log burners / stoves are one of the most cost effective and efficient ways to heat a house in my opinion, it's just a bit of a learning curve to start with!

T xx

lostinrates

rachbc wrote: »

the whole idea of log burners is to adjust the vents so the logs burn slower and more efficently than an open fire - I think if they are burning that fast something needs fiddling with - the one in our dining room burns 2-3 logs over the course of a evening and even the whopping 18kw one at my parents house uses much less than previous posters are experiencing.

I by logs by the load (£60) and coal in bulk bags which is so much cheaper

OK, this is what I have always understood, but in practice haven't found it so. This one we are only getting to know ATM (been lit half a dozen times or so now, and so far it seems hungrier than the one I had a few years ago.

BUT 2-3 logs only just gets it going when first lit! We've not tried to keep it going through the night, but IIRC they stay using few logs over time when you do...starting from cold each time seems quite hungry, the first hour or so is our heaviest use. Of course, it also means the room is cold etc, etc.

Finally, the logs we bought are quite small...cut to fit in most standard things safely I guess. IME once things get going bigger logs are more efficient...the several tonnes we've cut are bigger but need to season for a few years.

May be I should try keeping ours going and experimenting? I wasn't going to light it this week.