Wood/coal burning advice needed plaese

chaplin1409

Hi
We have a enclosed fire (parkray) in the past we have just burnt coal on it but prices having gone up on everything this year we need to cut down our out goings. We have been offered free wood from a friend which I believe comes from mainly cut offs from a sawmill. Will this be ok to burn on a parkray? If not does anybody have any suggestions on cheaper ways of heating the house.

Sorry should be please in title

Thank you
Michaela

Greenfires

As long as it's "real" wood and not some manufactured board or similar - and just as importantly, as long as it's DRY - it should be fine. Well worth spending a tenner or so on a moisture meter and testing a sample few bits regularly - test a freshly split face, NOT an end or a side. 20% or below and it should be fine - but avoid trying to keep the thing in overnight.

Andy

DGJaibee

Greenfires wrote: »

As long as it's "real" wood and not some manufactured board or similar - and just as importantly, as long as it's DRY - it should be fine. Well worth spending a tenner or so on a moisture meter and testing a sample few bits regularly - test a freshly split face, NOT an end or a side. 20% or below and it should be fine - but avoid trying to keep the thing in overnight.

Andy

Can you offer any advice on particular moisture meters? I've seen a few advertised but it is always best to get one that is tried and tested by a real person.

highrisklowreturn

There's a cheap one going on amazon at £12, think it says reduced from £49.99. I have it and it does the job grand. Highest it can read up to is 37%.

spinningsheep

I was always under the impression that Parkray room heaters were specifically designed to burn smokeless fuel and that burning ordinary housecoal on it would really clog it up, not to mention blackening the glass an awful lot.

Greenfires

There are quite a few of us who think that housecoal doesn't really have a place in any form of stove - and many stove manufacturers included. I had a Parkray myself many years ago but as I was working as a forester at the time, it was fed nothing but wood, and didn't seem to suffer any ill effects as a result.