Firewood - what do I need to know?

tony6403

With an open fire make sure that you have a fine mesh guard , the occasional "spitting" can launch tiny bits of burning wood into the room.

vaio

tony6403 wrote: »

With an open fire make sure that you have a fine mesh guard , the occasional "spitting" can launch tiny bits of burning wood into the room.

Having a fire with a guard is like sex with a condom not to mention losing the exercise you get rushing across the room to remove an errant sparky ember from the carpet and the delightful sanctioned naughtiness enjoyed by the grand kids when they ask and are allowed to add a log or even a bit of paper to the fire.

Obviously a guard is essential if the fire if left unattended

vaio

BlueC wrote: »

....... our open fire seems to heat the room very little. i wonder if a more modern fireplace might help? i even read that some open fires have negative efficiency because they draw warm air out of the rest of the house - not sure if this is stove manufacturer propaganda though!

Thanks everyone. Any more tips appreciated.

I think the figures are with a traditional open fire 90% of the heat goes up the chimney and with a modern enclosed fire 90% of the heat comes out into the room

suisidevw

Vaio speaks wise words with the guard!

The above are the figures 'claimed'..... all I know is I'm COMPLETLEY happy with my open fire, as said it warms the room up beautifully and was extremely reasonable/cheap to install

martinthebandit

If you are going to be paying for wood to burn you may be better off treating yourself to a coal bunker and getting the coalman to deliver every month.

You can supplement the coal with any free wood you can obtain.

Although during the summer I did stock up my wood store by buying some logs from someone who's advert I saw in my local free paper.