What fuel??? How much???new to this lark!!!

cankle

I have recently moved into a new home with a 'stratford multi fuel burner' the previous owners left us some coal and logs but that is fast running out! They gave us the number of the people they used but I am thinking they were quite elderly so have probably never shopped around. I have been looking on the internet but quite frankly I'm a bit overwhelmed with it all! smokeless, non smokeless, eco-coal, homefire etc etc could someone give me a bit of an idea please, I just dont want to get ripped off! The people the previous owners used quoted me £14 per bag. Apologies if there are a hundred threads like this one!!

muckybutt

It all depends on what fuel you want, i'm in East Yorks and can get a 25Kg bag of Homefire ovals for £11 a bag, we use this to keep the fire in overnight.

House coal costs us £5.95 for a 20Kg bag and wood from a supplier costs £60 for seasoned wood in a builders bag, I also get off cuts from a joiners shop in Bradford for £3 a bag approx 20Kg

We have amulti fuel stove btw

cankle

Thank you for your reply, I'm really not sure what we want/need!! I just want to light the fire and get the house and water hot lol what are the pros/cons for coal/homefire or eco-coal/wood etc sorry to be such a luddite but Ive never had any experience of real fires

muckybutt

House coal is mucky stuff for starters, I use it in my stove but I sweep it regularly as im a sweep.

Both house coal and solid fuel will give a better heat output than wood.

The eco wood i'm presuming you mean the briquette things ? these are alright, there slightly better than wood as in that they are completely dry and burn well.

If you want to keep the stove in all night then use solid fuel.

When burning wood dont burn it on a low heat (slumber burn) and never ever burn wet / unseasoned wood, this is one sure fire way to block the flue up in a matter of days.

suki1964

Anthracite gives a serious heat but not a lot to look at

Smokeless ovals/ovoids can be good value for money. You need to try them all and see what work best for you and your stove

Greenfires

"Eco-coal" is made from torrified wood - so is a completely renewable fuel.

Woodcoal (brown coal or lignite) is one I'd avoid personally - environmentally it's pretty filthy stuff - though it's often marketed as quite the opposite. Plenty of reading on google if you're interested.

Housecoal is generally thought to be unsuitable for stoves - quite likely to get a gas explosion when you open the door if you do it at the wrong time in the burning cycle when the fuel is chucking a lot of volatile gases off.

Smokeless is okay - though still a fossil fuel of course - and personally we find our stove runs cooler with it than it does with our briquettes. Having said that, we probably only buy a bag once every three years or so, so I couldn't claim a load of experience!

Wood based briquettes will always give you more energy than the same weight of logs - and they are always consistent from load to load. There is quite a variety in performance between different brands though.

Other biomass briquettes, which can be made from rapeseed waste, straw, bark, leaves, cardboard, rice husk, nut shells etc etc - usually tend to be ashy - and some of the prices being asked are plain silly to be honest!

As mucky says - if you're going to stick with normal logs - make sure they're dry. That's much more important than what species of tree they come from.

Cheers,

Andy

tiff

Not an expert myself but just to add to Andy's last point above make sure the logs are dry and seasoned, ie cut at least a year before using for most types of wood. Some log suppliers try and get away with unseasoned wood which is no good for your chimney.

alleycat`

muckybutt wrote: »

It all depends on what fuel you want, i'm in East Yorks and can get a 25Kg bag of Homefire ovals for £11 a bag, we use this to keep the fire in overnight.

House coal costs us £5.95 for a 20Kg bag and wood from a supplier costs £60 for seasoned wood in a builders bag, I also get off cuts from a joiners shop in Bradford for £3 a bag approx 20Kg

We have amulti fuel stove btw

Hmm, i never knew you were a sweep and lived in the same county...
I've always struggled to find a decent log supplier so can you let me know who you use?
Also, the deal with the place in bradford, is that a private thing or do they do that generally?
My little sister lives out that way so i'm in Bradford more often than not and at that price it's worth it to me

What area do you cover for sweeping?

muckybutt

alleycat` wrote: »

Hmm, i never knew you were a sweep and lived in the same county...
I've always struggled to find a decent log supplier so can you let me know who you use?
Also, the deal with the place in bradford, is that a private thing or do they do that generally?
My little sister lives out that way so i'm in Bradford more often than not and at that price it's worth it to me

What area do you cover for sweeping?

I cover all east yorks and the scarborough side of north yorks for sweeping, pm me and I can give you prices.

Logs, we use garrowby wood yard at the bottom of Garrowby Hill on the way to Stamford Bridge, they deliver or you can call in and they'll give you a £10 load to take there and then, always really dry wood and it burns excellent.

The Bradford thing, its open to anyone again pm me and I'll give you the details.

wosters

Taybrite is good for multi fuel burners - I am trying Homefire Ovals this year too. Just ordered some from CPL (coals2u) and they have a special offer which is buy 5 bags and get 1 free so it might be worth looking at their website and then giving them a call to get the offer. They usually deliver in 3 working days.

cankle

Thank you for the replies guys its much appreciated, can I just add to my ineptness and ask 'seasoned wood' is that when its been cut and left for the sap to dry out or does it mean its completely dry? The reason I ask is a friend has cut a lot of pine trees down and says we are welcome to the wood, its been in his shed for about 6 months but its still pretty damp should we take his kind offer or would it be no use to us?