What am I doing wrong?

Gwendo40

Krapsite wrote: »

Some good tips here.... I season this for at least seven years in a proper log store that I made. All this wood must be oak,ash or beech. No softwood or you will be tarred up.

Seven years for seasoning wood!!
That seems excessive to me, I would have thought the wood would start to deteriorate in some way if left that long and actually lose some of it's thermal efficiency?

Also softwood is fine if is properly seasoned

Davesnave

Wood only deteriorates when it rots, as the beams in the centuries-old cottages near me testify, but 7 years is unnecessary for seasoning. I find a year in a breezy barn is fine after initial seasoning outdoors of a year or two, depending on what it is.

As for wood not throwing-out enough heat; surely that's factored into the choice of the stove for the space to be heated? Yes, solid and processed fuels will give out more heat, but if the fire's chosen correctly, then it's far cheaper for some of us to run on logs.

Finally, using logs, I don't have any problems with having to clean glass on my Woodwarm, regardless of how I run it. There is naturally a trade-off with extra flue cleaning if a stove isn't run hard all the time, but if it's DIY, there's no cost to that at all.

suki1964

It amuses me when people say don't burn soft woods. What do they think is burned in Scandinavian countries?

Ectophile

suki1964 wrote: »

It amuses me when people say don't burn soft woods. What do they think is burned in Scandinavian countries?

I've been known to shove the odd bit of softwood in my stove. Mostly some sort of cypress from a back garden.

It can take longer to season than hardwood, and poorly seasoned wood of any sort is rubbish.

Gwendo40

Davesnave wrote: »

Wood only deteriorates when it rots, as the beams in the centuries-old cottages near me testify,.

I'm not saying the wood will actually rot, but I'm pretty certain that over time it will still lose it's ''thermal energy''...
I imagine those centuries old beams would burn a lot quicker and throw out a lot less heat than a piece of Oak that's been air dried and seasoned for a year or two.