Wood Burning Stove, How many Logs ?

Barneybear1

If you are just starting out with the wood burner I found those instant fire logs chopped in half are great for getting the fire going. For wood the top vent is what you use to regulate how fast the fire burns, I keep the bottom vent shut unless I am burning coal. All the best

suki1964

As everyone has said, its a how long is a piece of string question as there are so many variables

Last night I used the grand total of three chunks of birch, been dried for years. I say chunks as they were part of rings we were using as garden chairs the past few years. The other day we went through a chicken feed bag full of off cuts of all sorts of wood - pallets, skirtings, door frames etc ( we burn whatever we can, if its not treated, we burn it). If we are using forestry wood ( soft ) you couldn't carry enough to the stove

Ours is a 5kw multi fuel so if using it all day we use a smokeless fuel instead of logs

Ive also never used a thermometer, you learn your stove and you learn what is a good clean burn

I never skimp on kindling when I light my stove either, get that warming the flue and a good draw going before adding larger pieces

anotheruser

We have an open fire so a little different but you might garner some pointers:

We started off small, so using the log things from B&M, supermarkets and such, or any other wood around.

Once we were comfortable (after a week or so), I got some coal in. Completely changed the way we use the fireplace now. Luckily there's a huge merchant not more than a couple of miles away from me.

Now we put coal at the bottom, kindling on top and light with paper. Once the kindling is happy burning away, we stick a log on the top, which keeps the heat down to get the coals going. By the time the log has pretty much gone, the coal is lovely and warm.

We don't bother with special coal that comes in the mass produced shapes - sometimes touted for it's "high heat" and "longevity" as we found it didn't really matter for us.

But agree on the tipper loads.
Most people seem to do ton bags, builders bags (not they are different!) or tipper truck loads. Ours were dumped on the drive and distributed them around our storage places.

tired_dad

my experience.

If you have gfch, that is cheaper than wood burning unless you can source the wood for free.

We have 2 wood burners with full gfch and urban in south. The wood burning is mainly for the warm glow. Only do it weekends and here and there.

Its hassle. You need to tend to the fire at regular intervals.

I love it and can make wood last ages.

Each burner is different. Each one has its unique style wrt how much kindling to use, how much wood it burns. You just need to start using it and get used to it.

Once you get used to it, sourcing wood becomes something of an obcession

steves.pc

Lucky enough to have a 5.5Kw coal/woodburner and gfch here too.

To light it i use 3/4 sheets of A4 from wifes previous divorce! (it created a boxes of paper! we've been married 8yrs :O )
on top of that i place 6/7 thin pieces of kindling (or fence panel in my case) and then 4-6 pieces of
larger wood(6" long, 1-2" across) 15mins later i can put pretty much anything on it, just depends on whether were just wanting the warming glow or roasting

Talk about obsessions, mrs takes the dog out in the morning before work and comes back with allsorts of wood/tree bits - even a half !!!!!!ed 5ft tall wooden bird feeder someone had dumped! mind you i fixed it up to keep the birds happy and lets face it free wood is always good, even had some off gumtree, someone did have an old shed, well not any more as its remains are in my shed!