Log burner or multi-fuel burner?

13Kent

We are planning to put a log burner in our living room. The fitter has offered us either a log burner or a multi-fuel burner at the same price. The room isn't an open plan room so it's unlikely that we'll be using the burner to heat the whole house, we just want to replace our hardly used gas fire with something that looks more cosy and is more fun to use! Any opinions about which is best please?

FreeBear

A multifuel stove gives you the option to burn smokeless coal which you don't get with just a wood burner.

es5595

Over the summer I had the peanut bignut installed and I can’t recommend it highly enough. As a pp said, multifuel gives you the options, but you’ll probably mainly burn wood. Find a stove with good reviews, one stove fitter I got into quote was definitely trying to palm off a ‘dud’ that no one else wanted. 

phoebe1989seb

When we bought our cottage in early 2018 we had one of each fitted (a Dovre Vintage 50 and Charnwood C6) and since then we've only burned smokeless coal once, burning wood most of the time.

This is in part because we have access to plenty of free wood from the trees on our land (of which there was already a supply of seasoned timber when we purchased the property), but also because we prefer the look of a wood fire burning   

13Kent

Thank you for your replies. The fitter seems to be pushing us towards the multifuel burner, but we're not sure. Any tips and tricks from those of you that have a burner?

ciderboy2009

Have you checked to see if you live in a smokeless zone?

When we were looking for one everywhere was trying to get us to get a multifuel one because of this.

13Kent

A thank you no I haven't not sure how to check?

welshmoneylover

I would go for multi fuel as you got the option to burn both types of fuel.

FreeBear

13Kent said: Thank you for your replies. The fitter seems to be pushing us towards the multifuel burner, but we're not sure. Any tips and tricks from those of you that have a burner?

I have a multifuel stove (an Aarrow i500) - I light the fire, bung a few shovel loads of (smokeless) coal on, and then feed in a log as & when I want flames. When I get home after work, give the coals a stir, shove another log on with the vent open, and it gets going again in about five minutes.

Ectophile

Any tips and tricks from those of you that have a burner?

Read the manual!  Every burner is different, and there will be a correct process to get that particular stove burning.  Miss something, and you can waste ages trying to get the thing to stay burning after you have lit it.

MX5huggy

Just get a wood burner, burning wood is environmentally questionable but burning coal is an environmental disaster. I have a Jotul F105 https://www.jotul.co.uk/products/wood/wood-burning-stoves/jotul-f-105-r-ll it’s lovely.