Woodburner or not?

AdrianC

Murphybear said:

We lived for 6 months in a rural property near Dartmoor, in the winter.

it was the biggest pain in the wotsit.  You have to have the right seasoned wood, you can’t just put any old thing in it.  It takes a long time to get going, then it gets too hot and you can’t turn it off.  It then needs to be cleaned out.  Sparks can jump out and ruin rugs/carpet.

You do know you're meant to shut the door while it's lit?

And that allows you to control the air going in, so control the combustion and the heat output...

thriftytracey

Well, we love our wood burner.  We hardly ever have the CH on and save a lot of money.  Two loads of seasoned hard wood a year at £100 a load.  It is really quick to get going and often gets too hot!  It does have controls to turn it down.  

The new ones are very efficient.  It's lovely to watch the flames instead of TV!  We empty the pan of ashes every couple of days and clean the glass with newspaper and wood ash, takes 5 minutes.

We are moving house and will definitely get another one if a property doesn't have one.

Chimney is swept in August.  We used to pay £40 but we bought some brushes and hubby does it.

Skiddaw1

I must admit I'd love to have one if we could afford it. We had an open fire in previous home and it's the one thing I really miss about our current house. Friends of ours have a wood burner and it's splendid- really efficient and really warms the house through.

Greymug

thriftytracey said:

It's lovely to watch the flames instead of TV!  We empty the pan of ashes every couple of days and clean the glass with newspaper and wood ash, takes 5 minutes.

1) You can watch flames on Netflix

2) how many times a week do you clean your CH? I clean it....let me think...never, which makes it better than wood burner cleaning wise

FreeBear

Greymug said: 1) You can watch flames on Netflix

Or free on youtube

A couple of alternatives...

https://www.diy.com/departments/eros-black-cast-iron-effect-electric-stove/1412561_BQ.prd

https://www.diy.com/departments/focal-point-columbus-glass-effect-electric-fire/1950800_BQ.prd

SonnyLumiere

Then there's always the risk that a future government, recognizing that climate change is actually a climate crisis that needs addressing today, will ban all those "cute", "novelty" wood burners that people so "love". But maybe that's just me whistling in an extreme weather event ...
(and yes, I know, I shouldn't be so preachy, morally-superior, hypocritical etc.)

A0812

Have you considered a bioethanol fire instead?  We got ours from Imaginfires (though they're available elsewhere too).

Fuel is made from plants so more eco friendly, gives off plenty of heat (though probably slightly less than a real wood burner)
They come in wood burner styles, so it replicates the look (you can add ceramic logs to add to that too.)  Ours is the Howarth and it's available from a couple of outlets I think.
Don't give off any smoke or need a flue (but you can get a fake one to add to the aesthetic too)

Fuel isn't super cheap but we've found that we can get it cheap enough online and it costs 50-60p per hour to run.

Plus it's a fraction of the price of a burner and the install...

AdrianC

A0812 said:

Have you considered a bioethanol fire instead?

Fuel is made from plants so more eco friendly

Than fuel made from plants?

A0812

AdrianC said:

A0812 said:

Have you considered a bioethanol fire instead?

Fuel is made from plants so more eco friendly

Than fuel made from plants?

Fair point, well made.

Clearly what I meant was that it is a cleaner fuel to burn and emits less carbon.

robatwork

Murphybear said:

We lived for 6 months in a rural property near Dartmoor, in the winter.

it was the biggest pain in the wotsit.  You have to have the right seasoned wood, you can’t just put any old thing in it.  It takes a long time to get going, then it gets too hot and you can’t turn it off.  It then needs to be cleaned out.  Sparks can jump out and ruin rugs/carpet.

I wouldn’t have another one if you paid me 

Sparks don't jump out of a woodburner. Are you thinking about an open fire?

As to the OP - I love my woodburner, and the whole performance of chopping wood, making kindling etc. Even if it's a bit of a back breaker for me now. Nothing better on a cold evening where we don't want to heat the whole house than to light up the burner.