wood burners

Apodemus

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Cash-Cows said:

You don't need log stores. Stack wood on pallets to keep off wet ground and it will dry. Periodically brush off any debris from the top eg wet leaves. 

Technically you don't need to cover it whilst it's seasoning but it rained last night (and is going to rain all day), there's no wind and no sun today, if all our firewood that is ready to burn was out in the open without a cover what would we burn today? 

...and in my experience, if it gets damp at this time of year, it won't dry out again until spring, even if you cover it now.

[Deleted User]

I fear that we are going to see reports of an increased number of chimney fires as people burn wet wood and other unsuitable pieces of timber. Creosote build up in stove pipes is the equivalent of high cholesterol. The only way to avoid it is to burn wood at high temperatures and to pay for the chimney to be professionally swept. I am told that a creosote fire can be quite spectacular and very difficult to extinguish with temperatures in excess of 1000C.

mark_cycling00

We get cut logs delivered from a managed forest. The medium sized log burner reaches just under 300c (500+ F) according to the circular thermometer thing, and stays about there so long as it doesn't run out of wood to burn.

Does that sound like a good temperature?

I start with kindling + firelighter with all vents open until about 100c then gradually close them. 

After moving in we got sold some poor quality stuff and some logs wouldn't get over 100-150 so guess there might be some creosote there? Or does it burn off / evaporate with higher temperatures?

Thanks 

FreeBear

Sounds a bit on the hot side to me... The oft quoted temperature range is between 126°C and 260°C (260°F to 460°F). But it really depends on how far up from the fire box you are attaching the gauge to. I have a thermocouple about 500mm above the stove and run at 150-200°C.

Light deposits of creosote can be removed simply by sweeping the flue. The hard glassy deposits require a more aggressive mechanical cleaning process (not chemical). You do not want the stuff burning inside your flue as it can get extremely hot and do serious damage to your liner. If you have heavy deposits catching light, you have a chimney fire !