think this should go here?? log fires. - any ideas?

[davidtennantsmistress]

I have an open fire, as in nothing gas/electric there.

next door had asbestos thou behind their fire place (we share a chimney breast) so not sure if mine would or not.

I know I need to sweep the chimney out & ask the landlord if it's ok for me to do it, but I have quite a small 2 bed bungalow - so would logs heat a front room kitchen mine & ds's bedrooms during the winter? and is it cheaper than central heating?

also other than a grate and fire guard what else would I need? is there anything special?

tia.

[davidtennantsmistress]

[davidtennantsmistress]

also I have a little coal bunker type thing outside would suggest I can use it - but what do you use, coal/logs/kindling??

[sagitta]

We have a wood-burning stove, and its great. It heats a large open-plan kitchen/ living room, and dd's bedroom is next door and gets warm too.

The only thing I would add is that you need to be able to carry and store the wood. And find a good source of wood. You'll need kindling, and large and small logs etc. Unfortunately, DH got really into finding old logs and spends all weekend through the winter sawing them up. Which is very time-consuming. And then you have to carry them in, which I found tough when I was pg. You will also need good ventilation in case it gets smoky.
And you need something to take the ash out with.

Its worth it (easy to say in summer ), as its a nice heat, and cheap - but we generally get our wood for free. Otherwise, say a £5 bag would do three or four days, iirc.

[sagitta]

You probably need a car (unless you live in a forest ) too! That's the only drawback,- carrying all the fuel instead of just flicking a switch.

[davidtennantsmistress]

I like by some woods - but not sure can you take the logs etc?

think this needs some thinking about - pretty sure I can source free logs, if not can I pad it out with anything else? other wise £10 a week is quite a bit, (£130) a qtr, my hot water bill will prob be about £50-£60 so will be comparable I think.

interesting thing thou - does the fire place need anything special around it? have ventilation - the conservatory window can be opened - but then that's heating another room.

[GooseyLoosey]

Depends on your house. We have a log burning stove in our lounge and it can keep it beautifully warm. Our bedroom is above and bets a bit warm. Nowhere else in the house is affected by it as the internal walls are stone or block not plasterboard.

Around us it costs about £70 for a load of logs which should generally last the winter (we find our own kindling), but you do need somewhere to keep them.

[sagitta]

mm, think I might have got the numbers wrong, as £10 a week does sound a lot. But if you live by some woods, ask the owner if you can have what's about, or if they cut down a tree or something. Most people seem happy to get rid of it. But you will probably have to saw and carry...
You can try furniture makers too - that's where we get kindling.
You don't need anything except a grate and a guard, something to pick the ash up with, a log basket, and a good hoover! You probably would want some sort of hood too, a bit like a cooker hood, to encourage the smoke to go up.

I don't see why you couldn't put coal in it - don't know what that costs. DH (who is a bit bonkers) wants to use our old newspapers etc to make bricks to burn. if he ever does, I'll let you know how it pans out!

[ashoesandbagsbird]

We burn coal in our fire and it costs about £20 for a large bag. Also have tried burning logs and found some wood burns better than others (ie Oak good but fir/conifer spits a lot) There are a few websites which grades wood for burning

I would recommend getting in a sweep for the chimney and he might be able to advise you about the asbestos issue too. A sweep will also check the draw of the chimney to make sure your room doesnt fill with smoke.(A smoke bomb can also do this and can save on the cost of the sweep if it doesn't work)

As for any other things for it a poker will always come in handy

[Ineedsomesleep]

DH is busy in this hot weather making logs from paper. Don't know what they are called, he has bought a little machine of the internet to make them with. Hopefully we we be using our free fuel this winter!

Has anybody else got experience of these paper logs?

[snorkle]

I've always wanted to try those Ineedsomesleep, but the gagets I looked at were £££. and I've had mixed reports as to how good they are. Can I be rude and ask what sort your dh got and how much it was? If it's any good I'll be very tempted.

[Ineedsomesleep]

Will have to ask him which one he got. Know he said it was about £30 and that he is watching the weather all the time to see if it will be hot enough to dry them out

[littlerach]

I'm sure my friend had a log maker that you use paper with, and it was about £20.

[littlerach]

Like this:
www.shop-com.co.uk/Logmaker-17151813-24142242-p!.shtml?sourceid=309
but in shape of a brick.

[littlerach]

Thsi one
www.cotswoldco.com/uk-info/kitchen/household/bins/log_maker/g217.html?isource=CAW5Z

[brimfull]

theyy look really good,do you need loads and loads of paper to make one log?

[TwoToTango]

Saw one of those log makers in betterware book last week - are they good - how does it work and how long do they burn for?

[littlerach]

No personal experience but my friend uses one as a supplement ot wood.

[Ineedsomesleep]

Looke like that one Littlerach and I think it was £20 not £30.

Each log is supposed to burn for an hour. We will have to wait until the winter to try them out. We shall be using them in conjunction with logs too.

DH does work at a newspaper so getting enough shouldn't be a problem but so far we have just used the paper from the house that we would normally recycle.

[TwoToTango]

Sounds good Ineedsomesleep - how many papers does it take to make one brick?

[Aefondkiss]

another idea for cheap wood is a local recycling place... we have them near us, they recycle wood that is discarded for whatever reason, it does involve sawing it yourself
(heats you twice) and you would probably have to pay for it to be delivered (was £20 a load for us) but it is a very good source of cheap wood, though some wood isn't suitable for burning if it has been treated!

our current supply of wood is 1.5 tonnes (per load) of old whiskey barrels, they smell lovely, costs £15 a load and they are the best burners ever, the stove practically lights itself - again we have to cut it ourselves but it is fantastic stuff.

we have no heating in the living room, kitchen, bathroom, hall and dc's bedroom, stove does a good job of heating the house - I would seriously consider installing one instead of having an open fire, they give better heat - but I realise this isn't an option in all rented houses!

[Ineedsomesleep]

Twototango, DH reckons about one paper per brick.

Aefondkiss, love the recycling centre idea! Will be finding out more about it today.

[TwoToTango]

Thanks Ineedsomesleep - sound like a great idea (off to retrieve some paper from recycling bin!)