to think I should get rid of my evil woodburner and ask what to replace it with?

[Toomuchstuffwillkillme]

Just got in from work and the house is freezing, which after the glorious Easter weekend is making me think unseasonal thoughts about heating currently I've gone to hide under a large duvet in solidarity with the climate change activists.
Obviously reading my mind, the radio chooses this point to inform me that 'when your wood burning stove is lit it's equivalent to having a 7.5 tonne diesel truck idling right outside your house'.
I loathe our woodburner, though it looks glorious when lit I never light it because it stinks (even more than it should do!) and makes me feel ill. So when I chuck it out, what should I do with the unsightly hole in the lounge?
Do you all still love woodburners, or can any helpful MNetters suggest a (preferably not astronomically expensive) more eco- and lung-friendly alternative??

Ill get rid of my woodburner when diesel cars are banned, along with nuclear fuel

Nuclear power is a green source of energy

@Floralnomad Your stove looks great - thanks for the recommendation. If you don't mind my asking, how much was the installation cost? I've found a Broseley Hereford 7 online for £809 but I'm wondering how much extra on top to budget for (got to start saving!). Thanks v much.

We have a clearview multifuel burner but only burn wood in it. We use sticks from the garden as kindling along with pine cones and junk mail.
We then burn wood from our own garden. I can't smell anything at all when its burning. The stove door is shut . Likewise there is no extra dust or dirt of any kind unless we're cleaning it out.

Are you sure yours doesn't need a good sweep and clean OP?

We recently had a quote for another burner for a separate office building. With the stove, hearth, flue, installation etc it was around £4k total.

elizabeth we had an inset gas fire removed , the chimney breast rebuilt ( floor to ceiling blocks), new stove and plastering and it was about £2k but that was a couple of years ago . We had a few issues with our stove originally and the customer service from Broseley was absolutely excellent .

Thanks Flora! I've got a chimney etc so hopefully will be cheaper for me...

Floralnomad, is the gas expensive to run? I had been thinking about getting a multifuel burner, but didn’t realise how bad they are for your health. I’m linked to gas for heating/water, but use bottled gas for the gas rings.

I’m not the person to ask about cost as we don’t honestly use it much , it’s more ornamental for us . I’m sure the Broseley people would be able to tell you .

I think they are vile. Unless they are in a pretty cottage or barn they look ridiculous.

Probably everyone has said this already but if a woodburner is making you ill and smelling there is something wrong with it. If it's producing black dust there is something wrong with the burning. A clean-burning efficient fire with dry wood should not produce thick black dust, or tar, or fumes - a decent stove should not be polluting everything around.

Woodburners are in no way evil!

Nuclear power is not green!
It’s expensive and dangerous
There are much better and greener alternatives

I think they will be banned sooner or later and a lot of people will have to scrap them. I never quite understood the popularity of something so damaging.

Nuclear power generation involves low carbon emissions so is a hell of a lot greener than burning wood. The threat to the planet from radiation is pretty non-existent compared to global warming!

You can make paper brickettes from old newspapers - quite simple I believe - worth a look?

We have two, love them in thr winter. We are self sufficient in wood. Ours are very efficient, sweep and service annually. I do t understand why yours is smelly or causing you issues. Ours are fine. No more dust I. Summer than in winter so there is no issue there.

You can board up thr holes, or get something electric or gas instead in. There.

Op do you have a carbon monoxide alarm close to it? Our installers put them in when it was fitted and they are tested annually when serviced.

It's really important to have them close to your stove to ensure it's functioning correctly.

We have a clean burning wood stove. It is very efficient and has little or no smoke coming out. We only burn kiln dried logs as well. never off cuts or anything from the garden. Most of the new stoves are very efficient, no smell, no dust and no fumes. The problem is mainly with older inefficient stoves. An open fire is terrible for the environment so definitely not an alternative.

Love mine. Have you had it serviced/swept to check why it smells? Mine just smells of burning wood (or coal if I put that in)

Love it, no smoke or fumes here

If your wood burner smells there is something wrong with it or what you are burning. Ours is defra approved, our chimney well swept and only dry wood is burned.

a wood burner is no more damaging than a diesel truck or cruise ship and they wont be banned anytime soon

simonisnotme a wood burner is no more damaging than a diesel truck or cruise ship and they wont be banned anytime soon

Well I don`t know about you but I never park a diesel truck or cruise ship in my sitting room

We have a wood burner for kiln dried wood & smokeless coal. The burner is on the approved list
It's been in the news that gas will not be installed into all new houses soon due to fossil fuel
We have recently had a heat pump system installed (no gas)
Suggest research

There are a lot of sweeping statements about woodturners on here, and how clean/green they are:

1. A woodburner is much more efficient than an open fire.
2. The newest, most high-tech ones give off minimal smoke & particulates.
3. However, I would never have one in a densely populated area. (We are rural, not in a village)
4. It is much greener to burn sustainably-sourced wood than gas or coal - less carbon emissions because the wood can be replenished and gives the same carbon off when it decomposes.
5. We burn wood-briquettes made from compressed sawdust, mixed with locally sourced seasoned logs with a very low moisture content.
6. Good quality fuel (wood or briquettes) is essential to the clean burning of the stove.

I am interested in how much kiln dried wood costs?

We burn a lot, all harvested ourselves and seasoned for a year, however for the past 6 weeks we have been burning green wood as we ran out!