Log burner safe?

[Bobbingcat]

Linked to recent thread on here- are log burners safe? Does anyone use an air purifier with theirs?

You’d have to prise mine out of my dead cold hands. The , very minor, effects are offset by the huge pleasure and joy it brings. Humans have had fires since the dawn of time. I also think that people don’t really understand risk- cars are far more polluting and dangerous but I don’t see people virtue signalling about those.

@Cleopatra67 yes I agree. I don't think it's the log burner that's going to see me off... The quantity of crisps and wine I consume in front of it is surely the bigger hazard! (not giving those up either)

A carbon monoxide alarm is a must

Our logs come from the grounds dept of a local golf course, so aren't cut specifically to be burned, they are essentially a waste product. The kindling is made up of suitable offcuts from work that I save up throughout the year (I'm a carpenter).

We live in a village and get regular powercuts. A large percentage of the village's households have one. IRL I have never heard anyone voice concerns over them/cite pollution as a reason not to get one (the only reason against I've ever heard is purchase and installation cost). We love ours. It is much cheaper to run than putting the central heating on and it warms the whole house beautifully. It is a decent stove, well installed, and we get it swept and serviced regularly.

Love mine. I’m asthmatic and it’s triggered by cold, damp air and mold spores. The log burner keeps that all at bay and heats the entire house for 24 hours for less than the cost of putting the gas boiler (new) on for an hour. New stoves, properly installed and maintained and used correctly are far less polluting than the older style/installations and open fires and ancient alternative heating solutions.
Some of the supposedly accurate studies admit that they didn’t even bother to separate out the older installations, from new installation or even separate out open fires from closed log burners - preferring to lump them all together for their statistics, nor did they bother to separate out burning green wood or properly seasoned wood or coal and anthracite burners into separate analysis. So flawed statistical data sets.
Even newer research has suggested that burning candles (any type) and using gas ovens and hobs are also ‘extremely hazardous to health’. But no one seems to be getting rid of those or calling for a ban on using them….

That's a legal requirement (and frankly common sense with any form of combustion, including your gas boiler).

My cooking causes more air quality concerns than the log burner.

Whilst cooking or once it’s digested????
(sorry - I’m sure it’s not that bad!!)

Even at Birthdays?

You don't need to own one to know about the risks

Two people I know have removed their log burners after reading the research published in 2020. They have young children and were understandably concerned about air pollution. Like on this thread, a couple of others robustly reject any idea of health risk, because, basically they've got a log burner and they need to feel okay about it.

We were about to install one but decided against it. As nice as I'm sure they are, health is wealth and all that.

My only issue is that I dislike the smell in the room the following morning.

I'm tempted by an electric fancy looking fire

We have one and have never had an issue. Used it all winter last year when our boiler packed in.

My mum is asthmatic and it's never triggered anything. I also burn scented candles everyday though so MN probably hates me anyway

I'd rather be warm than freeze to death over some tiny possibility that I may get sick in forty years time 🤷🏻‍♀️

And those getting rid/not getting just want to feel good about their decision AND superior to others. Yeah, got it thanks.

You are the justified and we are going to eco hell. Check.

We've had log burners and/or open fires for most

Oops..

of my life (nearly 5 decades). We're all fine. Currently awaiting delivery of a fabulous new Clearview stove as I type. Can't wait!

PILs have one, they’ve never had any problems with theirs.

For the people saying they’d never have one because they’ve got small children - the risks involved with hot log burners and small children can be managed if you get a fire guard for the log burner and use it properly.
Using a decent fire guard will stop small children from being able to touch the log burner.

Agree with this. You don't have to have something to know about the risks FGS. The millions of people who don't smoke cigarettes know they are harmful without engaging in smoking!

I agree that the people robustly rejecting the idea of any dangers to log burners, are the ones who have spent several thousand £££ and now have to justify it to themselves.

I would never have one, and definitely NOT with children in the house. A woman in my road has had one, (March 2022,) and had a baby in May 2022, and I was like ..... really?! A newborn baby in the house and you have a log burner?

There have been too many negative things written about them, and a couple of years ago, they were almost banned. They didn't get saved from banning by the skin of their teeth, because there has never been any issues with them!

And the comparison with traffic fumes is just daft. You are inside a tiny space inside a house with a log burner. The traffic fumes and 'pollution' are outside with 1000s of miles of space/air/oxygen around. Not even remotely comparable, and makes me think the log burner fangirls are - as a pp said - just trying to justify their costly and unnecessary and probably quite dangerous purchase!

@Bobbingcat I would give a log burner a swerve!

I was just about to say the same thing!

We have a log burner. It’s fabulous. Wouldn’t use one without an alarm tho.

See, now the fact that you need a carbon monoxide alarm - and would NEVER use the log burner without it, proves the point of the naysayers.

Oh I'd love one but I don't have a chimney 😔

Yeah but you could say that about a normal boiler.

I have a normal boiler. Wouldn’t use that without an alarm either.

I, like all my peers, grew up with open coal fires. Every house was heated that way, babies, young kids, all our lives. Used fire guards until such time as we knew not to touch a hot fire. From the Dawn of humanity we’ve made fiyah and we’ve come this far.

Tonight the former, last night the latter.

We’ve just got gas central heating in our house. I believe that’s the commonest heating system used in the U.K.

Whenever we’ve had our gas boiler checked, the maintenance people have always reminded us about the importance of having a working carbon monoxide alarm near it. Just in case it should go wrong in between inspections.

Carbon monoxide detectors aren’t just for log burners.

Why go to the effort and expense of removing them? They could just not use them.