Do I want a wood burning stove?

[Acunningruse]

We moved into a new house a few months ago which has a very modern wall hanging fire. I really miss having a fireplace so definitely want a different fire for this coming winter, we are just trying to decide what type. We love the look and warmth of wood burning stoves from seeing them in other peoples homes but I haven't done proper research into them yet. Do they require much maintenance? Do you use yours often? Are they a bit of a fad that will become dated in a few years?

Any info about owning a wood burning stove appreciated

Absolutely love ours. We have a multi fuel. Cleaning v easy.

We have 2.

Live abroad In a bungalow and have one in the lounge and one in the kitchen.

We only use wood. We use ours in the cool months which are December-February. We light them at 4pm ish when it gets dark. We buy about 3 loads of logs a year. Theyare about 120e for a truck load. Sometimes we supplement this with old wood eg palettes or bits of old furniture or fencing. We will be getting a CO monitor because of this.

We clean the flues ourselves with kit from Amazon. Once a year.

We bought a gadget to make briquettes from waste paper but it was very time consuming.

You need to get it super hot to get your wood burning. May well be seasoned but if its not hot enough it won’t burn efficiently.

I have a multi fuel stove. I use anthracite to get it going. Blast it as hot as it allows then i pack in the logs, close the front vents but have the airwash slightly open. The use if logs is less when i use anthracite.

I do it in a similar way to Turquoise but we don't use anthracite, just paper and lots of sticks as kindling. The airwash vent is the one that keeps the glass clear. It could also be the type of wood - they all burn differently and some are more clean than others.

Have noticed recently that the curtains and painted walls are filthy in the room where our wood burner is - right up to the ceiling. It's a bit like the soot you get from candles, except we don't light candles, so I'm pretty sure this is the result of the wood burner. The stove is all properly sealed etc, and the room has taken a few years to get in this state.

But it's worth worth bearing in mind that woodburners are not the cleanest of things.

I love mine, as it reduces the oil bills and is lovely to look at, with its cosy glow.
We live in the country and have a woodshed, which is essential for storing the vast amount of winter wood.
It is very time consuming for DH, who sources and saws up the wood. We have things like a chain saw, circular saw and safety equipment, the costs of which need to be factored in.
Buying ready sawn and seasoned wood would be expensive. We buy/source a year in advance, for seasoning.
I doubt if I’d have one in a sub/urban environment, because of emissions and the probability that they will be banned. Also, we would be able to have gas. Sometimes I miss gas...