Log burger in living room - pros & cons? Safe for cats?

[Isothirty]

Hello all

Thinking about installing a small log burner in our living-room. We have a proper chimney in our 1970’s house. we will rip out the electric fireplace to reveal a coal fireplace and then install a log burner. It will eat into some furniture space in the living-room - but is it worth it?

Will be gorgeous in the winter, true heart of the home, gorgeous cosy living-room space. But it will be a lot of upkeep and maybe hassle with cleaning and constant smoke/logs/dust/ash everywhere?

We have two cats too and I’d be really scared they jumped on it or got too close to it and hurt themselves.

What’s your experience with a log burner?

Definitely get a log burger, OP. Sorry, no other advice. 😆

Just to say we have an open fire we burn logs on, and hardly any dust or ash. The cat ignores it, he isn’t stupid.

For goodness sake! LOG BURNER !! *

We've got a log burner. We had to get an old fashioned fire guard, one of the huge child safety ones, as one of our cats took to hiding behind it. Admittedly he's pretty dim though.

It’s clean and efficient

There’s a drawer in the bottom for ash collection which I empty weekly - you can save the ashes for the garden or for ice my roads!
Logs are cheap if you can store them. Hardwood burns slower and hotter than soft wood.
You’ll need sticks and fire lighters to get it going and then add a log or two after an hour or two depending on the wood.
You can also by ready to burn fuel logs which I think is tightly packed sawdust.
There is ash on the hearth but I vaccine that when I vacuum the carpets.
It heats up quickly especially if you buy a fan for the top.

You can cook on some- or jacket potatoes in the fire with tinfoil, or buy a pizza shelf - not tried that yet though.

Bills have reduced as we don’t need the central heating on as much.

Glass needs cleaning but again weekly with a wipe and ash from the fire - takes 10 mins.

Logs are cheaper to buy in bulk, fresh logs are even cheaper if you can store them for 12 months. I buy in the summer when they have deals on £160 for a truck load, as they have been in the sun they are well seasoned and not sat in the rain over winter or spring.
Stacked in the garage they last for months.

We have a dog, he sits and barks at it if he wants it lit!! Can be found stretched out in front of it a king.

@ChiefDogsbody

We've got a log burner. We had to get an old fashioned fire guard, one of the huge child safety ones, as one of our cats took to hiding behind it. Admittedly he's pretty dim though.

Yep. Us too.

If your cat has more brain cells than mine (not difficult!) then it should be fine. Our previous cat was fine with it and just lay in front of it when it was lit.

Current cat tries to get inside the bloody guard when we open it to put a log on!!

@BluebellsGreenbells

We have a dog, he sits and barks at it if he wants it lit!! Can be found stretched out in front of it a king.

Our dog does this too! I'm not convinced it saves much money (we buy logs in) but it was there with a years worth of logs when we bought the house and I would really miss it if we didn't have it! Really lovely and cosy in the winter. It is good for those autumn/spring nights when it's a bit chilly but not enough for the heating!

Love it. Nothing bad except I burn myself on the vents occasionally when adjusting the flow. But that'd because I'm a dick.
Dog loves it and lies by it like a prince

Mine has been a godsend when WFH as it's enough to keep me warm without turning the central heating on

I love ours. Only downside is that it can sometimes work a bit too well and we end up having to open the windows. The cats seem to like it.

I’ve read on her someone’s cat jumping on it and burning their paws.
Not very environmentally friendly are they? But I’m not a fan and don’t have one so not an expert.

Our cat loves ours, usually have to step around her to put logs on

One cat use to lay underneath it but the other cat was worse he lay in front of the open fire and if it spat his fur got singed. He never moved though. This cat also used to lick the hot bbq grill if you didn’t hide it!
Current cat is quite sensible and just sits nicely on the rug in front.

Cat and dog are massive fans tbh they love to stretch out in front for a gentle roasting. Neither of them seem daft enough to touch it once lit. Not sure it saves money as youre paying for wood unless you are handy with a chainsaw but so good in a power cut.

I think they are a health hazard waiting to be discovered, like cigarettes and talcum powder. Regardless of the fuel they put micro particles in the air you breathe in the home, and pollute the outside world. Hideous things.

Love ours ! Love thw sound and the atmosphere .

I don't think they're a health hazard waiting to be discovered. They're very much known to be a health hazard, due to the particulate matter. It's one thing using one that's already in your property, especially if you live rurally and have ready access to logs, but I wouldn't go installing one. My brother has a gas one in the style of a log burner, it's super efficient and thumps out a good heat.

Please don’t. Log burners are horrendous for air pollution.

www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/16/home-wood-burning-biggest-cause-particle-pollution-fires

They are not great for your health :(

[quote GemmaRuby]Please don’t. Log burners are horrendous for air pollution.

www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/16/home-wood-burning-biggest-cause-particle-pollution-fires[/quote]
This. I wouldn’t have one and I think there will be an about-turn in a few years time with regards to how they pollute the air inside and outside the home.

Everyone has one but they're dreadful for the environment so I'd avoid.

Well, cons are that you would be polluting the air inside your own home and damaging your lungs. Which to me outweighs being cosy tbh.

So bad for health. You might as well start smoking. I’d never ever have one around children.

Haven’t they just said they are quite polluting? My sister is one and it’s really cozy - you do need to keep the pipe clean and you can get birds stuck down then (ooooh nasty).