Real Fires - whats burns better coal or logs

[aquashiv]

Just gone back to a real fire but seem to going through a hell of a lot of fuel. We are using logs and coal but not having much luck with logs - they burn really quickly and end up having to use about 10 a night.

What do you use and how much? At this rate its working out cheaper to put the central heating on?

We tend to start with paper, wood kindling and then burn a couple of logs to get a bed of glowing embers, then pile on smokeless homefire ovals, which are slow burning and give off a lot of heat. So we end up just using a log or two to get the fire going, iyswim, but the majority of the fire is smokeless coal.

Thanks for that I find the coal better. Do you know how much the coal costs. I have been buying smokeless stuff at a garden centre for £10 per bag which lasts five days? The logs are ones from a neighbours tree so it could be that they arent seasoned and too quick to burn perhaps?
thanks I appreciate the advice.

Solid fuel is much cheaper in bulk, if you have somewhere to store it.

What sort of wood have you been burning. Soft wood will go up really quickly but well seasoned hard wood should last a lot longer.

A year's seasoning on the wood improves it. We lay the fire with paper, then kindling, then a layer of coal and a log. We might have to top up the coal once during an evening, and possibly use another couple of logs (depending on size). The combination works because the coal makes the fire give an intense heat, which logs alone wouldn't do unless you were burning a heck of a lot of them. Ten a night sounds a huge amount.

Our central heating is solid fuel. We mostly burn wood as it is much cleaner to use, coal lasts longer but wood creates less ash/dirt/mess. We buy our wood in bulk and my dh chainsaws it up and splits it. This is very time consuming but he enjoys it, makes him feel manly!

I like the heat from the coal but wood makes for a cleaner house and wood for us at the moment has been cheaper. £700 quid for 21 tonn that will last us two winters.

Oh and my fire is a closed stove, in an open fire, which we have in the bedrooms, i prefer coal as it sparks less.

Cant beat a real fire imo, i wouldnt be without it. In a house without a fire i always feel there is something missing.

Some great advice there thank you.
We shall give that a go. Thanks a lot.