Multi Fuel Stoves

[Mallory1967]

Hello. Can anyone help me please? I am buying a cottage with a multi fuel stove. Has anyone got one? I don't know how to budget for fuel. How much coal or wood will i need per month to run it? I am at home all day, seven days a week. I've been told online that I will need at least 6 cubic metres of hardwood logs per year, but I don't know for how many months of the year this is. I don't like being cold. Any ideas? And/or does anyone know how much coal I will need to buy? I'm worried that I'm not going to be able to afford it, and it is the main fuel for the lounge, which is 14 x 10 feet with an open staircase in the corner. Please can anyone help? Thanks very much.

I have a multifuel stove in my living room with open stairs. I don’t use the central heating much. In winter I burn a trailer load of logs every 2-3 weeks. Thankfully they are free. Normal cost £60 a load.
My living room is 3.6m by 6.5 m and I leave the two bedroom doors open upstairs to let the heat waft round.
I also burn peat because I get given it. If I wasn’t given peat and logs I would buy coal. Coal burns nice and hot and is cheaper than logs for heat. Coal varies in price and if you’ve got storage space a ton is a cheap way to buy. I have found the smokeless fuels don’t give out enough heat.
My stove is lit 24/7 in winter and the temperature in the living room is usually at least 20.

Thanks love

I'm jealous OP! I don't have a multifuel stove here, but have done in a previous house and I loved it.

The prices wouldn't be relevant now as this was years ago, but as gonewiththerain says, a ton of coal is good value if you have space. We mostly burned wood though because we got it from a local sawmill where it was ridiculously cheap. Worth checking to see if you have one nearby.

I can't buy a trailer load or tonne of coal as there is no access for a truck. I'm feeling very depressed at the expense of buying logs in nets. Twelve logs per net - how long does a log burn for? How long would a 25 kilo back of coal last if I use stove all day? I think I can move a 25 kilo bag on my own. Wouodnt be able to lift 50 kilo bag and they don't work out any cheaper. Is a tonne 1000 kilos? It's £10.50 per 25 kilos. Do I need 40 bags to make a tonne? Would that last me all day every day? I think I may have made a mistake buying this house. It is going to cost me a fortune. Thanks for advice.

I've found out I can't even get a dumpy bag delivered. I am going to have to buy nets! I'm so worried.

I think so much depends on the stove and what it actually heats - some will run the boiler for the central heating, but ours didn't, so that did make it cheaper. It was a great little fire, and very useful for heating things up on the top when we had power cuts too.

Is there a local sawmill? I know it was years ago for me, but we could go there and you basically picked up a big bag (empty) when you went in and there was a massive agricultural shed filled with logs. You filled the bag yourself for £2!

I'm sure your new neighbours will be able to keep you right too, they'll know where to buy supplies.

One of the good things about fuel for the fire is you can buy it in advance. If you only use logs, you'll go through them quickly. I put a small amount of smokeless coal first, ( about 12 pieces of egg shaped coal) and then a log on the top. I light it at 6pm so its giving out heat at 7.30ish for sitting down in the evening. On a cold night I may add another log but usually I don't touch it again as the heat it give out is great. We use gas central heating during the day, not too bothered about the heat until we sit down. A 10kg bag of coal from home bargains cost just under £4.00 and I probably use 2 a week. The net of logs I bought last time had 15 logs in it, so would last a couple of weeks, but they may vary. Don't be fooled by putting on too much, as when it gets going it really gives out heat. I wouldn't be without my stove and our Son had his old gas fire taken out last week and a wood burner put in and our Daughter is going to soon. As it happens, I ordered my first net today, just using the Google search engine brought up more suppliers than there used to be, even Amazon seem to be delivering the next day now. We have a halogen heater too, cheap to buy and cheap to run. We use this when we don't need to light the fire, if we're only going to be in for a couple of hours.
The chimney should be cleaned each year and this can be £30-£50
There's nothing like a cold night and a cosy fire, enjoy.

Thanks love. Really appreciate the guide. Maybe I'll be okay with a 25 kilo bag of smokeless fuel for a week then.

If you have pedestrian access to your back garden or yard you can get a plastic coal bunker and the coal man will deliver it to your bunker.
The same with logs, you’ll get the Internet sellers with the flashy websites but they’ll be local men who do other work who also sell logs as a side line. They’ll be the ones who’ll barrow the logs into your back garden for you.
A ton of coal can usually be bought in bagged (slightly more expensive than loose but less mess) and delivered to the pavement, some will carry it round for you.

Sometimes if you’re fairly rural you’ll see random houses with logs or kindling for sale at the gate, usually by the old feed sack and much cheaper than nets

For a start you need to check your local council website to check what you are allowed to burn.
Don’t burn coal or coke in your stove. Check what make it is and look online and it will most likely tell you. If not ring one of the smaller stores and talk to them.

I burn phurnicite/ Welsh eggs and anthracite on ours. The coal man walks down our path about 4 metres or so from our gate and tips it in the bunker. He likes a hat for five minutes, I pay him by check or cash and he is on his way. We buy four bags about every two to three months in winter. It is often cheaper to buy in summer so I usually get a delivery July or August. We buy logs in which have been seasoned do not buy unseasoned wood it is a false economy and it will ruin your stove and isn’t good for the chimney. Get the chimney swept before you use it. We get the local fire brigade lads. Several do it on there days off and don’t charge very much I think it was £30-40 last time. You only need it once a year usually and they give free advice and I got a new, free smoke alarm too.😃

Ask the neighbours, look up the internet or ask where they sell stoves and they will tell you where to get logs. Ours come by a large trailers. You can usually buy small and large load. We lived on a country road some traffic but single lane dues to parked cars. They dump them half on footpath and half on road. We then have to barrow them in. DH made a log store out of free pallets but we are getting a joiner made one for near the house soon. It takes a couple of hours to barrow them and stack them. It isn’t difficult I have done it when DH was away. That lasts us about two to three months depending how cold it is. Our stove is a Charnwood country 16 and it heats the room, the hot water and seven radiators. It is our central heating. So I hope that will give you some idea. Kindling can often be picked up cheap or at a garage for net bag. We also collect sticks and dry them out. It is surprising how many you can collect on a walk after it has been windy.

DH pays for the wood and he is out walking but I will ask him when he returns. Feel free to ask anything else. We loved our stove. I haven’t had it on since April. We live in the north and it is on continuously in the winter. Autumn and Spring just light it at night.

Thanks everybody