Cost of runnimng a log burner

[cavell]

We are thinking of getting a log burning stove (just like everyone else, it seems), but one thing I am still a bit unclear about is how much it costs to actually run one.

It would go in our living room (approx. 6m4m or 20ft12ft) and would be meant primarily for heating that room in the evenings/weekends although we would, of course, open the doors for the rest of the downstairs if that room got too hot or if we wanted to warm up the rest of the downstairs.

On-line reports that I have read seem to range from £150/£200 per year to £1000+ per year. What is realistic? (We are in NW Kent.)

we go through 2 or 3 deliveries of logs at £90 a go, and £45 a year for the chimney sweep. But prices vary hugely with area so phone round your local suppliers.

consider a multifuel so you can get a bag of smokeless if the wood runs down or weather is cold

wood contains far less heat than coal-type fuels, burns cooler, you need very much more of it.

Have you spent much time outside in the cold and rain sawing logs?

Our living room is 16x11 ft and we have a 5kw stove. No internal doors so heat dissipates around the house. Reckon we use about 250-300 worth of logs, though I think this year is going to be the first where we order a pallet/dumpy bag. Plus 35 for the sweep.
No chopping logs for us....plus if you're looking to gather your own wood, you need to bear in mind it won't be any good for at least a year (so next winter). We use kiln dried as it's drier, burns better & hotter.

Agree, I suggest you look at a multifuel burner so you can choose to use coal / smokeless fuel as well - much better for a long lasting, all day fire that will eventually diffuse through the whole house. A couple of dustbins full will last you a long time.

You can still have a log fire from time to time which is more cheerful to look at.

Buy your wood in bulk, in the summer. We fill our shed for £300, burn a wood fire every night and all weekend and generally don't have to top up (although we do womble wood from the forest now and then). My sweep has just recommended we burn smokeless fuel from time to time, so I'm glad we bought a multifuel stove which means we can do that. We are in East London/Essex and pay £60 to have the chimney swept. Our wood comes cut to size thankfully, but it is much cheaper in the long run to have it delivered as bigger pieces and buy a log splitter. I just cannot be bothered though.

I'm surprised at people being recommended to burn smokeless fuels - our sweep suggested we burn only wood and that coals tar up more quickly - though ours is freestanding with an insulated flue so may be different from a lined chimney situation.

He was also of the opinion that it would burn too hot for our needs - which backs up what others say about coal being hotter & slower burning than wood & therefore more economical.

We have never paid for any wood. We use pallets from outside the tool hire shop up the road and occassionally get logs from friends chopping down things in their garden. My dad makes friends with buiders who are filling skips and gives us some of that. Sweep costs £70 per year.

Same as shrinkingnora - parents live a stone's throw away and have lots of trees on their land. DH and DF spend the spring cutting, sawing and storing wood which we both use up over the winter. Kindling is old pallets etc. DF is also a steam-engine enthusiast/owner and gets coal as part of his appearance fees for various shows. For some reason, his Rayburn isn't too keen on the steam coal he gets so it all gets passed my way. I pay for a sweep, the firelighters and matches .

We would not have put one in if dp wasn't a carpenter... He comes home with bags of off cuts, peoples old skirting boards and floor boards... We save it all hear then use it to keep warm in winter.

We didn't put a gas fire in this house, only central heating and always kep the thermostat down. When the burner is in we revert to how it was when we grew up. Fire in one room and the rest of the house much cooler, so we tend to all be I the same room in the evenings. Hot water bottles take any chill off beds from not having the rads on!

Our house is quite small but 3 storey due to loft conversion so hot air does waft up through the whole house!

Jeez this iPad is shit to type on with autocorrect and mistakes, sorry!

Sweep suggested to me that we lob a handful in now and then, to help keep the chimney creosote free-er. We have a lined chimney, with vermiculite around it. Generally when it's swept, we get a nice small bag of soot. I also bought some flue cleaning powder stuff on the recommendation of someone on her (can't remember who, sorry) and it does seem to have improved our draw.

I think the burning coal/wood thing is better if they're burnt separately, as they give off deposits at different temperatures, if I remember correctly.

I burn only seasoned or kiln dried hardwoods and last year got through about £200-£250's worth - using the stove on average 3-4 days a week from 2pm-10pm. Chimney sweep is £35 per year.

I used to work for a carpenter who burned offcuts and saw that burning soft wood/pallets produce an awful lot of tar in the flue - which is a cause of fire.

[However my boss knew that and used to clean it out all the time, easy as it was installed in a single storey outbuilding].

I'm in midkent and use a tree surgeon based in Sevenoaks for my logs. costs is between £120 (for a large vehicle load - around 3 metres cubed) and £240 a year depending on the winter. Last winter was so long we needed two large loads but the year or two before we just had one a year.

Thanks for the clarification on coal/wood, might be something we consider if we're more skint/running low on wood!

Like a pp, if the fire is on, the central heating is off. The burner creates so much heat & heats up the bricks/floor in a way central heating just doesn't, so I guess some of the cost is offset by not having the boiler going. We generally have the ch on for an hr in the morning to dry out any damp from overnight & to take the edge off and then have the fire going from 2pm ish, unless it's proper cold and we're staying in and then we may have it going all day.

Ok thanks everyone, this has been really helpful. Seems like the £1000+ per year stories were way over the top.

We have a log burner and use it a lot during the colder months.
We spend about £200 on logs and £25 on the chimney being swept per year.

Sweep said our flue was fine so I guess it must just depend
We're careful to avoid anything with paint/varnish etc