Are wood burners a total pain?

[lifesobeautiful]

Hello! I'm thinking about installing a wood burner in our sitting room - for efficiency, the look etc. However, I am a busy SAHM of a small baby and toddler, and not keen to do it if it means lots of hard work - me changing the wood every hour during the day during the winter, or having to clean it constantly, or constantly having to buy logs and find somewhere good to store them. Has anyone got one? And are they hard work?

We have two. They are not hard work at all. If you use it properly you'll only have to top it up a couple of times a day. You only need to clean it out properly every couple of days, because they are more efficient with a small layer of ash in the bottom. If you keep it on very low, you may need to clean the glass from time to time. We buy logs once per winter, but have a wood shed, so have the space to do that.

With a baby and a toddler make sure you also have a fire guard though, they get very very hot even though the flames are behind glass.

They are completely worth any hassle at all imo.

Thank you! Hmmmm, I do the vast majority of housework as DH works very long hours. So it would be me looking after it 99% of the time. We're buying from a firm called Chesneys, who say they're almost self-cleaning. But I would definitely buy the wood, as it's just me and can't imagine myself cutting up wood.

Do you know if the wood is expensive? As in would it cancel out the energy cutting costs? I'm also very scared of spiders, so a bit anxious about going out to get wood from a wood shed. Could I keep a little store of wood beside it?

My other option is a gas fire behind glass (don't want to have open flames with my babies around) - which apparently has 80% efficiency. Not as pretty though.

We have one. In the morning I clean the glass (damp sponge with ash, one piece of kitchen roll, 2 mins) as even though it is self-cleaning it does tend to smoke up a little when we close it down at night.

Every 2-3 days I empty the ash pan, 2 mins. It does mean more hoovering than in the summer. And with small children it MUST have a secure guard round it, the burner and glass get VERY hot. This cuts down the heat somewhat. (we don't normally have a guard but do when a small guest is staying)

Every other day one of us chops wood for smaller bits. Every other day we bring in wood to sit beside it so it is really dry before burning. We get a delivery two or three times a year and spend an hour stacking it. About £90 for a big bag, sold by volume. Big, as in three people could stand in this bag.

if you collect free wood you need to store it for a year or more to season it, otherwise too damp to burn and will damage stove and chimney.

not compatible with someone scared of spiders, you will get them in the wood shed.

I don't think it is for you.

I've got one at my new house I'm renovating - it is basically an empty shell with a (nice new shiny) woodburner in it ...it is quite messy but than the whole place is a bit of a building site anyway...
I keep lighting it to stop the house getting too damp/cold (and then sitting in front of it for hours rather than getting on with the work!) - there is a gas boiler but only one working radiator at the moment - in the hall
And I have a mountain of wood that is in the process of getting chopped and seasoned ...(large overgrown garden, neighbours who know I'm on the look out) but might have to buy some for now (running out of deadwood I've collected)
What I would say - and this is having been contemplating a biomass/woodpellet boiler - as wood burning is becoming more and more popular the price of wood is only going to go up - if you have to buy it.
I've been told for a pellet stove to be prepared that after 7 years (when the RHI payments stop) to have it pulled out and go back to a gas boiler as the pellet price is likely to go up so much that it will be more expensive to run...
I think you need to really want one ...not think of them as easy free/cheap heat!

A multifuel stove is more convenient, because if you use solid fuel, it will burn longer, and hotter. A sack of solid lasts much longer than a sack of wood, contains more heat, and is always useful in case e.g. you should run out of wood, or be ill and unable to saw or fetch it. It is easier to keep the fire in overnight if you can put solid fuel on.

We have just moved to a house with a multifuel burner.
It is very easy to use and maintain. I was worried, but it really is fab.

DownstairsMix Up
Just be careful on using unseasoned wood...it will produce a tar-like substance in the chimney. Apparently the tar attaches firmly to the chimney liner, and is not dislodged properly with chimney brushes. Where there is existing tar, then new deposits will build attach and build up. The tar can cause a chimney fire, or in the worst case actually block the chimney.
There is much more energy released from dryer wood, as it does not use energy drying the moisture out of the wood itself.

By the way, we have a multi fuel stove. Light it most nights during the winter. Easily looked after, but does take a few minutes to light, add wood, clear out. Biggest effort is getting the wood & splitting.... Maybe 2 to 4 days a year in total as we have access to some woodland.

Mind you, just filed up with 2000 litres of home heating oil at nearly £1,100. In years gone by, we would have used 2 fills per year! Now, that will do us 14 months.

I agree with the poster that said a multi fuel is better.

A very small amount of wood with one layer of coal throws out an immense heat from ours, whereas loading it up with just wood is not nearly as hot. Plus coal will keep going all night, we've never managed this with wood.

Downstairsmixup A flue is a chimney, and silverviking is absolutely right. You do need to be using seasoned wood I'm afraid.

We had one when we had ds1 and ds2 small, never again.
It is hard work OP, not just cleaning it out, disposing of ashes, but carrying the stuff, finding kindling, getting the bloody thing going.
Great for drying clothes in front of though. you will also need a fire guard that attaches to the walls or fireplace so that your dc won't pull it over. Also you need to make sure chimney is satisfactory and have it all checked out by a specialist.

morethan I have a fantastic DIY hoover that I suck the ashes out with - takes a minute and only needs emptying every 4 or 5 clean outs...(And burner doesn't need cleaning out every day)
I also have an ash vac can attachment - fits onto a standard vacuum - but haven't tried that out yet on ashes - (bought it to deal with plaster dust from rewire - didn't handle it very well - so was adapted to be a water trap which did work -but now need to take all the bits off to try it as an ash vac and haven't got round to it yet)
I had this discussion with my mum - she said I was mad to get one - but when she was growing up - in fact when we were very small- a 'real' fire was the only source of heating ...getting up in the freezing cold to clean out and get a fire going is not pleasant - getting up in a centrally heated house to light a wood burner if you feel like it - completely different...