Black Or White Log Burner Stove

[TheCatsBlanket]

We’ve decided to get a multi fuel stove in the living room.
I’d like a white one to make it seem more posh/fancy in the living room, but husband prefers the black ones. Can anyone tell me if the white ones begin to discolour after a while, or is my husband just trying to put me off to get his own way!
Also, as I’ve never had this type of stove in a house before, are they as good as every one claims they are?

So are ovens.

I used to nag my dh about particulates whenever he lit the stove and bought an air purifier to filter the air. Funnily enough, it always stays blue when the door is shut-move it into the kitchen area and whenever we use the gas hob, it starts working furiously and glows bright red.

Here ya go

That really interesting!

What do you mean?

An electric oven? You think an electric oven has the same air quality impact as a wood burner??

Yes gas hobs have a negative impact on air quality whilst lit, which is why advice is to use extraction when they are on. Woodburners are worse overall as they burn for much longer and pollute the air around your home.

Or do you think the government and scientific community are making it up?

Can't help but think all the people harping on about air quality with a wood burner are just jealous because they don't have one

Did you know, you can find studies to say pretty much anything you, like but that doesn't mean they're good or accurate studies

Just saying

Yes same here, I specifically bought an air monitor after reading posters saying that the air quality in my home was dangerous/killing blah blah

The monitor goes off when we're cooking but not when the stove is on or lit

Bear in mind the monitor is near the fire, but not near the kitchen, it was quite an eye opener

Of course when I mention this on threads now, you get the usual 'those air monitors arent accurate/not important what they say' etc etc

Of course you know that if the monitor had gone red when the fire was lit it would be absolute evidence of damage and pollution in the room!!!!

I go by the evidence of my own eyes

No one will be getting me to remove my burner, I love it and we use it regularly.

just jealous because they don't have one

That's definitely it. I'm jealous because I haven't bought something I don't want

You are correct that a gas hob is also bad for air quality @soupfiend , but you tend to use it only for cooking not multi-hour heating. The advice is to ventilate and extract to mitigate, if you can't afford to switch to electric.

The particulates from a wood burner are different to the gases released from a gas stove.

Your air quality monitoring at home just isn't going to be doing what scientific studies do, and we have comprehensive scientific data about both wood burners and gas appliances now. I don't understand why anyone would choose to pollute their home with both gas and wood unless they have no option?

You think? 😄
I don't need to read studies to know that I have chest problems in the colder months when my neighbours use their wood burners or that my house stinks of their fuel.

So putting aside the clear environmental costs which you don't believe, what about the personal cost to neighbours of your fuel choices?

No but we have a wood burner compliant with Ecodesign 22. And in most houses, they don’t burn for much longer-a couple of hours a couple of times a week in the cold months-unless it’s your only source of heating. Less than 20% of air pollution is caused by burning fuel-and that includes open fires.

I was specifically replying to the poster who was referring to "properties that are so hard to heat that it's basically impossible to live in them unless you have a wood burning stove."

Gas oven, gas hobs, gas fires

Doesn’t help your argument to try to make out people are stupid. I’m actually someone who takes enormous steps to be environmentally conscious. At one point my whole house was heated using a mammoth wood fired furnace which the government paid me to use as an environmental measure. So much “information” out there is put there by people with an agenda.

wood burning stoves release little in the way of particulates if you use them properly and burn properly seasoned wood. Far less than gas hobs/fires/ovens.

I suspect a lot of people would decide not to buy that particular property in that case

And the gas boiler, ours is on most of the day, on and off according to the temperature. Its on now in fact.

And Im sitting in the kitchen being killed!!!

"I suspect a lot of people would decide not to buy that particular property in that case"

@inkblackheart

It's a council house in a really old village that goes back to start of time. I don't get a say in what it's built of or how energy efficient it is. I just know I can't afford £25-£30 a day to heat it in winter

We have a white (slightly off white, not 'brilliant' white) Jotul stove and love it.

It has no marking, doesn't get dirty, hasn't discoloured and looks the same as the day we got it over 5 years ago.
We light it probably 5 days a week in the coldest months (it heats the house), and less than that in the shoulder months between October-March.

This is the stove we have.

It suits the style of our house very well, and matches the decor. It gets a lot of compliments.

People who have dust/ash etc on the outside of your stoves - have you checked them for burning efficiency and the seals around the door & flue?

Appreciate that. Woodburning stoves are a good (although expensive) option for lots of people who need supplemental heat.

I don't suppose you have considered why wood burning stove chimneys are advised to be cleaned once a year yet there is no similar recommendation for gas flues ?

The answer is because wood burning produces lots more particulates. That's what soot and smoke is. Gas isn't perfect by any means, but it is much cleaner burning than wood. The "smoke" that is seen from gas burning in CH flues is almost all water vapour produced in the combustion process.

The particulates from wood burning will get into your living space when you open the stove door or from unsealed parts of the flue. Not only when the stove is burning, but when you clean out the ashes and put in more wood. Most of them go outside though into the atmosphere, and when you get lots of people doing that in a small area then the pollution can get pretty bad, especially under certain weather conditions.

I think most people recognise that in remote spaces where mains gas is not an option and where the pollution isn't concentrated by having large numbers of houses close together people need alternative heating options and wood I think is OK in those situations - it's still bad for the person doing the burning, but the impact on the rest of society is much less. But to me in urban and suburban areas where there is a much cleaner source of fuel available (gas) I think it should be banned.

We have exactly the same model in white and had the same one in black in our last house. I've never had to wipe or clean any of the enamel in the years we've had it, and maybe flick a bit of dust off the top every few weeks (and I'm quite fussy). I think the white is easier to maintain than the black, which is painted cast iron, while the white is enamel.

I'd second your opinion for users to check their seals/ropes if they're getting a lot of dust and ash everywhere because we certainly don't.

That study did not differentiate between qualities of stoves. They vary enormously.

I just dint understand how. We’ve two wood burners, both modern defra approved. They definitely discolour and ger dirty. Christ view any celeb instagrammer with one and they are always cleaning them. I’ve no idea how anyone has a wood burning stove that doesn’t get dirty and uses it on the regular.

The science is known - you burn stuff, it goes up the flue and re-enters the house. It affects everyone but the homeowner is hit the most by virtue of being nearest the flue.

The evidence is that people underestimate the health impact of stoves, as they did with passive smoking before.

I find it amazing people with kids willingly pollute their air. Anyone really, but especially those with kids. It raises asthma rates, cancer rates, all respiratory issues.

I think it is strange to burn things in your home that are damaging to health, unless you have no alternative.

Yes gas ovens are worse than electric. This is also widely known.

We're lucky to have access to electricity.