Log burner novice

[wrped]

Hi

we are hopefully moving into a property with a log burner, ive never used one before and want to try and maximise its use.

In your experience what type of logs are good for burning over a long period?

How many logs do you roughly use per day? If just for an evening or if youre in all day?

Presumably it is better to bulk buy logs?

Thank you in advance

I only burn kiln dried logs or compressed fire logs.

If you are going to burn "seasoned" wood or collect your own to season it, get yourself a cheap moisture meter from screwfix. Only burn wood thats under 20% moisture. That will ensure you're burning with minimal smoke.

A magnetic flue temperature gauge is also useful (about a tenner from amazon) This gives you the optimum burn temp to make sure youre not burning too low and creating soot and not too high that you might damage your burner.

I like a top down burn. Thats where you make a bed of logs in 2 layers, then your firestarter, then a tower of kindling.

This ensures you are priming your chimney (warming the cold air in it) to ensure you have a good "draw".

With this method and controlling the airflow, I can set a bed of maybe 4 or 5 logs and not have to re-fuel it for 3 hours.

I also bought an air quality monitor for the room the burner is in but I stopped using it as the fire only made about 2% difference in air quality in the room compared to a 150-200% difference when cooking food in the kitchen.

Exactly.

I recently realised someone on my street must have a log burner as my whole house smelt of smoke. I have to close all my windows.

Unfortunately I've also had an asthma exacerbation recently and nearly ended up in A&E over Christmas. Very inconsiderate to use a log burner in this day and age.

Unseasoned wood is legally allowed to be sold but I think the minimum volume is 2 m sq.
candles, gas cookers, and air fresheners also are responsible for indoor air pollution

Bulk buying wood is still a more expensive way of heating than gas.

Unless like a lot of people you spend your time either stealing wood or burning any old crap you can get your hands on. Generally a minimum wage job pays better for the time invested.

You'll soon get fed up of having to mess around for hours a day either collecting/processing wood or arranging a fire, so I would get one bulk lot of wood in and take it from there.

Love ours. Make sure you have it inspected before you use it. Ours was missing a liner and our chimney partially collapsed even though the last owners were using it! We had it all redone.

If I build a decent fire I can light it, shut the door and ignore it for 3 hours.

You shouldn't have any smoke or strong smells coming room it u less you are burning inappropriate things. We use both kiln dried and trees that we cut down and seasoned a few years ago. The kiln dried burns quicker and is easier and obviously more even in size.

I get bulk deliveries as we have a garage to store the wood in. Read up on how to use the stove properly so you aren't wasting the wood you burn. How to light it and how to set the air vents for the best burn. You don't want the glass to go black as that means the wood isn't burning properly.

Google the stove and make and there'll be instructions on line.

I love ours.....

We have a friend who has seasoned his own wood so he never buys any - but he has an acre of two of woods and they spend a lot of time cutting it up into smaller chunks.

I just buy the kiln dried stuff.

We live across the road from a big country Estate's grounds and one of my neighbours goes across with a chainsaw and a wheelbarrow every so often!! 😳
Also, a couple of trees blew down in the recent storms and they seem to have mysteriously been chopped up - probably my neighbour!

We either use our own trees from pruning them (and left to season obviously) or buy in bulk.

Check your house purchase paperwork because your solicitor should have asked the sellers to supply the latest certificate of the chimney sweeping. If it hasn’t been swept lately you should have been informed. An ecofan for the top is a very good idea, without it we had cold knees and a hot ceiling. If you only burn wood you can put the ash on the compost and around fruit trees.

Getting the chimney swept and checked for liner leaks is a must - as prevents chimney fires and checks for carbon monoxide leaks (worth getting a detector too).

Check your home and contents insurance notes that there is a wood burner at the property your coverage may be invalid if you have a fire.

thanks guy, i'll will check home insurance includes log burner

We love our wood burner. Wouldn’t be without one.

Make sure you have a carbon monoxide detector and a decent sized wood store. We season wood for 2 years before burning.

We generally only light ours in the evenings. The key is to get it going so you don’t have to open the doors hardly at all. My son has this down to a fine art. Once he’s got it going, we only need to add a log or 2 maybe once in the evening. He also runs it so the glass never blackens. If I light it, the glass blackens and the fire never gets going as well. 🤷‍♀️

If you’re buying a house with one in, I’d check the relevant building control certification is in place.

Always one.

🙄

Do you mean always one person who’s capable of weighing up evidence and putting hard facts above liking a cosy look to a room?

They look pretty and give a lovely cosy feel to a room. But they’re absolutely terrible for air quality and health, both in the home and for your neighbours. There’s no sensible argument against the data, it’s clear.

No way would I have one in my home when there are cheaper and far healthier ways to heat it. I’m not risking lung problems and increased risk of cancer, Alzheimer’s or a low birth weight baby just to look at a pretty fire of an evening.

I’m looking to get one too OP. I’m sick of constantly feeling cold in my house all the time. My parents have one and their house is always lovely and warm.

If you have Facebook look up a private group called ‘Ladies UK Log Burner Chat’. I joined not long ago and everyone on it is very helpful and won’t judge you even if you think you’re asking a daft question.

I've never in my 62 years had a multi fuel burner until we had one put in this year, I was terrified and clueless to start with only ever having had gas fires in the past. If I had known how much heat they kick out I’d have invested in one years ago, and so easy to use once you get the knack after a few attempts lighting it.

We use a mix of kiln dried wood, some we’ve bought from B&M/HomeBargains/Aldi etc and some we’ve bought from log companies. I’ve also got some proper gnarled seasoned wood too from local tree surgeons, it’s a tad cheaper than kiln dried and tends to burn longer that kiln dried.

Some useful tutorials on YouTube too….you’ll end up wondering how you lived without one for so long.

Finally, definitely get it swept before use.

Proud to be that one who can admit when I was wrong and do the right thing for my children and my community. How about you?

I cant wait, ive been renting a damp ridden absolutely freezing flat for past few years so im looking forward to some warmth

I think you're being ridiculous and worrying about nothing.

And nobody in your community is bothered either way.

Following with interest. Anyone have any experience of using night briquettes as fuel?
Someone recommended them to me as supposedly easier to clean. Does it give out good enough heat compared to coal?

I don't 'think', I know because the research is crystal clear. You're the one being ridiculous because you choose to ignore it. Educate yourself:

This article is from 2021. The facts have been around a while:

Dr Nick Hopkinson, medical director at Asthma UK and British Lung Foundation, said both indoor and outdoor pollution caused by wood burning stoves caused serious health issues, from breathing problems to an increased risk of heart attacks, strokes and lung cancer.

“To protect yourself and others around you, especially children who are particularly vulnerable as their lungs are smaller and still developing, avoid buying a wood-burning stove or using an open fire if you have another source of fuel to cook and heat your home with.”

www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/01/avoid-using-wood-burning-stoves-if-possible-warn-health-experts#:~:text=Wood%20burners%20have%20become%20increasingly,toxic%20air%20inside%20the%20home.

@Chiseltip also please stop quoting me and trolling me. I replied to the OP initially with a totally upfront account of why I stopped using my wood burner when I found out they are extremely damaging to air quality. You aren't bringing anything useful to the table that refutes this (even the Daily Mail has a whole host of stories on the dangers of wood burners 👍🏼), yet you're just goading me. Not sure why.

I give the OP the benefit of the doubt that they will do the responsible thing and educate themselves on the facts.

With any luck, wood burners will eventually be banned for those with other heat sources in their house (like me and many others). Fingers crossed 🤞🏼.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjdne9ke0m1o

And, I'm out.

Try to ignore. You have posted links that show how bad for the environment wood burners are. It's not an opinion, it is fact.
Sadly, as this thread shows, people don't care. Being cosy is more important than clean air.

You can get a moisture meter that as the name suggests measures the moisture content of your wood. When we've used seasoned logs it’s taken a good couple of years for them to dry out as low as kiln dried. The one benefit is that logs for seasoning tends to be a lot cheaper.
we use our burner most evenings in December / January / February instead of the central heating. Over that time, we will burn through approx £200 worth of kiln dried wood. Using damper wood will reduce the heat output and increase a build up of soot in your chimney. It’s also not great for the environment. Kiln wood burns much hotter and much cleaner.

Yep, just like cars or gas boilers or BBQs.