Wood burners

[Susie]

We are going to get rid of our gas fire and get a wood burner instead. Is there any advice you great guys and gals can give us? Anything we should look out for?


Also, we are looking for quite a modern looking wood burner, can anyone recommend a supplier? PM me if you like as I am not sure if posting links contravenes the forum guidelines.

Many thanks,

Susie

[ron1863]

I had one some years ago Susie when I lived in a very old cottage and we had access to a wood where we were allowed to take away fallen trees and branches so fuel wasn't a problem. Fitting it was easy as the cottage had old fireplaces with chimneys. Don't know about modern houses but I imagine it would have to be fitted to an outside wall with a hole drilled for the chimney. If you already have a fireplace then it should be no problem. The heat produced was amazing and they are very economical.

Ron

[shei111]

Originally Posted by Susie

We are going to get rid of our gas fire and get a wood burner instead. Is there any advice you great guys and gals can give us? Anything we should look out for?


Also, we are looking for quite a modern looking wood burner, can anyone recommend a supplier? PM me if you like as I am not sure if posting links contravenes the forum guidelines.

Many thanks,

Susie

Hello suzie I had a villager wood burner, it had a airwash system which means the front glass will keep clean, which I think is a good idea because its so nice to see the flames and if the glass keeps getting dirty you have to clean it everyday Ive also had woodburner without the airwash system not good .My 2 burners I had were multi fuel which means you can burn wood or coal . Depending on what you expect your burner to do ie, heat water , radiators, how big your rooms are the shop will work out your cubic mts to see what size burner you need, your always best to burn dry fuels wet etc clogs the chimney quicker, and for fire regulations and household insurance I do believe you will have to have your chimney lined , I expect a nother wabber will tell you what else to look for , ive moved into a bungalow ive got gas central heating and theres no way would I have a woodburner fitted I do find them dusty and its a lot of hard work getting wood brought home , sawn , chopped carted in the house, its ok if you can lift heavy log baskets and buckets of coal , and swing an axe , but for me those days have gone I now just use the thermo switch, personel choice if you can get free wood too thats fine. shei.

[RobinP]

Originally Posted by Susie

We are going to get rid of our gas fire and get a wood burner instead. Is there any advice you great guys and gals can give us? Anything we should look out for?


Also, we are looking for quite a modern looking wood burner, can anyone recommend a supplier? PM me if you like as I am not sure if posting links contravenes the forum guidelines.

Many thanks,

Susie

Hi Susie

We got ours last year and I had great fun with it over the winter, a traditional design with a flue. Best advice I can give is shop around, the price differences are enormous especially the accessories, we saved two-thirds on the flue by buying off the internet and the supplier we bought the stove from matched the best internet price we could find. He also recommended a really good fitter but they're probably too far away from you, being in Colney Heath, Hertfordshire. Good luck anyway.

Robin

P.S. Go for a multi-fuel system with airwash, you can also get flue-less models.

[nightshade]

I always think "where will the wood come from" Britain once had huge
forests wood/charcoal was what powered industry. Industry cleared the forests.There is so little left and everyone is buying wood burners is this green or are we going to import wood
I do like the idea of a wood burner but it would have to be state of the art
with a very high efficiency and be multi-fuel rather like an Aga

[ron1863]

Originally Posted by nightshade

I always think "where will the wood come from" Britain once had huge
forests wood/charcoal was what powered industry. Industry cleared the forests.There is so little left and everyone is buying wood burners is this green or are we going to import wood
I do like the idea of a wood burner but it would have to be state of the art
with a very high efficiency and be multi-fuel rather like an Aga

We were lucky in that we lived next to a wood and were allowed to take any fallen or rotted trees and branches, and there was no shortage of fuel. I don't know where people who live in cities will find the fuel though.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by nightshade

I always think "where will the wood come from" Britain once had huge
forests wood/charcoal was what powered industry. Industry cleared the forests.

theres a lot of woodland arround that could be put back into coppice production if the firewood market was bouyant , which would both provide rural employment and improve biodiversity value (so long as done sensitively with a sensible management plan in place)

Also there is lots of wood available from storm clearance work ( i filled my shed, my log store , and my back porch from last winters storms and am likely to do so again this year), plus tree surgeons often have so much wood they are giving it away. Then there is scrap wood and pallets etc (you can burn tanalised wood in a burner so long as you dont over do it - which you shouldnt on an open fire)

[Davy Crockett]

If you go down to the woods you may come across me, don't take too much wood please i need it.
Cheers Crockett

[KeenTeen17]

elder wood is good because it is hollow with really soft wood on the inside - it burns really good once the fire gets going.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by KeenTeen17

elder wood is good because it is hollow with really soft wood on the inside - it burns really good once the fire gets going.

thats an intersting take on things - I always thought that elder was a poor firewood because it had a has a high water content and doesnt put out a lot of heat when burning - traditionally speaking ideal firewood is oak, ash, beech, chestnut, hazel etc The fruitwoods are also nice (tho i tend to reserve them for turnery rather than burnery ) but have a higher tar content and will soot up your chimney if used a lot.

The key is to get your wood really dry - at least 12 months seasoning from tree to fire (unless of course it was dead before it came down) - that means that you should be stacking up for next winter this winter and so on. (and in your first winter may have to buy in)