Log Burners

[nightshade]

I notice that many people moving into the country are insisting
on Log Burning Stoves,I wonder where all the logs are coming from ??

[agrumpycow]

Originally Posted by nightshade

I notice that many people moving into the country are insisting
on Log Burning Stoves,I wonder where all the logs are coming from ??

Hmmm, never thought about that! Very good question, one I can't answer but I'd ne interested to know

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by nightshade

I notice that many people moving into the country are insisting
on Log Burning Stoves,I wonder where all the logs are coming from ??

Trees maybe

[jennyb]

Nightshade, there could be a very innocent explanation.

We have a log burner and every 3 or 4 years we have our trees trimmed - removing dead branches and keeping them in shape. We also regularly have trees blown down (3 in the high winds earlier this year). In the hurricane (although someone is sure to say that it was not really a hurricane) we had 6 big ones down including several oaks. After the hurricane it was impossible to sell the wood for timber so it all went on the wood burner.

The insurance company also recently insisted that we took down a few of the trees that were very close to the house.

I should also add that we regularly plant new trees to replace those lost.

Jenny

[jennyb]

I forgot to mention that we always get the work done by a professional who will take the wood away if you don't need it - no doubt to sell it to other country dwellers with log burning stoves!

Jenny

[jdurbo]

Hi
You can buy bags of logs from supermarkets too!!
jen xxx

[svenrufus]

Don't know the answer in terms of the proportion of wood from different sources, but some of it will very likely have come from overseas, which is tragic if that is the case.
The growth in woodburners can be a real boon to the UK conservation sector if it adds economic viability to woodland management, allowing good conservation work to become self sustaining.
I guess the answer is, that the responsibility lies with the wood buring owners to make sure they get their wood from the most local and sustainable source possible, but I guess the reality is that people on the whole will just go for the cheapest clear felled tropical rainforest woodland that they can lay their hands on.
I notice that many of the hardware stores now sell charcoal made from UK coppiced wood. The woodburner market is an extension of this and to be welcomed if it is managed and promoted well.

[seamusagleann]

some forestry commission districts will sell a scavangers permit to allow people to "glean" a site shortly after it has been harvested. your not allowed to use a chainsaw ,due to health and saftey reasons ,but much of the wood is 1-2mtre logs and usually easily managed.

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

I actually work for a company that sell Woodburning stoves so may be able to answer some of the questions about where the wood comes from. The company that we buy wood from only uses wood from sustainable resources, i can't vouch for the timber you'll get from backstreet places being from good sources.

It's also worth pointing out that burning wood is much better for the environment than other methods of heating

[badgerwatcher]

The government give grants towards installing log burning stoves in certain circumstances.

[Helo]

We have a very small woodland, so are never short of wood. Mostly beech and ash. It's surprising just how much work a small woodland needs in order to flourish. Our woodland had been neglected for a long time, hence tall spindly trees fighting for light, and hardly any woodland flowers. Now however, we are in the process of 'thinning' out the woodland, so that the larger trees have room to grow, and the spindly trees have/are coming out. We also have a wood burning fire.

[shei111]

Hello Ive always lived in the country and its only been this last 2 years that ive been without a open fire or woodburner. In most of the last 28 years that ive been burning we hardly ever paid for a load, you get a tree whats come down in wind and its surprising how much wood you get from a 30 foot tree also someone may want a diseased tree or 2 removed from their garden, if you store it in the summer its ready for the winter, woodburners are very efficient if used properly , just buy the odd the odd bag of coal, its a great cheap way of heating if you dont mind the cleaning out of ashes, but you dont get too many ashes from burning wood. Ive done my fair share of chopping wood ,chopping kindling sticks , and using a chain saw, loading the shed up then in with the wood basket . Phew it was hard work I didnt mind when I was younger and Now I just turn the thermo on the central heating . sheila

[shei111]

Originally Posted by Lincs Yellowbelly

Spending a couple of hundred quid on a stove is fine, but you really do get what you pay for and I wouldn't expect them to last more than a few years

You can get some really good stoves for as little as £6-700, and they will last you ages. Look for something from Jotul, Stovax or Hunter and you won't go far wrong

Yes lincs I had a viking with the air wash system it was economical the dryer the wood the better , not cheap with lining the chimney as well but as they say you get what you pay for sheila

[Meta menardi]

Originally Posted by Lincs Yellowbelly

Spending a couple of hundred quid on a stove is fine, but you really do get what you pay for and I wouldn't expect them to last more than a few years

You can get some really good stoves for as little as £6-700, and they will last you ages. Look for something from Jotul, Stovax or Hunter and you won't go far wrong

I loved my Morso Squirrel, and how efficient it was (hopefully still is for someone else)

[ChrisJB]

Ours is a small Aarow one (single door width) and I couldn't be more happy with it. I love all the 'faffing' that goes with it, ie scrounging wood, chopping, cleaning etc. I find it really satisfying.

Regards, Chris

[Meta menardi]

Originally Posted by ChrisJB

I love all the 'faffing' that goes with it, ie scrounging wood, chopping, cleaning etc. I find it really satisfying.

Regards, Chris

A good friend of mine used to be a pipe smoker, and I always envied that kind of fiddling.

My Dad used to get so cross if you ever went to see him and sawed up and chopped loads wood for him. "I was saving that!"

[hobble]

We have had a log burner for years, used every day as our main source of heating.
The bit I don't like is putting a piece of wood in and seeing a poor woodlouse in too far and I can't save it.
We get our wood from gardening jobs, and as my partner is a tree surgeon, often customers are only too glad we take the wood away.
We dry all our washing over it in the winter and wet, using a handmade "Sheila" made out of sturdy bamboo.
Cheap, environmentally sound and cosy, no wonder word is catching on!

[ChrisJB]

Originally Posted by Meta menardi

A good friend of mine used to be a pipe smoker, and I always envied that kind of fiddling.

My Dad used to get so cross if you ever went to see him and sawed up and chopped loads wood for him. "I was saving that!"

As a fan of the late, great Jack Hargreaves, I've always fancied being a pipe smoker! If only it was good for your health.......(sigh)!

Regards, Chris

[muldonach]

Originally Posted by jdurbo

Hi
You can buy bags of logs from supermarkets too!!
jen xxx

I really would not recommend buying fuel at £299/tonne - supermarket logs are typically £2.99 for a 10Kg bag, there are much cheaper sources.

to reply to another poster on this thread I am not aware of any imprtation of fuelwood into the UK from oveseas although there is proposal to source fuel in the form of forest residues for a power station in wales from the USA which seems a long way for a short cut.

Cheers
mac
(supplier of fuelwood)

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

Originally Posted by ChrisJB

Ours is a small Aarow one (single door width) and I couldn't be more happy with it. I love all the 'faffing' that goes with it, ie scrounging wood, chopping, cleaning etc. I find it really satisfying.

Regards, Chris

Aarow do some good little stoves, like the Acorn range they also do very good large boiler models

[ChrisJB]

Originally Posted by Lincs Yellowbelly

Aarow do some good little stoves, like the Acorn range they also do very good large boiler models

Cheers for that Lincs. That's good to know. Ours is one of the Acorn range and just right for our small front room.

Regards, Chris

[ChrisJB]

Originally Posted by Lincs Yellowbelly

Seems strange how a Susan B works at that stove shop

Ha ha! Really?

Regards, Chris

[werdnal]

We have had a log burner in our lounge for about 12 years, and are taking out our oil fired Rayburn this summer and installing another log burner in the kitchen, with back boiler for heating and hot water.

Burning wood is very green as the carbon put back in the atmosphere is only equivalent to the amount taken up by the tree during its growth. As for where the wood comes from - we burn any wood, not just actual logs. Scrap pallets, mother-in-law's old fence panels which she had replaced. Hubby brings home a lot of offcuts from the woodwork room at the school where he works.

We have got free logs from the railways when they thin/clear the tracks and some tree surgeons will give it away if you are prepared to collect from site, rather than transport it themselves. We also have a field and create our own thinnings from hedge trimming etc.

With the price of oil going sky high, its going to work out a lot cheaper for us!

[numeniusaqua]

We replaced our LPG system with full biomass (or "wood" as I call it!) central heating. Many years ago I worked in forestry aged about 17 and still had my old chainsaw. Not long after we got the stove, I cut a couple of trees down in gardens for my friends and of course took the wood away to season for our heating. Word got about and now I have as much wood as we could possibly need (lots of it hardwood too!). Fortunately I have the training as well as a commercial size saw and proper landrover (biodiesel before anyone asks! - and by proper I mean a battered Defender, not a posermobile!) Just to make sure we stay carbon-neutral, my daughter and I have also embarked on our own tree planting programme and plant more than we use. It seems obvious though that it simply cannot work as an answer for everyone in the UK. Never mind. Meantime we have unlimited free hot water and have made a huge dint in our carbon footprint as a family. There is also a real satisfaction in removing part of our lives from dependency on "the system" so to speak.

[Les E]

HI All,
I have a wood/coal burning stove and I seldom buy fuel for it.There is ample wood lying around in peoples gardens and in skips,in a age when everyone is going on about the price of fuel there is tonnes and tonnes of wood fuel just lying there and no one wants it.One skip raid can often provide two or three days of heat and cooking saving £££££'s every year on electric.I dont even have to look for it I normally come across it during my normal routine while out gardening.The only drawback is woodburning during muggy weather like this its just to warm!
Regards Les.