Have you put your heating on yet?

[hedgehog]

I have a wood burner - not for all my heating, but when it gets very cold - mostly January & February I do need it for the living/kitchen room as the radiators there don't really warm it enough.

I have never bought any wood, getting it mostly from asking if I can take some when the council are clearing trees etc, plus willow from my own allotment plot and applewood from an old orchard that I help maintain as a volunteer - no I didn't volunteer for the wood, but in order to learn how to prune and maintain frut trees! The wood was a pleasant surprise as no-one wanted it.

I hate the noise pollution of chainsaws and use a hand saw for everything. It is hard work, but I saw the wood during the year in small amounts, the wood for the coming season being already sawn and stacked the year before. I have two large panniers on my pushbike to carry the wood to my home.

[ardcarp]

Central heating? Mine's been on and off like a whore's drawers.....

[french frank]

and the stove really eats up the logs

My supplier provides bags of very cheap, wet logs. I asked the sweep if they did much damage to the flue and Colin Sweep said they would make more tar and damp logs burn up three times as quickly as dry ones (less than 20% moisture). I fill up the log shelter at the end of the season so that they have more time to dry out over the summer. I found mine burn up more quickly since I made the stove legal for the Smoke Control Area - can't shut it right down.

[Don Petter]

I have it set for an hour very morning, and if the thermostat tells it to come on, it comes on.

Today I've put it on again, but am feeling a bit too warm now. My house is 90 years old and poorly insulated, tends to be very cold most of the time. Fuel bills are horrendous.

Same here. Set for morning and evening and just coming on a little for the first time since Spring. (We do give it a brief boosted run a couple of times in the Summer to make sure the pump remains free.)

Just about to get the rods out and sweep the chimney ready for open fires again. Plenty of wood left in the store for the first half of winter. I've just ordered oil (much less required than this time last year, and the price is 12% less), and thinking about topping up the coal bunkers while that price is relatively low.

An older house may be less well insulated but if it is solidly built the whole structure can act like a storage heater to a certain extent.

[umslopogaas]

That's odd, I would have expected wet logs to burn more slowly, because I would have thought the water slows down the combustion? I have logs that have been in dry storage all summer and I will use those first, but there wont be enough to see me through a cold winter, so I'll have to move on to the more recent, wetter ones. I dont think I'm in a smoke control area, the sweep didnt say anything about that.

Re. noise pollution, chainsaws are certainly noisy, but I wear ear defenders and my nearest neighbours are far enough away not to be much inconvenienced. And one of them runs a plant hire business and has plenty of machines that make just as much noise as my saw!

[VodkaDilc]

I've just ordered oil (much less required than this time last year, and the price is 12% less), .

12% less? I'm about to order this year's tankful and was expecting the usual price or slightly more. This is good news - if it's a national trend. Is there a reason?

[Don Petter]

12% less? I'm about to order this year's tankful and was expecting the usual price or slightly more. This is good news - if it's a national trend. Is there a reason?

In round figures we seem to be paying 50p/l instead of 57p/l (before VAT, same supplier). Aren't petrol prices (relatively) low at the moment, as well?

[gradus]

Re wet logs, do be careful with tar deposits as they will build up and catch fire and a chimney fire can do very serious damage, in any case how on earth do you burn wet logs (other than Ash),very little calorific value even if you can get them to light? Even Hotties (strongly recommended) would struggle.
I avoid chain saws as I nearly had a very nasty accident some years ago at the end of a long afternoon of felling and trimmimg. Even electric ones can bite if you use them wrongly eg don't tip cut.
Our last oil came in at a little under 50p a litre a couple of months ago ordered through the local buying community which usually amasses orders around 60-100k litres and thus gets lower prices.

[amateur51]

I'm very fortunate that my living room and kitchen are south-facing so I benefit from available sunshine. My windows & patio doors are double glazed and fit very snugly, no discernible draughts.I have a combi-boiler with the heating on a timer. In cold weather I have an hour-90 minutes in the morning and an hour in the evening unless I'm using the oven or grill for food, when there's no need to turn the heating on. Extra clothing plus the odd round of toast made under the gas grill keep the warmth topped-up! No need for heating so far

[mangerton]

I remember at school when the heating always came on on October 1 regular as clockwork, even if it was a cold September or a warm October!

You were lucky! At my (boarding) school, it came on on November 1st - and that was in northern climes, although south of my current location. Dormitory windows always had to be open, cold showers every morning, and I remember a fire practice at 10.30 pm on a January night when there was snow on the ground and of course we were all abed.

Still, it has paid dividends. In answer to the thread's question - no, certainly not, and in fact my "heating" is a two bar electric fire.

[Dave2002]

An older house may be less well insulated but if it is solidly built the whole structure can act like a storage heater to a certain extent.

I wouldn't rely on that, or your belief in that. It'll be a very small effect. It'd make sense to block up holes and gaps where draughts come in, do double or triple glazing where possible, and similarly install insulation or more insulation where possible.

Of course blocking up all holes and gaps can lead to other ventilation problems, and rot might set in!

Some houses have daft listed building conditions, which means that they have to have only single glazing, and most sensible modifications to improve the internal conditions are impossible. I am aware of some special estates which are like this. Surely it would make more sense for the very restricted listings to only apply to one or two exemplar buildings!

The cost of fuel is rising, so the cost of installing insulation is becoming relatively more cost effective, though older buildings (and quite a number of not so old buildings) are often problematic and more expensive to retro-fit.

[french frank]

You were lucky! At my (boarding) school, it came on on November 1st - and that was in northern climes

When I lived in Aberdeen I had no central heating. I had a coal fire which pulled a strong draught from the front door which meant a coat was still necessary. Good training for now: if I feel cold during the daytime I put on my wool overcoat.

[french frank]

That's odd, I would have expected wet logs to burn more slowly, because I would have thought the water slows down the combustion?

Apparently the calorific value is greater, which perhaps means you can carry on burning them longer before you add more, whereas you have to keep adding the wetter ones to make sure they don't go out? P'raps. I was just repeating ...

[hedgehog]

This is an interesting list:

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/wood-combustion-heat-d_372.html

I can vouch for the apple wood, it burns very hot, I combine it with willow which tempers the flame and together they make for a sweet smelling fire. Wet wood requires on average nearly twice as much to get the same calorific value as from dry wood. I could imagine that once the fire was hot, so causing the water to evaporate more quickly then yes you would be adding wet wood much more quickly. I doubt however that anyone has that much wood to spare to burn it like that!

[amateur51]

When I lived in Aberdeen I had no central heating. I had a coal fire which pulled a strong draught from the front door which meant a coat was still necessary. Good training for now: if I feel cold during the daytime I put on my wool overcoat.

What about yer bunnet, Morag?