Wood burning stove/boiler

[french frank]

For me a benefit of sticking to just wood is that I don't need to clean out the grate before each use as the wood burns on a bed of ash, and when I do empty it the ash can go on the compost heap or be dug into the garden, rather than having to be externally disposed of.

Reminds me to empty the tray NOW - I've been meaning to do it for a couple of days. You're quite right. Wood burns best on a bed of ash, riddle out regularly for smokeless fuel.

[gradus]

Reminds me to empty the tray NOW - I've been meaning to do it for a couple of days. You're quite right. Wood burns best on a bed of ash, riddle out regularly for smokeless fuel.

If you've got gooseberry bushes they'll be wagging their tails if you surround them with wood ash according to Bob Flowerdew.

[french frank]

If you've got gooseberry bushes they'll be wagging their tails if you surround them with wood ash according to Bob Flowerdew.

I must order some gooseberry bushes!

[oddoneout]

If you've got gooseberry bushes they'll be wagging their tails if you surround them with wood ash according to Bob Flowerdew.

Already done although a bit early as they aren't starting into growth yet, but it won't be long, ditto the red currants. The apple tree and plum tree will get some later when they get going. The coming of the warmer(we hope!) weather ironically sometimes means more wood ash for the garden as having the stove on in the evening in the living room takes over from having the whole house central heating on. It will be stored for use during the growing season.

[oddoneout]

I must order some gooseberry bushes!

Do you know anyone with bushes? Cuttings are really easy, and demand (lockdown and discovering gardening) has meant that a lot of online suppliers seem to have low or no stock of fruit. There wasn't much on offer either in the garden centres I went to this week to see if I could find fruit trees. Only drawback of DIY is that it will take a bit longer to get to fruiting.

[french frank]

Do you know anyone with bushes? Cuttings are really easy, and demand (lockdown and discovering gardening) has meant that a lot of online suppliers seem to have low or no stock of fruit. There wasn't much on offer either in the garden centres I went to this week to see if I could find fruit trees. Only drawback of DIY is that it will take a bit longer to get to fruiting.

I will tell my brother that the coming season is forecast to be terrible for gooseberry bushes. I can take his off his hands, and have half a dozen cranesbills, of various shapes and sizes, to fill the spaces. He respects me to know what I'm talking about.

PS How's that for a topic change? - gradus started it.

[Dave2002]

Any reason given? Surely a multi-fuel stove......

Yes - but I'd have to dig around my emails to find it. As I recall there are undesirable chemical reactions which can occur if both wood and smokeless fuel are present, but not likely otherwise. It was a very considered response to my query from the manufacturer's expert.

It is indeed a multi-fuel burner.

Before I asked I would have had no hesitation in doing the mix, but now I won't. However if things ever get so bad that we have to chop up furniture etc. in order to keep warm, then I'd ignore all "rules" like that. I don't see that happening in the short to medium term.

Another rule which I did observe was not to put scrap wood into it - though my neighbour did offer me some wood from a fence he'd discarded. I think he was surprised - "Well - it's just wood, isn't it?" Correct - but could cause unwanted effects in the burner - possibly including spluttering, explosive bursts etc.

Yes - in extremis do it, but otherwise follow the advice.

[french frank]

Yes - but I'd have to dig around my emails to find it.

Stovax say: "It is perfectly acceptable to run a multi-fuel stove with a mixture of coal and wood." Woodburners should be used exclusively for wood.

Another rule which I did observe was not to put scrap wood into it - though my neighbour did offer me some wood from a fence he'd discarded.

Stovax again: " If a stove is fed with soft, rapidly burning fuel, then it may overheat and damage internal components and the flue. Such unsuitable fuels include house coals, softwoods such as pine, and manufactured wood such as pallets, furniture offcuts – these will contain oils, resins and other impurities and would burn well on an open fire but too fiercely in an enclosed appliance."

You can also buy kiln-dried kindling. No need to use scrap wood other than to 'save money' - which in the long run it probably won't.

[gradus]

Stovax say: "It is perfectly acceptable to run a multi-fuel stove with a mixture of coal and wood." Woodburners should be used exclusively for wood.



Stovax again: " If a stove is fed with soft, rapidly burning fuel, then it may overheat and damage internal components and the flue. Such unsuitable fuels include house coals, softwoods such as pine, and manufactured wood such as pallets, furniture offcuts – these will contain oils, resins and other impurities and would burn well on an open fire but too fiercely in an enclosed appliance."

You can also buy kiln-dried kindling. No need to use scrap wood other than to 'save money' - which in the long run it probably won't.

Buy a magnetic flue thermometer and burn what scrap wood you like with no fear of inadvertant overheating. Stovax do a very nice one.

[oddoneout]

Buy a magnetic flue thermometer and burn what scrap wood you like with no fear of inadvertant overheating. Stovax do a very nice one.

Chemicals used in wood treatment, and paint, are other considerations, and why I don't use such things on my stove. I don't want the risk of such things getting into the house when refuelling, and I don't want to send them up the chimney for other folks to breathe.
I did have one episode of my stove getting too hot and it was frightening, not least because of the sound it was making. Fortunately shutting down the air supply eventually got it calmed down but it was an anxious wait. Why it happened I'm not sure as I didn't do anything differently from usual; there must just have been some combination of wood types and moisture content that resulted in a very quick and hot start-up burn which got all the logs going at once.

[french frank]

Buy a magnetic flue thermometer and burn what scrap wood you like with no fear of inadvertant overheating. Stovax do a very nice one.

How does the thermometer stop it burning too hot?

[ardcarp]

Possibly 'inadvertant' was the clue. i.e. you shut things down a bit if too hot. I'm a bit flummoxed by all this talk of things getting overheated. Surely shutting the air supply down will discourage any overheating whatever you burn (short of high explosive).

When we bought our 250-year-old house the main living room had a magnificent inglenook fireplace, which we used for a while as originally intended. You just lit the fire with paper and sticks, shoved big logs onto the 'fire-dogs' like there was no tomorrow and everything went up a large tapering stone-built flue. All very romantic. By sitting very close to (even in) the inglenook you could get your hands nice and warm. But of course the fire drew in a howling draught, so you could have a warm front and a freezing back. Several people tut-tutted when we had the flue lined, a register plate fitted and a multi-fuel box installed into the inglenook. (IMO the inlglenook still makes a pleasing feature.)

Back to the point. I reckon you can burn just about anything (having some regard for the environment) in a good multi-fuel stove. If you want to roar it up, you can, but then it needs your full attention of course. Shut down either completely or partially it will tick over and keep the room comfortably warm without any dramas.

We use mainly locally sourced logs, but some sawn timber off-cuts and stuff gathered from the beach (and dried for a year or two) plus a few lumps of smokeless coal to keep the soot crumbly.

I can't believe this subject has gone on so long. Same applies to me.

[alycidon]

I’m very glad that I opened this thread - I’m in the process of tidying my garage and intended burning scraps of chipboard and other sundry stuff. We have a wood burner and normally only burn kiln-dried logs and in the light of what some of you have said I think that I shall have to dispose of my scraps elsewhere. Cleaned our own flue a few days ago but it’s a dirty business.

[Dave2002]

Stovax again: " If a stove is fed with soft, rapidly burning fuel, then it may overheat and damage internal components and the flue. Such unsuitable fuels include house coals, softwoods such as pine, and manufactured wood such as pallets, furniture offcuts – these will contain oils, resins and other impurities and would burn well on an open fire but too fiercely in an enclosed appliance."

You can also buy kiln-dried kindling. No need to use scrap wood other than to 'save money' - which in the long run it probably won't.

I'll go and dig out my emails - so far I've avoided mixing coal and wood.

We have had problems starting the burner over the last year - but now I've got better at it, or the weather has changed. Yesterday and today I was concerned that I was going to set off a chimney fire. I probably started with too much wood, and I didn't need to let much air in. In fact it burnt really high and hot for quite a while even with all the air vents shut off. So I don't think it's always so easy to get these things under control, though now it looks as though it's settling down to a more manageable ash bed, and I can put on one log at a time.

Something about the wood yesterday caused a lot of darkening of the glass door. I try to avoid that happening if possible.

[ardcarp]

It's usually a good roar-up that clears the glass.