Wood burning stove/boiler

[gradus]

How does the thermometer stop it burning too hot?

Inadvertant was indeed the clue. The stove thermometer has a clearly marked range for safe/clean burning, if you exceed the max close the secondary air supply normally kept open (I use a Stovax Huntingdon)and this will lower the combustion temperature. If the stove is working properly the firebricks will remain clean and any deposits on the glass will come off with a damp cloth dipped in wood ash.

[oddoneout]

Inadvertant was indeed the clue. The stove thermometer has a clearly marked range for safe/clean burning, if you exceed the max close the secondary air supply normally kept open (I use a Stovax Huntingdon)and this will lower the combustion temperature. If the stove is working properly the firebricks will remain clean and any deposits on the glass will come off with a damp cloth dipped in wood ash.

A lot(most?) of the modern stoves have an 'airwash' feature which is intended to keep the glass clear when the stove is operating properly. I get a little bit of gunk building up very slowly at the bottom of the pane next to the log guard, but it wipes off easily with a damp paper towel. I try and remember to do it when I empty the ash pan and hoover up the stray detritus under the grate and round the door seal.

[Dave2002]

A lot(most?) of the modern stoves have an 'airwash' feature which is intended to keep the glass clear when the stove is operating properly. I get a little bit of gunk building up very slowly at the bottom of the pane next to the log guard, but it wipes off easily with a damp paper towel. I try and remember to do it when I empty the ash pan and hoover up the stray detritus under the grate and round the door seal.

I have not yet come across any stove/burner where this feature actually works, and I've seen and used quite a number over the last few years. The suppliers of our burner said that using some soft ash on a [damp] rag would usually work - and indeed with a modicum of rubbing it does. However, if the glass gets really darkened there is a spray (I'll get details later .... if anyone wants ..) which gets the glass clear very quickly - though it's really quite nasty stuff and needs to be handled with extreme care to avoid spilling it on anything, or getting it on clothes, or on skin. That must not be sprayed anywhere near anyone's eyes. I tend to use that only occasionally when all else fails.

On one occasion recently the glass was getting dark when I lit the burner, and I then tried something else - but really not recommended. I used a wet rag again - but to avoid getting steam on my hands I surrounded it with a dry one. Opening the door quickly and applying the damp rag to the glass the dark stuff came off very quickly, but this procedure is potentially quite dangerous so I don't encourage it. It's also not a good idea if the burn is smoky when the door is opened.

It is of course possible that there are some burners with the airwash feature which does work, but I've just not come across any - or maybe the installers don't set things up right.

[gradus]

I have not yet come across any stove/burner where this feature actually works, and I've seen and used quite a number over the last few years. The suppliers of our burner said that using some soft ash on a [damp] rag would usually work - and indeed with a modicum of rubbing it does. However, if the glass gets really darkened there is a spray (I'll get details later .... if anyone wants ..) which gets the glass clear very quickly - though it's really quite nasty stuff and needs to be handled with extreme care to avoid spilling it on anything, or getting it on clothes, or on skin. That must not be sprayed anywhere near anyone's eyes. I tend to use that only occasionally when all else fails.

On one occasion recently the glass was getting dark when I lit the burner, and I then tried something else - but really not recommended. I used a wet rag again - but to avoid getting steam on my hands I surrounded it with a dry one. Opening the door quickly and applying the damp rag to the glass the dark stuff came off very quickly, but this procedure is potentially quite dangerous so I don't encourage it. It's also not a good idea if the burn is smoky when the door is opened.

It is of course possible that there are some burners with the airwash feature which does work, but I've just not come across any - or maybe the installers don't set things up right.

I'm sceptical too about 'air wash', as ardie says above a good 'roar-up' helps best.

[Bryn]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-56209975

[french frank]

It is of course possible that there are some burners with the airwash feature which does work, but I've just not come across any - or maybe the installers don't set things up right.

A certain amount is up to the owner, rather than the installer. Open the airwash vent more if the glass is getting black - close it if once the heat has burnt it off. I'm pretty sure this is the secondary vent, not the main vent which the installer adjusts (at least in smoke control areas) to prevent that vent being closed right down at any time. Blackened glass is surely a sign of imperfect combustion, smoke and pollutants?

[Bryn]

Back in the early 70s I read a detailed article in New Scientist concerning the carcinogenic properties of the smoke from Wood-burning stoves. Perhaps it was to be expected that, when I mentioned this earlier, in another thread, it was swiftly dismissed as old hat and that modern wood-burners were far less polluting. I note, however, that it again become something of a 'hot issue' fairly recently: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknew...ds/ar-BB1c2GWG

[Dave2002]

A certain amount is up to the owner, rather than the installer. Open the airwash vent more if the glass is getting black - close it if once the heat has burnt it off. I'm pretty sure this is the secondary vent, not the main vent which the installer adjusts (at least in smoke control areas) to prevent that vent being closed right down at any time. Blackened glass is surely a sign of imperfect combustion, smoke and pollutants?

Airwash vent - what is that? The only controls ours has are two levers at the front, plus the door. To get the fire going both levers are pushed to the right, and the door is left slightly open. Recommended time is about 10-20 minutes. Then the door is shut, and after a modest further period the levers are slid over to the left, with the right hand one being shut more or less right off.

It could indeed be that we weren't given proper instructions, or that the unit wasn't installed properly or carefully enough - but then I don't think that would be atypical. Once the installers have put things like that in they're not usually interested in anything further.

We will be a bit more cautious now, having read the Grauniad article, and since we are obviously now considered to be in the frail and elderly category, but I think we will keep using the burner as an alternative to freezing, and as a backstop in case of major power failures.

[Dave2002]

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.

Not sure if I mentioned this before - may have done. When we lived in California we had an apartment with a fireplace - I think it had some sort of guard on it. Despite the summer temperatures which were very high, in the winter it actually froze, causing a lot of damage to garden sprinklers. We bought cheap wood by the cord - we had several loads. A lot of it was scrap, and some of it had obviously been treated with chemicals of various unknown sorts. It used to make a lot of explosive noises when we burnt it. We didn't care too much as (a) we were cold, and (b) we didn't own the apartment (I know that's a bit anti- social, but ...) and (c) we didn't understand much about fires and burning at that time. I doubt that the burning improved the fireplace, though I don't think it was a total disaster either. I would not recommend burning scrap wood - especially wood from pallets or building construction nowadays - unless it is absolutely necessary. If we were renting an apartment now we would try not to do that - though I think the wood was actually sold for fires - not sure what kind.

[french frank]

Airwash vent - what is that? The only controls ours has are two levers at the front, plus the door. To get the fire going both levers are pushed to the right, and the door is left slightly open. Recommended time is about 10-20 minutes. Then the door is shut, and after a modest further period the levers are slid over to the left, with the right hand one being shut more or less right off.

Don't you have an instruction manual? There's probably one online if your stove is a modern one. My airwash vent (Stovax 4) is just above the door, the primary air vent in the bottom of the door. The airwash vent should be left slightly open when the wood is burning and it is that one which controls the burn, with the primary airvent being closed once the wood is burning.

[Dave2002]

Don't you have an instruction manual? There's probably one online if your stove is a modern one. My airwash vent (Stovax 4) is just above the door, the primary air vent in the bottom of the door. The airwash vent should be left slightly open when the wood is burning and it is that one which controls the burn, with the primary airvent being closed once the wood is burning.

Sounds to me as though the left hand lever - to be left very slightly “open” when the wood is burning is what you call the air wash vent. Still seems quite a lot hit and miss.

[Bryn]

http://www.for3.org/forums/showthread.php?20705-Wood-burning-stove-boiler&p=836333#post836333

New legislation to control the use of this contribution to poor human health is now very much on the agenda, at last.

[french frank]

http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...333#post836333

New legislation to control the use of this contribution to poor human health is now very much on the agenda, at last.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/18/how-did-gas-stoves-ignite-a-culture-war-in-the-us

Burning gas (gas boilers, gas stoves - even some electricity generation) is using fossil fuels. We are all guilty. I have a woodburner. In this cold weather I put one (kiln-dried beech) log on at 7 pm, a second at 8pm, and that keeps the room warm until I go to bed. As mentioned on another thread, the trees on the Common a stone's throw away from me are covered in lichen, indicating clean air. When they ban woodburners, I will comply. Until then I shall do what I have been doing until now with a clear/clean conscience. I've spent too much money on tfollowing environmental advice for the past 10 years to a) rely on my gas boiler 2) fork out more £000s for a heat pump which in 5 years time will be condemned as the worst thing ever for something or other.

[Barbirollians]

https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...-war-in-the-us

Burning gas (gas boilers, gas stoves - even some electricity generation) is using fossil fuels. We are all guilty. I have a woodburner. In this cold weather I put one (kiln-dried beech) log on at 7 pm, a second at 8pm, and that keeps the room warm until I go to bed. As mentioned on another thread, the trees on the Common a stone's throw away from me are covered in lichen, indicating clean air. When they ban woodburners, I will comply. Until then I shall do what I have been doing until now with a clear/clean conscience. I've spent too much money on tfollowing environmental advice for the past 10 years to a) rely on my gas boiler 2) fork out more £000s for a heat pump which in 5 years time will be condemned as the worst thing ever for something or other.

I have one but don't use it any more.

[gradus]

Our wood stove is 7 years old and works a treat largely because we only burn Hotties or dry logs. The airwash/secondary air system keeps the glass clear although it will mist if a log is left smouldering. We don't bother with the recommended lighting method using the primary air control, it works better to leave the stove door ajar and gets the fire going quickly with little start up smoke.