so.. Wood burning..

[ShambleS1980]

Ok for some crazy reason around here every one is almost being forced to use electrical heaters..
if you have a gas fire the land loard will hire some one to come inspect it then condem it. So you buy a new one get it installed and have a gas safe certificate. then the landlord tries to get that condemed too..

well after a while you finaly cave in and get electric fire. "we dont cave in the dumb things are expensive to run"
But in my new house the previous people had gone ahead and gone for an elecric fier.. Which was hidious.

so my wife spent my money on a new fire. "shes good at doing that" but i sold the old one so worked out fine..

But my wife also does not measuer things, or get dimentions of things.
the old electric fire was flat so you just stuck it to a wall..
This new one sticks out at the back. so i had to knock through back to the original fire place so it could sit flush with the surround..
"that was a horrible job as i only have a hammer and a little chisle lol"

any way to get to the point. the old fire place is open but missing the back part where you would adjust the flume excetera. i assume it used to have a back boiler and they removed everything at the same time.

But the chimney blaitantly has not been caped off. i know that because i put some tarpolin stuff to protect the surround/mantel piece/grate when i was painting. and it proceeded to get sucked up the chimney.

so what I want to do is get a wood burner. keep the surround and grate exetera and just get rid of the electric fire,
But i want to know are there any stupid laws that say i cant do that my self. And if i can do thatmy self would i have to have a lining tube from the wood burner all the way up the chimney. or should the chimney be fine to use as is?

hmm that was a long post fopr a simple question. sorry about that.

 

[Bastich]

I am also interested in this as I am considering getting a log burner to replace our open fire place (lovely when going but very messy and also creates a draft when not in use).

I've heard conflicting things to do with regulations from you can do it your self to you need a qualified installer. Personally other than getting the chimney liner installed it all looks very easy.

Any advice or recommendations anyone has would be great.

 

[thecellartroll]

If you don't own the house its probably best not to fit a wood burning stove.

However, if you do then you want to fit a liner in the chimney - its cheaper than getting the whole chimney checked and repaired. It goes from the top of the stove right to the top.

Check the reputation of the company fitting it - there are some cowboys out there! Good people should be able to do it without messing up your house and with the minimum cleaning afterwards.

Remember that you will need access to a lot of wood, and that you need space to dry it before burning. If you burn it with too much moisture you not only lose a lot of energy but you can muck up your chimney quite nicely also.

Make sure you know where a good, regular source of wood is coming from before you fit the stove. Don't rely on being able to find it "here and there" as taking firewood from other people's properties is theft, and as it increases in value people are getting more and more strict. Of course if you have your own wood you need about 3 acres of woodland to support your stove sustainably ( you don't wanna run out of trees!).

A multi-fuel stove is a good option as it means you can buy coal if you really need to. Remember to check the smoke regulations where you live.

 

[commodorejohn]

As someone who lived in a wood-heated house for many years, rest assured that you will want a good wood supply, and a place to keep it. If you're acquiring it yourself, it will take a good bit of your time.

That said, there is nothing as pleasantly toasty as a well-built wood fireplace or stove. Certainly not electric (I can in no way quantify this, but electrical heat always seems so thin.) If you can make it work, I highly recommend it.

 

[ShambleS1980]

i dont have a wood.. But i live right next to a pine forest. trees get blwon over or just fall over excetera all the time. they chop them up and let them rot.
they would have no problems with me going and taking the waste they leave behind.

i could easily build a little lean 2 next to my shed/garage where the wood could breathe and stay dry.
But of course pine is a pretty spitty hot burning crazy wood. probably best not to be burnt.. "hence why they just let it rot"

lots pf people still have coal fires here so its not an issue to have a wood burner. and as mentione i have a almost limitless supply of wood "although not the best wood to put on a fire place"
infact we mostly have pine. beach and birch. which are all excelent if your camping as they are easy to combine to make a easy to light hot burning fire. But they do tend to destroy heaths. Which is why i would opt for a wood burner/multi fule rather than a standard open fire place.
A standard open firte place would get destroyed by a fire burning pine wood as its main fule in probably 3 months.

but most of the boxes are ticked.
"sustainable fule"
"smoke regulations"
"long term lease, can live there for the rest of my life if i want to. and option to buy the house too. i can also apply for planning premissions to build an extention excetera. so changing the fire is not an issue"

but it seems i will need the chimney lined to be sure. although according to the landloard it was on a coal fire untill a month before i was offered the house.

if it needs lining i may just hire some one to do that. i used to do mountain climbing. i have lead climbs up 300ft sheer clifs then sone 2 stage absails back down. but for some reason i hate being up on top of high man made structures lol. so i will not be climibing up on the roof.

the landlord also installed economy 7 storage heaters in the house "whcih i hate" and according to the landlord they dont have any responsibility for changing it to centeral heating for us. but if i wat untill next year then inquire again then prehaps we can arange something
Which was basically telling me. dont change the storage heaters for radiators. leave them alone. maybe after i know your not moving out in a few months we can talk about it again.

 

[robinsonb5]

But of course pine is a pretty spitty hot burning crazy wood. probably best not to be burnt.

And if it's not seasoned you'll be needing the flue swept very regularly.

It's easy to underestimate (a) just how much wood you'll get through and (b) how much work is involved in gathering and cutting if you're going that route - or even just stacking if you're ordering wood by the load.

But it's true that there's nothing else quite like a good old-fashioned log fire or wood burner!

 

[thecellartroll]

i dont have a wood.. But i live right next to a pine forest. trees get blwon over or just fall over excetera all the time. they chop them up and let them rot.
they would have no problems with me going and taking the waste they leave behind.

Just make sure its not Forestry Commission land. They might not take it and use it, but I promise you that they'll have an issue if someone else does. You want to get permission in writing. There are a few Forestry Commission areas that you can still get permits for foraging, i.e. removing wood that's just left lying around (not timber stacks etc).

That being said, if they're Spruce then you'd probably be better off leaving it where it is; very poor for giving you the heat! Birch is good once dry, but it takes bloody ages to dry! Beech is very good, though, so if you see a nice one of those (even some nice big limbs) blown down in the wind, try to nab it before someone else does.

Remember you don't need logs. Anything from the thickness of your thumb upwards is good burning and the thinner stuff dries faster.

 

[DonAmiga]

I just fitted a liner the other week at work, it took me and a colleague about 1 hour start to finish, one on the roof guiding it down and one inside pulling it down using a rope fitted to a nose cone on the end of the liner, very easy to do save you some ££

 

[pink]

Wood for the win.

I have to re-iterate how much wood you will go through. I've lived in places with real fires on several occasions and we always had to use coal and wood as we just couldn't get enough wood, even with friends giving it to us from their woodlands and from friends who worked for the wildlife trust (they cut down a LOT of beech to allow the oaks to grow).

However, at a couple of places I've lived we have had fake coal fires (gas) that have been so realistic (good quality fake coals and a good burner that distributes the gas well) that people kept chucking stuff on them to burn and we have to inform them that it's not a real fire. You might want to consider this.

I have to admit to having had to remind myself it's not a real fire for both of them, several times. They're no less cosy than a real fire to snuggle up next to in the winter.

When we finally get the money together to sort our living room we will be going for a good quality gas fake coal fire (windows, boiler and radiators have been more of a priority).

The reasons landlords don't like gas fires tends to be it increases the insurance. As this is our own place it's of course completely up to us.

We also can't have a real coal or wood fire due to several listed thatch buildings in the vicinity.

 

[commodorejohn]

Birch is an excellent wood for heating; not quite so much heat value as oak, but a lot easier to get going. Pine it really depends on the variety, but it's never really that great.

 

[Paul_s]

Don't forget the marshmallows

 

[MZ3540]

You're gonna need a good chainsaw.
Since you are going to be relying on it, you should get a very good one. Not the cheapest thing you can find in big barrys big shop of cheap chinese white box crap.

There are the big brands like Stihl and Huqvarna that are very popular due to having large advertising budgets but they are very expensive.
In the last 10 years, every professional I have seen has used and recommended Shindaiwa saws. Not many people have heard of them but they are a very good saw. They are in the mid-range when it comes to price but you will get very good value from one.

Like any equipment, keep it well mantained.
Learn how to sharpen the teeth properly... A quick back-forth on each tooth with a file on every fresh tank of fuel is how I do it. Ask others what they recommend.

Mix and measure the fuel correctly... most failures stem from idiots not running enough 2 stroke oil in the mix. This is also why you should be careful when buying a saw second hand.
Only use good quality oil that is specifically marketed for chainsaws. Don't buy oil from the supermarket! buy your oil from the store you bought the saw.

 

[commodorejohn]

And if you get a chainsaw, for the love of God get a set of "chainsaw chaps" - even a seasoned operator like my dad can have the occasional slip-up, and it's a lot better for it to be tearing into those than your leg. Goggles, too, if you don't wear glasses.

 

[tubs]

Personally, I'd say get someone in to fit the stove and flu. Yes, you can do it your self, but could find yourself with carbon monoxide poisoning.

If you're getting a wood burner, pay the little extra and get a multifuel so you can do both wood and coal. Depending on what you want you can get "traditional" stoves, or posh modern ones with curves, floating, stainless steel and other stuff.

If you're using predominately "evergreen", you need to ensure it is at least a year old before you burn it - the "drying out" process isn't to make sure the wood has no moisture, but to break down the sap - that's what makes the black, irritating smoke that you get when burning "green" pine. You want to keep the wood dry, to stop it from rotting as well (and of course wet stuff doesn't burn very well either).

You can get a decent sized coal bunker, for not too much money (usually black plastic) and anthracite will set you back about £16 a bag (50KG), but you'd only need that if you're in a smikeless area.

You'll need kindling & paper and firelighters, as you can't just stuff a big log on and put a match under it. Well you can. but it'll probably not light

You'll also need something to coll the ash with. It'll have to be metal to cool the ash down in, then once cold can go into a plastic weelie bin. I think you can use wood ash in your composter, coal will kill plants though.

You'll have to dust more often too