(BTW, youre not really supposed to store wood to the side of the stove that close. When they store it underneath thats on stoves that have been tested not to raise the temp of anything underneath above 100deg. Since its supposed to radiate from top and sides, that wont be the case to the side. Purty though it is, you may want to reconsider.)
we store wood at the sides, helps dry it out – I am careful to stack it so that the wood doesn;t touch the metal though. When it was new we once put a piece on top and it was only the smell of the burning that alerted us to the fact that was a bad idea..
50mm clearance to combustible materials from the flue, so imagine the stove will be the same. wouldn’t want one to fall over whilst you popped out with the stove alight though would you?
I have plonked one in a fireplace, 5kw and less you dont need to line the chimney, my house was built in 1930 with a purpose built chimney for open fires. I also had a builder a couple of doors down who checked everything for me.
depends on the condition of the chimney. It may need lining. Carbon monoxide is the silent killer and is produced by all fuels not just gas appliances.
Be careful though. Prices vary wildly depending on where they source their cord.
If you have the space/time, you can save yourself a bit of cash by buying it in as longer lengths, which you then have to saw and split yourself, or as discs, which you only need to split.
I get the impression that there is a bit of the wild west about the firewood supply business as some see it as easy money for very little skill or commitment.
If you can cut and split yourself, you should also try local tree surgeons, as they often need to tip arb arisings and you can get a bargain.
A couple of final points.
1. A standard builders bag is not 1m3 – don’t let them tell you it is; and
2. Don’t discount softwood. The main thing is that it is dry/seasoned. If it is, it burns as well, if not better (albeit quicker) than hardwood. Good dry softwood, is much better than green (unseasoned hardwood). Don’t believe all that crap about the resin gumming up the chimney either. Only burning wet wood, will gum up the chimney.
Edit – If you are going with a pro log supplier, ask them what the moisture content of the logs are. It needs to be less than 25% to be considered seasoned IMHO. When they drop them, before you pay, split one and test it using one of these – well worth the £15
That looks so nice, really really want a ikle one for my flat. Set into the chimney just like that one. I’m going to steal a copy of you picture if you don’t mind.
also, I had to do some work on a combined heat and power biomass plant model once, during which I was told that there’s surprising consistencey in energy density between tree species. Mass density may differ, but energy by mass was pretty constant (for the same moisture level) with a net calorific value of about 18.3 MJ/kg, or 5.08 kW/Kg
I’ll get slated for it but…coal nuggets give out loads more heat are reliable and you only need to load it up a couple of times a day and it’ll still be going strong the next morning. Cheaper as well unless you get free wood. There I said it. 😆
You won’t get cold with wood coz you’ll be up and down all the time stocking the burner up IMO.
Interesting what you say about softwood. I have been offered as much conifer wood as I want. My reaction was to turn it down as I assumed it would be no good for burning (even when seasoned properly) Is that not the case?
I would definately recommend burning coal though if your stove can. A bed of coal on our stove lasts hours, with 1 log on top every couple of hours or so.
Interesting what you say about softwood. I have been offered as much conifer wood as I want. My reaction was to turn it down as I assumed it would be no good for burning (even when seasoned properly) Is that not the case?
Softwood is great, in some ways better than hardwood as its easier to process. Because it isn’t as dense, it dries out quicker and I find it tends to produce less dust and mess. It also leaves less ash.
The only thing you have to consider is that it is less tolerant of being out in the open. Get it undercover in a wood store and it will dry out quickly and burn well. If it gets wet again though, it tends to take longer to re dry out than hardwood.
I’ve got a load of leylandii logs which I’m burning at the moment, whilst waiting for some of the oak and beech to season. It burns hot and smells lovely. I’d recommend it.
That’s where I found my current supplier (3rd one I’d tried, 1st from that forum) – he’s much better than the first 2.
Conversely, the only one listed close to me didn’t impress me, his “seasoned” wood was very moist. Have found another suppplier locally who isn;t listed on there, but haven’t yet tried the wood
Would you mind telling me how much that burner was and where you got it please? It looks great, and just what I am looking for. Am slightly in love with it (in a manly way)
Stoner – you’re the wood pellet guru – can I burn wood pellets (produced for a biomass boiler) in a stove?
If so I might be tempted to buy a pallet of bags to supplement my logs and bit of coal. How do pellets compare to logs pricewise?
Edit… this could be a tricky one to answer as logs vary a lot, but around me the price is rising.
pellets are probably about twice the price of logs if you buy the logs wet and season them yourself.
Read that Cosi article for a bit of background. He has loose collected, and then seasoned wood at about 3.5p kW/h. My pellets are about 5.5p/kWh I guess.
I’ve just bought a house with a Morso Squirrel in one room and an open fire in the other. I’m just learning to use the stove but so far we haven’t really bothered with the open fire as the stove, once going for a while, seems to warm the whole house.
Its not a great idea TBH, unless you have access to oversupply of cheap pellets.
Fair enough, not worth it then. just thought I’d check.
I’m very tempted to get a big delivery of uncut wood straight from the forest. I’ve probably got the room to store it and it would sort me out for years to come 🙂
The ones with HT branded on one of the blocks are OK. They are heat treated to remove the nasties rather than covered in chemicals.
Great for kindling.