This is the cast-iron baffle plate out of my neighbour’s Dovre 250. She was burning coal and unseasoned wood and she never had the flue swept. A few weeks ago she had a chimney fire and the stove ran away with itself, burning white hot and uncontrollable, even damped right down. She asked me to come and look at it and I found the entire stove choked with orange soot ash and the baffle plate collapsed onto the grate:

A new baffle plate and two fire bricks cost her £170. Luckily I didn’t charge her for the time and effort it took me to remove the baffle plate, which was jammed down onto the grate.

And guess what? She’s just been and bought…. three more sacks of coal!

it’s not the coal that’s the problem, it’s the fact she’s not had her flue swept (matron)

TBH I was thinking, what is a multi-fuel stove if you can’t burn different fuel types in it? Cheers for clearing that up nbt!

Our coal merchant says coal burns too hot. I tried some real coal and found it far too smokey and dirty. We stick with smokeless nuggets, wood and peat.

Same here.. found coal far too dirty.. Only thing I use it for is a few lumps to keep the fire in longer.

Since using coal I found the inside of the burner covered in stuborn black soot, where previously a quick sweep and a vacume would leave it spotless.

Fair enough, I guess if it burns “white hot” then that could be a bit much for a domestic stove!

Round here, we just use coal for first footing. One piece has lasted me 10 years 🙂

She was getting away with it until the chimney fire generated a massive updraft, which was when it overheated.

Round here, we just use coal for first footing. One piece has lasted me 10 years

I must be totally thick as I have no idea what you just said 🙁

First-footing is done in friendly northern neighbourhoods at New Year; you visit friends and neighbours with coins, chunks of coal, booze and probably nowadays a couple of joints and a packet of johnnies to signify your wishes to them for a good year. The bearer is supposed to be a dark-haired bloke.

First-footing is done in friendly northern neighbourhoods at New Year; you visit friends and neighbours with coins, chunks of coal, booze and probably nowadays a couple of joints and a packet of johnnies to signify your wishes to them for a good year. The bearer is supposed to be a dark-haired bloke.

Actually… I remember when I was about 17, my mum asking me to do such a thing with a chunk of coal.. I thought she’d gone stark raving bonkers. This explains it hehehe

I suspect the unseasoned wood led to the chimney fire and mixing coal and wood didn’t help.

Our multi fuel stove needs air from above for wood and air from below for coal and says never mix the two, one or the other.

Certain multi-fuel stoves need the internals swapping when you burn coal (or wood if its swapped round for coal).
Can’t remember the details but it might be that it’s the baffle plate that needs removing for coal. Don’t know.

As gravity-slave suggests its more likely that the flue was getting clogged with deposits due to burning unseasoned wood. THe fact that it was a coal fire that burned hot enough to cause a chimney fire is a bit of a red herring as it *could* have happened with a wood fire

Multi will obviously include coal and why would unseasoned increase the likelood of burn out other than creating extra soot? NOTE Anthracite is differant it will destroy a mutifuel burner although you can get away with just a small amount in the middle of the burner. Risky though as we all have tendency to overdo the loading. I have a bag of coal I have had it since last Febuary never used it bought to take on Rugby tour to Newcastle but forgot to give it to oposition captain. Still in kit bag as I ended up with septic Arthritis think I will burn it. Even if I could get better it will be along time before I found Newcastle Tour again!

igm – Member
Certain multi-fuel stoves need the internals swapping when you burn coal (or wood if its swapped round for coal).
Can’t remember the details but it might be that it’s the baffle plate that needs removing for coal. Don’t know.

Seen one (may have been a little Aga) where you actual put a grate in

why would unseasoned increase the likelood of burn out other than creating extra soot

Becuase burning unseasoned logs can produce creosote which can then re-condenses in the chimney and if it gets hot enough causes chimey fires

Well… creosote is wood tar dissolved in the moisture, which has condensed on the cool walls of the flue.

The info below is all gathered from the people who make the stoves

http://www.redfyrecookers.co.uk/pdfs/technical_info/PM247-Kensal%20iss%202.pdf

You can burn anthracite in a multifuel stove and logs and smokeless fuel.

Some stoves need a kit fitted to burn smokeless/anthracite fuel (tends to be a grate as this fuel needs bottom feed airflow, wood needs to burn on a bed of ash so has top air feed)

You should never burn house coal or unseasoned wood.

She had a chimney fire as she was burning unseasoned wood and had not had the chimney swept, has she had the chimney checked since the fire ? as the temps achived during a chimney fire can be very high and could cause damage to the chimney/liner.

unseasoned wood & wood from evergreens (firs & forest parks!) coat your chimney (or chim liner) in a coke like material, which if heated hard enough (i.e. coal + wood burnup) will take off and threaten to burn your house down, or at least a decent chim fire.

I myself, do actually use a lot of sappy woods that are regularly only seasoned for 6 months (need more like 18-24 for really sappy woods), and burn coal. However, chim is swept beginning and mid point of every winter, and coal is burn’t in moderation with wood stacked on top (keeps it under control and ultimately you get more heat out of the load).