Need to buy some fuel for our chimanea that we’ll be using at the Strathpuffer this weekend.
What burns hotter / better? Wood, coal, a mixture?

Coal.

Depends how hot your fire is. 🙂

Coal innit. I’d go with kindling to get normal coal going then add some smokeless coal once the normal coal is going as it burns hotter for longer (but is harder to get going and contains all sorts of nasties).
A log or two would make it smell nice though 🙂
HTH 😕

edit: can the chiminea cope with the heat if fully loaded with smokeless? Either way I think a combo of smokeless and logs.

oxy-acetylene

I’d hazzard a guess the SUn isn’t made out of Wood, the probablility that Carbon on a Coal’esque kinda way may be found on the Sun, so I’m going for Coal.

Of course this could all be nonsense.

can the chiminea cope with the heat if fully loaded with smokeless?

Not sure. I’m borrowing the chimanea off a mate, so we’ll soon find out…

Cheers for the replies.

can the chiminea cope with the heat if fully loaded with smokeless?

There’s one way to find out…

You’re going to be in Scotland?

Can you get hold of a virgin, christian policeman?
It’s traditional, I believe.

In general coal

You’re going to be in Scotland?

Can you get hold of a virgin, christian policeman?
I’m in Scotland already. Definitely no virgins around…

our chimanea that we’ll be using at the Strathpuffer

Forgot to say…. great idea 🙂

Coal. Quite apart from anything else you’ll need a shitload of logs to keep an open chimnea going for hours on end.

Get some Peat to augment it – can’t beat that aroma. Google “Peterhead Peat”

ive got a dustbin with some holes in and a chimney funnel on top.

hope it gives out some heat – if only i knew someone with a chainsaw could make some propper heaters :d

Has the key point been covered yet?

Coal burns best on a grate, needs a good airflow. Wood burns best on a solid surface, needs a bed of ash and embers.

If it has a grate coal,if not wood and/or peat.

Basically, coal doesn’t burn well without a grate.

Depends which wood you use….american oak hotter than coal…mdf even hotter!

I’d hazzard a guess the SUn isn’t made out of Wood, the probablility that Carbon on a Coal’esque kinda way may be found on the Sun, so I’m going for Coal.

Of course this could all be nonsense.

The Sun burns hydrogen, but its an absolute b@stard to get lit

“mdf even hotter!”

aye the glue burns wonderfully – doesnt do wonders for your flue though.

Bang!

Our local dobbies (tesco garden centre) sells these little round logs, billed as green and burn hotter, they light relatively easy and are a lot cleaner to carry about than coal. They burn a lot hotter than most logs you get, and wood from different tyoes of tree all burn to varying degrees, I forget which is best Ash as I recall works well as does oak which burns slower and some conifers burn well with a pleasant smell, but if I were travelling which it sounds like you are, I’d take a £4.99 bag of these dobbie wood fuel composite things for wood burring stoves..

Coal does still burn hottest but takes a bit to get going.

Anthracite burns hotter still.

You need a couple of swedish candles

found out that garden incinerators dont like coal much ….but by god they like wood…..

was drying feet , legs , shoes and socks instantly ! – was a roaring jet coming out the chimney and wasnt consuming that much wood for the heat it was giving out.