My Log Burner...

Here's our fire, we burn wood and coal :)

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MW
 
maccapacca said:
We have an open fire place, about the same size as the OP's, would like modernise it and use a log burner, however I have heard stories of damp chimneys where the new flue doesn't vent the chimney properly leading to damp and also size of logs, my log guy's logs are pretty long, what limits are there and do you have to order logs for log burners?
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I don't think there's any set size for log burning stoves, I've certainly seen them in a wide variety of sizes so it'll depend on what you choose to buy and that will be from what size you have available as much as anything else. My parents used to have a log burning fire that was probably a good 50" wide, maybe more so that accomodated pretty long logs.

However what you can do is get yourself a bow saw, should be able to halve the logs from your log guy pretty easily and a decent axe if you want to split them.

As for what you can burn, I'm not too sure as that may depend on the local restrictions for your area with regard to 'smokeless' fuels etc.

//edit while open fires look nice I find that it tends to lead to things smelling smokey and/or being a bit messier than with a closed log burner, I also think they're a bit less efficient in terms of how well they burn things but it depends what you want.
 
We are about to do the same, we have an open fire place at present and need to stick something in there and log burners is what we've decided to go with, finally, it's only been 8 years looking at a hole!
 
I was watching Holmes on Homes ages ago and they touched on the subject of wood burning stoves. There was a lovely modern looking on with a fan fitted and it could be controlled to the point that the fire would last nearly a day.
 
Jay794 said:
Whats the total cost of getting a wood burning stove? I'm looking at a house that has a straight chimney so it would be easy to get one put in
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Depends on what you need done.

We need to have the old back boiler removed, the back then plastered, a hearth made and fitted and a fire fitted.

We need to have the chimney swept and pressure tested which costs £160. If its ok we wont need a liner which is £850 fitted.

The fire - £260
Hearth - £250
Plastering - £150
Fitting of fire - £550
 
They are nice to be around, but they can be a lot of work throughout the winter, especially if using both wood and coal at the same time. My dad's got a huge Franklin stove which is about 1 meter wide. He spends quite a bit on coal, but it really belts the heat out when up and running. He never closes the doors because the fuel inside burns quicker.

He recently bought a paper log maker off amazon which recycles paper into solid paper blocks the size of house bricks, but he's yet to use it. He's got crap loads of wood to get through first.

Don't forget to bed the fire in if it's brand new. You have to gradually bring it up to full heat over a certain period of time so the cast iron doesn't crack. Read the instructions on how to bed it in.
 
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I'm looking forward to the day that I can get myself a log burner! Some of these modern ones look really, really good.

I presume they generate quite a bit of heat? And wood barely costs anything?
 
Really want to install one of these but my house is 15 years old and i don't have a chimney. Plus them smokeless fuel logs from ASDA are quite expensive.
 
semi-pro waster said:
Yes they can do and it depends, if you've got access to a ready supply of wood then sure it doesn't cost much more than your time but if you've got to buy it in then getting a log burner for the cost savings may not be such a good economy.
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That's a fair point. But I presume you're not allowed to just go around chopping down trees for the logs? I thought everyone would have to buy it? Unless people here have private land with hundreds of trees at their disposal.
 
spenncerr said:
That's a fair point. But I presume you're not allowed to just go around chopping down trees for the logs? I thought everyone would have to buy it? Unless people here have private land with hundreds of trees at their disposal.
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Best not to go around chopping down trees ;) However, a lot of folks who have trees cut back/felled in their gardens have no use for the wood and so if you spot some work going on it never hurts to ask if you could take it off their hands. Likewise - the tree surgeon may well be open to offers or point you in the right direction...

Bear in mind though that you will still need to season the wood before you can burn it and that (ideally) you want to be burning hardwood rather than softwood.
 
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