Advice on installing a wood burner please

Maybe I should have made it clear in my post that my husband doesn't simply 'forage' for free wood. We know all the local landowners well and in fact, a few actually contact us when they have fallen trees or similar which they want rid of. One local estate manager regularly phones my OH when they are carrying out tree felling so he can then go and collect all the 'leftovers'. We have several log stores around the garden to let the wood dry out before we use it.

I love them. You aren’t allowed to have them in the new builds but we have an older house so we can. Nothing nicer than huddling over a wood fire, especially if the wood is ‘free’!

I’m having one installed this week, it’s an eco approved one and there’s a local supplier of kiln dried wood who delivers and stacks so that’s sorted too.
I am really looking forward to having one again!

Some people don’t understand how dry wood needs to be and that’s a problem. I agree that can cause air pollution.

I agree people can thoughtlessly take wood. Anything in a state of decomposition, however small should be left where it is.
This year we found a south facing sloped plantation of forestry regimented planting. It was a monoculture, every twenty yards or so a three metre high birch had died where it stood. Or fallen in winds and was bone dry. You could take a thin three metre birch trunk and it would snap into three or four with little handling. The soggy wet fallen birch or whatever or too wet. Unless you have space to dry it.

I live in Sherwood Forest, so surrounded.

A factor to consider environmentally also is that foraging for wood is not too bad in very rural areas in small amounts. However on my dog walks I see increasing numbers of people taking more and more wood from our nearby woodland other edge of the suburbs.This has a massive impact on the health of woods and wildlife and the balance of nature as decomposing matter is vital . The Woodland Trust and other conservation groups have highlighted this is an increasing problem.I recently saw a man reverse his pick up over a fallen wall and start loading up lots of logs.We have a log burner but we buy in dried and seasoned wood.

We got one a few years ago and love it. We rarely have our heating on now. Fortunately we live in a rural area and we are surrounded by woodland, so we have an abundant supply of free wood. We have a number of log stores around the garden which are stacked full of wood, enough to keep us going for a good few years.

We have always had them since we moved to France. The one we have now cost 600€ and about the same to install. There are vents in the chimney to heat upstairs. We get logs from a man in the village.
We also have underfloor heating downstairs.
I would buy one with a flat top so you can cook on it if necessary.

I’m wondering where all the wood is going to be stored in a 3 bed terrace. Do you have a back entry?
I don’t think you realise how large a pile of wood your going to need.
Even with a back entry the wood will have to be carted to your garden. I hope your still very fit, but if/ when your not, who’s going to cart it then?
Ithink it’s back to the drawing board.

We still have an open fire in the living room but I would love a wood burner. When we had our canal boat it had a little one which was so comforting.

I had a new stovax multifuel burner put in when I bought my new build. 5kw and I keep the room door open so it heats the whole house. At the moment I am using smokeless ovals and they are proving to be very efficient. I did put a magnetic thermometer on the flue and I aim to keep the burn in the most optimal and efficient clean-burn range.

The stove is very modern and is defra approved. It does take a bit of trial and error, how to light it and keep it clean and in the correct temperature range. I don`t find it hard work at all, now I have learnt what to do. I am glad I have it. It is wonderful too as a back up source of heat and comfort. I do have some logs but prefer a longer more efficient burn

Im sorry, if you are in a mid terraced, your neighbours are going to love you. Personally these things are best out in the country. They are awful for people with asthma and COPD, purely because of the particles.

Sparklefizz

I heard that they're going to be phased out nationwide because they are causing pollution and ruining air quality.

That's why you need an 'eco' version. They 'consume' their own smoke, so keeping pollution to the very minimum. They will still be permitted.

Open fires are very inefficient, just about all the heat they generate goes straight up the chimney and it's pollutionary (is that a word?).

I would still recommend looking at a masonry stove, far more efficient than a UK woodburner. Much used on the continent.

We love ours and use it every evening in the winter. It is a big one which disperses the heat around the rest of the house to some extent but I would not say it could replace the central heating on cold nights. They are a lot of hard work, not only the cleaning of it but also when the logs are delivered and you have to move them to the log store, so unless you have a big strong OH who is happy to do the work, I wouldn't bother tbh, nice though they are.

I heard that they're going to be phased out nationwide because they are causing pollution and ruining air quality.

I think there is talk of stopping their installation in London.

Our one cost about £2000. Chimney liner was almost same price as stove.
Fitted by Heatas (?) engineers with all documentation and plaque for stove.
It would have cost another £1000 if DH had not made ready the fireplace and hearth which must extend a minimum specification into your room.

Kim19

Am I wrong in thinking wood burners are going to be phased out soon(ish)?

I think it’s house coal and non dried wood.
Eco design stoves only from next year ( I think).

I have eco design and it burns efficiently, with plenty of through draught. No one would know I was burning wood if you walked by on the street.

Mine heats the house too, well enough for me by leaving all doors open . My stove can be kept ‘in’ for weeks at a time during very cold periods.

I have a combi boiler (gas). This is not used a lot, mainly hot water.

We have a wood burner as an addtion to gas central heating and, yes, it has been very useful during power cuts and when we had gas supply problems, but I wouldn't use it as an alternative to gas central heating.

I understand your desire not to be dependent on one fuel only, and our stove has been useful keeping the living room warm during power cuts, but that is all. They are also expensive to buy and have installed.

Kim19 Stoves are not being banned. Standards are being imposed that anyone selling wood has to meet and their use may be limited in urban areas where they may cause pollution problens.

I don't have central heating. I just have a woodburner in the kitchen/diner and am in there most of the day in the winter. I open the door and the heat circulates around other rooms [bungalow]. It's adequate and not hard to keep clean at all.

It's a modern 'clean burn' one, and I only burn kiln dried wood, delivered on a palette and put in my garage. It's not that expensive. I have used one delivery this year so far this year at a cost of roughly £220. I use the burner 6pm-10.30pm every night.

I love it. If you walked past my home in the evenings you wouldn't know I was using it. I don't burn rubbish, that's what stinks and pollutes far more than dry wood.

Am I wrong in thinking wood burners are going to be phased out soon(ish)?

Yes practice your fire lighting skills first!
I find having a multi fuel stove is abit like having another pet. You have to clean it out , feed it, adjust the airflow, keep kneeling down to riddle it, keep the glass clean , regular chimney sweep visits. Making space for huge deliveries of logs. Six barrow bags of birch oak beech and ash takes up a lot of space on our yard. Cost £150. If you collect your own wood then you will need log stores to leave it in till moisture content is correct for burning…. BUT
I would not be without mine.

It’s just a way of life I love.
Even love all the wood collecting which is combining with running the dogs.
Remember wood warms you three times - when you collect it, when you chop it up/split it, and when you burn it.

WE have not needed to pay for wood so far, people know we need it and contact us.

We changed from an open fire to a multi wood burner about 5 years ago and are pleased we did. It’s only 5 kw in quite a large room but more than adequate, we open the living room door and heat permeates throughout the house.
We still have central heating too, so don’t use the wood burner often.
You can get the black off the door by dipping a paper towel into the ash add a quick spray of wd40 and it sparkles. .

Logs are , as can be all wood, expensive and unless you have your own supply from your own trees (someone to cut down and log them) I would think twice before investing in a log burner.

Lots to consider, thank you. Perhaps I should learn how to build a fire and use my open fireplace instead. It would certainly be cheaper.