Woodburners, nice or nasty?

ViceVersa

TerriBull

We have one, inherited when we bought this house. We used it a couple of times but it affected my husband's breathing. I don't really like them anyway, not green and too much faffing around to get them going. I remember the performance my parents had in getting a coal fire started when I was a child, good for toasting crumpets, but hard work in the days of no central heating.

Not much 'faffing around' involved here. Put the logs in, add a firelighter, light a match. What's so complicated about that?

Every afternoon after (senior) school when my mother wouldn’t be home until later, one of my jobs was to lay a fire in the sitting room. I used old newspapers, rolled up, to make those twisted zigzags - very efficient firelighters! I had them down to a fine art.
Luckily one room in our house was always warm pre central heating - the breakfast room (off the tiddly scullery kitchen) where the solid fuel boiler was.

Our house is single brick, detached, old and cold. Even with the central heating on. In fact it’s freezing even in summer. Our 5 kw burner is a saviour . We don’t light it every day and always use properly seasoned wood.
When we open the living room door the heat permeates all through the house. It’s easy to light and we would be frozen without it.

I was so glad to move house away from the log burner ,
I dreaded lighting it ,
OH kept burning his hand on it !
There was good heat from it , but I still hated it

I used wood burners for over 20 years. Thee only "faff" was stacking the logs when they were delivered. I kept one going night and day during the winter and it heated radiators and hot water. Cleaned out the ash once a week and chimneys cleaned annually. The ash went on the garden.
Now I live in a a retirement flat - all electric and I miss the cosines and the smell!

Our burner is fairly modern but our friends burner is much older and is hard to light. The newer models are more efficient .

Not a fan I’m afraid

I love my wood fire. I am surrounded by woodland so as the trees pump out oxygen, I can keep warm for nothing.

My DD, who lives in the Scottish Highlands, often depends on her woodstove during frequent power cuts.
At least they can keep warm though it can take hours to boil water.

Every fuel we use has some implications for the environment but I agree that burning wood has recently got a bad name. almost as bad as coal

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

I consider the woodburner to be essential.

We live in a rural area, no mains gas and power cuts common. We have oil central heating, but that doesn't work when the electricity is off.

We need the woodburner, at least for when the power is off, and use kiln-dried logs, not rubbish, to reduce the pollution.

We too live in an area with no mains gas. Electricity cuts….no lighting no heating .
A wood burner is essential.

JamesandJon33

We too live in an area with no mains gas. Electricity cuts….no lighting no heating .
A wood burner is essential.

Same for me, also it tops up the heat when the central heating is struggling.

Love it although we haven’t lit it since we moved in in May.

We had a 17th century house with two big wood burners, they were really necessary as the heating system was rubbish.

We were without power once for 3/4 days, I cooked and boiled water on the top of the wood burners using Le Creuset pans.
.

I like the smell of wood burning stoves. It takes me back to my childhood, I suppose (although it was coal fires for us). I’m not sure that I would want the faff of lighting and cleaning one these days, though, but as I say, I do like the smell of them.
As some posters have said, certain areas need them as access to mains gas and uninterrupted electricity supply isn’t a given. (Actually, we get frequent power cuts where we are and it’s not in an isolated place).

We often have power cuts in the winter so no ch until it comes back on. The wood burner is a godsend then and I can light the gas hob to boil water for a cup of tea.

They really cause me to have fits of non- stop coughing. I'm asthmatic. Nothing can be done though.

We've had a smokeless zone for a long time.
I think they should be banned in town and probably everywhere eventually.

I have one and like it. I think that it's important to burn only seasoned wood.
It is heating from a renewable source.

25Avalon

We often have power cuts in the winter so no ch until it comes back on. The wood burner is a godsend then and I can light the gas hob to boil water for a cup of tea.

That’s probably why we keep ours, “just in case” it’s got a flat top so we could cook if we needed to, that survival fear never goes away.

Someone was looking for this thread

We love ours in the winter and most people around us in this small market town have them too. They don't seem to cause problems.

If you haven’t already, I would definitely recommend contacting your council about this. Good luck

I’m asthmatic so would often have an attack in my own house if neighbours were using them and I opened a door or window.
Same if I’m out for a walk with the dogs even somewhere quite open.
We’ve just moved so hoping there aren’t as many near us now!
Like the look of them might get an electric stove when we renovate our lounge.

I love my Woodburner. No one, but no one would stop me using it in the winter. I buy dry wood for it as there's really no point in burning anything else. I wonder how many of you complainers about woodburners drive non electric cars or have used petrol in the past, travel by air, cruise liners etc? Most people use woodburners in the winter so not sure why it would effect washing on the line / people who have their windows open etc

Nasty. I cannot breathe unless it works efficiently and well sealed. Lung conditions.