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Log burner

mandryka said:
HETAS advice on sweeping seems very odd to me:

"HETAS encourage having your chimney swept at least twice a year when burning wood or bituminous housed coal and at least once a year when burning smokeless fuels"

But how can that be right -- it must depend on how many fires have been made, not elapsed time. So are HETAS really saying that you should sweep it every 365 fires if you burn smokeless? For me that would be once every 10 years maybe.



£89 a chimney?

When you say "smoke test" do you mean he sets fire to a bit of newspaper and says "yes, it's going up"?

When you speak to veteran sweeps about sweeping chimneys, it's a real eye opener. They love it! They say that assuming you use a manual method, you can feel every twist and turn of the flue with your hand at the end of the brush -- for the old guys I met it was a source of great pride and craftsmanship. (It always reminds me of my endodontist!)

They all hated "power brushing" and had horror stories of people bringing down the chimney lining with the brush, that sort of thing.
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No £89 for 2, smoke test is I presume part of Heatas regulation.
 
The sweep I use is third generation, man and boy and all that. Could talk the hind leg off a donkey but he knows his trade.
 
mandryka said:
How often do you need to sweep the chimney, after how many fires?I can see websites which recommend once a year, does that mean after 365 fires?
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That's a "how long is a piece of string?" question. How often do you have to wash your clothes? Can you wear a shirt 2 days? What about jeans? What if they get muddy?
 
For the sake of a confident claim on house insurance should the worst happen, yearly is a good idea. The good ol boy who does our burner and chimminee has a good poke around and will let us know when any little issues finally need sorting.
 
Marchbanks said:
I’ve had a Charnwood Country 8 for 23 years and it’s good to see the current model looks identical. There are smaller versions available. I’ve replaced the firebricks once and door rope a couple of times over that period.

Using a woodburner to make coffee in a Bialetti is quite satisfying.
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Indeed, we've got one and it's superb... Taken at Christmas:

Q1HDTQ.jpg


For me, Charnwood are in a league of their own, in terms of build quality, reliability , and as a company great to deal with. Great idea about the Bialetti, btw. Must try that!:cool:

Marco.
 
Marco said:
For me, Charnwood are in a league of their own, in terms of build quality, reliability , and as a company great to deal with. Great idea about the Bialetti, btw. Must try that!:cool:

Marco.
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Agreed. Fantastic customer service from people that love fire. The reason I choose Charnwood was their enthusiasm.
 
Love this one - a Godin. It was in the house when we bought it and it's been a dream this winter. I think it's rated at 11Kw - it's in a big open plan space and quickly lifts the temperature by 3 - 5 deg C.

IMG_2962 by Ian123_running, on Flickr

We have a couple of those fans on top - no idea whether they make much difference but I guess they do extract at least a little heat from the fire.
 
Luckily we inherited a load of logs, of unknown age, and have created some more from trimming and felling trees in the overgrown garden. How do we know when the logs are ready to burn? Do the moisture meters work?
 
Firstly wood needs to be seasoned somewhere with a reasonable air flow. Wood which is in a closed shed or closely covered will season very slowly.

The time it takes also depends on type of tree and the weather.

Answering your question, I find my moisture meter a useful way check my wood.
 
Sounds good. When we got here last year the logs were just piled up outside and were very damp - full of leaves etc with lots of fungi and some were spongy and rotten. We've re-stacked the lot (Mrs Ian123, mainly!), covered the top but left the sides open. They seem to be drying out nicely now.
 
One dry summer I stacked newly cut beech on pallets without a cover from March until September and it was ready to burn by December. Airflow and sun if possible help the drying process.
 
All this talk of wood burners has re-ignited my enthusiasm to get one installed in my new house. I am moving at the end of this month and I am considering an install before I start redecorating. I wonder if it will be less expensive getting one installed in the spring versus the autumn. I also like the idea of taking care of my wood out in the open so I can finally get to use it in the winter.
 
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