Log burner

[Tigerjones]

guest, have a go at making a top down fire. You might like it.

 

[Marco]

Wow... Who'd have thought wood burners could be so competitive! Anyone up for blind-testing some seasoned logs?

Marco.

 

[Tigerjones]

. How do we know when the logs are ready to burn?

A cheap way to tell if a log is dry is to smear some fairy liquid on one end and then blow through the other end. If bubbles appear your wood is dry.

 

[Euan]

...smear some fairy liquid on one end and then blow through the other end. If bubbles appear your wood is dry.

I'll get the wife to try that later.

 

[Tigerjones]

Hahaha.

 

[Spike]

Wow... Who'd have thought wood burners could be so competitive! Anyone up for blind-testing some seasoned logs?

Marco.

Already done it!! Kiln dried ash for me as a first preference followed by oak, then birch. Although happy having any type of they are well seasoned, except softwoods.

 

[Tigerjones]

Same mix as me, Ash, Oak and Silver Birch.

 

[ian123running]

Not sure what we've got - certainly some silver birch - that burns well but seems to rot easily (remember we took over a house with an unmanaged heap of logs). We also have something that could be cherry and that burns wonderfully. Maybe some laurel but beyond we are adhering to double blind test protocols.

I asked my wife if I could buy a moisture meter but she thinks we have enough gadgets.

But most of the way through the winter and the fire has been a success - the only other heating is electric radiant panels hidden in the ceilings and while they work, we use the log burner for almost all of our room heating (not for water though).

 

[Tigerjones]

I burnt our Christmas tree last week. It wasn’t dry enough but at least I got rid of it.

 

[35451]

Kiln dried ash oak mix here. Moisture meter. But then I also have a ppm meter for my DI car washing water

...causes much consternation chez moi

 

[TheDecameron]

Biofuel cash burner. Arlene Foster XXL model.

 

[Tigerjones]

Biofuel cash burner. Arlene Foster XXL model.

Dec, have you tried the Amber Rudd upgrade for your burner?

 

[Tigerjones]

Another way of testing the dryness is to knock two logs together. If they produce a hollow sound they are probably reasonably dry against a thud sound that wet wood gives.

Ultimately, the best test is to burn it. If it ignites easily, doesn’t turn the glass black and is free from spits and crackles then it’s good.

 

[ian123running]

We do find the glass gets black - over a couple of days. But it ignites and burns very well. Next winter should be better - we will have drier logs. I'll try the percussion test.

Show us yer log pile!
IMG_2979 by Ian123_running, on Flickr

 

[Tigerjones]

My chopper and wood store. Every Christmas I ask the wife for a chainsaw and every year she says no.

 

[andy831]

I have one Tiger but I do my cutting and splitting by hand, I prefer to keep my limbs intact

 

[Tigerjones]

I have one Tiger but I do my cutting and splitting by hand, I prefer to keep my limbs intact

The exact reason she won’t let me have one as I am well clumsy. I love using an axe, very therapeutic.

 

[andy831]

And good exercise too

 

[Tigerjones]

And good exercise too

Sure is, guaranteed to bring keep my blood sugars low for hours.

 

[ian123running]

That's lovely Tigerjones. We may build some more covered area sometime. The plastic sheeting lacks a certain something.

I was nervous about a chainsaw - a friend accidentally attempted to cut his wife's leg off (don't tell your wife that, Tiger...). Anyway I got this electric rechargeable one and it's been brilliant both for felling small trees and cutting them up.

We uncovered some really big tree trunks the previous occupants had left in the undergrowth. A nice find but meant pushing the chainsaw well beyond it's design limits in terms of diameter) but bit-by-bit I got it done. My new skill for 2019 has been to keep the chain sharp.

IMG_2974 by Ian123_running, on Flickr

Now - axe or wedge? I have these big things to split some time.