topic Re: Woodburners in The Round Table

Woodburners

joe_bloggs* — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 19:22:12 GMT

Has anyone installed their own woodburner? I,ve decided to take the plunge and install my own,I have hired a decent set of extension ladders and a roof ladder for this weekend to install a new flue liner,Just hope i don't do a Rod Hull!

Re: Woodburners

lost.parrot — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 20:18:29 GMT

It's now under Building regs as far as I know. Mainly re liner/chimney but as a form of supplementary heating they are ok. Much of heat goes up the chimney so you will be popular with the local bird population

If it's wood burning then it's thought greener than other solid fuels, and providing you have the wood

Chippys are well placed in this respect

It reminds me of something im not allowed to expand upon lol

Re: Woodburners

joe_bloggs* — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 20:54:00 GMT

Yes it will be wood,especially pallettes they're everywhere and free,naturally i,ll ask first,but driving around different builders merchants it seems criminal the ammount that they chuck in the skip,anyway i had better check out the weather for the weekend,they reckon the mail forecast is reliable

Re: Woodburners

aernethril — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 23:28:05 GMT

I had a multifuel stove many years ago - Vermont Castings when they did a huge range in fantastic colours - it was a 'turbo' design so that it kind of recycled a lot of the heat around again and less went up the flue.

I had a small, two bedroomed, open plan house and it heated the whole place bar the enclosed kitchen and I could leave it for 18 hours without having to refill it if I banked it up properly.

The downside is that if you want the burn to last, you really need hardwood and not pine etc.

Re: Woodburners

10phizz — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 23:43:23 GMT

My son dropped a liner down mine 2 weeks ago as the chimney was smoking and wouldn`t draw.

He did it off a special ladder.... Singlehanded .

My OH always says wood keeps you warm twice, cutting it and burning it

It costs as much in fuel to cut it up with a chainsaw as you save in coal.

You need wet logs, dry logs and warm sticks at all times.

We have had solid fuel cookers, boilers and log burners for over 45 years.

Re: Woodburners

saasher2012 — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 08:35:40 GMT

I agree! I have had one for years, make sure you use well seasoned wood or you'll end up with liquid tar& also take care to have your chimney swept often. The same rule applies as in an open fire for the type of wood you use. At Xmas I use apple & pear wood, the fragrance is wonderful. I'm lucky we fell our own timber & are able to choose what is best, but a lot of people sell it by the load.

Re: Woodburners

guppietank — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 09:54:40 GMT

Be careful piling lots of dry timber on your woodburner. They can generate so much heat that they have been known to warp the fire box so keep it under control.

You need to be 'heatas approved' to install fires. Building regs govern the size of hearth etc. Speak to your local supplier / installer and they may help you and certificate the results of your work.

The old country folk say burn wood near the start of the alphabet ( apple, beech, birch..) and avoid the later letter (pine etc)

Have a happy and warm Christmas.

Re: Woodburners

ed_blackadder_1 — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 12:51:52 GMT

Don't forget to install a carbon monoxide detecter.

Re: Woodburners

duck_a_lorange — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 16:44:42 GMT

A guide to different firewoods:

http://www.blakemoreandchell.co.uk/firewood-guide/

And two versions of the "Firewood Rhyme":

Version 1
Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year
Chestnut only good they say
If for long it's laid away
Make a fire of elder tree
Death within your house will be
But ash new or ash old
Is fit for a Queen with a crown of gold

Birch and Fir logs burn too fast
Blaze up bright and do not last
It is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread
Elmwood burns like churchyard mould
Even the very flames are cold
But ash green or ash brown
Is fit for a Queen with a golden crown

Poplar gives a bitter smoke
Fills your eyes and makes you choke
Apple wood will scent your room
With an incense-like perfume
Oaken logs, if dry and old
Keep away the winters cold
But ash wet or ash dry
A king shall warm his slippers by.

Version 2
Beechwood fires burn bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year
Store your beech for Christmastide
With new holly laid beside
Chestnuts only good they say
If for years tis stayed away
Birch and firwood burn too fast
Blaze too bright and do not last
Flames from larch will shoot up high
Dangerously the sparks will fly
But Ashwood green and Ashwood brown
Are fit for a Queen with a golden crown

Oaken logs, if dry and old
Keep away the winters cold
Poplar gives a bitter smoke
Fills your eyes and makes you choke
Elmwood burns like churchyard mould
Even the very flames burn cold
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread
So it is in Ireland said
Applewood will scent the room
Pears wood smells like a flower in bloom
But Ashwood wet and Ashwood dry
A King may warm his slippers by.

When I was little we had coke stoves. By the time I was seven I could light one and keep it going all by myself. Never been able to even start a bonfire successfully since.

Re: Woodburners

joe_bloggs* — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 18:50:03 GMT

Thanks for all your tips and poems,a mate of mine is Hetas registered and will have a look to make sure everything is ok

we had an electric fire with marble hearth and surround,i decided to keep the hearth and cut the surround to create "tiles" for the stove to sit on saving a bit cash:

Live gas pipe spotted!

Re: Woodburners

10phizz — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 22:26:03 GMT

My son says you don`t need to sweep chimneys with these new liners (couldn`t get a brush up there anyway ) ......they are supposed to burn the tar away, we shall see !

Good luck with the gas pipe. good job it didn`t spring a leak over the years or you would be posting from cloud nine !

Re: Woodburners

joe_bloggs* — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 22:40:10 GMT

I so i,ve heard,also the new flue liner is double skinned,smooth in the inside so apparently any tar and stuff runs down

This is the old gas flue liner with bracket and metal plate and the off white square above looks like asbestos

Breaking the old brickwork out to create space for woodburner,A stroke of luck,that black line at top of brickwork turns out to be a lintel !

Re: Woodburners

saasher2012 — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 23:02:09 GMT

WHAT! Are you never to have the pleasure of going outside to see the brush coming out of the top of the chimney? Now that is sad!

Re: Woodburners

10phizz — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 02:00:51 GMT

It will definitely be asbestos........did you know you need a special licence to handle and dispose of it ?....didn`t think you did LOL

I hope you wore some sort of breathing apperatus ? a mask at least. They wear full hazard suits to handle it.

Report in the news last week, teachers are dying every week from the asbestos caused cancer (mysothelioma ? ) cos they pinned scholars work up in asbestos lined school walls back in the 60s.

Re: Woodburners

cee-dee — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 10:34:01 GMT

I think there's far too much hysteria surrounding asbestos. It all depends upon what type it is and what you do with it.

Asbestos fibres which become airborne are what causes the problem and many forms of what I'd call "soft" material contain asbestos (such as insulation stucco or boards) and you don't want any truck with that.

Hard panels (made with cement) are OK to move if you don't break, saw, grind or drill them or do anything else to release the fibres. To be on the safe side, keeping it wet prevents any stray fibres becoming airborne. What you do with it afterwards is another matter!

Re: Woodburners

tommy.irene — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 10:45:34 GMT

Hurry up.. I cant wait to see the finished job..

Re: Woodburners

joe_bloggs* — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 11:16:08 GMT

More breaking out

decided to knock out the side bits of brickwork which are not tied in to anything,just built to form sides for old gas fire (i think!)

Also decided to remove the brickwork at the back to give stove more air space

Re: Woodburners

cee-dee — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 11:46:26 GMT

Re: Woodburners

joe_bloggs* — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 12:15:15 GMT

Not sure if it will look as good as that one !

Bricked up sides and plastered around exterior to tidy it up

Plastered inside with a sand,cement & lime mortar (more flexible mix) and skimmed over top with a heat resistant plaster

Laid a concrete base with a damp proof membrane underneath as old hearth floor was damp

Cut the old fireback into "tiles" and bedded then in a sand and cement mix,grouted the tiles with the heat proof plaster (not shown) dried out nicely now,just leaves the weekend to get on roof fit new flue liner,new chimney pot and new chimney cowl on top of pot,join flue liner to adaptor,join adaptor to black stove pipe,fit closure plate onto angle bar bolted onto brickwork,then join stove pipe onto stove,oh and repaint full chimney breast,then sit back and enjoy

Re: Woodburners

cee-dee — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 12:38:56 GMT

What happened to the gas pipe?