Anyone found decent smokeless fuel for open fires?

[rcx132]

I've been using Big K smokeless coal and it's tough going. It takes an inferno to get it litten up and it doesn't flame, it just glows, so you get the heat but no nice fire effect.

I tried heat logs, the ones made of compressed sawdust, they worked well, nice flame, smokeless, and easy to light, but pricey.

Looking at the amount of raw house coal that is being sold by builders merchants even in the London area people must just flaunting the smoke free zone laws. Has anyone actually ever been checked by the council to see if their fuel is smokeless or if their multistove is certificated for smokeless zones?

My fire is an open fireplace, the type that was regularly used in older houses, not the closed type stoves.

 

[Badger1bear]

I used phurnacite (spelling) eggs for awhile on my wood burner. The heat output was very good and there was not a lot of smoke, I think I'm in a smoke free zone but what the neighbours are subjected to in the summer with plasma cutting, grinding, hot flame I think they are pleased when the winter comes because a small bit of smoke is a small price to pay from my dwellings lol

If you have seen laurel and hardy on the Wild West steam locomotive, chopping up everything they can that's combustible and fit it thru the boiler stokers door, that's what it looks like here sometimes.

Can't beat a roaring yog

 

[outofthefire]

logs are smokeless

 

[eSCHEn]

I tried heat logs, the ones made of compressed sawdust, they worked well, nice flame, smokeless, and easy to light, but pricey.

What sort of price were you paying?

 

[gaz1]

if your still using the old type chimney system you can change it to the new type with secondary air so there is less smoke going up the chimney the added effect is you get to see the flames but also get way more heat output in the room than going up the chimney

depends on how far your willing to go though

 

[Exuptoy]

Here ya go, heres your choice of smokeless.

http://www.fuels4u.com/default/winter-fuels/smokeless-fuels-for-multi-fuel-stoves-open-fires.html

I use this stuff for my wood burner but it's not suitable for smokeless areas. It burns for ages and gives good flame. It's some sort of wood coal????

http://www.fuels4u.com/default/winter-fuels/open-fire-fuels/firelite-briketts-20kg.html

 

[wookie]

I used to live in a smoke free zone and had a open fire, I tried the smokeless stuff when I first lived there but I discovered just like you all the problems with it.

I gave up and just burned good quality coal with some hardwood thrown on to make the coal go further, it would smoke for the first 10 minutes but then it would be belting out the heat then the chimney would just have a heat haze coming out of it, not a trace of smoke. Lived there for 10 years and never had any problems, mind you most of my neighbours did the same so there wasn't really anyone to call the council and complain.

 

[rcx132]

What sort of price were you paying?

Well bought them in Tesco so about £0.80 per log

if your still using the old type chimney system you can change it to the new type with secondary air so there is less smoke going up the chimney the added effect is you get to see the flames but also get way more heat output in the room than going up the chimney depends on how far your willing to go though

Would this mean dismantling the chinmey? We've had so much building work done I would be way to reluctant.

I used to live in a smoke free zone and had a open fire, I tried the smokeless stuff when I first lived there but I discovered just like you all the problems with it.

I gave up and just burned good quality coal with some hardwood thrown on to make the coal go further, it would smoke for the first 10 minutes but then it would be belting out the heat then the chimney would just have a heat haze coming out of it, not a trace of smoke. Lived there for 10 years and never had any problems, mind you most of my neighbours did the same so there wasn't really anyone to call the council and complain.

If only our neighbours were so nice. Any time we do anything we have the council inspector turns up because, by the councils own words, some worried neighbour keeps calling them.

I've found hardwood doesn't give any visible smoke, coal kicks off a smoke signal when you light it and then it's ok.

 

[gaz1]

http://borustoves.ie/stove-of-the-week/fire-fronts-for-open-fires-doras/

if you want to make the front heres the drawings to it

http://borustoves.ie/shop/dry-stoves/doras-fire-door/

this one below uses secondary air

there is different types of fire fronts

http://www.elitestoves.com/products-page-2/fire-front-doors/

this one is a new type of back boiler for old chimneys

http://grantengineering.ie/high-efficiency-heating_products/triple-pass-solid-fuel-back-boilers/

 

[rcx132]

http://borustoves.ie/stove-of-the-week/fire-fronts-for-open-fires-doras/

if you want to make the front heres the drawings to it

http://borustoves.ie/shop/dry-stoves/doras-fire-door/

this one below uses secondary air

this one is a new type of back boiler for old chimneys

http://grantengineering.ie/high-efficiency-heating_products/triple-pass-solid-fuel-back-boilers/

Oh yeah I read about those, they burn more efficiently which is why they're legal in smoke free zones. Maybe should have gone for one of them in the first place. Those original small open fires are designed for coal and don't work very well with some other fuels.

 

[gaz1]

you could adapt that fireplace front so as it heats up it would throw out more heat just by using box section that would create heated air channels to throw even more heat into the room

the other video is 4 kw heater

to use other materials its better to use secondary air channels part of reason why ive shown it with the vids

 

[gaz1]

 

[eSCHEn]

Well bought them in Tesco so about £0.80 per log

Ouch!

Woodfuel (compressed stuff) comes in loads and loads of different forms but a quality hardwood one is around 30p/Kg.