- Thread starter Maddog
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Gareth J
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Think if my budget was under £1000, I'd definitely be looking at s/h or refurbished. In reality, so long as it's not rotten, a used one with new firebricks, glass, paint and seals is little different to new. But a cheap stove will always disappoint. We've had a cheap ones and they weren't a patch on a better one. Currently have a clearview, which is great, runs well, was reasonably priced and looked how I wanted. But buying again, I'd be tempted by one of the more developed stoves, Woodwarm or burley probably.
gaz1
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may i ask all these members there wood usage in cords of wood or do you mix material use in your stoves ?
I also noted that you didnt say your model of stove being used
I don't buy my wood. I generally get it given. I collect, cut and split it myself as I have the gear. It's secondary heat source for us as we have gas central heating. Heating goes off at 6pm and we put the stove on if needed for the evening. Generally we use 2-3 ibc cages of logs per winter. I season them in the cages for at least 2 summers then put them in the shed, where we take them from to use for the winter. I learned long ago to season my own logs as we initially bought them and there was no heat from them. So I work 2 years ahead, if I was short and had to buy them in, I would still season them for 2 years myself. My stove is a town and country welded stove, made in Malton, North Yorkshire.
julianf
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My partner used to drive past a builders yard on the way back from her work.
As she drove an old, beat up, 300tdi disco, it was no bother for her to call in, with the pallet breaker, and chuck in whatever was going.
For years we heated our house only on pallets. Hot water from the rayburn, cooking on the rayburn, and a wood warm in the lounge.
My partner quitting work, covid, and a smarter car made me eventually get around to plumbing in the oil fired central heating boiler.
Pallet wood burns fast, as everyone knows, but it kicks out a lot of heat when its burning. And for us, it was ideal, as there was minimal storage required - always "just in time".
We used to keep a sack or two of coal just in case i was ill and couldnt chop wood or somthing, but im not even sure it ever came to that.
We also have a load of oak stacked somwhere, again, never used, just in case.
8ob
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Got a biggish stove that will take logs of around a foot long, no shortage of decent wood but I have found its better with our stove to mix in a few sticks of slower burning rubbish like willow with the oak or ash . Only need to top up the stove once or twice of an evening.
Bob
123hotchef
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badabec
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Is the room large enough for a stove? I really wanted one, going to the trouble of building a store and collecting wood. In the winter my wife likes to light tea-lights (don't ask), with about 30 of them alight, the room was too hot. They are about 30 watts each, so nearly 1Kw. That experience quickly put paid to a wood burning stove. We just flick a switch these days.
123hotchef
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aint that the truth! mine is lovely for 3 or 4 hours then i have to sit here in my birthday suit, the bedroom also becomes like a sanua too as the chimney breast is in that room
gaz1
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thankyou for answering so far guys
i had to go and look this up so ibc container full of wood contains in cords of wood
There are a few choices.
Take A x B x C / 1728 to get Cu ft. Then take that divided by 128 to get cords.
ex. for a 300 gal tote 42x48x41=82656 in^2/1728=47.83 ft^3
47.83 ft^3 /128 = .374 cord.
If you heap it you can probably get just under 1/2 cord in it. All of this assumes you stack it neatly which will probably necessitate cutting one side off to allow for uneven wood.
i had to go and look this up so ibc container full of wood contains in cords of wood
There are a few choices.
Take A x B x C / 1728 to get Cu ft. Then take that divided by 128 to get cords.
ex. for a 300 gal tote 42x48x41=82656 in^2/1728=47.83 ft^3
47.83 ft^3 /128 = .374 cord.
If you heap it you can probably get just under 1/2 cord in it. All of this assumes you stack it neatly which will probably necessitate cutting one side off to allow for uneven wood.
123hotchef
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i do mine by the L200 bed full, same really only use it as a secodary heat source or at weekends when i have nothing on not that i remember one! supprising how quickly the logs burn when they are dried properly.
If you have to buy wood go gas or oil it is FAR cheaper.
I live in a very rural area and for they amount they charge for wood it would cost me about £200 a week if I had to pay for it!
Scrounging your own is the only way to go.
I love my woodburner but being truthful they are very polluting and make no sense without the free wood.
I have unlimited supplies of free pallet wood - not the planks but the thick side bearers and blocks.
Whatever you do dont burn MDF - very nasty chemicals and it stinks.
I live in a very rural area and for they amount they charge for wood it would cost me about £200 a week if I had to pay for it!
Scrounging your own is the only way to go.
I love my woodburner but being truthful they are very polluting and make no sense without the free wood.
I have unlimited supplies of free pallet wood - not the planks but the thick side bearers and blocks.
Whatever you do dont burn MDF - very nasty chemicals and it stinks.
julianf
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Builders yard offered once to deliver me all their waste wood.
I just don't have the space for that, but it did make me think about either building some large incinerator style thing, or a shredder and an auger feed.
I like to be able to ware a t-shirt indoors all year round. And I'm like a lizard - if I start to get cold j just get inactive. Even if I've relented and put on a coat!
I just don't have the space for that, but it did make me think about either building some large incinerator style thing, or a shredder and an auger feed.
I like to be able to ware a t-shirt indoors all year round. And I'm like a lizard - if I start to get cold j just get inactive. Even if I've relented and put on a coat!
123hotchef
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i could never purchase wood to burn on my log burner either! no way cheaper to turn up the gas fired boiler!
123hotchef
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lizard lol i like to be in nothing!
julianf
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Yeah, the planks are tinder. The best pallets are the ones with the thick runners - easier than the ones with the squares at the corners to pull apart and a decent amount of wood.
Euro pallets burn a good while, and are worth having but more effort to chop up.
I don't stack I just chuck cut and split logs in. Ibc is 1000 litres. Usually I have them heaped about a foot higher than the top.. As they're randomly chucked in, and air can get around them, I think they season better.
123hotchef
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plenty of nails to pull out the grate!
You use far more than that if you rely on wood only. That would last me 2 weeks tops.
I once went through 2 full artic loads of logs in 1 year when I lived in the Brecon Beacons. Yes that's 44 tons of wood!
123hotchef
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my mate lives down that way he has a gravity feed pellet thing
