Wood burning stove experiences please

[Cheddar George]

Like Glasgowcyclist i am very happy with my Charnwood.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

You're going to need a decent chainsaw, £300+,

I get by fine with my petrol Ryobi 40cm chainsaw which was retailing at around £170 when I picked it up in B&Q five years ago. Luckily for me it was on offer at just £30 as it was the last in store and was ex-display with no carry case or packaging. I'd no need for it then as I didn't have a stove at that point but I can't resist a bargain.

It's weak point seems to be the worm drive for the oil feed. It's made from some sort of plastic or polywotsit and occasionally strips its thread, stopping the oil flow.

Most of my wood comes from scavenging; there's plenty of trees falling down, or being felled then advertised on Freecycle or Gumtree. So long as you don't mind a bit of lifting and you have suitable transport, it's practically free fuel. For kindling I have a free supply of untreated pallets that I cut & split. My office goes through around a tonne of paper a week, all of which is delivered on pallets that the supplier isn't interested in collecting. The office has to pay to have them taken to a waste site so are delighted if I take them away for nothing.

 

[Profpointy]

To Mr Paul, or indeed anyone elsr vaguely near Bristol who's after a syove. Bought ours off Embers. Their shop is just off the roundabout at the bottom of Jacobs Well Road. Good knowledgable advice, good workmanship by their fitters, and (genuine and fair enough) extra work charged fairly. I would recommend these guys. We got their fitter back to install a couple of fireplaces subsequently. Prices seemed on a par or slightly better than a couple of others I spokr to.

 

[Globalti]

Splitting pallets is a huge ball-ache as they are so difficult to dismantle, being designed to be strong.

 

[raleighnut]

Splitting pallets is a huge ball-ache as they are so difficult to dismantle, being designed to be strong.

I hack pallets up with a jigsaw, looked at using a reciprocating saw but the blades are expensive whereas I can get jigsaw blades at £8 for 20 (Ryobi)

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Splitting pallets is a huge ball-ache as they are so difficult to dismantle, being designed to be strong.

Not for me.

It would be heavy going if I tried to remove the slats from the blocks, owing to those damn awkward annular nails so I simply cut through the slats with a cordless circular saw and split. Around 20 minutes' work gives me a large bag of kindling.

 

[Globalti]

I hack pallets up with a jigsaw, looked at using a reciprocating saw but the blades are expensive whereas I can get jigsaw blades at £8 for 20 (Ryobi)

What do you do with the separator blocks and the nails? Dismantling pallets is one effort I'm not prepared to make when I can buy a large net bag of kindling for about £5.00 from my coal merchant. I'd rather be riding my bike!

 

[Profpointy]

What do you do with the separator blocks and the nails? Dismantling pallets is one effort I'm not prepared to make when I can buy a large net bag of kindling for about £5.00 from my coal merchant. I'd rather be riding my bike!

You fish the nails out of the ash every few months once you find you can't the wood in 'cause stove is full of nails

 

[raleighnut]

What do you do with the separator blocks and the nails? Dismantling pallets is one effort I'm not prepared to make when I can buy a large net bag of kindling for about £5.00 from my coal merchant. I'd rather be riding my bike!

The blocks burn quite well and the nails get chucked along with the ash. I do avoid those pallets with compressed chip blocks though.

You fish the nails out of the ash every few months once you find you can't the wood in 'cause stove is full of nails

Our stove has an 'ashpan' that is emptied after every fire, I've only 'kept it in' overnight about a dozen times, often Christmas Day>Boxing Day or New Years Eve>Day. There is a handle that fits the ashpan so I could take it out hot and empty it but I have memories of my Nan setting fire to the dustbin at home when I was a kid and I don't fancy that with a plastic 'wheelie bin'.

 

[rualexander]

......He might recommend that you get your flue lined with an expensive stainless steel liner; you will need to question him about this because the liner, at over £60 a metre, can exceed your stove cost....

Flue liner is nowhere near £60 a metre. More like £12 - £25 per metre.

 

[hopless500]

The blocks burn quite well and the nails get chucked along with the ash. I do avoid those pallets with compressed chip blocks though.


Our stove has an 'ashpan' that is emptied after every fire, I've only 'kept it in' overnight about a dozen times, often Christmas Day>Boxing Day or New Years Eve>Day. There is a handle that fits the ashpan so I could take it out hot and empty it but I have memories of my Nan setting fire to the dustbin at home when I was a kid and I don't fancy that with a plastic 'wheelie bin'.

I keep an ash bucket outside the back door which the fresh ashes go into. This gets emptied into the wheelie bin a few days later.

 

[raleighnut]

I keep an ash bucket outside the back door which the fresh ashes go into. This gets emptied into the wheelie bin a few days later.

I think I'd find one of the cats trying to sleep in it.

 

[Ian H]

Our ash goes on the garden, or sometimes in the compost heap.

 

[KnackeredBike]

You can use the ash to deter slugs and snails. Sprinkle it around plants or any area they are coming into (brush it in if it's paved) and they won't go over it. Plus it will eventually improve the soil. More pleasant than slug pellets.

We love our wood burning stove. Used it a bit less recently because we have a two year old who sees any area she can't get to as a personal challenge so it needs supervision. Although I also suspect you only burn yourself once.

 

[Globalti]

Don't worry, kids soon learn to keep away from stoves.