Diary of a Wood Burning Stove!

This past week has seen some more experimentation with different fuel types.  We've also put some more of our 'damp' logs on after moving them to a drier spot in the garage rather than on our front porch.  It seems that perhaps they were seasoned after all but had simply got rather wet in the rain!

In terms of the alternative fuels, we firstly tried some compressed hardwood waste Eco Logs, which are about 20cm by 15cm in an oblong shape.  These we used exactly as you would a piece of wood and they burned in a similar way.  A good alternative to logs.

The next product we tried was called Blaze, a small briquette about the size of a large piece of coal.  These are described as being very heat efficient but we were a little disappointed.  They seemed to die down quite quickly and weren't quite as good as the Homefire briquettes we mentioned in our last post.

The only other incident of note this week was the appearance of a bird in the fire!!  Fortunately the fire wasn't lit at the time and we managed to assist the little fellow in flying back outside.  Hope that doesn't happen too often though!

All in all a good week and we've barely used the central heating this autumn yet.  Admittedly it's been pretty mild, but there have definitely been evenings when we would have flicked it on had we not had the fire. (And if you're wondering, no, I havn't tried lighting the fire myself again yet!  I must have another go before we get some really cold weather, though).

PREVIOUS DIARY ENTRIES

14th November - Trying out some different fuel

7th November - Warming the house

31st October 2011 - Cosy living room

12th October 2011 - Where to keep all that wood...

19th September 2011 - The first lighting of the season!

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Diary of a Wood Burning Stove!

Here I am again with another installment about our new wood burning stove, or multi-fuel stove to be precise. Which brings me to one of the things I'll be writing about today.  With what appears to be our damp wood problem (see previous posts), we decided to give some other types of fuel a try.

Firstly we tried out the Homefire Heat Logs (bought from B&Q).  These are made from wood waste and are a cylindrical shape about 8cm diameter and 12cm in length.  We have been putting these on once the kindling has got to the point of smouldering and they burn in a similar way to logs, although lasting longer.  They are described as being better for your chimney and producing less ash as well as being environmentally friendly so appear to be a good alternative to wood.

The next product we tried was also called Homefire but was a product looking much like coal, although not quite as dusty (see picture above).  This was a very different fuel, which we again used once the fire was smouldering.  These don't produce a flame in the way wood does but certainly kick out heat.  We only used a few but, whilst the stove itself didn't feel hot in the morning, you could still feel warmth coming from the remaining pieces of Homefire.  We might experiment with this should we wish to keep the fire going overnight in the middle of winter as it's clearly a slow burning fuel.

More to come in future posts on our fuel experiments!

Also this week I decided to try lighting the fire myself for the first time!  Having received some basic instructions from my husband I carefully laid the fire with paper and kindling and lit a match.  So far so good.  Unfortunately it all went down hill from there as I couldn't get the fire to properly take.  I think I had the vents open correctly but in the end gave up until my husband got home!  Hopefully I'll have better luck next time.

PREVIOUS DIARY ENTRIES

7th November - Warming the house
31st October 2011 - Cosy living room

12th October 2011 - Where to keep all that wood...

19th September 2011 - The first lighting of the season!

Make a Change

If you havn't already visited our Make a Change page this month, check it out.  During November we are looking at renewable energy and ethical finances.

12 Days of Christmas

To follow on from Make a Change 2011 we have decided to launch the '12 Days of Christmas' campaign.  From 25th December we will be publishing here on the UK Energy Saving Blog short, sharp energy saving tips right through until the 5th January.  Read more in our press release at the links below and watch this space...

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Diary of a Wood Burning Stove!

Another chilly evening, another cosy fire!  We've actually had our wood burning stove (Morso Squirrel 1430) lit on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend, which has meant that we havn't needed to put the heating on to take the chill off the house.  Result!

So what have we learnt this week? Well on Saturday we discovered that a close eye on the fire is needed when getting it going, as we suddenly realised it had gone out! Back to square one!  We soon had a blaze roaring, though, and the lounge was quickly lovely and warm.  On Sunday evening we lit the fire earlier so kept the door open leading to the stairs to allow a little warmth to drift upstairs before the children went to bed.  It was of course still cooler upstairs, but we didn't have to put the central heating on - be interesting to see how this works as the temperatures really drop though.

We had a bit of damp wood again yesterday, but otherwise we are getting the hang of lighting the fire.  Well my husband is, but I have been watching carefully for when I need to light it myself!  There's an installment for another day!

We are slightly puzzled about the blackening of the glass window.  It cleans off easily enough but should that happen? Any information or suggestions on that front very welcome!

Until the next time...

PREVIOUS DIARY ENTRIES

31st October 2011 - Cosy living room

12th October 2011 - Where to keep all that wood...

19th September 2011 - The first lighting of the season!

New Look Energy Saving Calculator

If you havn't already seen our Energy Saving Calculator, now would be a great time to visit this section of our main website, as it has just been given a fresh new look.  The Energy Saving Calculator offers at-a-glance information on the costs and savings involved with implementing energy saving measures in the home.  Read our press release on the new look via one of the links below and visit the Energy Saving Calculator here.

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