Jotul - You should only burn hardwoods

[trigger_andy]

Just now, woodrascal said:

No you don't if you burn dry wood in a good stove with a sensible amount of air...

 

The book in question specifically states that its the oil content of the Softwood and not the moisture content. I'll go with his and the Norwegian Institutes assessment over yours I think? 

[Puffingbilly413]

9 minutes ago, trigger_andy said:

 

The book in question specifically states that its the oil content of the Softwood and not the moisture content. I'll go with his and the Norwegian Institutes assessment over yours I think? 

Mytting was on about burning large quantities of pine re having to sweep the flues more often. I guess this would be true for any wood with a very high resin content.

 

But in reality, apart from the colder parts of the UK perhaps, I don't reckon on people needing to sweeop their chimneys more than once a year.  Maybe twice if you burn a huge amount (of any wood).  But people will see what comes out of the flue when it's swept and be able to gauge what is often enough for their burning habits.

[Mark Bolam]

I was wrong to suggest there is ‘loads’ about softwood Andy.

I am prone to exaggeration of size and volume. My wife will confirm this.

I don’t want to put anyone off the book, it’s fantastic and I’d recommend it to anyone.

The big lesson it contains is that you should crack on with your supply in the spring, even if for the following winter, taking advantage of the summer heat to dry processed logs.

 

Re softwood - I’ve always burnt loads.

My flue is swept once a year and it’s always clean as a whistle.

I burn hardwoods as well.

I’m not suggesting that conny is as good as the beech, ash, hornbeam, cherry and birch I also burn, but I like feeding the fire in the winter, which you have to more often with soft.

I like the ‘action’ behind the glass, and the crackling and popping.

Take that you dirty macrocarpa bastard! I remember taking you down.....

It HAS to be bone dry.

After a day in the sleet I like the fire ripping, red hot, with me sat in my pants.

Then the wife comes in wearing just a towel.

The towel slips off.

There is sweat on her inner thighs.

I move my head towar

[Big J]

11 minutes ago, Puffingbilly413 said:

Mytting was on about burning large quantities of pine re having to sweep the flues more often. I guess this would be true for any wood with a very high resin content.

 

But in reality, apart from the colder parts of the UK perhaps, I don't reckon on people needing to sweeop their chimneys more than once a year.  Maybe twice if you burn a huge amount (of any wood).  But people will see what comes out of the flue when it's swept and be able to gauge what is often enough for their burning habits.

We put 180 odd cube of wood through a 20kw stove in 5 years in Scotland. More than half of it softwood, some of it not quite dry enough, loads of nappies burned too as well as combustible domestic waste. Never swept the chimney, no loss of draw so never saw the need. 

 

The only thing we did is never slumber the fire. It was always in the best operation zone, temperature wise and we had little smoke, even with less than dry wood.

 

I think you can get away with more with a larger stove though due to larger and presumably higher firebox temperatures.

[openspaceman]

57 minutes ago, Puffingbilly413 said:

 

 

I suppose all I'm saying is that there is nothing wrong with burning softwood.  It works, and in certain circumstances can even be advantageous.  But you'll have to load the stove more often and split more wood.

That's right and as long as it is dry and you burn it with a clean flame there will be no worse PICs and hence no worse fouling of the chimney.

 

The trouble is people try to "keep the fire in" by  restricting air supply  and then the flame is lost, the wood smoulders and the offgas contains all sorts of unburned products.

 

At least 50% of my firewood is softwood but I agree birch makes a lovely firewood with a bright flame. In fact a big piece of birch quadrant with its bark put on my stove when it is hot  on is about the only thing that causes black smoke, because the oily bark  flares up so quickly the air supply cannot keep up.

[trigger_andy]

6 minutes ago, Mark Bolam said:

After a day in the sleet I like the fire ripping, red hot, with me sat in my pants.

Then the wife comes in wearing just a towel.

The towel slips off.

There is sweat on her inner thighs.

I move my head towar

And thats enough internet for me today.    

[trigger_andy]

4 minutes ago, Big J said:

Never swept the chimney, no loss of draw so never saw the need. 

 

Open Chimney or Flue? If its an open Chimney then I can see why you did not have to bother. 

[woodrascal]

21 minutes ago, trigger_andy said:

 

The book in question specifically states that its the oil content of the Softwood and not the moisture content. I'll go with his and the Norwegian Institutes assessment over yours I think? 

A properly designed, clean burning woodstove used correctly with decent, dry fuel will burn off most of the volatiles produced by the combustion of wood in the stoves firebox - including any 'oils' mentioned in the book. This is true for either hard or softwood.

 

If you are burning any wood be it hard or soft and you are getting excessive deposits in the flueway there is something wrong with your fuel, your stove or the way you are using it.

 

We've got several stoves and some years ago I tried an experiment by burning exclusively dry softwood in one of them and a mixture of dry oak, ash and beech in another. I monitored the build up of deposits in both flueways . There was NO real difference between the two - perhaps a bit more fine grey flyash in the 'softwood' flue but no build up of tar or excessive soot.

[trigger_andy]

3 minutes ago, woodrascal said:

A properly designed, clean burning woodstove used correctly with decent, dry fuel will burn off most of the volatiles produced by the combustion of wood in the stoves firebox - including any 'oils' mentioned in the book. This is true for either hard or softwood.

 

If you are burning any wood be it hard or soft and you are getting excessive deposits in the flueway there is something wrong with your fuel, your stove or the way you are using it.

 

We've got several stoves and some years ago I tried an experiment by burning exclusively dry softwood in one of them and a mixture of dry oak, ash and beech in another. I monitored the build up of deposits in both flueways . There was NO real difference between the two - perhaps a bit more fine grey flyash in the 'softwood' flue but no build up of tar or excessive soot.

Maybe the Norwegians just put that in the book because they think its junk wood?  

[trigger_andy]

44 minutes ago, Mark Bolam said:

I was wrong to suggest there is ‘loads’ about softwood Andy.

I am prone to exaggeration of size and volume. My wife will confirm this.

Ha ha, know the feeling. I always wondered why my wifes car had loads of dings at the front and back but then I remembered what I told her 10" looks like.